DM Doug - December 11- 2014

Connections - The Knights of Argus

 

The lands, cities and towns of Thesk were devastated by the onslaught of the Tuigan Horde’s advancement westward.  The people are just beginning to recuperate adequately from this event and have rebuilt much of their infrastructure. The government of this land is an oligarchy made up of the rulers of the trading cities along the Golden Way from Two-Stars to Milvarune which acts as a capital (mostly because it is so far removed from Thay). The nomadic tribes who run their flocks in the Thesk Mountains in the center of the land and the plains around the mountains also protect the cities by acting as a thorn in the side of any invading army from Thay. 

 

The KoA are met by representatives of each community individually as they progress through the land and are welcomed for the most part with cheers and adulation as they make their way east along the Golden Way. The intelligence is correct regarding increased banditry since the Tuigan invasion, especially in the easternmost areas of this land.  Different factions have been taking advantage of the situation and have been making regrowth that much more difficult in the region.

 

Gathering further information as they go, the Knights of Argus begin plotting out a campaign against banditry.  What they discover in the end is that the Tuigan presence is not as high as they had first suspected.  Most of the Tuigan survivors have gone back to their homelands, while only a small portion has remained.  This group was finally encountered north of Two Stars and they have coalesced under a new Khan (Khan Draygo) and have been operating as a decentralized roving settlement of Tuigan, their slaves and their women.  They have been preying on targets travelling the Golden Way in an opportunistic fashion.  They were met in battle and were crushed under the mounted offence of the Knights (Killed and/or dispersed).  Only 5 casualties and 2 deaths (1 from Galagus and 1 from Drake).

 

The other chaotic banditry encountered was either of the local variety (Theskan peoples turned to banditry) or imported banditry (Opportunistic people from other lands who moved into the area to take advantage of the crisis in the region).  These bandits did not put up much of a fight in all cases and were for the most part dispersed and their power bases destroyed.  No Knights were lost in any of these small conflicts.

 

The Knights of Argus found themselves briefly pulled into a fray between the mountain nomads of Thesk and a probing military contingent from Thay.  In the end 23 Knights were wounded and 5 killed (2 from Galagus, 2 from Killian, 1 from Drake) during the exchange with the Thayans (Mostly due to magic) and all of the Thayans were chased down and killed to the man by the Knights and the Nomads.

 

They had the opportunity to meet Kargan of the Henuit people and stay with him and his tribe in their makeshift village.  They are very much a tribal nomadic herding people who are of Thesk, but beside Thesk.  They do not live in the cities and do not pay the taxes of those cities, but they are historically and ethnically Theskan.  They live off what the land provides and trade with the cities and caravans travelling along the Golden Way. 

 

The campaign provided good exercise for the knights on a long campaign in a distant land.  The battles in general were not against organized opponents of any sizable armies but it was a good experience for the knights.  The general feeling is one of great success for a couple of reasons.  1: They managed to crush what could be considered a serious rash of banditry throughout the region in general;  2: They determined conclusively that the Tuigan presence in Thesk was not anywhere near as extensive as they had imagined or distant rumors had reported.  The small group that was operating in the area was completely crushed by the Knights of Argus;  And 3: The Knights and their leadership were able to refine and perfect unit movements and campaign tactics with this much more lean and maneuverable army to good effect.

 

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News from home while on the road begins to tell the tale of the harsh realities of a difficult year still becoming even more difficult whilst they have been away.  Cormyr has fallen under a terrible blight as almost their entire crop yields have failed and they are desperately trying to import as much vegetable staple as they can to increase their granaries for what looks to be a terrible winter to come.  To compound matters a dire sickness has swept through the land of King Azoun IV. Some of these symptoms can be seen in the Dales and Sembia, but Cormyr seems to be hit the worst with this.  The king is doing everything in his power to manage the situation and keep his people fed and healthy but a darkness lies beneath the brow of the peasants of Cormyr.  Help will need to come sooner rather than later.

 

Tyrsholme is weathering these events as well as it can, rationing it’s foodstuffs and extending a protecting arm to those Cormyreans within its reach.  Commands have come down from The Warden of the Eastern Marches in Arabel as far as needed disposition of soldiery and expectations of extending patrols to guard the roads and highways of the realms from banditry and any civil unrest.  The peace must be kept.  Nicholas and his priesthood of Tyr are working tirelessly to provide protection and sustenance to the people and are meeting with success in this area.

 

The Dragon Coast fairs a little better than Cormyr, as far as pestilence and blight - the free cities are on par with Sembia and the other nations on the Inner Sea.  Their crops have suffered from some blight as well as early frosts.  In the area of Elversult and the free towns along the western edge of the Lake of Dragons, they have been dealing with increasing savage banditry in the area.  The highways are not safe from the murderous bandits and each town has increased their security in their immediate spheres of influence.

 

This has not helped as much as hoped as both Illipur and Pros were attacked directly by bandit raiders.  Thankfully the forces of Elversult have been bolstered and they have extended their protection out to the surrounding towns and are now patrolling the highways and actively participating in protecting the various towns and hunting down the Bandits and destroying them.  Haven was attacked as well and defended by its internal garrison, however the town took some damage.  Patrols from Elversult arrived in time to help route the bandits and aid in the town however they could.  The captain has offered to extend a contingent of Maces to help protect Haven, this has been politely declined by Lady Erikol. 

 

As the travel weary Knights of Argus approach Telflamm for the final leg of their journey home they are approached by 2 riders from the city.  One is Torin, and he has some matters of import to speak to the Lords about and the other is a representative of Lord Haelimbrar, Lord of Imphras II, War Captain in eternal service to the Crown Queen of Impiltur.  While the former brings serious news of a personal nature to the Knights of Argus and the Swords of Power, the latter brings a grave plea for help to the High Knights of the Order of Argus.  What has started as disparate goblinoid attacks on out laying villages and towns has quickly and suddenly turned into an all-out campaign of destruction as the Hobgoblin tribes of old have returned to Impiltur, and they bring darkness and doom with them.  Will the Knights of Argus lend their swords and their knights to this cause – the salvation of Impiltur and the destruction of the great goblinoid hosts?