Plergoth Press/Issue Four

http://wiki.battlemaster.org/images/Plergoth.png The Plergoth Press
Bring in Valhalla's head, get a lifetime subscription!	Editor: Luxor Feylonis	Issue Four, May
The main propaganda sheet and newspaper of Plergoth!

New Tidings

May 1, 1007 | By: Luxor

We received this short piece from our very own Minister of Defence, Kimberly, yesterday morning:

As I sat down to write this piece, I stopped to ask myself, just who am I writing it for? The Nobles of Plergoth? Most of them know already what I am writing. The Nobles of Khthon? Not really, although I know that they will get a copy of this newspaper eventually. The “Nobles” of Vlaanderen? Hah, I doubt many of them can even read. No, the people I am writing this for, is the people of Plergoth.

Many of you rightly question this campaign we have been on. You've suffered long at the hands of the Heroes of Khthon, and the greedy Elitists that form the core of the Rebellion. I know many of you would prefer us to be at peace. But neither of those realms are truly interested in peace. They have made token gestures in the past, but they knew as soon as they wrote it that any one with a shred of honor would reject those proposals. And Khthon constantly rejects every reasonable proposal that the Chancellor has sent to them. Until they start to show the honor that they constantly claim they have, there can be no peace between us and Khthon.

Now Old Grehk joins the campaign, but not as we feared they might months ago. They joined the war on the side of our Confederates, Ashborn. While that does not technically ally them with us, it does put their focus on two nations that have sent aid to the Rebels in Reeds. It also puts them at odds with the Rebels themselves, who have declared that our other Confederated Ally, Mesh, that they will stop any effort made by Mesh to assist Ashborn.

Where does that leave us? With a long trip from Creasur and around the Rebel city of Reeds, we cannot spare forces to lift the siege of Ashborn's capital city of Keffa. Not while Khthon remains a threat to us at least. Which brings us back to those so called heroes. It has become clear that the goblet that the Chancellor of Khthon drinks out of must be tainted, because it only ferments hatred. I once though that Geoff was the only insane one over there. But upon his honorable death in combat two weeks ago, General Elias has taken over. Once a man that I respected, and even trusted, I can see that whatever it is that taints the water there has taken over his mind. Now I fear that Khthon is nothing more than a rabid dog, that for the sake of the world must be put down, lest this disease spread further. I only hope that the death toll is not too high.

With these new tidings, especially the part about the entering of Old Grehk into the scene, this war may be won sooner that we all thought.

From the Frontlines - Skirmish in Xinjin

May 2, 1007 | By: Mendrugo

Dateline Xinjin

The roads in Xinjin are clogged with refugees fleeing southward towards Creasur as word spreads that the Khthonian marauders are returning to strike again at the Xinjinni people. This same marauding band has looted and pillaged its way through Zuhle, Eg Tutnu and Xinjin in recent months, and continues to oppress the long-suffering peoples of the occupied Plergothian lands of Weghie, Tindle and Dyomoque. Seeking revenge for the sacking of their capital, the Khthonians have launched a savage series of attacks against Plergoth's northern borders, ravaging the land while maneuvering to avoid contact with the main Plergothian defense force.

Now, however, it appears that the Khthonians have made a severe miscalculation, heading back into Xinjin into the teeth of the freshly refitted troops of the Defenders of Plergoth. Already, advance elements of the Khthonian raiding force have been met in battle and annihilated. With the coming of the dawn, this reporter expects to be able to inform you, loyal readers, of Plergoth's glorious triumph over the vile brigands from Dyomoque.

From the Frontlines - Battle in Xinjin

May 3, 1007 | By: Mendrugo

Dateline Xinjin

A hush has fallen over the woodlands of Xinjin. Where men fought and struggled and screamed and died just hours ago, now carrion birds and forest scavengers pick at the bodies of the unburied, unlamented Khthonian dead. From my concealed position atop a wooded hillock to the west of the forest clearing where the armies met, your war correspondent witnessed the whole engagement.

The Khthonian brigands, their thoughts surely occupied by rapine and plunder, advanced in several columns, snaking through the forest paths. A quick headcount returned estimates of a force nearly 500 men in number. The columns halted as advance scouts brought back word of a finding. Ahead, in a wooded glen, lay a pile of severed heads - all that remained of the advance forces that had entered Xinjin alone hours earlier. Enraged, the Khthonians charged forwards, their cohesion dissolving as they poured into the clearing and saw the remains of their fellow marauders, piggish faces permanently frozen in expressions of surprise and terror. Little did they know that a great many of them would be joining the pile momentarily.

As the Khthonians milled around in rage and confusion (and, in some cases, looted the death-pile of helmets and gold teeth), a horn sounded, answered by another, and another. The Khthonians rushed to form battle lines as the Defenders of Plergoth began to emerge from the treeline. Nearly one thousand men took the field to defend Xinjin, proudly brandishing the banner of Plergoth. At the head of the formation rode Elroy, Marshal of the Army of Plergoth.

Surveying the assembled raiders frantically attempting to form up lines and come to some semblance of order, he held his blade aloft and urged on the warriors of his command: "For Zuhle! For Weghie! For Xinjin! For Plergoth! Have at them!" The cry returned a thousandfold from the men - "FOR PLERGOTH!!!!", and the infantry, a sinuous line of bristling blades and gleaming armor, advanced towards the Khthonian positions at a steady march. Arrows fell like rain among their ranks, and many good men fell, including Dedmerath of Prevos, but the Plergothian men continued to advance, finally crashing into the defensive lines hastily formed by the Khthonian infantry and cavalry. As the battle swirled into close fighting, Khthonian banners fell, one by one, swallowed up by a righteous tide of Plergothian armsmen in savage close combat that laid low both Thomas of Xinjin and the vile Trithereon of Gaxano. Khthonian arrows continued to fall upon Plergoth's finest, felling both Chancellor VonGarrett and Supreme Judge Artevan. Finally, the surviving Khthonian bandits broke and fled into the woods, abandoning their archers to the tender mercies of Plergoth's infantry.

Howling like wolves, the Plergothian forces tore through the Khthonian archers. "For Dedmerath, Artevan and VonGarrett!!!!" the cry went up. Many of the Khthonian bowmen were garrotted with their own bowstrings, their decapitated bodies left for the wolves, and their severed heads left on the dead-pile for a ravens' feast.

The shattered Khthonian army is withdrawing and regrouping. Though beaten this day, it is certain that they will return with more blood-stained gold from their mountain mines and more conscripts from the occupied city of Dyomoque to again menace the lands of Plergoth. However, following this decisive victory over their forces, there is hope that we can one day soon end their threat to our realm and our people forever.

The Scoreboard

May 3, 1007 | By: Mendrugo

A new feature we offer our readers, tallying the damage inflicted by each side in the ongoing conflict. When the war crime trials commence after Dyomoque is burned to the ground, this record will bring the Khthonian leadership one step closer to their well deserved nooses. The numbers provided will be updated following each battle.

Plergoth:
Khthonian brigands killed, captured or wounded: 756
Khthonian warlords wounded: 1

Khthon:
Plergothian soldiers killed or wounded: 288
Plergothian nobles wounded: 6

Number of battles included in the above tally (Victors):
Xinjin: 1 (Plergoth: 1, Khthon: 0)
Tindle: 3 (Plergoth: 2, Khthon: 1)

Khthonian Criminals Apprehended

May 3, 1007 | By: Mendrugo

Following the rout of the Khthonian army in Xinjin, most of the surviving Dyomoque warlords fled back to Tindle and Weghie to lick their wounds and drown their sorrows. However, with their leader, Trithereon, lying wounded in the underbrush, recovering from having his nose hacked off, his so-called "Hope Bringers" were scattered and directionless. Throughout the day, following the battle, Plergothian patrols caught and apprehended 62 of the unit's shocked and demoralized survivors. The fight had completely left most of these men, for the most part simple peasants who had been drafted at swordpoint from their homes and fields by the brutal Khthonian regime in Dyomoque and sent to spill their lifeblood on Plergothian blades at the whim of their cruel masters. Only the eight personal guards of Trithereon put up any resistance, killing four men of the 2nd Nightstalker Legion before being slain to the last man. Patrols continue to seek Trithereon's field encampment, where he and his few surviving men (6 or fewer, we estimate) are believed to be recovering from their wounds.

This brings the total losses suffered by the Khthonian forces this day to 418 souls, a staggering 84% force reduction, compared to Plergoth's 20% casualty figures.

Extensive debriefings of the captured "Hope Bringers" will be conducted. Those guilty only of having served as forced conscripts in the Khthonian army and having shown acceptable conduct on the battlefield will be allowed to work on penal farms, helping to restore productivity to the lands they damaged. Those that took part in looting, rapine, crop destruction and/or intentional damage to infrastructure will face the headsman, and their skulls will adorn pikes atop the Traitor's Gate in Creasur, bringing hope to the citizens of Plergoth that the Khthonian menace as a whole will be similarly dealt with in the very near future.

Khthonian Criminals Pursued into Tindle - Vanguard Ambushed

May 4, 1007 | By: Mendrugo

Following the successful repulsion of the Khthonian raid into Xinjin, the Army of Plergoth set off in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits. Regrettably, the exuberance of some of the pursuers was such that they outdistanced the main body of the army and ran headlong into an ambush sprung by Khthonian militia in Tindle. Details are sketchy, but it appears that the Valentic Order Guard was forced to retreat before the Plergothian attack faltered, and Daragh's Dominators is continuing its panicked flight back to Dyomoque, leaving the militia forces to face Plergoth's main army on their own.

As to the Plergothian vanguard, "Sparta's 300" managed an orderly retreat following the wounding of their commander, Whevarier, supported by Makail's Rangers, who lost nine men. Nicolai's "Adrenaline Junkies" suffered heavy losses as well, but it was Shinayne Corrinae's 1st Successor Defenders that bore the brunt of the militia attacks, leaving seven men dead and the remaining 19 wounded, including Shinayne herself.

War Taken to Khthon's Doorstep

May 5, 1007 | By: Mendrugo

It's been a long and punishing war for Plergoth. Most of the fighting against the rebels in Reeds and the brigands of Dyomoque has taken place on Plergothian soil. In the early months of the war, Plergoth lost much of its cropland, and the military infrastructure of Xinjin, Zuhle, Eg Tutnu, Jaekind and Prevos suffered from extensive looting and attacks directed against our defenseless people. Despite the high-minded rhetoric espoused by Khthon at the outset of the conflict, it soon became clear that they were fighting a war designed to cripple our economy and eliminate our ability to fight.

Now, with the support of our steadfast allies in Avalon, Plergoth is ready to answer the Khthonians in kind for their repeated pillaging of our realm. The main body of the Plergothian army has pursued the defeated Khthonian raiders from Xinjin to Tindle, and while they cower behind the walls of Dyomoque (freshly rebuilt after the Army of Plergoth's last visit), we intend to extract our pound of flesh from the merchants, militias and nobles of Tindle - teaching them the folly of supporting the bandit regime in Dyomoque.

Nobles and knights of Khthon - by entering into Plergoth's civil war and attempting to claim our lands in order to "ensure your continued existence", you have foolishly sown the seeds of your own destruction. The Army of Plergoth has now arrived to inform you that the harvest has begun.

From the Frontlines - Battle in Tindle

May 5, 1007 | By: Mendrugo

Though night has long since fallen, an flickering glow illuminates the starless skies - Tindle is ablaze. Screams echo from the hamlets and villages, as loyal Khthonian merchants and nobles, having grown fat off the plunder taken from Plergoth in recent months, are forcibly divested of their ill-gotten gains...and their lives, if they resist.

Tonight's Tindle is a much different land than the one which greeted the dawn. The Tindle militia forces, supported by the rear-guard of the shattered raiding party fleeing from Xinjin, had successfully ambushed the vanguard of the Army of Plergoth pursuit force. The sullen Plergothian prisoners huddled in the central square of Tindle's capital city, under guard, while the militia troops drank to their success and were toasted by the bejewled noblewomen and overfed merchants of the town.

The celebratory atmosphere was disrupted as a scout on horseback, his eyes wide with fear and his mount driven near to death, galloped through the city gates and made his report. "M'lords! Plergothian troops have crossed the border in great numbers, far more than we can hope to face! They'll be here within hours!" A ragged cheer went up among the Plergothian prisoners, then faded as militia guards clubbed the shackled soldiers with their spear butts.

The militia commander turned to Daragh, commander of Daragh's Dominators. "M'lord. Can we expect reinforcements from Dyomoque? Will Khthon come to defend us?" However, his question remained unanswered, as the Daragh was already saddling his horse and readying his unit to flee to the distant safety of Dyomoque's walls. Only Raffi and his veteran "Raging Storm" archers remained to support the Tindle militia.

The battle was a trifling affair. Raffi's archers vented their frustration and rage upon their former allies from Avalon, slaying 13 Guards of Ippetimbal before being annihilated. The militia fought bravely, but were simply overwhelmed by the tidal wave of warriors that struck their lines, outnumbering them four to one. Within two hours, the last traces of Khthonian resistance had been swept from the field, leaving Plergoth and Avalon alone on the field.

Surveying Tindle, a prosperous territory that had thus far been nearly untouched by the savagery of the sort that Khthon had unleashed on Plergoth's lands, the command went forth: "Burn Tindle to the ground! Let them learn of the horror of war, and the terrible consequences of their support for the bandit kings of Dyomoque."

As dawn breaks, spreading a sullen gray light over the shattered countryside, the plumes of greasy black smoke rising into the sky are certainly visible from the parapets of Dyomoque. They are a message to the cabal of thieves cowering behind the walls - Plergoth is Coming!

From the Frontlines - Skirmish in Tindle

May 5, 1007 | By: Mendrugo

As the flames spread throughout Tindle, those loyal to the bandit kings of Dyomoque have not been idle. Shadowy figures dart from haystack to haystack, gathering, organizing, planning. Scribes hurry from hut to hut, bringing reports to community leaders and the surviving militia commanders. The news is grim - the Plergothians have attacked with cold hate in their eyes and vengeance in their hearts, and the Khthonian army continues to cling to the tenuous protection of their fortifications - leaving the people of Tindle to their fate.

If the Dyomoque cabal of cowards won't help them, the Tindlese realize, they'll have to save themselves. Able bodied men are recruited from the fields - farmers who've lost their lands and meager possessions, peasants who've lost loved ones, young nobles who've seen their stores and mills and futures reduced to ashen waste - and hastily organized into something vaguely resembling a proper military formation, though referring to it as an unruly mob wouldn't be too far from the truth. Pitchforks and reaping scythes far outnumber polearms and swords, but they have numbers, patriotism and righteous rage on their side, and they are, after all, the blessed Children of the Egg.

Once assembled, the militia captains lead the charge against the Plergothians, who have taken a brief break from their pillaging to face this renewed resistance to their operations. The Tindlese men, seeing the assembled enemy, their banners black from the smoking ruins of cities and farms, their hands red with the blood of Tindlese peasants, shout with rage and charge...into an absolute hail of arrows fired by the professionally trained and well-equipped Plergothian troops. Farmers, merchants, militiamen - charge forward into the waiting arms of the enemy, ducking their heads and raising their arms as if to ward off the lethal shafts. It avails them little. Mere minutes into the battle, dozens of the partisans are lying on the ground, screaming, thrashing, and pouring their lifeblood onto the ground they fought to defend.

A militia captain attempts to rally the men, "By the Great Egg, we fight for Tind...URK!" A well aimed shaft flies true, piercing his throat. With his death, the nerve of the Tindlese breaks, and the survivors flee. Those few that managed to reach the Plergothian lines find their farm implements no match for tempered Creasur steel.

With the morning's entertainment finished, the Plergothian troops return to the business of crushing Tindle's ability to contribute further to the Khthonian war effort.

The fires continue to rage unchecked...