General Summary
The South Sea
The Vikramadi
In early Naerui 5A 023, the one-hundred-ship fleet of the Hobgoblin Khanate departed from the western coast and sailed into the South Sea. On 12 Naerui, Grand Khan Drack addressed the assembled soldiers on the deck of the flagship, the Vikramadi. Drack’s speech spoke of the burgeoning Queendom of Keeleon to the north, led by Queen Alena. The orcs were reclaiming land defended by the khanate during the Tarterian War, and Drack was bringing his forces to the eastern coast in response. Despite the Treaty of Sword and Axe and the kagyu warning of ill omens, Drack said, “Now is the time to show our power over these orcs, while they are weak in numbers and weak in war.” Kholvek, Braavak, and Ganbaatar were on deck for the Grand Khan’s speech. They heard the roaring cheers from the invigorated soldiers. Kholvek stoically joined the cheers, while Braavak watched from the rigging. Ganbaatar calmly listened alongside another soldier, Rendu. Below deck, Chotgorrin was chained in a guarded cell, where he could overhear the speech above him.The Horn and the Storm
As Drack’s speech continued, the deep call of a horn to the north interrupted him. Instantly, storm clouds formed above and water crashed on the deck. A heavy snow began falling, and wind tore at the sails. The waves rocked the fleet and the wind crashed ships together. Even the Vikramadi was lifted by the growing waves, violently rocking in the surf. There was confusion as the horn sounded again, further worsening the weather. Drack issued commands to the helmsman, and Rendu called out, “Secure the ship!” Braavak saw other ships of the fleet impacting and sinking in the rising waves. He tried to climb higher to view the surroundings, but the sails started to snap and break. Kholvek called to secure the masts and grabbed the ropes with other nearby soldiers. They kept the central mast steady, and Braavak saw the storm was pushing them towards the coast. Ganbaatar calmly yelled out over the panicked legionnaires, “Soldiers! Breathe! Look, then act!” He created a space of order and calm, leading to more soldiers trying to secure the ship. Below deck, the worgs pulled on the cages and chains. One soldier guarding Chotgorrin rushed to secure them. Chotgorrin used the rocking of the ship to break his chains. Chotgorrin quickly grabbed and pulled the other guard bodily through the bars of the cage and took his keys. The waves lifted two other ships, the Khartan and the Braza, and crashed them into the Vikramadi. A hole was blasted into the underdeck. Chotgorrin was slammed into the cage and swept out of the ship by the water. On deck, Kholvek was hit with shrapnel, and Braavak was flung from the rigging out to sea. Massive waves rocked the Vikramadi into a steep angle. Ganbaatar and Kholvek hung on as they were pelted by falling debris. The ship impacted the coast hard. The force broke the ship fully in half. The front was pushed aloft in a crash of water that froze in giant crystals. The sudden stop flung Kholvek and Ganbaatar off the ship and into the blizzard.The Ice Ways
The Wreck of the Vikramadi
The sounds of the echoing horn and hobgoblins in combat woke them in the tundra. Ahead, they saw trolls attacking survivors in the wreck of the Vikramadi. They piled bodies and supplies onto a sled made of dark metal and ice pulled by a pair of polar bears. After felling the last Hobgoblin, the trolls saw the group in the snow on either side of the wreck and went to attack. Ganbaatar called to Chotgorrin, “Can you fight with honor?” Chotgorrin looked back with a bloodthirsty grin. Ganbaatar attacked the bears with his spear and breathed a line of radiant fire. Chotgorrin attacked fiercely with his guandao, killing one bear and holding the other at a distance. Braavak saw many tracks in the snow. He called, “That’s not the only sled!” He shot his bow at the trolls, but the storm’s winds were too strong. Kholvek saw his worg, Heitei, had also survived the shipwreck. He whistled to the worg and quickly mounted it. As the trolls attacked back, Kholvek charged forward to battle beside Braavak. Ganbaatar attacked with a flurry of attacks, with radiant energy fueling his strikes. Chotgorrin recklessly struck the troll beside him. Braavak drew his warhammer, and he and Kholvek moved in stride to attack the troll near them. A troll bit Braavak and the other savagely clawed Ganbaatar. Ganbaatar moved behind Chotgorrin, who covered the withdrawal. He slew the troll, then the polar bear as it charged him. The felled troll’s wounds began to regenerate. Suddenly, a flaming bottle thrown from the ship set the troll’s remains on fire. A bloody Rendu came out from the wrecked ship. As the last troll attacked, Kholvek caved in its skull. Before it could regenerate, Rendu set it on fire, too. Rendu called out, “Quick, come inside! The storm!”After the Battle
There were very few survivors left in the wreck after the attack. Rendu clasped Ganbaatar’s arm. He recognized their ranks and the Temple of Gan Dalavch he was from. Chotgorrin entered and tossed the body of a polar bear into the ship, starling Rendu. Ganbaatar held his spear to him, saying, “You fought well.” Chotgorrin replied, “For Spear, you could use some work.” Ganbaatar lowered his weapon. Rendu said there were too few remaining to have any qualms about survivors. Rendu asked if anyone had seen Grand Khan Drack. Another survivor said he saw Drack charge the trolls but was overwhelmed and taken away. Rendu said since the trolls had been ready to attack them, he believed the horn and the storm had not been a coincidence. Many of the survivors were laborers and low ranked soldiers from below deck. As panic started setting in, Rendu got them starting a fire, gathering materials, and working on defenses. With orders given, the soldiers started to fall back into an element of control. Ganbaatar went to the prow of the ship. He placed the gong he wore on his back and sounded a somber ringing into the tundra. While the party rested, other survivors lost in the tundra made their way to the sound.Orders and Preparations
As the storm continued, Rendu spoke with Kholvek, Braavak, Ganbaatar, and Chotgorrin. He said the only way they could survive was if the horn was silenced. Rendu said they appeared to be the best of the survivors. Rendu said they needed whoever they had to head after the horn before the sled tracks were fully lost in the snow. They gathered the supplies they could from the wreck. They took fabric and winter gear, and Kholvek left some of his pack rations at the camp. Meanwhile, Rendu gave Ganbaatar a vial of Holy Water while eying Chotgorrin. As they gathered together, Ganbaatar said, “As Spear, I’m the ranking officer, so I trust that you will look to me as a leader in this situation. But I want you to know this; your strengths are more important than rank. I want to know what you are good at and what you can do, and if you need to make a decision, I trust you will make the correct decision on your own.” Ganbaatar saw the Red Blades insignia on Kholvek and knew of the battles in Hezrou Pass. He recognized Chotgorrin as Drack’s weapon of the khanate. To Chotgorrin, he said, “And you, a sharp blade is useless if left in the scabbard. I trust you will tear anything that you come across.” They’d heard stories of a giant named Hagillr whose horn could summon the fury of winter. Ganbaatar said, “Soldiers, the fleet is decimated, our khan is gone. Our chances of success and survival are slim, but they will not count on the strength in our unity. Trust that this one will kill, and trust in yourselves.”The Tundra
They followed the tracks of the many sleds towards the northwest. In the Ice Ways, they crossed the broken and frozen sea ice to the open and flat snow plains of the tundra. The winds pulled drifts of snow across the fading tracks. They were bundled against the frigid wind and snow, but the piercing cold exhausted Kholvek, Heitei, and Braavak. Just over ten miles of traveling brought them to an area where the storm seemed to fade around them. They reached the eye of the winter storm and saw the massive clouds roiling in a wide circle around the mountain of Mösön Uul. The tracks headed up the gentle slope towards the vast Ivory Glacier and a massive crevasse on its surface. Braavak looked to the crevasse and could tell that with the angle and size of it, any horn sounded at the base of the chasm would be amplified for miles around. He pointed the place out to the party, and they started making their way.Mösön Uul
The Troll Chasm
The chasm was sixty feet wide and a hundred feet deep into the heart of the glacier. On the inner walls were carved holes, like chambers. An amalgamation of wood and rope scaffolding and ladders interconnected them. These had been constructed and modified again and again, built over a base of metalwork platforms, seemingly from whoever had originally built this place. Lit torches illuminated dozens of trolls in the chasm. Braavak saw them bringing bodies and stolen supplies into a chamber far beneath them. Ganbaatar suggested they follow the bodies in case any survivors could help them. At the bottom of the cavern was a giant entrance flanked by metal statues of bears. The horn sounded again from that chamber, shaking the area. Braavak wondered about the metal and bear symbols he’d seen. Hobgoblin myths spoke of a fabled bear-like people called urskans who were skilled at metalwork. Heitei would not be able to climb down. Nearby the pulleys and carriers on the ridge, Kholvek commanded Heitei to stay at the top and hooked Heitei up to one the bloodstained ice sleds. Chotgorrin said, “I have idea. Cho put you all in bucket, and I take you down as troll.” Ganbaatar denied the plan and Braavak said he liked it. Kholvek didn’t know how feasible the plan was, but said he would go where he was ordered. Ganbaatar cut one of the pulley carriers free from the ropes. Khovlek and Braavak got inside. Chotgorrin wrapped a banner from ship from Ganbaatar and smeared blood and grime on his face as a disguise. He picked up the carrier like a bucket and started to descend, and Ganbaatar stayed on the ridge to watch.Grand Khan Drack
A pair of trolls were positioned outside on the scaffolds. Ganbaatar tossed a dart down the chasm, which knocked along the ice. The two trolls were distracted, which gave Chotgorrin the chance to move by them largely unnoticed. Inside the chamber were piled boxes, supplies, and raw lumber. On the other side was a cell formed from jagged, supercold ice shards. Many hobgoblin bodies were inside, like cattle, and some were still alive. Grand Khan Drack was bloodied and leaning against the far wall. He was missing his entire right arm. The khan saw Chotgorrin approach and recognized him, thinking him to be a traitor. With a sinister grin, Chotgorrin said, “It is such a state to see you in, khan!” Braavak and Kholvek saw the khan’s deadly wounds and missing limb. Kholvek immediately went over and gave a healing potion to the soldiers tending to the khan. Drack snatched it from the soldier and drank it. Drack said, “Two Fists and a Chaff, not the rescue I hoped for.” He continued, “These trolls are under the command of a giant. They brought me here, brought me before him, so I thrust my blade into him. For that, he took my arm and threw me in here. I’m sat here to watch the rest of my people be taken one by one to be food and scraps.” Drack pointed to the nearby supplies, where there were wooden kegs with dwarven runes. Drack called them blasting powder. He said to blast them out of the cell so the survivors could make a distraction. He told them to then place the rest at the back of the main feasting chamber and blow up the glacier and bring it down on the giant and the trolls. “As your khan, that is what I’m ordering you to do.”Prayer and Action
Meanwhile, Ganbaatar knelt in a meditative stance and made a prayer to Barduumus, The Battlelord. He heard silence, like the breath before the silence before a battle. It filled him with a sense of waiting for the right opportunity to strike. In reaction, he said, “Understood, Khuchtei.” He took his gong, planted it on the edge, and sounded it. All the trolls looked up at the gong amplified by the walls of the glacier. They clambered along the walls and scaffolds towards him. Ganbaatar ensured he was seen, then quickly cut Heitei from the sled rigging. He mounted and rode the worg along the ridge, continuing to sound the gong. At the end of the chasm, he jumped from Heitei’s back and started bouncing down the ice, scaffolding, and ropes towards the bottom. In the chamber below, Drack commanded them to destroy the cage. Braavak set the powder and the survivors moved back. The explosion shattered the supercold ice, sending another wave of sound through the glacier. The survivors quickly armed themselves. Drack led them out onto the scaffolding and they started a fight to reach the surface, distracting the trolls and pulling them away from the bottom of the chasm. Chotgorrin put the remaining blasting powder kegs over his shoulders. As he let loose a powerful rage, he grew in size with the energy. He picked up Kholvek and Braavak, ran towards the entrance, and with a psychotic smile, he leapt from the scaffolding. Ganbaatar landed just outside the entrance to the large chamber at the base. Immediately after, Chotgorrin impacted heavily beside him. Together, they quickly moved past the metal bear statues, following the smell of smoke and trolls.Hagillr, the Lone Hailstone
The feasting chamber was filled with refuse and debris among the broken remains of metal tables and ballistae. At the back of the room was a massive throne carved from ice, and stood before it was the frost giant, Hagillr. He held a huge, icy horn. Hanging on his neck was Khavtan, Drack’s stolen weapon. The giant appeared ready to face them. Hagillr called out, “Trolls! Kill this cattle!” Braavak called out the glacier hole behind the throne. Noticing the damage to the ice and the melt from the troll’s fires, he pulled his bow, and with precise shots, he brought a huge section of icicles down on the giant’s head. With confidence that Drack’s plan would work, he started moving forward as Kholvek covered his advance from an approaching troll. Ganbaatar rushed Hagillr and stunned him with a flurry of attacks. The giant was filled with an ancient rage, but could only falteringly muster enough power to launch a chunk of ice towards Chotgorrin. They threw every attack they could at the stunned giant. Braavak fired arrows, Chotgorrin swung his fiery guandao, and Ganbaatar struck with divine strikes. With another vital hit, Hagillr was stunned again, giving Ganbaatar the chance to escape an attacking troll. Other trolls clawed into Kholvek and Chotgorrin as they advanced. Chotgorrin used the chains on his shackles to pull himself onto the throne. He swung heavily into the giant’s back, sending him stumbling forward as Chotgorrin laughed. Braavak continued firing and Ganbaatar quickly drank a potion, then blew fire at the giant. Hagillr then recovered. He drank an ornate and rare potion to heal, then yelled out, “This glacier will be your grave!” He turned and rushed towards Chotgorrin, who stabbed with his blade. Chotgorrin replied, “I will stick your head on a pike!” Hagillr threw massive chunks of ice at him, doing severe damage. More trolls entered and attacked Braavak, Kholvek, and Ganbaatar. Ganbaatar yelled out, “Beast! I will make you a Fist if you complete the mission!” Chotgorrin flew around the throne. He threw the blasting powder kegs to the back of the chamber. He ignited his weapon with an enraged fire and recklessly swung. With the fiery smash, the kegs exploded. Cracks shot through the ice walls, and the room started collapsing. They all knew they had to get outside or be crushed. Kholvek and Ganbaatar rushed to the exit, leaving Braavak and Chotgorrin. Hagillr barreled towards the throne. Chotgorrin stabbed his weapon forward to hold the giant back, but Hagillr threw shards of the falling ceiling into the throne and Chotgorrin. He was severely wounded. In a last moment, Chotgorrin cut the chain on Hagillr’s neck and sent Khavtan flying. Chotgorrin yelled, “Remember a Chaff saved the khan!” As Hagillr bore down on the wounded Chotgorrin, Braavak said, “You die a friend!” He grabbed the khan’s weapon and ran towards the exit. The chamber collapsed behind him, burying Chotgorrin and Hagillr.Rapid Climbing
The crevasse shook and ice fell around them as the glacier was collapsing. Ganbaatar jumped between the railings and scaffolding as he rapidly ascended. At the top, Drack and the survivors fought against the few trolls that pursued them. Braavak and Kholvek climbed the scaffolding. They were hit by falling debris and trolls attacked as they rushed by. The walls were collapsing and the entirety of the scaffolding came crashing down. They grabbed directly on the ice walls as the wood and metal fell around them. They climbed the sheer, shaking ice. Far beneath them, a bloody Hagillr burst through the rubble. He slammed his axe and horn into the collapsing walls. Whole sections of the crevasse broke free in a massive avalanche of ice. With Ganbaatar’s help, Kholvek and Braavak reached the top as the crevasse filled around them. As the shaking from the avalanche subsided, the chasm was filled, leaving Hagillr and the trolls buried under a hundred feet of debris.Aftermath
The Surface of the Glacier
Above, the winter storm faltered and dissipated. From their position on the mountain, they could see to the wreck of the Vikramadi and the miles of ice to the southern coast. Kholvek took a glaive and stuck it into the ice at the crevasse’s edge and draped blue fabric from the Vikramadi like a banner over it. Ganbaatar said, “Chotgorrin, Fist of the khanate’s army,” and sounded his gong next to it. Braavak wrapped Khavtan and gave it to Ganbaatar. “The true owner of this sword lies at the bottom of this mountain crevasse,” he said. “For me, it belongs to Cho.” After Kholvek recalled Heitei and attached him to a sled for the wounded survivors, Drack approached. At his order, the group told the grand khan of the events since the storm had started. Ganbaatar spoke of the bravery of the others, and he recommended promotions for Kholvek and Braavak. Drack listened to his recommendation. He said, “Certainly anyone who saves a grand khan should be rewarded.” He promoted Kholvek and Braavak to Spear rank, and he offered Ganbaatar the rank of Fatal Axe. From the survivors they’d seen, this would put Ganbaatar as the second in command after Drack. Ganbaatar asked what should they do now. Drack replied, “We do what hobgoblins always do. We don’t give up and we survive.” As they prepared to return, Ganbaatar presented Khavtan to Drack. The onlookers and Drack seemed surprised they had recovered the weapon. Ganbaatar said, “For the efforts of these men, and your weapon, we return this to you, but it was not free.”Frozen Fleet Post
The Vikramadi had been locked in place by miles of sea ice. Rendu and the other survivors had crafted the beginnings of a base camp in the tundra, but it was the efforts of the party at stopping Hagillr and the Horn of Storms that gave them the chance at survival. As time progressed, other shipwrecks would be found by scouting parties, bringing supplies and more survivors to the Vikramadi. With all hands needed for any of them to survive, and with tales of Chotgorrin’s sacrifice, the surviving Chaff would find their place in this community not solely as weapons or resources, but at needed allies. Later, Ganbaatar would suggest that Khavtan be engraved to read, “Chotgorrin, First Fist of the Khanate” and “No Victory Without Sacrifice”. Drack agreed, saying it was a fitting addition. It would take years for the missing fleet to be found. By then the tensions with Queen Alena in the north had settled in Drack’s absence. Though Drack didn’t get the war he wanted, the Drackhan Tundra was added to the lands of the khanate. There, a new settlement and new clan was created from the wood of the fleet and the resiliency of the legion: Frozen Fleet Post.
Report Date
03 Aug 2024
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12 Naerui 5A 023