Dragon Encounter in the Western Redicovered Land

Military: Skirmish

After a map was found leading to the location of a cave in the Western Rediscovered Lands. Both the Hadovean and Geldheim forces encountered a very powerful and awe inspiring adversary. In the battle following they were lucky to escape with their lives

The whole chain of events began when a lone bedraggled stranger shambled weakly through the main road running through the township of Whitewell. Clearly exhausted, he collapsed heavily a few metres from the well that gave the township it's name. The stranger woud die shortly after but before he did, he releved a map and a tale of riches. Although as the fates would have it, he died before revealing the danger attached to those riches.

It did not take long for word to spread far and wide. Both the Kingdom of Geldheim and the Hadovean Empire dispatched a heavily armored exploration party in the hope of acquiring these riches. But the factions were not the only ones to react to the new. The Bathweford Guard dispatched their own party to investigate and arrived well before both the Hadovean Empire and the Kingdom of Geldheim. What the guard discovered there was an aggressive Red Dragon and a sizable pile of treasure. The guard has known about the existance of Dragons for over 100 years and have gone to great pains to ensure the inhabitants of the Enligheted Land (which includes Kingdom and Empire territories) remained unaware of the creatures existance. It was firmly the guards view that such knowledge could set of a chain of events that could only lead to destruction. So the Bathewford Guard's response was to disguise themselves as local tribe folk and harrash the factional forces with the aim to see that those that set out would not return. The Bathewford guard are if nothing else laser focused on their mission to protect Ashnoor from the many hidden dangers and are prepared to spill whatever blood is nessary in the process.

Despite the challeges beset upon them but the Guard along the way, the factional forces did indeed arrive at a large cave at the location marked on the map deep within the Western Rediscovered Lands. A battle quickly broke out between the Kingdom and Empire forces, keen to secure the riches within for themselves to aid in thier own war efforts. It was the Kingdom forces that took the early advance, albeit a slim one, it was none the less cause for optimism on thier part.

But them it appear from the rocky outcrop of the cave and everything changed!

A Huge Red Dragon enraged at the audacity of these humanoids in their attempts to steal his treasure horde rained down huge streams of intense fire at those below, time after time many an ashnoorian was caught in the fiery inferno as it swooped down and attacked with deadly regularity.

The factional forces took what they could from the dragons horde before fleeing the vengful creature. Much treasure what left in the cave alothugh both factions did escape with a not insignificant amount. If there was a winner to be decalred from the mission, objectively it would be the Hadoveans that maged to ecapse with more of the Dragons riches.

In the weeks to follow, the Bathewford guard would unleash a large dis-information campaign to convince the populus that tales of Dragons where nothing more that fanciful far fetched stories. But the factional heads now knew the truth as did those that encountered the awe inspiring beast and lived to tell the tale.