First Battle of Briar Patch
Military action
The manitari of Briar Patch shelter Captain Illianic
Captain Illianic finds succor in the winding fungal compound of the Briar Patch Grove, Wupan’s largest manitari settlement. The aptly named Briar Patch is a fungal forest in the center of a labyrinth of semi-intelligent thornbushes. They allow the Cambreath Home Guard through, forcing the undead to halt and begin carefully picking their way through while getting torn to shreds by grasping vines and savage thorns. After a brief meeting with the local elders, the defenders of Briar Patch filter out into the labyrinth to engage in a brutal withering partisan campaign against the undead.
The Cambreath Home Guard defend the inner sanctums at the choke points provided by the labyrinth, and slaughter the undead piecemeal as they emerge in ragged clumps. When they threaten to overwhelm the defenders, Illianic orders a fighting retreat deeper into the fungal grove. He is relieved by a large manitari levy, which crashes enthusiastically into the undead even as they mustered for an attack. The initial foray is rebuffed, but the losses are heavy on both sides. 4,354 undead are destroyed, and 898 of the 2056 members of the manitari levy are killed, while 12 of the partisans and 10 of the Cambreath Home Guard give their lives in defense of the grove.
When the partisans return, they report that the undead massing outside of the brambles outnumber the defenders by at least twenty five to one. The manitari elders decide to temporarily abandon the settlement so long as Illianic agrees to aid them in retaking it before the end of the campaign. The deal is struck, and the manitari use a natural cave system to escape behind enemy lines and slip away to Lonesome Hill.
In the months following, the Gray Tide attempt and fail to take the Briar Patch four times, succeeding on the fifth. They lose an estimated 140,000 in the attempt, with an additional 140,000 tied up in the siege.
The manitari bring much needed reinforcements to Margrave Gims, with a 1158-strong levy, 640 manitari partisans, and a population of almost 12,000 manitari civilians that dedicate their labor for the war effort. As a result, Lonesome Hill gets much-needed improvements.
