The Battle of Greendale

File:Hanging.png The hanging of Zorn and his loyalists

Current Campaign: The Knights of Eaton

Episode 13: "The Battle of Greendale"

Year: 1756 Summer

Location: Greendale

PCs: PC

Previous Episode: "The Emptiness of Quaitha"

Next Episode: "The Great Collapse"

Previous Campaign: The Thuzuulan Heresy

Zorn miscalculates and plunges the whole of Greendale into a brief, bloody war. Cast Player Characters Borric Simonson (A. Mater) Margaret Kelleck (D. Honore) Simon Aylay Windsor (H. Cannon) Tasselhof Kelleck (W. Griffin) Zorn Kelleck (C. Jemison) Non-Player Characters Arthur Kelleck Conor Serafin Astor Bloodfiend Grespin Kelleck Slova the Pale Story Act One: The Revolt of the Hoodless Zorn, aching from the indignity suffered on him by the inquisitors and the perceived lack of justice from Kandorr, evicts the clerics from his lands and uses the wealth of the abbies to raise a small army among those lords whose lands remain untouched by the pestilence on the land. He is visited by his liege-lord, Viscount Conor Serafin, and commanded to return the riches to the abbies and ride with him to Kandorr to issue an apology to the clerics of Yllion on behalf of Greendale. Zorn measures the strength of the viscount's forces and his captains inform him that his own army strength is triple that of Serafin. Later that month he lays siege to the Ivy Keep and slays viscount Windsor in his own courtroom. The viscount's immediate family is killed, save two of his sons who flee to Kandorr aided by Conor's loyalists. When word reaches Kandorr, it arrives first at Arthur Kelleck's doorstep. Arthur, the uncle of Grespin Kelleck, is an elder among a faction of that family called "the Hoodless" who agitate for more direct control of the realm by their family. He sees Zorn's revolt as an opportunity and so intercepts the message and detains Conor's sons. Instead of reporting what has transpired in Greendale to Garn's royal secretary Chelsy, Arthur calls his loyal kinsmen to his manor and they agree to use this moment to take the throne from Garn. A mundane court is held later that week and the Hoodless arrive in full force, filling the room with their patriots. The Simonson guard is outnumbered and easily taken by surprise and Garn is removed from Kandorr and sequestered in one of the towers of castle Eatonshire, but not before he can send a message to Erelaan. Act Two: The Revolt Quelled The Hoodless send word of their support to Zorn in the form of a company of heavy infantrymen to help shore up his holdings. In Erelaan Bertram gives prince Borric command of a battalion and they march to Larkos, where Cromwell awaits them with transport ships—from there Borric splits his forces in half and gives Margaret command of the other half. He sails directly to Kandorr, accompanied by his men and a small platoon of Ashakre warriors (including Astor and Slova). Margaret sends word ahead to Baron Torg, a Kelleck loyalist, who allows them to land their troops in Elkor, due south of Eatonshire. Torg greets them graciously and attaches his own battalion to Margaret's and they march to Eatonshire, where their host surprises the Hoodless and they take the city with little opposition. Outside of Kandorr, Borric issues a threat to the Hoodless gathered there and the city locks down for a siege. As Borric blockades the port and prepares his forces for an assault, he is joined by Margaret and Torg's battalion who march from Eatonshire with word of the fall of that city and the liberation of Garn. Arthur Kelleck, seeing the strength of those combined forces and unwilling to shed so much blood for a lost cause, relinquishes control of the city and the Hoodless surrender themselves to Margaret. The Hoodless are publicly lined up before the gathered armies and citizens of the city. As Borric calls out the charges against them Margaret strips them of their titles and holdings, tearing their regalia from their tunics and throwing their insignias to the ground. She approaches Arthur last, stripping him of his weapons and honors and striking him forcefully; he falls to one knee, bloodied and ashamed. Margaret urges their execution to Garn, but he exiles them instead. Act Three: Taking Greendale When Margaret assumes control of Grey Hill Aerie, her guard brings her Viscount Serafin's surviving sons and they tell her of what terrible deeds transpired in Greendale. She relays this to Borric and Garn and send their fastest messengers to Zorn with an ultimatum: relinquish Greendale and he will be permitted to live in political exile on an allotment of land in Erelaan. Zorn refuses the offer but swears fealty to Garn and the crown. Garn rebukes Zorn's counter-offer and so Borric, Margaret and Torg assemble their forces and march to Greendale. The armies face off in the fields outside the Ivy Keep and Borric calls for Zorn's forces to surrender, but they jeer. He signals Margaret and Simon, who each lead a company, and they advance in the shadow of a volley shot from Tas's company of archers. Margaret signals to the Ashakre platoon and as they advance Astor, astride Slova, strafes Zorn's vanguard with killing blasts of cold. Simon triggers a newly-weaponized Tin Man who speeds across the field and slams into the enemy infantry. Its multiple sword arms flutter in deadly arcs and each strike finds its mark. Margaret sounds a charge and the opposing groups rush each other—the carnage begins in earnest. Garn, Grespin and Cromwell coordinate the battle with signal flags and Borric steers his cavalry company to flank Zorn's position. He charges Zorn's company and both are soon locked in pitched combat. Slova turns her attention to Ivy Keep, flying out over the courtyard and blasting a killing frost into its windows and doorways. It is apparent to Zorn that his family inside could not survive such an attack and he cries out in rage and hurls into man-to-man combat with Borric. Borric blocks Zorn's angry strikes while his own men cut down Zorn's guard. Out on the field Zorn's army withers against the combined assault of more seasoned warriors. His standards falter and his forces crumble as many of his men turn and flee. With the vanguard broken, Tas and Simon shift the focus of their attack on whats left of the pikemen. Within an hour Zorn's army is in full rout and he himself is captured. Act Four: The Execution of Zorn Zorn's trial before the court of Eatonshire is quick and the judgement swift: death by hanging. He does not merit the noble death of beheading due to his social standing. He is lashed to a wooden hurdle and drawn by horse to the Hanging Hollow, where his compatriots have already been hanged. As the rain pours down he climbs the scaffold and his sentence is read aloud by Chelsy and he is asked for his final words. Zorn spits defiantly and eyes the throng gathered below. "Fuck you all." Are his final words as the hood is drawn over his head. The hangman pulls the lever and Zorn plummets to his doom. Meta Game notes Plot Points The Dead Points Awarded x points for all Season Pool x points