8) The Barren Hills
- Right-Middle of the Map
- Used to be called the 'Green Hills' as they weren't always blasted
- Legend tells that Morrslieb (the moon) spotted the once oasis and hated it (cause aparantly the moon is evil) and horked down on it. Whatever it horked was like radiation and covered the area affecting every living thing. Caused green mists which caused mutations etc. (obviously it was Warpstone)
- A crusade was launched and everything was purged, but it must still be watched because of 'the things that come in the night.'
Map-Refferenced Points - 1 Village (Egondorf), 1 Inn (The Bitter Moon), 1 Watchtower (The Tower of Vigilance), 1 Ruined Fort (Unknown), 1 Stone Circle (Marchen's Henge), 1 Orc Camp (Unknown).
UK Chain of command:
Commander: Veldemere
Sub-Commander: Tostig
Sub-Commander: Clausewitz
Orders for Week 3:Egondorf troops it is time to start building roads to connect Egondorf to the Bitter Moon and the Tower of Vigilance, all troops fighting in these locations should make note that we are not just cutting roads through the woods but also clearing both sides of the road to a depth of half a bowshot. This is to reduce the ambushes on our troops, we would have clear shots at any opponent before they reach us. The citizens of Egondorf have already agreed to provide able bodies to cut the trees if we provide troops to defend them.
I am still unsure as to the validity of the GDAs plans round Tor Thana and noted with interest that despite so many races apparently fighting there it did not get a mention that I saw. In fact I was horrified when I read that the Druchii killed or caught an entire generation of the citizens of Egondorf! How did they manage this, they finished 13th in the region and got this fluff! I would suggest it was better to report that the Dark Elves got into Egondorf and got wiped out by a vastly superior Empire force. It is for this reason I say we forget Tor Thana and any invented magic items and concentrate on what we need to do.
Clausewitz if you can take your battalion and your new charge is to find any information on the Crown, as a sub-order send pigeons back to Egondorf with any information you find on enemy movement (I know you have only recently recieved your last bilet but at the moment I think it is a dead horse).
To this end if people can mention in their battle reports that they found the enemy based on information provided by Carl von Clausewitz, hopefully GW will note this and accept that we are not just sitting around defending ourselves we are active!
Any fights you have against Druchii make it clear we are recapturing our captured Empire citizens, if we all put this they will have to take note and we can go some way to righting this slight.
Including:
- 1) The Bitter Moon (an Inn)
The Bitter Moon stands in the centre of a wide area of cleared forest, for all manner of blasphemous creatures are known to haunt the lands hereabouts. Yet, with each year the undergrowth seeks to reclaim the land, and it is only the efforts of the Bitter Moon's landlord (who hires labourers to fell the ever-encroaching woods) that darkness is kept back. The landlord knows that should he ever run out of funds to pay for the annual clearing, the Bitter Moon would be swallowed by the forests, and the creatures would get him. Some say he is a bit obsessive in this matter, but those who have seen the glowering eyes shining beneath the boughs know otherwise. - 2) Egondorf (a small village)
Egondorf sits closer to the Barren Hills than its inhabitants would wish, and as such it comes under frequent attack by twisted and malformed things from the hills. Fortunately for Egondorf, it is home to the Witchhunter Walter von Khan, a man in equal parts celebrated and feared throughout the region. Von Khan in a veteran of his calling, having served for decades in Altdorf, he has returned to his home village in the hour of its greatest need to defeat once and for all those who would prey upon it. - 3) Marchen's Henge (a stone circle)
Marchen's Henge was a large circle of standing stones, though it has long since fallen into ruin, many stones lying toppled or smashed. Though legend states the people of Sigmar erected the henge, it appears to be an object of particular loathing from various other quarters. Each year, the stones are desecrated more with crude, blasphemous runes daubed across their every surface by unknown followers of Ruinous Powers. The local militias have on many occasions sought to catch the perpetrators in the act of desecration so that they confront the followers and once and for all end their evil deeds. - 4) The Giant's Tump
Before tragedy befell the Green Hills, this feature now known as the "Giant's Tump" was a heavily wooded, flat topped hill. Once stripped of the verdant woodland by Morrsleib's spite, it was revealed that the hill had once stood tall and proud, but had, in some fashion, lost its peak, the remains of which were scattered all about. Academics from Altdorf and Nuln have theorised that the hill must have been the site of a battle between two huge adversaries, and so the legend has grown in telling. It is now said that the peak of the hill was shorn off in a single swipe of a giant's club, and that at any time, the titanic adversaries might return to conclude their duel, and, in all likelihood, flatten the entire range in the process. - 5) The Ruins of Tor Thana
Though never ratified by the Imperial College of Cartographers, a great number of maps of the Great Forest make reference to the site of a ruined Elven city in the western spur of the Barren Hills. Ever since the Green Hills became the Barrel hills, however, very few have visited the site, for the foul beasts that plague the entire range make travel there hazardous in the extreme. A great number of myths and legends surround the ruins, for the valley they occupy was once the green heart of the forested hills. Once such legend suggest that life still lingers within the ruins, and the fey powers of the Elven folk might one day repair the hills of Morrsleib's spite. - 6) The Tower of Vigilance (an Empire Watchtower)
The Tower of Viligance has stood for many centuries, maintained painstakingly by its inhabitants and constant fortified from any possible assault. It is so well protected in fact that it was one of the structures to survive Morrslieb's spite when it rained down upon the region. It's occupants are an obscure order of Sigmarite monks who keep watch over the locale. Though they maintain little contact with any outsiders, it is said that the monks await the return of Sigmar, when they will go out into the land and aid him in the expelling of the servants of evil once and for all. - 7) An un-named Orc camp
Orcs are not prolific in the forest, but some tribes make their home here. These bands of brutes wonder from place to place, camping and warring before moving on. - 8) An un-named abandoned fort
Peace as well as war can take their toll on fortifications, and many forts find themselves on old unused roads, or watching for a passed threat. These are abandoned and left for the trees.
Ontop of this there are also a few unnamed rivers, lots of forest, a few hills and plains.
This'll be a hotly contested region, and in my opinion we ought to limit ourselves to a few places. It seems to me that our prioties should be capturing and holding the western half -
The Tower of Vigilance (6),
Egondorf (2) and
The Bitter Moon (1). Take, fortify, defend.
The
Orc's plan appears to be to send night goblins against the Bitter Moon, but spend most of their Orcish forces laying siege to Egondorf, if not actually bothering to capture it. Our plans should therefore revolve around defending these points rather than scrambling off to hunt for the crown, and once we have drawn the destructive force of the greenskins into a siege against our cannon, we can send re-enforcements from the Tower. The Dwarfs might help us with the Inn, but it's unlikely. the Orcs intend to go around destroying the forests and desecrating holy places like Marchen's, which should incur the wrath of the Wood Elves. It's also worth noting that the Orcs intend to take control of the river. Can any Stirlanders resist them? They also have re-enforcements from the
Chaos Dwarfs, and mentioning them could help Warhammer's most beleaguered of sides!
The
Dwarfs, and their
Ogre allies, seem to be intent on founding a new Karak on the Giant's Tump. Since there isn't a consensus that we should be fighting the Dwarfs, whether or not to challenge them is the choice of individual generals.
The
Skaven seem intent on launching a clandestine campaign
helping the Empire. Their plan is to help Karl Franz reclaim the crown, and then to have it turn him insane. Whether or not you agree with this, all out warfare with the rat men might not be in our best interests. In particular they suggest mentioning;- Rumours of Skaven striking a deal to forge a false Crown, mysterious assassinations of empire religious leaders and witch-hunters on the move to hunt down reports of humans striking deals with skaven.
The
High and
Dark Elves are active. Things you might notice include;- disturbances in the Winds of Magic, bright lights, a rebellion and conflict between Druchii (Dark Elves) and Asur (High Elves), a dragon overhead, Elven ship sightings - "one ship, of the Stirland river patrol was attacked and sunk. No survivors, but one huntsman was in the nearby forest, and reported back to the army.", a fallen Hunter of Sigmar named "Wholfgang", and high Elves intent on taking Tor Thana.
In conclusion then:
Hold the western side of the map, with the Tower of Vigilance, the Bitter Moon and Egondorf. Only when we have these secure should we think about pushing out from our base. Turtle it!