Alongside the Earthquake Drummers
Muster
The Earthquake Drummers muster in the southern Webwood, not far from the border with the Empire. They represent a daunting force of Thule orcs - five thousand warriors in dark blue armour, wearing traditional cloaks and hoods of the same hue. The warriors themselves are well organised, relentlessly drilled, and everyone knows their place in the chain of command. Most of the fighters wield pole-arms, but there is a solid core of pike-wielders among them, and several cadres of warlocks versed in battle-magic armed with staves and mage armour woven from blue-dyed mammoth hide. They are eager to get underway and will be leading the advance once the invasion actually starts.
The woods themselves where the armies gather are also quite daunting; the Thule warlocks have woven a magical ward of Spring magic over Webwood that grants the trees themselves a magical awareness. They attack intruders and trespassers, and every Imperial military unit is accompanied by a member of the Earthquake Drummers as a precaution against tragic accidents involving the dangerous spirit-possessed vegetation. Not that the Webwood needs much help to be threatening as it is - the remnants of Druj domination are still visible here and there, and the orcs of Otkodov are candid that they have not really even begun to clear the traps and deadfalls that litter the deeper parts of the forest.
Imperial captains are here at the invitation of Tathenon the Gyre, Who Wields the Might of the Sky. The ancient dragon is one of the "living ancestors" of the Thule, and while it seems they are not personally present among the armies, they are said to be advising the generals as to their strategies. Alongside the Earthquake Drummers, there are four other Thule armies here: the Banner of the Rime Hound, the Cry of the Highest, the Dance of Binding, and the Jaws of Winter's Lightning. The Imperial warbands are kept at arms' length by the other Thule armies, and it's not possible to get much more than a cursory look at their forces.
The powerful Banner of the Rime Hound are accompanied by all manner of strange beasts from the northern wastes, and it seems their strategy is to unleash these beasts onto the battlefield. They fought alongside Imperial forces before, during the liberation of Sermersuaq. Veterans who fought at the Battle of Ikka's Tears mark the war rhinos, but they also make use of packs of barely domesticated dire wolves, armoured bears of great size, and a unique breed of creature that seems to combine all the worst traits of wolves and bears with the aspect of an ape.
The Cry of the Highest are unfamiliar; they have many blue-robed warlocks among their number as well as battle-magicians in mage armour. They're also accompanied by a number of creatures that can only be heralds of the Winter realm; painfully cadaverous warriors in ice-blue chainmail, hound-like wolves with glowing eyes, and great ragged-winged eagles that drift above the soldiers. The orcs of the Earthquake Drummer view them with a certain amount of dread; they are favoured by Orobus the Chained, and call on magical forces to ruinous effect on the battlefield.
The Dance of Binding are strange and savage. They fight beneath banners emblazoned with the rune of Victory and with decorated with a chain motif. Many of the warriors seem to spend long periods engaged in great ritualistic dances, often fully armoured and wielding their weapons, during which they push themselves to the point of exhaustion and beyond, apparently to strengthen their bodies and their will. Of all the Thule armies, they are the least friendly to the Imperial warbands.
Finally, there are the warlocks fighting under the thunderbolt banner of the Jaws of Winter Lightning. The warriors of the Earthquake Drummers tell their Imperial mercenary fellows that the Jaws are masters of ritual magic, empowered by the Dragons themselves. They can twist the weather itself to their command, sending blizzards of unseasonal snow to bog down the defenders and leave them vulnerable to deadly ambush, and they will serve as a counter to any attempts the weak ghulai of the Mallum make to impede their advance.
There is some disappointment that no Imperial army has chosen to come fight alongside the orcs of Otkodov in their attack on the Forest of Ulnak. The Thule sent their warriors to help conquer Ossium, and were instrumental in the liberation of Sermersuaq, and there was apparently some hope that the Empire might "return the favour" as it were. Still, the presence of Imperial captains and their warbands is welcome. Saemundr Elvirsbairn, the general of the army, makes a point of greeting every captain personally and ensuring they understand the strategy. The Earthquake Drummers will undertake an overwhelming assault into the haunted woodlands of Oerwealt. They do not anticipate much in the way of armed resistance at first, but as soon as the garrisons at Cassad Ûln and the Thistle of Barbs become aware of what is happening, battle will be joined.
Haunted Forests
Once the armies have mustered, the Thule begin to move out. The Earthquake Drummers demonstrate where they gained their names; half a dozen immense drums are uncovered, mounted on wagons drawn by oxen whose ears are covered by the aural equivalent of powerful blinkers. The drummers themselves, muscular orcs covered in dark blue and green tattoos, begin to beat out a thumping rhythm. A roar goes up from the warriors themselves, and the march begins. The noise of the drums is almost overwhelming. While it doesn't literally shake the ground, many of the orcs have learned to communicate with sign language rather than waste their time trying to shout over the noise. The sheer volume is challenging enough for those fighting alongside the army; it's easy to imagine the effect it must have on the enemies of the Thule.
Like the woodlands of Ossium, the trees of Ulnak are old. Ancient, even. Five soldiers together can barely make a ring around the trunk of some of the largest. Hung with streamers of moss, wreathed in ivy, shrouded in brown and golden autumnal leaves, their branches weave together to create a canopy that blocks out the sun. A ghoulish twilight hangs over everything, adding to the oppressive atmosphere of menace. The Druj have blanketed the Forest of Ulnak with a miasma of fear, and even hardened soldiers find it all too easy to fall to the persistent disquietude that shrouds the woods. Happy memories seem distant, and it is all too easy to slip into a spiral of self-doubt and regret, or to allow uncertainty to overwhelm courage. The pounding rhythm of the drums helps a little, providing a focus to the disciplined orcs and those who fight beside them, but it cannot completely quell the potent miasma.
There are Druj here - Druj warriors and scouts apparently keeping a close eye on the western borders of Ulnak - and almost immediately, the Earthquake Drummers encounter traps and ambushes. The forests come alive with fast-moving skirmishers, withering arrow fire targeting the weakest flanks, and traps are as deadly as they are inventive. The natural creatures of the Forest of Ulnak are just as dangerous as the orcs. Woe betide the soldier who accidentally disturbs a deathstinger hive, or stumbles into a nest of thumb-sized, flesh-hungry, ivory ants. The forests also seem to be home to a truly staggering number of different breeds of scorpion, spider, and snake. Perhaps it is some perverse side effect of the miasma, but none of these creatures seems to have any fear of humanity. What begins as a joke soon becomes a deadly reality - for the smaller creatures seem drawn to the warmth of human bodies, or the roomy confines of Imperial boots left empty for the night. The Earthquake Drummers have plenty of warlocks among them, but relatively few apothecaries or physicks. While the warlocks are well-versed in battle magic, few are able to swiftly purify venom. Instead, they rely on a handful of adepts versed in Spring magic who use laborious rituals to heal humans or orcs that fall foul to these vermin - assuming they are able to survive long enough to seek medical help at all, of course.
The land itself resists the Thule. There are no real roads, and what actual thoroughfares there are are often trapped. From time to time, Imperial captains will come across overgrown clearings large enough to contain an entire village. There are occasional signs that these places might once have been the site of actual settlements - collapsed frames, discarded pieces of rusted metal, and bones. There are a lot of bones here, and it is not uncommon when pitching a tent for the night or digging latrines to come across the bleached and weathered bones of orcs below the layers of leaf mould or tangled among the roots of the trees. Some of them clearly date back centuries.
For the most part, the Thule are unfazed by these remains. They explain that the folk of the Mallum have always fought among themselves, even before there were any true Druj. These remains likely represent septs of orcs fighting for land, resources, or revenge. They generally tend to leave them where they fell; any whose descendant cared about them would have carried them home already.
When the sun sets, it also becomes clear that this part of the Forest well deserves its reputation for being haunted. For the most part, these phantoms avoid the Earthquake Drummers, at least during the day. When the drums fall silent at night, however, there are reports of wraiths and shadows creeping up on sentries or those outside by themselves. There are scattered disappearances. The warlocks are not well-versed in dealing with the unquiet dead, relying entirely on ritual magic. Whenever the Earthquake Drummers set up a camp that is intended to stand for more than a single night, the warlocks gather rune-marked rods of precious weirwood, which are used to create great circles of warding using a ritual equivalent to the Imperial ward of Hold Back Frozen Hunger. These enchantments keep the hungry dead at bay, but on nights when the moon is dim, a host of shadows still gathers beneath the trees beyond the warding staves, watching the living with hungry dead eyes.
Battle
My Drummers, it is time to conquer new lands for the glory of the five-who-are-one! We shall push into the Forest of Ulnak, supported by mercenaries from the Empire, and bring the Mallum to order beneath our heel. Bring death to the Druj who stand against us. Let those who wish to live understand that the rule of the Dragons has begun!
Saemundr Elvirsbairn, General of the Earthquake DrummersThe Thule are not even attempting to be stealthy; the Earthquake Drummers are setting the pace, and the noise of their advance can surely be heard across most of Oerwealt. It seems they specifically want the Druj to know where they are, to draw them to them rather than try chasing them back and forth beneath the trees. It's a risky strategy, but High Warlock Elvirsbairn trusts to the divinations and the wisdom of the Dragons. The actual Druj armies are focused toward the south, in the Salt Flats and in Sarangrave. Their assault relies on a measure of surprise as much as sheer force of numbers; to seize a foothold before the orcs of the Mallum realise what is happening. The Druj border patrol mostly fall before the invaders, but enough escape to raise the alarm and have it spread quickly through the territory.
Around six weeks into the invasion, the first major battle takes place. Perhaps as many as ten thousand Druj ambush the Earthquake Drummers as they break camp in the first rays of dawn. The drums immediately take up a terrifying rhythm of battle, and wild, chaotic fighting spreads through the haunted woods. Imperial captains and Thule warriors fight side by side against the Druj, who rely on their traditional hit-and-run tactics. For their part, the Earthquake Drummers rely on the reach of their spears, and it seems that a number of the veteran fighters have weapons or enchantments that allow them to send their enemies reeling or hold them in place and butcher them before they can flee. This battle also presents an opportunity to see the Thule battle-mages in action. Even as the fighting erupts, several covens fall back to quickly perform enchantments for use in the fight itself - unleashing thunderous waves of force that send whole warbands of their enemies reeling or pin them in place. Others raise potent enchantments on bands of disciplined warriors, trained to make the best use of the strength granted them by the magic of Autumn or Summer.
The Druj have magic of their own; their warriors are bolstered by numbers of unnatural creatures that seem to be heralds of the Night realm but like none any Imperial warrior has seen before. They appear almost scarecrow-like - billowing black robes that contain no flesh or bone, only shadow. Instead of faces, they have almost featureless masks with empty eye-holes from which darkness seeps. Their touch weakens their victims, draining away their will to fight and overwhelming them with fear and terror; their weapons attack the mind as much as the body, creating magical wounds that confuse the thoughts of their victims and rend their nightly sleep with terrible dreams. A few are armed with terrible pole-arms that drown their foes in paralysing wells of phantasmal horror, leaving them as easy picking for their orc allies. The only good news is that they seem to have no armour, and solid blows break them apart into screeching motes of darkness that quickly dissipate.
Still, if it were just the Earthquake Drummers against the garrisons of the Forest of Ulnak, the situation would be dire indeed. Fortunately, there are other armies and over two thousand force under arms of Imperial captains. The fighting is vicious, and the Druj use every trick in their vicious book to try and weaken the Earthquake Drummers, but in the end, the Thule forces are victorious. The warriors of the Mallum are forced to retreat, but they regroup and attack again a few days later. This time, their focus is on the armies following the advance of the Earthquake Drummers, as they seek to break supply lines and murder the extensive baggage train.
By this point, though, the fighting in Oerwealt is almost done. The attention of the Earthquake Drummers is already turning further east, toward the Bonewall. As the Drummers emerge from the western forest, other Thule forces are consolidating and hunting the Druj, making the woodlands their own.
The Bonewall
The hills east of Oerwealt rise wild. They form the foothills of a massive mountain chain to the north, which scrapes the skies during the day. The region takes its name from the untold generations of bones that are displayed hanging from outcroppings, or literally fused to create ominous pillars. The Thule smash these bone monoliths wherever they encounter them, though they seem less concerned by the hanging osseous chimes. At night, when the wind blows, the bones chatter and clash against one another, creating an eerie discordant music.
At night, the sky is surprisingly clear. Starwatchers - of which there are a few among the Thule as well - mark the Wanderer (which the astronomancers from Otkodov call "the Eye of Chaos") and the Drowned Shepherd (which the Thule call the Fallen Hunter, and imagine them as a traveller face-down in the snow as often as they do a misguided hunter drowned in the frozen lakes of the north).
If anything, the Druj forces of the Forest of Ulnak are even more desperate to slow the progress of the Earthquake Drummers here. Rather than bothering with the woodlands at the base of the hills, the Thule army makes a beeline north toward the Great Pit - a great and terrible mine cut deep into the roots of the vast mountains that guard against whatever lies beyond the northern border of the Mallum. It is clear that this is the final destination of the Earthquake Drummers - and at least part of the focus of the Thule armies in the Forest of Ulnak.
As it happens, though, it is the hills themselves that serve to slow the advance of the armies of Otkodov. The Druj take advantage of the rough terrain here. They are at home in the gullies and crevices, and make use of subterranean caves and rough tunnel systems that wend beneath many of the hills here. There is a standing order not to pursue the orcs of the Mallum when they disappear back underground; those few who ignore this order are not seen again.
As the Spring Equinox draws closer, it is clear that the Earthquake Drummers will not achieve their goal this season. The Great Pit lies beyond their reach. Scouts report that it is ripe for the picking, however. The garrison is spread too thin, and while it has slowed the allied advance of Thule and Empire, it cannot keep them at bay for much longer. Unless the armies of the Druj respond to this threat, the Great Pit and the rest of the Bonewall will fall to the Thule by the Summer Solstice.
Spells and Quests
As the Spring Equinox draws closer, powerful magic begins to settle over the Forest of Ulnak. The Jaws of Winter Lightning have unleashed their power to shift the weather in their favour. The early spring rains are impregnated with magic - magic that brings with it a terrible sickness. The curse they have unleashed is not precisely the same as Rivers Run Red, but it is close enough for Imperial magicians to identify its effects. It will seriously increase casualties suffered by armies - and garrisons - fighting in the Forest of Ulnak in the coming season. They have also enchanted the forest of Oerwealt, and again with Spring magic. They have awoken the trees there to protect their forces in the region, and harry any Druj foolish enough to try and reconquer the woodlands there.
While the warriors of the Thule armies are focused on strategic goals, it's hard to miss the presence of orcs who clearly have a different agenda. These orcs cover the lower parts of their faces with thick blue scarves, and they do not speak to Imperial volunteers or warriors; they communicate only with their fellow Warlocks. Apparently, these are members of the Eyes of the Dragon, a sodality in service to Hinodir of the Bright Orb, elite spies and gatherers of information who report directly to She Who Sees. The common warriors are in awe of them, treating them with superstitious respect. They are rarely seen with the armies - the last time was in the final days of the conquest of Ossium. They are clearly looking for something other than Druj ambushers, something more important than the white granite quarries of the Bonewall, but nobody among the Earthquake Drummers is prepared to speculate on what that may be for fear Hinodir of the Bright Orb take offense and strikes them blind.
Game Information
- Otkodov has conquered Oerwealt and is pushing into the Bonewall
- The Jaws of Winter Lightning have performed ritual magic in the Forest of Ulnak
- The invitation remains for Imperial military units to support the Earthquake Drummers after the Spring Equinox
The armies of Otkodov have claimed Oerwealt and are three-quarters of the way towards taking the Bonewall as well. They have not captured the white granite quarry known as the Great Pit, but are ready to lay siege to it. The garrisons of Cassad Ûln and the Thistle of Barbs have inflicted noticeable casualties on the Thule, but have themselves taken what one Imperial calls "a major kicking" in the process. The two bastions remain untouched, however.
Imperial warbands have contributed to the conquest of the Forest of Ulnak and received payment in crystal mana for doing so. The General of the Earthquake Drummers is happy to continue to work with Imperial mercenaries, and Tathenon the Gyre, Who Wields the Might of the sky, has confirmed that the payment for doing so will be the same as it was last season - seven crystal mana for a standard military unit.