The Dark Fortnight

The Undead Incursion is a fourteen day stretch when the Woodsinger Elves of the Harken Forest were besieged by the Daggerburg Goblins with assistance from the priests of Orcus.

Night one was a fairly straightforward affair, the Daggerburg Goblins from the west end of the Harken forest attacked the Woodsinger Elves just a night fell on the Harken. The goblins took considerable losses and the Elves, led by the warlord Soryn Baneslayer, held their lines and trounced the enemy. By daybreak and upon inspection of the battlefield the odd discovery that the goblins had collected their dead did not sit well with Baneslayer and Harken Warden Aremial Dawnwarden.

Night two again was a straightforward battle with the goblins and this time the elves decimated the goblin numbers to but a handful. Again the following morning found the few dead elves on the battlefield and all the goblins gone. A Woodsinger ranger Falorian Leafsplitter spent the night in the trees of the Harken canopy and witnesses humans collecting the goblins in a large black wagon and then took them away. Falen simply observed this happening as she did not want to give away her position in the trees. The following day Falen reported all she saw to Aremial Dawnwarden and Aremials fears only grew. As the thoughts of routing the goblins had engulfed the Woodsinger village, Aremial was quite certain they problems had only just begun.

Nights three and four brought Aremial’s fears to pass as an army of undead goblin zombies flooded the field of battle. These were the same goblins the elves had already killed and now were facing again. Immediately Aremial sent couriers from the village in search of assistance for he knew things were only going to get worse. The Woodsinger soldiers and archers had held so far but with no end in sight Aremial and Soryn feared they wouldn’t be able to last much longer. Following the fourth night a welcome friend appeared in the village, the undead slayer Narcis Stormseer rode into the village and instantly involved himself in the defense of the village. After learning of what had been happening to that point Narcis knew the best chance of ending the incursion was to find the source of the reanimation of the goblins. Aremial and Soryn had spent so much time worrying about the coming nights battle they hadn’t lent much thought to thwarting the attack before it came.

Night five brought a new enemy with the goblins, skeletal warriors were mixed in with the attack and were quite troublesome enemies. Narcis Stormseer proved a powerful fighter and his clerical abilities were invaluable against the monstrosities. The next few days followed suit with attempts to find the source of the undead animation thwarted by engagements with patrols and goblins soldiers. The biggest find was Narcis who discovered the burial mound from the Battle of Vulrhune had been unearthed and explained the skeleton warriors.

Following the tenth night it was decided to create a small group to find and stop the controllers of the attack. Bryml Longstrider was chosen for his mighty pole arm and mastery of battle. Narcis Stormseer was chosen as a specialist in slaying undead. Falorian Leafsplitter was chosen for being an unmatched ranger in the Harken. Ul-Ranath, the Woodsinger’s village mage, was chosen for his ability with the magical arts. Then there was Riggins, a Halfling thief who had been staying with the Woodsingers and was not about to pass up a chance to show his appreciation for their hospitality. This group set out to find and stop those responsible for the waves of undead. After defeating a goblin scout party, the group made it to the Daggerburg stronghold where they could see quite a bit of human activity in the hold. Narcis quickly discerned that the humans were followers of Orcus. The elves moved quickly, before nightfall, to try and save the Woodsinger soldiers another night of battle. They made their way to the top of the Stronghold’s main spire only to find that once they reached the top the army was already forming below and there were three Orcus priests chanting over the undead legion. On sight Narcis Stormseer recognized Lurinotis, an Orcus priest of some infamy. The other two were young, but seemed to wield their power with some ability. Then a sight they were not prepared for appeared. It was Maklewayne, a Drow vampire whom was known mostly in legend by both Narcis Stormseer and Bryml Longstrider. Maklewayne, speaking in an unfamiliar tongue, roused his undead warriors and quickly had them frenzied, prepared for battle. Dumbfounded by this sight the group was taken by surprise as a group of Drow soldiers flooded the room. A battle ensued and after some fearsome fighting the group was able to overcome their Dow foes great numbers. Following the battle the group was left licking their wounds and knowing they had failed to stop another nights battle as the clashing of weapons could be heard in the distance. With the army and priests away the group used the time to search the strong hold but came up with little in the way of answers.

Day Eleven brought a lot of reorganizing of forces in the Woodsinger army ranks. As for the commando’s they found the Orcus clerics and fought them and their body guards till two priests remained. The priests fled and the group followed, finally catching one for questioning while the last, Kalarel, escaped. In questioning the cleric they found very little, but they did learn the key to stopping the armies was in killing Maklewayne himself as his life-force gave power to the priests to share it with the undead legion.

Day twelve the plan was hatched to allow for the legion to go again, and then attack Maklewayne while his energy was not quite so strong. During the day the commandos found the lair of Maklewayne and once Kalarel left the lair to raise up the undead they made their strike. As the Woodsingers fought the legion the commando’s engaged the mighty vampire. Both battles lasted into the night and as the commando’s defeated the vampire, Kalarel felt a drop in his power over the undead. Following the nights battle Kalarel fled the forest and the undead were left without direction. Most of them made their way back to the stronghold and their filled the halls of the keep without any direction or purpose.

<p style="margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">Day thirteen, the undead did not come. The elf army, prepared for battle, marched onward across the field all the way to the goblin keep. Once there, the all too familiar groans of the undead were heard. As they entered the keep the sun was about risen and the elves flooded the keep engaging the undead and decimating them once and for all. The commando’s joined in this final battle that spilled into the fourteenth day of the Undead Incursion.

<p style="margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">With the undead vanquished and Maklewayne fallen the elves were again free in their own home. Unfortunately the price was high as Aremial Dawnwarden and Soryn Baneslayer, two vital leaders of the Woodsinger clan fell in battle. It was indeed a steep price but one both soldiers readily paid to protect their people. To this day the Woodsingers celebrate this great victory in the form of a fest known as the Dark Fortnight.

<p style="margin-bottom:10.0pt;line-height:115%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">Continue with Brothers Baneslayer