We’re down a player with Agrahvar having dropped out, but now I’ve got a new prospective with moderate engagement, who wanted to play an outsider to the region and be a little smaller in scope. I pitched the idea of a Dragonlord of the Far East, fleeing rivals at home to sow discord here and try to maneuver some Chaotic faction into power to invade Telemnia to the north, and while we’re still pinning down the details it sounds like that’s what it’ll be. Expect to see him sail into Agrahvar around the Ninth Week or so.
The Annals of War
The Caliph of Thar dispatches his new cavalry contingent (his Seventh Army) against the Temahn under the command of General Valrex, high commander of the hobgoblin armies of Agrahvar, to test his performance and his loyalty. He brought six battalions of elite Agrahvan hobgoblin cavalry with his defection, and was further granted three battalions of uruk boar riders from Thar, and with them he rode west and masterfully repulsed the nomads. His own losses were light, but he destroyed a tithe of their force and took twice as many again captive; this was in part due to the Caliph’s own subtle manipulations, as he had persuaded one of the high aghas (tribal chieftains in service to the Kagan, this one a noted rival to that supreme lord of the savannah) in advance to withdraw early from the battle after suffering only light arrow fire, hopefully to precipitate a rout and shame the Kagan. That ploy played out very nicely, and the Kagan does not even appear to suspect it, but it is an unforeseen consequence that the treacherous agah’s own brother was among those captured and the plot is thickening.
The Sixth Army of Thar meanwhile remains encamped about that city, its siegeworks complete but seemingly no closer to driving out the lizardmen within. From discussion with other patrons, he seems confident the Oracle’s armies are near, but his scouts cannot find them, and his wounds from the treacherous Sultan of Agrahvar keep him from invoking his own dark magics to discover their whereabouts. This makes him all the more desperate to reclaim his capital swiftly, not to mention payroll coming due in another week’s time.
Thrassia remains besieged within the falls, devouring prisoners to feed themselves as a portion of their army is detached to pillage the city. Even at their slow rate of progress, the city’s grandeur yields much plunder. Scouts have been detached to explore the sewers, sub-city caverns, and dungeon vaults of the Caliph, to see if there might be a path of escape thereby, but with no luck thus far. The winged thrassians do get an excellent look at their besiegers, and confirm that it seems that neither can Thrassia fight free, nor can Thar retake its capital.
The Temahn got a very good look at the Seventh Army of Thar as it assaulted and drove them back as mentioned above, and at the city of Thar before that, but while their retreat was noted by Thari scouts, what was missed was that they actually retreated to screen and join the Oracle’s Crusade. The Kagan has been in negotiations with the Oracle for some time now and seems to be seriously considering conversion to the cause of Law, a momentous event if true. The Oracle has pushed him to begin that process, to demonstrate the worthiness of a potential assault to free his kin.
The First Fleet of Pirates suffers deserters in the night, as its veteran heavy infantry contingent gets tired of watching Kirkuk with no plunder and leaves with their vessels to conduct proper piracy elsewhere. It is reinforced by most of the garrison of Keelhaul Cove, which sailed east to join them and was favored by swift winds.
The vassals of Najran are marched about, but express their discontent, as does the Sultan himself who feels that the Pirate King’s promises to free him from Thari tyranny are being ignored. The Sultanic Fleet of Agrahvar appears near the city of Najran, and sends emissaries warning of the chaos in Agrahvar and seeking employment there; no response has yet been given.
The Pirate King himself infiltrates the garrison at Kirkuk to sow chaos and perhaps seize it, or perhaps assassinate the Caliph’s henchmen overseeing it. His sister in Ali-Aram investigates his agent’s disappearance there, and in the course of that finds herself scried upon by the Grand Vizier of Ali-Aram, confirming her suspicions.
Last, but of dire import, their continuous line of contact with the force left to garrison the secret pirate base at Keelhaul Cove has gone silent. But there is little mystery, for the criers of Ali-Aram spread this message from the High Priestess across all realms:
Ali-Ara, The Tempestuous Muse and Queen of the Seas, has turned her wrath on the wicked this day. The so-called “pirate-king” has faced a mortal blow to his motley domain. Like all foul creatures of the night he relied upon secrecy, and this proved his undoing as even his inner circle betrayed him. The location of his little mousehole, where he gathered filthy lucre and the chained righteous, has been delivered. His sparsely defended fortress is now protected by thousands of faithful spears, his captured Alian slaves now walk free and turn their lashes upon their former Masters, his seized gold is soon to adorn Ali-Ara’s Temple. The families of the pirates on the island throw themselves at my feet and beg clemency for the actions of their sons, fathers, and brothers still at sea. The gangs and fleets that he has bribed, threatened, and bewitched even now seek opportunities to slip away before another massacre befalls them.
My heart, full of mercy and magnanimity, grows harder with every day that passes. Any Captain who has ever spoken his name on MY island is being scried upon by scholars at my university, and my squadrons of ships are are sailing to see you hanged and your men enslaved along with any family members found on my island. Daniya’s mines always need more hands to plumb the darkness. Cast yourself on Ali-Ara's mercy, paint her mark on your sails and forehead and sail alone towards the harbor of Ali-Aram and throw yourself on the mercy of the Tempestuous Muse before it is too late. The wicked may repent as long as they yet breathe, but that time grows yet shorter.
Which brings us nicely to Ali-Aram, and the High Priestess’ highly successful seizure of the secret pirate base, which incidentally occurred just after most of the remaining garrison there sailed off east to threaten Kirkuk. The fighting was fierce nonetheless to take the town and fort, but quite rewarding, the isle being a site of many slaves and the families of many pirates. Her faithful henchman Rashid Nazar is elevated to the title of Emir and granted vassal authority over the isle, and the Alian slaves are freed, while the remaining slaves are distributed as spoils of war to keep the troops happy. That said, they have no leads at present on where the pirate fleets may be . . .
The Maestra Nadia spends her days scrying the various nobles of Najran, thanks to the targeting details provided by the good Captain Ibrahm, who is now repeating his investigations in Agrahvar and finding the city in chaos after the Sultan’s death at the hands of the Caliph. Rumors fly as to what quarrel came between them, and who was to blame.
A ploy to interrogate the captured pirate via bewitchment fails, but torture has mixed results; they buy the lie that he’s merely a Najrani notable present in Ali-Aram to instigate terrorism, but do force out descriptions of his companions in the city, who were then scried by the Vizier, to find additionally among them a witch of great power who scried him in turn. There was also some social trouble as the Vizier expressed his dislike of being sidelined by the Commander of the Ever-Bright Eyes as an advisor, but the High Priestess took steps to assuage that (mostly this was the Prince of Thieves fishing for his mouthpiece’s suggestions to perhaps eventually be taken, rather than routinely ignored as they largely have been).
In service to the Prince of Thieves (who, at this point, I don’t think any patrons besides himself suspect exists), a spy ring has ridden north from Jechtel to attempt to scout and infiltrate the Thari army besieging Thar. The spy rings within Thar have still made no contact, but negotiations are ongoing between their confederates abroad and the God-King of Thrassia.
In Agrahvar, the reins of power have been seized by Kalobar, High Priest of the Uncreated Night. Six spy rings there are split between infiltrations and spreading rumors, attempting to enflame things there and establish a dominant narrative that the Sultan was betrayed by the Caliph of Thar, who then bewitched Valrex and has compelled him to serve unwillingly. While not what happened, it’s a very plausible narrative (and honestly, closer to what I expected to have happened than to reality). They also report on the same Alian captain who was poking around Najran early the prior week now being present to do the same in Agrahvar, of the Agrahvan navy seemingly having disappeared (a warning passed along to spread many worries among other patrons), and of food shortages becoming more prevalent as the city is divided by riots and unrest.
After interrogations of the captive pirate in Ali-Aram fail, the Vizier receives his wish, and the High Priestess authorizes him to prepare a raid to seize the suspicious fleet and its passengers, calling in favors from her allies in the city to support that endeavor. We shall wait and see how it plays out . . .
Reflections
Given that next week is when payrolls come due, and a missed payment will prompt army-wide morale rolls, the Caliph is growing increasingly desperate to retake his capital and treasury, and with it the ability to collect income from his personal domain as well. The Pirate King is more desperate yet — he has just learned that his locus of power has fallen, and very well may not even be able to maneuver his forces back to attempt to reclaim it in time.
Forced marches have come up a couple times now, but I am increasingly unpersuaded that they should matter at the scale of weekly turns. The bonus to strategic initiative is very strong, and the requirement to spend a day in rest immediately after is very minor, only a one eighth decrease in total weekly movement. I think this is mostly my fault for assuming a rule that seems pretty clearly intended for use with daily orders would also apply to weekly orders, without really thinking it through, but it seems pretty clear at this point that it shouldn’t be viable as a way to get a bonus or else it should become the standard baseline.
One question that has come up a couple times but thankfully never yet forced me to give an answer, how many vessels are assumed to be present in a port settlement of a given size, that could be impressed into service? I’m sure the morale penalty for doing so would be awful, but if times get desperate, or you plan to pillage the city anyway, I could see it being undertaken. Any thoughts from the viewing gallery?
Addendum: wargame reports from the Intro, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, and Week 7 are all available.