Druidic Siege of the Dragonblood Hill Forts

Military action

The druids fail to take all the hillforts of the dracons, and are forced to retreat under the threat of envelopment, but not without inflicting a series of defeats on the lower forts.

Following the torching of a highway in an attempt to better connect the hill forts to the rest of the bases of the dragonbloods, the druids routed the warband, changed leadership and military direction, allied with the nao and set their sights on the hill forts themselves. They scouted the various encampments and found them underequipped and in poor condition, maintained by a small number of mercenaries, kobolds and few dragonbloods. A plan was devised to send a fake messenger calling for aid in an attempt to draw out their forces into the open. Several messengers were slain when they failed to give the correct password, so spies were sent to infiltrate the camps during the night. The following day, one fort held by mercenaries send a rescue pary towards the woods, which was encircled and slaughtered. The following night, several spies in one fort managed to drop poision into the food supply, killing the majority of the forces before sending a signal and opening the gates. With one fort under control and knowledge of the passwords, they attempted the same trick to ask for reinforcements, this time, two mercenary forts sent supporting efforts as well as sending a message party to ask for reinforcements, along with several pigeons. The birds were intercepted by druidic eagles, and some newly allied rangers lead the mercenaries in a defence of the fort, causing heavy casualties on the unsuspecting draconic forces. On the third night, the forts began a nervy standoff, aware of the situation unfolding. One the fourth day, two forts were abandoned and the largest fort was reinforced, a consolidation of forces under the command of a mercenary captain. They began reinforcing the walls and creating obstacles to prepare for a druidic assault. Mages purified the meals before eating, regular guards were switched at random to limit the impact of spies, suspecting traitors were taken captive and a great bonfire was lit in one of the abandoned forts, alerting the main force to the fate of the hill forts. On the fifth day, with a reinforcing army incoming and seemingly insurmountable odds against them, the druids withdrew from the hills to prepare to face the main army of the dragonbloods. This however, was a bluff, as the main draconic army had yet to be fully assembled. The fifth night, under the cover of darkness, the forts were reinforced with provisions and men, the kobolds were utilised to prepare defensive traps, and the forts began a long-term rebuilding plan. The importance of the forts to the dragonbloods is that within the mountains lay the remains of several ancient dragons, who they wish to revive to lead the cult against their foes.