by Lord Hagen’s Expedition
“Men of the King, men of Myrthana, men of light! Paladins of the King, heed my call! Esmeralda may have been taken from us, the island may be surrounded, we may be few, but none of these matter. I rallied you to fight not for Ore, not for glory, not for land. I called you because we MUST save our brothers! In the name of Innos, we have to go into the Valley of Mines and save our brothers from the vile army of the Orcs!”
-Lord Hagen’s speech to his men prior to the launch of the expedition
Lord Hagen’s expedition is a conflict within the Second Orc War between the Orcish Kin and the people of Myrthana. Battles raged throughout the Valley of Mines for several days. As a result, the paladin forces were heavily damaged and forced to flee, but not without leaving rampage in their way. Many consider this expedition the key point that allowed Khorinis to remain largely free for a period far longer than the Mainland.
Prior to the conflict
After the Chosen One brought proof that an army is being gathered into the Valley and that Commander Garond is trapped, Lord Hagen decided to launch an offensive, in hope that he may be able to save something of the expedition. Esmeralda’s departure forced him to order the building of a new ship, but the bringing defeat to the Orcs was just as important.
Departure
Every Paladin and Knight within Khorinis left for the incoming assault. The high command knew that their chances of victory are small, and therefore they decided to take careful planning and to strike fast in order to cripple the hordes of the enemy.
Destruction of the Scout Patrols
The first obvious step into the campaign was eliminating any and all Orcs that stood between the Pass and the City.
The Orc patrols throughout the island noticed Royal movement and reported to their officers, but they decided to answer by preparing a large ambush. All the Warlords expected the movement to be headed towards certain locations in the forest the humans might have considered to be Orcish hideouts. Lord Hagen’s commanders understood this and ordered a bait force to take the forest path in order to tempt Orc Scouts. The main force stood guard at the cover of the trees of the same forest. When the ambushers attempted to strike, they found themselves caught in a gruesome trap and most of them were slain.
The Royal High Command trusted this to be the only victory needed to leave the City secure before the offensive itself could start.
Taking the Pass
The lightning attack upon the Orcs left those into the Pass without any expectation. The tactic for taking the pass was simple: cross at the cover of night and employ magic as much as possible during combat. The Paladins proved to have had a good tactic: half the road to the Valley was crossed without any retaliation. However, this did not last long as lights of the spells were seen by scouts hanging at the Exchange Place. They jumped into the water underneath them and alerted the Orc forces.
This bold movement was taken too late, however, as the Royal troops already secured the entire Pass and were now holding the Exchange Place and the road down to the Valley. A brief counterattack was undertaken, but the path only permitted no more than two Orcs to go towards the enemy force at a time, and thus the ranged capacity of the Paladins proved too much.
Skirmishes
The next several days passed with skirmishes. Lord Hagen ordered his men to harass their enemy with any occasion. The goal was to provoke panic in the enemy ranks, forcing a second counterattack. Now that Commander Garond’s men knew aid is coming, they would know they must use the chance to push out and flee. The Orcish Warlords proved intelligent, however, and only briefly answered. Finally, in the 4th day, the Paladins decided they must launch a full scale offensive.
“The Bloody Morning”
The Orcs were very careful during the night due to the assault on the Pass. During midday, however, the launch of an assault was all but too obvious. During mornings, however, the Orcs seemed to lower the guard as they switched to a more relaxed standout for around 2 hours, with the goal to have their troops rested. At the suggestion of his advisors, Lord Hagen decided that was the time to attack.
In the 4th morning, the Paladins went down into the Valley, immediately forcing any roaming Orc down to the tents. Panic dominated the enemy warriors. The Royal Forces took advantage and launched a massive carnage. However, the Orcs were able to recover and began to strike. Many of their forces focused on an attempt to surround Hagen’s men.
Garond saw the opportunity and immediately lead his Knights to the battle, thinking that leaving the Men-at-Arms behind to assure ranged support would earn a better victory.. Soon, the the joint forces formed a common front and seemed to slowly push their enemy away. Casualties were lighter than expected and the enemy seemed to be close to defeat. However, the worst fear of the relieved came true.
The Palisade Breaks
Just when the battle seemed to be won, the Orcs collapsed most of their palisade and vast amounts of reinforcements stepped out. The arrival of the reserve was a demoralizing factor: some Men-at-Arms retreated. However, Lord Hagen ordered a regrouping. The new priority of the Paladins was to save the men trapped inside the Old Castle. The Orcs at the tents routed to rally to their reinforcements. The Royal forces made their way to the gate of the Old Castle.
As the trapped men opened the gate, the Orcs outflanked the Paladins who still weren’t on a good formation to defend the gate. Therefore, several Orc Elites managed to get into the castle, doing vast rampage in among the humans. At this point, Ur-Shak arrived and did something amazing: he brought a message from King Kan of the Orcs. It seemed that Myrthana was defeated and that humans would be given their lives if they chose to surrender. None of the Paladins even considered, but the starving and panicked Men-at-Arms were ready to believe anything. They started to attempt cutting through Knights and Paladins. Both Hagen and Garond saw that it was useless to attempt saving those within the fortress and ordered a tactical retreat. On their way to flee, many more men died.
Once the Pass was reached, the Royal force took a hold. In the small quarters of the new battleground, many Orcs died and it proved useless for them to continue. Every Orc retreated back to the Valley. However, nor could Lord Hagen attempt another assault. Most of his men did die out due to Orc reinforcements.
Credits : Alexander (Dommel)
“Men of the King, men of Myrthana, men of light! Paladins of the King, heed my call! Esmeralda may have been taken from us, the island may be surrounded, we may be few, but none of these matter. I rallied you to fight not for Ore, not for glory, not for land. I called you because we MUST save our brothers! In the name of Innos, we have to go into the Valley of Mines and save our brothers from the vile army of the Orcs!”
-Lord Hagen’s speech to his men prior to the launch of the expedition
Lord Hagen’s expedition is a conflict within the Second Orc War between the Orcish Kin and the people of Myrthana. Battles raged throughout the Valley of Mines for several days. As a result, the paladin forces were heavily damaged and forced to flee, but not without leaving rampage in their way. Many consider this expedition the key point that allowed Khorinis to remain largely free for a period far longer than the Mainland.
Prior to the conflict
After the Chosen One brought proof that an army is being gathered into the Valley and that Commander Garond is trapped, Lord Hagen decided to launch an offensive, in hope that he may be able to save something of the expedition. Esmeralda’s departure forced him to order the building of a new ship, but the bringing defeat to the Orcs was just as important.
Departure
Every Paladin and Knight within Khorinis left for the incoming assault. The high command knew that their chances of victory are small, and therefore they decided to take careful planning and to strike fast in order to cripple the hordes of the enemy.
Destruction of the Scout Patrols
The first obvious step into the campaign was eliminating any and all Orcs that stood between the Pass and the City.
The Orc patrols throughout the island noticed Royal movement and reported to their officers, but they decided to answer by preparing a large ambush. All the Warlords expected the movement to be headed towards certain locations in the forest the humans might have considered to be Orcish hideouts. Lord Hagen’s commanders understood this and ordered a bait force to take the forest path in order to tempt Orc Scouts. The main force stood guard at the cover of the trees of the same forest. When the ambushers attempted to strike, they found themselves caught in a gruesome trap and most of them were slain.
The Royal High Command trusted this to be the only victory needed to leave the City secure before the offensive itself could start.
Taking the Pass
The lightning attack upon the Orcs left those into the Pass without any expectation. The tactic for taking the pass was simple: cross at the cover of night and employ magic as much as possible during combat. The Paladins proved to have had a good tactic: half the road to the Valley was crossed without any retaliation. However, this did not last long as lights of the spells were seen by scouts hanging at the Exchange Place. They jumped into the water underneath them and alerted the Orc forces.
This bold movement was taken too late, however, as the Royal troops already secured the entire Pass and were now holding the Exchange Place and the road down to the Valley. A brief counterattack was undertaken, but the path only permitted no more than two Orcs to go towards the enemy force at a time, and thus the ranged capacity of the Paladins proved too much.
Skirmishes
The next several days passed with skirmishes. Lord Hagen ordered his men to harass their enemy with any occasion. The goal was to provoke panic in the enemy ranks, forcing a second counterattack. Now that Commander Garond’s men knew aid is coming, they would know they must use the chance to push out and flee. The Orcish Warlords proved intelligent, however, and only briefly answered. Finally, in the 4th day, the Paladins decided they must launch a full scale offensive.
“The Bloody Morning”
The Orcs were very careful during the night due to the assault on the Pass. During midday, however, the launch of an assault was all but too obvious. During mornings, however, the Orcs seemed to lower the guard as they switched to a more relaxed standout for around 2 hours, with the goal to have their troops rested. At the suggestion of his advisors, Lord Hagen decided that was the time to attack.
In the 4th morning, the Paladins went down into the Valley, immediately forcing any roaming Orc down to the tents. Panic dominated the enemy warriors. The Royal Forces took advantage and launched a massive carnage. However, the Orcs were able to recover and began to strike. Many of their forces focused on an attempt to surround Hagen’s men.
Garond saw the opportunity and immediately lead his Knights to the battle, thinking that leaving the Men-at-Arms behind to assure ranged support would earn a better victory.. Soon, the the joint forces formed a common front and seemed to slowly push their enemy away. Casualties were lighter than expected and the enemy seemed to be close to defeat. However, the worst fear of the relieved came true.
The Palisade Breaks
Just when the battle seemed to be won, the Orcs collapsed most of their palisade and vast amounts of reinforcements stepped out. The arrival of the reserve was a demoralizing factor: some Men-at-Arms retreated. However, Lord Hagen ordered a regrouping. The new priority of the Paladins was to save the men trapped inside the Old Castle. The Orcs at the tents routed to rally to their reinforcements. The Royal forces made their way to the gate of the Old Castle.
As the trapped men opened the gate, the Orcs outflanked the Paladins who still weren’t on a good formation to defend the gate. Therefore, several Orc Elites managed to get into the castle, doing vast rampage in among the humans. At this point, Ur-Shak arrived and did something amazing: he brought a message from King Kan of the Orcs. It seemed that Myrthana was defeated and that humans would be given their lives if they chose to surrender. None of the Paladins even considered, but the starving and panicked Men-at-Arms were ready to believe anything. They started to attempt cutting through Knights and Paladins. Both Hagen and Garond saw that it was useless to attempt saving those within the fortress and ordered a tactical retreat. On their way to flee, many more men died.
Once the Pass was reached, the Royal force took a hold. In the small quarters of the new battleground, many Orcs died and it proved useless for them to continue. Every Orc retreated back to the Valley. However, nor could Lord Hagen attempt another assault. Most of his men did die out due to Orc reinforcements.
Credits : Alexander (Dommel)
