Empire 1257 Campaign Blackwoods and Pixiewood

Military: Battle

Empire forces move to secure the trade route between Blackwoods and Pixiewoods in the Contested Territory.

The Duchy of Moridale is renowned for its rich and fertile lands. Make no mistake, Moridale is a prize sought by both factions equally.   No match for the might of either of the factions, the fact that is has not yet been annexed is a surprise to some. There has however been attempts. In what seems an age ago, the Kingdom of Geldheim attempted to expand into the Duchy by force staging an attack for Wydowdr Poodle. It was not until The Hadovean Empire pushed towards Pont that its attention was diverted. The Duke of Moridale is a man of great cunning. Clearly not one to be trusted, he possesses one particular skill above all others that has enabled Moridale to stay out of faction lands thus far. Knowing which side to back from the shadows and when to back them. In fact, many believe that the siege of Pont was prolonged thanks to the behind the scenes support of Moridale. But now that the Hadovean Empire has retreated from Pont, the Dukes involvement is less reliable.   It is the belief of the high command of the Hadovean Empire, that since the Hadovean withdrawal from the siege of Pont, the Geldheimers may use that and recent events as justification to once again push into Moridale. Although there has been conjecture regarding the best course of action by the Hadoveans there is a least a general consensus that they need to move their borders closer to Moridale to give then a significant chance of beating the Geldheimers to this much sought after prize.   Their target, to acquire control of the trade route between Blackwoods and Pixiewood. Once revealed, the official reason for this advance will be to stamp out lawlessness on the trade route. Using the cover provided by the thick canopy of the Blackwoods that gives the forest its name, a Hadovean attack force has been slowly advancing towards the trade route. As luck would have it though, a small group of rebels from the miners uprising near Mare Mane Falls some months ago had been seeking refuge from Hadovean justice in that same forest. Successfully avoiding detection by the Hadovean attack force, they quickly got word to the Duke of Moridale in the hope to gain asylum. The Duke’s response was to discretely inform the Kingdom of Gelheim and subsequently turn a blind (although watchful) eye to a Kingdom force travelling through the Wasted Mire into Pixiewood to intercept the Hadoveans. This is likely to have also been framed by the Duke as some form of repartition to compensate the Kingdom of Geldheim for the Dukes double cross that was discovered regarding a mission to recover an artifact of some significance.   The two sides collided on the trade route between Blackwoods and Pixiewood. A furious battle broke out between the two sides. However there was yet another interested party to this battle. The Pixies of Pixiewood, had taken a keen interest in the 2 factional forces converging at the edge of their forest. Not a particularly seriously minded race they generally limit themselves to the ocassional harmless prank on unsuspecting merchants. In this matter however, less subtle action was required to make both side hopefully think twice before bringing their forces further into the Pixiewood. Through their Pixie magic, mysteriously amplified by what seemed to be the wood itself, they gleefully sowed chaos across the battlefield with all manner tricks. The factions battled on regardless and it was the Kingdom of Geldheim, aided by the full support of the Red Company that took the early advantage. However it was the Hadoveans that ultimately took control of the battle, maintaining their composure and discipline amongst the chaos to win the day. The Trade route between the woods now under Hadovean control.