To Her Fey Majesty Queen Yolande
From Envoy Skye Ni'Tessine

The moon Celene lies high in the night sky tonight, half-lit, the other half cloaked. While my missives typically bear news of the sunlit races, this time I must inform you of cloaked foes and darker deeds.

I heard of an assemblage of diplomats in the Duchy of Ulek. Courtiers from all nations and groups across the Sheldomar Valley were meeting there to discuss a treaty. Knowing your interest in keeping informed of the lands outside our nation, I arranged to be hired as a mercenary for the exile Dervan Nial Cusar of the Sea Princes.

We progressed eastward, numbering over 200 people, less than half of which were combatants. Far from any known threat, we were not expecting any trouble, and the only disagreeable thing was the foul weather. Night was nearing, and it was then that we all heard it: deep, low warhorns sounded from the surrounding hills. Across the hills, we could dimly make out an army of humanoids of all sizes. How an army of this size managed to surprise us, and more importantly not be noticed by the Duchy of Ulek forces, escapes me.

We fled towards the relative safety of an old keep that stood nearby. High Herald Dasco sent some of his men ahead to investigate and secure it. When we arrived, these men confirmed that the keep was empty, and that the walls were old but serviceable. However, gaps sometimes wider than a man's outstretched hands pitted the keep's outer bailey and even the inner walls.

Knight Commander Wainwright took command and directed each of the men-at-arms to a designated wall, based on the diplomat they were escorting. Along with the other Sea Prince mercenaries, I took to the east inner wall.

The bulk of the non-combatants gathered in the outer courtyard, the diplomats in the center, some arguing loudly on strategy, others quietly despairing. Then there were cries from the diplomats, and they looked at their items with shock on their faces. I’m not sure exactly what occured, but some of them were brandishing their weapons and items impotently, horrified at the loss of their magic belongings.

Men that were in the courtyard began to shore up the gatehouse as best they could. It was then that we discovered the absence of the Kron Hills delegation, as well as the County of Ulek delegation. Before we were even besieged by our unknown foes, it seems we had already suffered losses.

Knight Commander Wainwright strode over to me. "Skye, I need you to help out the Yeomanry freemen on the west wall". I did not know this Knight beforehand, so I assume that like other people who offer me free lodging wherever I travel he must have heard of my deeds in Tenh. Nodding, I took off at a quick jog to the other side of the inner keep.

Reaching the top of the wall, I saw Magnus of the Principality defending the crumbling open-aired tower next to me. Nearby, Captain Watcher Airk Tynan sat abreast his mount guarding a gap in the wall, with another man on the ground guarding the second gap in the wall. Other men also stood resolutely against our unseen foes, though I confess I did not learn their names.

A barrage began. Those on the walls, despite their cover, were hit with crossbow bolts. Anyone in the open was especially hard hit. It was clear that while the humanoids could see us, we were still unable to discern our foes. Then, acidballs streaked overhead, landing just inside our wall, fortunately missing us.

Men were scattering, attempting to find cover or shoring up the gaps. We heard another scream from the inner courtyard. I saw two Yeoman militia attack and slaughter a Knight of the Watch, and then attack each other in turn. Clearly these men were confused. As we watched, more men spread out in confusion, and five of them attacked us from within our side of the wall. Doing our best to subdue these freemen rather than slaughter them, we fought with restraint.

While some of us were still busy with these men, we got our first sight of the enemy. The barrage lifted momentarily, and roughly 40 feet from our wall we saw huge brutish ogres advance on us. They reached our walls within moments, and one of the defenders was caught with the crazed Yeomen on one side and the Ogre Brutes flanking on the other side. One ogre managed to break in, but was quickly run down by Captain Watcher Airk Tynan.

Knight Commander Wainwright rode by, yelling out “Do you hold?”. We replied that we did. We eventually managed to subdue the Yeomen, and could now fully concentrate on our ogre assailants. I had pulled back from the wall during our fray, casting Overland Flight to better position myself for some spells. Magnus and some others were still on the tower. Without a break in the fighting, two Ogre Magi suddenly appeared over the tower and blasted Magnus with their Cones of Cold. Realizing our dire situation, I unleashed an Empowered Fireball against these new foes, and they dropped lifeless to the ground. Within seconds, two more Ogre Magi suddenly appeared near me, and blasted me with their frigid cones. Still up, though now much weaker, I again unleashed another Empowered Fireball, dropping the two from the sky. Though we had scarce begun to be attacked, I had already used my three memorized fireballs. Things were starting to look bleak.

Fortunately, we heard another set of warhorns sounding out in the night, and the attack ceased temporarily. We had survived their first attack, but we knew there would be more to come.

End Part I