Siege of Helm's Hold

The Siege of Helm's Hold was a prolonged assault upon the city by its allied force that comprised its outcast leaders, soldiers of the Neverwinter Guard, along with some local allies and conscripted adventurers. They sought to take back Helm's Hold from the Prophet Rohini, her Ashmadai cultists and the devils of the Nine Hells.

The siege encompassed the external assault on the city by the combined forces of Helm's Hold and Neverwinter as well as the internal battles that erupted due to its occupation.

Location
The primary conflicts of the siege were fought throughout the blasted battlefield, the ruined stretch of land that lay between Helm's Hold proper and the Last Redoubt war camp established a short distance to the west.

Activities
Throughout the entirety of the siege, fighting permeated Helm's Hold and the surrounding landscape. Rohini's devils ran rampant through the city's streets, poisoning the city's wells and forcing residents to barricade themselves in their homes. Imps tortured the residents of the city that dared to make their presence known while erinyes and legion devils patrolled its streets, hunting down any signs of resistance.

Causes
During the 1470s DR a prophet of Helm named Rohini arrived in the city that bore his name, garnering great renown and power within the city, all while bearing a great secret: that she was actually a succubus aligned with both the Abolethic Sovereignty and the Ashmadai. The dutiful Captain Dunfield confronted the prophet, forcing her to reveal her true nature and let loose her devil-worshipping cultists throughout the city. While the captain and his mercenary soldiers tried to hold the city, they were ultimately forced beyond its walls.

Battle
As Rohini consolidated power within Helm's Hold, Captain Dunfield orchestrated the first assault to retake the city. It was a unmitigated failure and the captain's forces endured great casualties. He regrouped at the Last Redoubt war camp just outside the city and rallied the few survivors, among which were the Impilturan warrior Baram Hannikar and Brother Theodosian.

Sergeant Alphonse Knox of the Neverwinter Guard sent help in the form of intrepid adventurers, including the Hero of Sleeping Dragon Bridge. Working with Captain Dunfield, the hero was able to reconnect with pockets of resistance located throughout the city, including a forward camp led by the Helmite cleric Brother Satarin, an underground resistance group operating out of the Old Dirty Dwarf led by Councilwoman Alisara Callum, and a rear camp situated on the edge of Watcher's Forest led by Dassar Truebow.

Together, the hero and their allies were able to break the occupation of Helm's Hold from within. They defeated Rohini's numerous lieutenants, the devil known as the Shepherd of the Damned, in the Warrens beneath Scar Alley; and the charismatic Halas, leader of the Heirs of Azure. As the resistance garnered successes, Rohini managed to abduct several of the city's leaders, including Dunfield and Satarin and make one final stand within the Cathedral of Helm. The Hero of Sleeping Dragon Bridge infiltrated the Sanatorium beneath the cathedral, defeated its warden Torlgar and finally defeated the succubus Rohini, removing her from the face of Faerûn.

Aftermath
Reinforcements from Neverwinter were rapidly dispatched to route the scattered Ashmadai cultists remaining in the city. The siege of Helm's Hold was put to an end and its devilish occupiers were returned to their home in the Outer Planes.

Combatants
The besiegers of Helm's Hold included the Neverwinter Guard army, a number of conscripted adventurers, and dissident freedom fighters drawn from among the city's political, religious, and military leaders. It was a true coalition of individuals who sought to restore Helm's Hold to its rightful state as a sanctuary devoted to the deity Helm.

The forces that occupied Helm's Hold included the Prophet Rohini and her Ashmadai warlocks, many of whom were converted from the Heirs of Azure political movement; scores of devils summoned from the Nine Hells, a great many foulspawn that dwelled within the catacombs and sewer system beneath the city.

Appearances

 * Video Games