The Battle of Freeman's Down was a clash of the Northmen of Norland versus the Ffolk of eastern Corwell and their allies during the Darkwalker War of the Year of the Saddle, 1345 DR. It occurred at Freeman's Down in the Highlands of Gwynneth as the Ffolk intercepted the Northmen while they attempted to march across the mountains.[2][3][4]
Location[]
The battle took place in a small river valley in the mountains above the Corwell Road in central Corwell. It lay along the path of a low pass between the southern Myrloch Vale and Corwell. It was characterized by an open field bisected east-to-west by a narrow drainage ditch, and was bounded to the east by the Deep Stream and to the west by the low hill of Freeman's Down.[3][5]
The site was selected by Prince Tristan Kendrick of Corwell for its geography, which he judged to be suitable for a defensive stand against the approaching Northmen army as it marched over the mountains from Myrloch Vale.[5]
History[]
Causes[]
After razing the eastern cantrevs of Corwell throughout the month of Kythorn,[1] King Grunnarch the Red of Norland and King Raag Hammerstaad of Norheim split their forces in order to surround and massacre the surviving Ffolk, who were fleeing west along Corwell Road, in accordance with a plan laid out by King Thelgaar Ironhand. While Raag's forces marched along the Corwell Road with the bulk of the armies' supplies, Grunnarch marched his men over Dynloch Pass with the intention of cutting through Myrloch Vale to intercept the refugees, trapping them between the two armies.[7] In truth, the plan was not devised by the true Thelgaar Ironhand but by the Beast Kazgaroth, who used his vile magic to bolster Grunnarch's forces. This included transforming Grunnarch's Bloodriders, led by Laric, into blood warriors, and by corrupting the druid Trahern to serve as a guide through the Vale and to rendezvous the Northmen army with a force of firbolgs led by Groth.[8]
Meanwhile, Prince Tristan Kendrick and his companions discovered the carnage in eastern Corwell on Kythorn 26, and resolved to pursue the Northmen through the mountains. Their band was joined by the Sisters of Synnoria on Kythorn 30, who pledged their allegiance to Tristan according to tradition when the mighty horse Avalon permitted the prince to ride him, and the Sisters took them via a shortcut through Synnoria to get ahead of Grunnarch's army.[6][9] On Flamerule 3, they were joined by a force of dwarves led by Finellen, whom the band had previously rescued from firbolg imprisonment. The small force arrived at Freeman's Down ahead of the Northmen, who meanwhile were being harried and attacked by the forces of nature as directed by the Great Druid Genna Moonsinger.[5][6] Tristan resolved to make a stand there in order to slow the enemy long enough for the Ffolk refugees to pass and escape the Northmen's trap. As his allies prepared the battleground, Tristan rode down to the Corwell Road in hopes of gathering a militia to fight alongside them. Despite his inexperience as a leader, he was surprisingly successful at rallying his people, and gathered six hundred able-bodied men and women (armed with everything from real weapons to farming implements) and forty archers (mostly hunters and woodsmen).[3][5]
Battle[]
The battle took place on Flamerule 4.[1] Two thirds of the Ffolk militia formed up along the ditch running across Freeman's Down while the remaining third stayed behind the line as a reserve. The forty Ffolk archers, the twenty mounted Sisters of Synnoria, and the sixty dwarves all remained hidden behind the top of the western hill. The Ffolk militia was ragtag, but consisted of enough lords, veterans, or respected elders that one could be stationed every twenty paces along the front line to serve as officers. Tristan's friends Daryth and Pawldo also joined the line, while the massive blacksmith Gavin led the reserves. Tristan and Robyn, alongside Tristan's moorhounds, stayed behind the front line to provide support wherever the line faltered. The famed bard Keren Donnell used his harp to inspire the troops. Meanwhile, Brigit Cu'Lyrran led the Sisters of Synnoria while Finellen led her dwarves.[3][4]
When the Northmen arrived at the top of the valley, their exhausted army took its time to form up before letting out a great roar and charging the Ffolk line. Grunnarch held the Bloodriders and the fribolgs in reserve.[3][4]
Amid a rain of arrows from the hill, the Northmen berserkers charged into the Ffolk line, tripping over the ditch and leaving the first wave open to the militia's first attacks. The line held surprisingly well, with Tristan and his friends rushing to close any gaps, but soon the reserves were needed. At this point, the impatient and bloodthirsty Bloodriders defied orders and charged the seemingly undefended western hill, intending to encircle the Ffolk. However, they were countered by a charge of the Sisters of Synnoria, who had the advantage of attacking downhill despite their smaller numbers. The Bloodriders' defiance also spurred the firbolg's to charge the hill, and they were likewise surprised and then routed by the dwarves.[3][4]
Tristan, astride Avalon and joined by his dog Canthus, joined the Sisters of Synnoria in their fight with the Bloodriders, and clashed directly with Laric. Meanwhile, Gavin led the Ffolk in a charge that broke the Northmen's lines and sent them back to the top of the valley to regroup, ending the battle.[3][4]
Aftermath[]
Tristan and the Ffolk successfully stalled Grunnarch's advance and allowed the refugees to escape. That night, they retreated as the Northmen set up camp. While Tristan was very proud of his victory in the first battle he had ever led, he was admonished by his allies for failing to appreciate how minor of a victory it was and just how terrible the human cost had been.[10] Many had died on both sides of the battle, and notable casualties included Carina, a Sister of Synnoria slain by Laric as she saved Tristan's life. Tristan also believed that his prized moorhound Canthus had been killed, but the dog survived with the intervention of Genna Moonsinger.[4][10]
Tristan and his allies retreated west to Caer Corwell, pursued by the Northmen, where they would all participate in the definitive Battle of Caer Corwell.[3]
In the summer of the next year, the evil Bhaalist cleric Hobarth raised the dead of the battle as skeletons and zombies for his attack on the Sacred Grove of the Earthmother.[11]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Karen Wynn Fonstad (August 1990). The Forgotten Realms Atlas. (TSR, Inc), p. 30. ISBN 978-0880388573.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Brian R. James (December 2007). “Grand History of the Realms: The Moonshaes”. Dragon #362 (Wizards of the Coast). Archived from the original on 2009-06-01.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Karen Wynn Fonstad (August 1990). The Forgotten Realms Atlas. (TSR, Inc), pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-0880388573.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 15. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 14. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 13. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 11. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 7. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 12. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Douglas Niles (May 2011). Darkwalker on Moonshae. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 16. ISBN 978-0-7869-5958-7.
- ↑ Douglas Niles (May 2011). Black Wizards. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 7. ISBN 978-0-7869-5970-9.