The sacking of Metrol

Military action

The Karnath forces launch a surprise offensive into Cyre culminating in the Battle of Metrol and its pillaging.

The next year, Karrnath was in a perfect position to take advantage of Cyre’s setback. Aundair’s eastern army had been quiet since its main supply line over the White Arch Bridge had been cut. King Kaius II’s years of rebuilding and marshaling of forces bore fruit. He gathered a powerful army at Vedykar and moved it quickly by lightning rail south of Fort Zombie. The troops were ably commanded by General Kron, Kaius’s distant cousin, who had previously been lauded for his masterful use of undead, the terrain, and defensive tactics during the Aundairian invasion.   Kron was eager for a chance to display his offensive command skills. The order of battle included 2,000 dragoons, 1,500 heavy cavalry, 2,500 irregular archers from the Karrnwood, 4,000 crossbowmen, 13,000 light foot, 4,000 pike, and 12,000 undead, including the First and Second Atur Legions. Most important, though, were two mercenary engineering regiments from the Mror Holds, who came equipped with bombards, towers, and trebuchets. All told, more than 39,000 troops set out from eastern Karrnath, the largest army the country had ever assembled. “Lord Kron’s Expedition,” as it came to be known, quick-marched the miles south and west to threaten Metrol.   In a masterful stroke, Kron had the dwarf engineers fashion a group of large rafts, which the regiments used to cross Lake Cyre at several points along the way, enabling multiple prongs of attack against Cyre. One detachment was ordered south to intercept any reinforcements. Given the lack of Karrnathi military activity in the east, Cyre had not concentrated its defenses in the area.   So quick and secret was Karrnath’s advance that the Home Guard of Cyre, 5,000 of the nation’s best heavy infantry, supported by 1,000 engineers and artillerists, had only a couple days to prepare. In that time, the nobles and gentry of Cyre quickly raised 2,000 light horse and a levy force of 8,000 Metrol’s citizens. The defenders were determined to hold their country’s capital.   A last-minute arrival by lightning rail of 4,000 troops from the west, including a few hard-bitten veterans of the Eston sieges, bolstered the city’s morale as the smoke from the Karrnathi pillage began to appear on the horizon. Despite all this, the Karrnathi had far greater numbers, and half the Cyran army was raw recruits, untested in battle. Despite the bravery of the troops, the citizenry succumbed to panic, and chaos reigned. Refugees poured out, heading west and south. Shaken by the populace’s reaction, the Cyran forces decided not to wait for a siege. The Home Guard marched out and took a position outside the city walls on a low hill, covered by archers and with levies to either side. The cavalry was held in reserve.   Kron’s strategy was to encircle and destroy the Cyran position, and he did this by forming most of his columns into two wings. The token force left to hold the center against the Home Guard did a brilliant job of keeping it occupied. Indeed, the Eston troops drove into Kron’s forces on the center left, and Cyran General Diran Forgill of Cyre prepared the light horse to exploit what he was sure was a coming breakthrough. Suddenly, the Karrn plan unfolded. Dragoons and heavy cavalry—all hardened veterans—appeared on the flanks, slicing into the levies. The western troops in the center were abruptly forced into a fighting retreat as the supporting troops on their flank evaporated. Only the Home Guard held its position—and in the end, all 5,000 were either cut down or captured in the dying light of that afternoon. No serious resistance remained to stop Lord Kron’s troops. One quick blast from the Mror bombards at close range destroyed the city gatehouse, and the victorious warriors poured in. The Karrns had borne decades of famine, disease, and ignominious defensive operations. It was time to show the world that Karrnath must be feared.   All night, all the next day, and for three more days after that, Metrol was an open city. The screaming never stopped. While Metrol was put to fire and sword, corpse collectors performed their gruesome rounds, and a new Atur Legion rose. After five days of looting and killing, Lord Kron rallied his forces for a triumphant march back to the Karrnathi heartland. Certainly, little was left of Metrol to occupy. The victorious Karrns burned and pillaged their way along the western back of the Cyre river, leaving a charred path 300 miles long.