Editing Autia (section)

==='''The Battle of Namath Crater'''===

Location:

The Namath Crater is a massive impact crater located in the no-mans land between Harlbourg and Aesanaeria. Located north of it is the Itruvian Plains, a sparsely inhabited stretch of grasslands and deserts reaching into the heart of Harlbourg. For the desert and plains dwelling Aesanaerians, this has long been the main invasion corridor into the Nantic Empire, East Alkor, and Harlbourg.

Background:

Eastern Alkor rebelled over a century ago, aggravated by a minor tax raise, and egged on by b-list nobles and merchant princes seeking political independence from the Capital, as well as intellectuals promising an impossible Utopia. Although these promises never panned out, a newfound patriotism, and memories of the revolution have prevented any attempt to rejoin Alkor. Over the past century, Alkor has made several minor attempts to reclaim parts of Harlbourg (named for the small town of Harlbourg where several key treaties that led to the formation of the Free City States of Harlbourg were signed), but nobles of Alkor are reluctant to start a full scale war in an area where many lesser branches of their families still own much of the economy. Likewise, although some hotheaded Harlbourgers long to overthrow the "evil empire", political and economic considerations have prevented any serious attempts.

However, the upcoming war between Belkan and Alkor have changed considerations. All signs point to this being the largest war since the War in the North. Some in Harlbourg hope that with Alkor distracted fighting Belkan, the time would be right to launch their own invasion. However, many others disagree. Some dislike the idea of Harlbourg being an offensive nation, others are strong believers in pan-Nantic nationalism and frown upon any Nantic blood being shed by other Nantic men.

Still, with the future uncertain, the leaders of Harlbourg (very grudgingly) pooled their resources to fund the formation of a national army for the first time in Harlbourg's history. Unable to let such a provocation go unchecked, and unwilling to risk Harlbourg's unstable political leadership from doing something unexpected, Alkor mobilized a number of armies to the Harlbourg border, while bribing their unreliable allies in Aesanaeria to launch an attack.

The logic behind this, as during past iterations of this tactic, was that if the Aesanaerians bypassed the Namath Crater and gained access to the Itruvian Plains, their highly mobile army would be in striking distance of several key cities in Harlbourg, and the selfish nature of Harlbourg's leadership would cause them to demobilize their armies at the Alkorian border to shore up the defenses of their home cities.

Harlbourg was of course not blind to this possibility, and mobilized three armies consisting of a total of 60,000 men of the National Army of Harlbourg. As the National Army of Harlbourg was brand new, it was a poorly organized force cobbled together from various militias with little in common except the color of their uniform (and often not even that). There was hope of assembling a large force of mercenaries from the goblins, ogres, giants, harpies, snake people, and frontier dwelling humans living in the area, but in the end, only about 2,000 answered the call.

The commanders of the Harlbourg soldiers at the battle were as follows:

Sir Henry Brockdale: A powerful councilor from one of Harlbourg's largest cities, this much hated marionette is known to be strongly opposed to a war with Alkor due to his blood ties with the Alkor branch of the Brockdale family, but accepted a commission as General anyways, seeing it as an opportunity to drag his rebellious daughter Lady Jessica along for a campaign with him in hopes it would diminish her anti-authoritarian traits and rekindle their relationship.

Burgomeister Jans Nyan: The bastard son of a powerful Harlbourg noble and a Ercaenmedian celebrity, Jans was given a town to run to instill some sense of responsibility in him. However, his spoiled childhood left him narcistic. His subjects only fully embraced him when a passing witch transformed him into a giant cat. Jans has no military experience what-so-ever, and it remains a mystery why he volunteered, or why his commission was approved .

Vanessa Beaverlake: An outspoken follower of the goddess Vanille, Vanessa was given her commission to gain favor with the Church rather than due to any leadership skills.

Luckily for them, the Aesanaerian force was smaller than expected, roughly 30,000 Aesanerians, and 5,000 foreign mercenaries, mostly from Orkistan. Many Brass Kings ignored the call to battle for their own reasons, leading to a force that relied more on conventional tribal skirmishers than the infamous Brass Knights. The two senior Brass Kings were:

God King Adras Adrastos: Ruler of one of Aesanaeria's wealthiest cities, this androgynous, melodramatic warlord was seen as eccentric even by the standards of Aesanaeria, though none could deny the wealth at his disposal.

King God Duba: A powerful but mentally unstable Brass King who wanders the world on missions from the Brass Lord himself. Duba was killed and incinerated at the Battle of Poole Harbour, but then reincarnated into a more powerful form.

Day 1 - Battle of the Ridge

Due to poor logistics and planning, the three armies deployed by Harlbourg to defend the Namath Crater arrived too late to construct any significant fortifications. Instead, they hastily constructed some low quality trenchworks along the northern edge of the Namath Crater, particularly the Ternarin Pass, the only location on the north edge of the crater where the slope was gentle enough for large armies to advance through it.

Morale was low. Despite the seeming importance of guarding Namath Crater, the force here was only a small fraction of the size of the armies mobilized by the National Army to guard the Alkor border and various wealthy cities. A widespread rumor stated that many political leaders in Harlbourg actually wanted Aesanaeria to succeed, in order to have an excuse to avoid being drawn into the wider war. In addition, few Harlbourgers have ever visited, much less live in, the Ikrit desert region in which the crater is found. After a mere two days of marching through the desert, followed by two days of entrenchment, most of the Harlbourg army was suffering from sunburn, dust rashes, and dehydration. Poor rationing and a badly inadequate initial supply meant that many regiments were already out of water. Use of alcohol consumption instead let to massive outbreaks of insubordination and rowdy behavior.

At this point, the Aesanaerians had a huge advantage, but strangely did not take it. Disagreements between Adras and Duba meant that the bulk of the Aesanaerian army spent the day camped several kilometers away from the Harlbourg positions, concealed by vicious sand storms.

The only fighting that took place on this day was the "Battle of the Ridge". Aesanaerian chieftain Urian took a small force of warthog mounted skirmishers to scout out what is now known as Scholar's Folly. A relative low point in the crater edge, previous battles had indicated that only light skirmishers could climb the ridge, therefore it was guarded by two companies from an understrength regiment from the university town of Fox Bridge. The 3rd Fox Regiment consisted mostly of university students more interested in drinking and taking advantage of the mixed nature of their regiment, then actually guarding their section of the line. Their young colonel had in fact secured this post for his regiment specifically based on his belief that no one would bother assaulting it, and as a result, his soldiers had neither dug earthworks, nor were manning their cannons at the time of the attack. Unfortunately for them, erosion had created several natural ramps by which the agile warthogs could easily scale the ridge. Seizing the moment, Urian's outriders overran the 3rd Fox Regiment's encampment. Many of the Harlbourg soldiers either foolishly tried to outrun the warthogs on foot, or were too drunk to even realize they were under attack. Urian took dozens of prisoners and captured lots of valuable equipment intact.

Night 1 - Onslaught

Envy of Urian's success spread like wildfire among the Aesanaerian army, and despite continued disagreements on strategy, Duba, Adras, and the other Brass Kings simply had no choice but to allow their chieftains to launch a general rush attack on the Harlbourg line. Luckily for them, this ended up resulting in a surprise attack. Due to a dysfunctional chain of command, the senior commanders of the Harlbourg army remained unaware of the loss of Fox Regiment, nor just how close the Aesanaerians were to their lines, and no special preparations were made to prepare for an attack that night. Several front line units were unaware that Aesanaerians were in the area at all, and widespread drunkenness occurred as further units ran out of water and switched to booze.

While the more mercenary minded tribes snuck over the ridges to the east and west, Duba brought the core of Aesanaerian army against the most heavily fortified positions at Ternarin Pass. Following one of the oldest tricks in the book, many Aesanaerian soldiers carried two torches, creating an illusion of a massive army. Coupled with the devastating sound magic of the Brass Knights, the unnatural moans of summoned demons, and the thunderous rubble of the advancing war rhinos, the inexperienced Harlbourg army panicked, and the crews of many cannons and iron beasts fled their positions without firing a single shot. The Harlbourg positions crumpled and it was only their superior numbers and the Aesanaerian love of claiming prisoners that kept it from being completely overrun.

Chaotic nighttime fighting continued for several hours as the more experienced Harlbourg regiments managed to organize themselves, however, it wasn't until "Rick's Blast" that the fighting finally died down. Earlier that night, combat engineering captain Rick Dwemerson had stockpiled large amounts of gunpowder beneath an unstable rock formation above the narrowest point of the pass on his own initiative. When it seemed that the Harlbourg army was on the verge of collapse, he detonated his stash, causing a landslide that blocked the pass, but also buried hundreds of men on both sides, and trapped thousands more of his own soldiers on the wrong side. Still, the blast undoubtedly saved the day, as spooked by the sheer size of the blast, many Aesanaerian units broke in confusion, while many others had already abandoned their assault to capture prisoners and loot equipment.

Day 2 - Disunity

The following morning saw both sides scrambling to bring their forces under control.

At the Harlbourg camp, Henry Brockdale tries his best to restore order and reestablish a working chain of command, however his daughter Jessica and Vanessa Beaverlake oppose many of his solutions out of spite without offering their own suggestions. Jans Nyan (who commanded the reserve units and didn't participate in the battle) arrived, but didn't seem inclined to take one side or another. As a result, several sensible suggestions he had gathered from desert dwelling mercenaries were ignored.

Meanwhile, at the Aesanaerian camp, Adras Adranstos declares his intention to return to his city with his core forces. A failed attempt by underground dwelling fey creatures known as Bulbmin to rob his treasury had greatly upset him, and he departed early in the morning, cursing the high price of drow exterminators. Adras Adranstos's departure actually benefitted the Aesanaerians greatly. Although a capable commander on his own, his tendency to butt heads with Duba had all but paralyzed the Asanerian command structure.

With Adras gone, Duba discusses several plans to clear the Ternarin Pass of both landslide debris and Harlbourg forces with the lesser Brass Kings and chieftains. Although he likely could have brought most of his forces around the Pass via other weak points along the crater, he probably didn't want to leave behind his war rhinos or elephant baggage train, which only realistically could be brought through the pass. He also likely didn't want to leave such a large force at his back.

Eventually Duba settles on a plan to construct a powerful device known as a Brass Strider. Rarely encountered outside of Aesanaeria, these powerful constructs can demolish even the strongest fortifications and scatter the largest armies. Luckily they take a long time to assemble, and powerful magic to operate even for a short time, so are mostly used for protracted sieges.

Although no major clash occurs on this day, dozens of minor skirmishes occur as wart hog mounted skirmishers engaged the disorganized Harlbourg units guarding the smaller paths out of Namath Crater. Of note, a minor skirmish between amateur adventurers from Hoogivs and a small force of wart hog outriders is claimed by some to be the greatest Hoogivs military victory in centuries. This group contained half-drow Myra Smallwood and goblin Ack "Dickstabber" Yack, both of whom would be lauded as great heroes two days later. On a darker note, an entire Harlbourg regiment disappears trying to retreat through the desiccated forests of the Thorn Patch, confirming that some evil still lurks there even centuries after the defeat of Lord Sssylth.

Night 2 - Shuffling the Deck

Very little of note occurs on the second night.
Henry still struggles to bring the Harlbourg army under his command. He demotes and promotes a number of officers, and rallies most of the Harlbourg army, but seems at a loss of what to do next, and instead waits for reinforcements, including the air support that was supposed to accompany the original force.

Likewise, Duba splits his time rallying his forces and channeling magic to activate the Brass Walker. Large chunks of his army had broken off to escort prisoners back to their home territories, leading him to call off his remaining skirmishers, though some ignored these orders to keep raiding and looting, particularly the orc mercenaries who were beginning to doubt Duba had enough men remaining to reach the Harlbourg heartlands.

Day 3 - Revelations

Having anticipated another night attack, Henry is very relieved when one doesn't occur, but also deeply suspicious. Luckily some aerial units had arrived by this point, and giant eagle mounted scouts were able to spy on the Aesanarian army, including the under construction Brass Strider.

This induced great panic back at the Harlbourg camp. If the stories were true, the large but disorganized Harlbourg force would be no match for the Aesanaerians once the Brass Strider was operational. A desperate plan was thrown together where the elite of the Harlbourg army would navigate its way through the rubble blocking the Pass that night, and lure the Aesanaerians into the southern end of the Pass, where a trio of recently arrived zeppelins could hit them with fire bombs.

Meanwhile, Duba marshalled his army into three groups. The largest group would punch through Ternarin Pass along with the Brass Strider, while two smaller groups would bypass the Pass and loop around to attack the Harlbourg army from behind and pin them in place so that Duba's main force could carry out a massacre. Apparently they knew Harlbourg land reinforcements weren't expected for days and weren't worried about being pinned.

Night 3 - The Bonfire

Following a rousing rendition of the Harlbourg national anthem, about 2,000 of the best Harlbourg soldiers prepared to navigate their way through the Pass, including veterans of border skirmishes with Alkor, giants and ogres recruited from nearby desert settlements, and a group of Vanille Knights led by Vanessa herself.

Unfortunately, the attack quickly became a disaster. The Brass Walker was already partially active and used its fire breath to incinerate swathes of Harlbourg soldiers, as well as ignite all three zeppelins and the fire bombs they were carrying. Burning debris rained down all over the battlefield, and surviving soldiers compared it to fighting in an inferno. One of the burning zeppelins crash landed in the landslide debris field, cutting off the ability of the Harlbourg elite force to fall back. Even worse, the Brass Strider also emitted creeping tendrils of Dark Aether which could burn, corrupt, or suffocate at will.

Almost no one who was part of the attacking Harlbourg force survived the night. Vanessa Beaverlake was among the missing, much to the fury of Jessica Brockdale, who saw her as a mentor and perhaps more.

Day 4 - The Pact

The next day, the bulk of the Harlbourg army, still entrenched at the upper end of the Ternarin Pass, prepared to retreat. Many regiments had already fled the night before fearing the Brass Strider would attack their camp, but fortunately its mighty sonic cannons still weren't active, nor was it fully mobile. News of the Brass Strider caused the land armies sent to reinforce the Pass to stand down, fighting it in a pitched battle was seen as wasteful of men, much better to attack once the Brass Strider had been deactivated. According to the stories, even the most powerful Aesanaerian mages couldn't keep one active for more than a day or two, not long enough to reach and communities of significance.

Unfortunately, the Aesanaerian flanking forces had already wiped out several fleeing units, and were now harassing the main Harlbourg force. The prospect of marching two days with almost no supplies, harried by mobile skirmishers fighting in their home terrain, was not one that anyone relished, with a few defeatists even recommending surrender.

Jessica Brockdale meanwhile had only one thing on her mind. Vengeance. Contrary to the beliefs of senior arcanists in the Harlbourg army, Jessica believed that killing Duba would be sufficient to disrupt the magic animating the Brass Strider. Never mind the fact that Duba rarely left the heart of the Aesanaerian army, nor the fact that he was reputedly an extremely powerful mage in his reincarnated form.

Henry of course forbid any large scale, or even small scale operation against Duba, seeing it as a lost cause. Instead Jessica offered significant wealth to anyone who would accompany her on the assassination mission.

In the end, only four people volunteered:

Magnolia Keeling: A Napanese-Belkan monster hunter of some repute, Magnolia had arrived in the area the day before for a bounty in the Thorn Patch.

Myra Smallwood: An apprentice mage from Hoogivs of Ercaenmedian and Drow descent, Myra was a member of a small band of Hoogivs adventurers who had seen minor combat in the campaign so far. It is unlikely she would have joined the mission had she understood the risks involved.

Ack "Dickstabber" Yack: A goblin adventurer from Hoogivs, and a friend of Myra.

Jans Nyan: Technically co-commander of the Harlbourg force with Henry now that Vanessa was missing, Jans had been MIA for several key periods of the campaign, and had de facto resigned his command by this point. His motives for joining the group are a mystery, and some believe it wasn't Jans, but someone else (capable of disguising themselves as a giant siamese cat) who joined the group.

These five would later be known as "The Pact" for the oaths they swore to slay Duba at all costs.

Night 4 - Plans within Plans

During the first hours of the fourth night little little fighting happened. The Harlbourg army continued to make preparations to retreat, and the Aesanaerian army prepared for when the Brass Strider was ready to use its sonic cannons against the debris field blocking the Ternarin Pass. The flanking Aesanaerian armies held their ground for the most part, as their role was to contain rather than attack.

Drawing on Magnolia Keeling's vast experience with unusual escapades, the members of "The Pact" came up with the unusual plan of infiltrating Duba's private harem tent. Jessica and Magnolia posed as Aesanaerian soldiers bringing an exotic new prisoner, Myra, to add to Duba's private collection (Myra was reportedly not trilled with this portion of the plan). Ack and Jans would infiltrate the tent from the side servant's flap, with Ack as a food delivery slave, and Jans apparently possessing the ability to make himself invisible. Magnolia would then activate the Sch'long-Hoof Summoning Brick she had recently acquired and use it to kill Duba and flee from the center of the camp.

Unfortunately, the plan doesn't quite work out as intended. The Sch'long-Hoof Summoning Brick was actually a fake that a rival of Magnolia's by the name of Victoria Swann had made considerable efforts to arrange to fall into her possession. Upon activating the brick, Magnolia was transformed into stone. Duba swiftly defeated Myra and Jessica, but was then set upon by the individual believed to be Jans, as well as Ack. Reportedly Jans transformed into a multi-eyed white cat, and had a titanic magical clash with Duba that ended with Ack stabbing Duba repeatedly in the groin before Jans disintegrated his head with a blast of magic.

Jans then grew wings and talons and flew out of the tent with Ack, Myra, Jessica, and statue Magnolia in his grasp.

Aftermath:

With Duba dead, the Aesanaerian army lost its sense of purpose. Without his considerable magic, the Brass Strider was never fully activated, instead it was allowed to fizzle out a day later. The more devote followers of the Brass Lord took this as a sign that their god no longer favored this venture and returned to their home cities. The mercenaries and tribes that followed other gods continued raiding for several days, but picking were slim now that the Harlbourg army was properly marshalled, and their own numbers heavily reduced.

The leaders of Harlbourg declared the battle a great victory, but cynics, Henry Brockdale included, were quick to point out that the Harlbourg army had under performed against a smaller force, and had only won thanks to a highly unlikely series of events. Furthermore, the Aesanaerian army had not suffered significant losses, nor did they represent the full strength that Aesanaeria could muster. Many considered the battle to be inconclusive at best.

Epilogue:

Henry and Jessica Brockdale continued to serve alongside each other in the Harlbourg army despite never agreeing on anything. Both were highly decorated for their actions.

Jans denied any involvement in defeating Duba, claiming he resigned his commission two days earlier to return to his hometown to run for reelection.

Myra and Ack were paid handsomely for their (minor) role in Duba's death, and retired to Hoogivs swearing to never adventure again (but they did).

Statue Magnolia was honored with being installed in the middle of a nearby desert town where she was declared a savior. Unfortunately the statue was stolen by university students and placed in a brothel instead, where she remained for two weeks before being transformed back into a person by a wandering hag. She tracked down Jessica for her reward money before departing for new adventures.

Adras Adrastos was bribed with two hundred solid gold nipple rings and associated chains to never attack Harlbourg again.

Rumor has it that Duba has yet again been reincarnated and is currently plotting his revenge.