12/22/39 LC - Field Report - Abigail Potter

=== 12/5/39 ===
Author: SGT Abigail Potter
Personnel covered by my perspective:
LT Clement
LT Reynard
SGM Witherseed
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
CPL Silverlight
PVT Campana
PVT Dawnblade
RCT Krueger
RCT Taidar
LT Thunderaxe
Summary:
On December 5th, after preparations were made, Lieutenant Clement called the regiment into formation for a quick briefing, and then we began our march south following the recent orders to deploy to Stranglethorn.
On the way there, we encountered a pack of gnoll bandits, but they fled upon our approach.
We arrived at the County of Ebonstone before long, and were welcomed by the Lord Ebonstone into Ebonstone Keep, where accommodations were generous and very hospitable.
Some curious points mentioned by Lord Ebonstone:
• The hozen reports are on a decline since the past few days.
• He does not consider them a serious threat.
Our company has stationed there for the night, given ample warning by the Lord Ebonstone regarding the dangers of Duskwood past midnight.
=== 12/6/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel covered:
SGM Witherseed
LT Reynard
LT Clement
SGT Potter
SGT Gromley
MSGT Locke (DM)
CPL Greycliff
CPL Silverlight
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
PFC Mawi
PVT Lloria
PVT Dawnblade
RCT Campana
RCT Gizzletink
RCT Wood
Summary:
At the end of our morning, December 6th, we continued our march to Stranglethorn Vale, leaving the County of Ebonstone. It was a smooth ride, only spotting a few worgen that scattered before our presence.
Upon arriving at the JTSE holding, we met with Master James Brixton and then moved with him to Base Camp Two with minimal difficulty, minus a troublesome bridge that needed repair.
Regarding the hozen presence, it seemed to be somewhat heightened there. While I did not see them personally, you could hear them at times, and then there came reports from some of the workers about spotting them. In response, one of their chiefs assembled a small unit to combat them, and despite LT Reynard's protests, entered into the jungle to cull the threats.
We heard gunfire throughout the night for some hours, and then silence resumed.
=== 12/7/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel Covered:
LT Clement
LT Reynard
SGM Witherseed
MSGT Thaddeus
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
CPL Greycliff
CPL Silverlight
PVT Gizzletink
RCT Krueger
RCT Wood
LT Thunderaxe
JTSE TRAINING. Today the unit assembled was tasked with learning about the necessities of surviving in the jungle, and then how to build a makeshift shelter out of minimal materials available. I believe the troop performed quite well in constructing the structures, but a dispute arose with the instructor. I'm uncertain how it began exactly, but there were some complaints about disrespect, especially from the external LT Thunderaxe.
Master James Brixton quit the lesson, fed up with the complaints, and then reported the affair to his commander. Lord Commander de Valence-Mercier arrived at the base camp not long after and scolded the unit about cooperation, and LT Clement also followed up with further reinforcement of the importance of harmony and discipline.
LC de Valence-Mercier stated that he would try and have James return for further training, and we await future notice.
In the evening the men and women shared a game of Marmotball to wind down before rest.
=== 12/8/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Present:
Instructor Terrance Anglesey (Thaddeus, DM)
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Silverlight
CPL Greycliff
CPL Cooper
RCT Gizzletink
RCT Krueger
RCT Wood
LT Thunderaxe (External)
Report:
Today we were involved in a lesson on land navigation, following directions and navigating the jungle. Our instructor was Terrance Anglesey, and let it be formally known that he seemed rather inexperienced with teaching.
The first half of the lesson he did for us before realizing that he was supposed to let us navigate on our own under his supervision.
For the second half I, SGT Potter, directed the training unit according to the directions given until we reached near to our destination. At the final "old troll" ruins, we came across a tree, where our instructor wanted to give us a lesson on grub eating for sustenance.
Upon lifting a log though, we discovered underneath several deceased bodies, mangled by the likes of claws and weapons and even some skinned. They were decomposing quickly in this environment, but there were hard hats present, and we did recover the rank insignia and nameplate of CWO-5 Derreck Gaines, the officer that was leading the team of engineers into the jungle to cull the hozen presence.
At the time, we replaced the log over the bodies and left it as-is for further investigation.
Without further problem, we finished our journey to Base Camp 3, where we have set up our tents and are now stationed. We had the commanding officer Captain Ridings visit us, where CPL Cooper informed him of the details of the discovery.
==== Additional Field Report Date: 12/8/39 ====
Author: SGT Potter
During our training exercise on the date labeled above, we came across a most curious entity, appearing like a dwarf clad in red wizard robes. While the entity did not define himself, most assumed that he was the "river wizard."
Many soldiers were skeptical of the wizard's existence and thought it to be a mere trick being played on them, but I had warned them to respect the entity, lest he truly be the fabled "river wizard", and us cursed by some eldritch magic.
CPL Cooper sought blessings from the wizard—ample strength so that he may become a knight of the realm—and the entity allegedly granted him the blessing, splashing him with his sacred waters from under the robe, and lightly scorned those who appeared to not agree of his potency.
He then left, returning to under the river's waters, but not without a warning to heed regarding the "Wizard of Earth", which he stated, "entertains new guests, red with mirth."
=== 12/10/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
CDR Laldere
CPT Sebale
LT Reynard
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
PVT Aelryndel
PVT Spears
PVT Zander
RCT Campana
RCT Krueger
LT Thunderaxe (external)
Today the Honor company completed the final course for the Jungle Training School of Excellence, and they are certified ready for jungle combat. The final course consisted of a practice scenario of land navigation and combat practice, pitting two squads of our forces against each other with training weapons.
The men have sustained minor injuries from the exercise, with PVT Spears having been considerably knocked out from blunt trauma.
MSGT Locke decided to also lead the party out on his own volition to encourage them to eat a larvae from beneath a log, an important lesson that had been interrupted before and incomplete.
During the graduation ceremony, a rider approached the gates, someone who represented Lord Ebonstone: Sir Euron the Polite. He came to tell us that Ebonstone wishes us to stay one night in his keep to discuss a "most aggravating" matter regarding the new hozen. With some discussion with the soldiers present, LT Reynard stated that we will be spending the night in Ebonstone Keep, to help morale, let the injured rest in less hostile conditions, and allow us some time to plan our next objective.
He has also stated that he would be ordering his own knights to come and reinforce this location--JTSE Base Camp 3--should an emergency arise with the hozen threat while our soldiers are absent.
=== 12/11/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
LT Clement
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
CPL Silverlight
PVT Lloria
RCT Krueger
LT Thunderaxe (Dwarven Vanguard)
Summary:
On December 11th, we made preparations to march for Ebonstone Keep, but we encountered significant delays. For one, Fury Team of the recon units returned to the base, their condition as follows:MSGT Kenneth St. Byron - DeceasedCPL Erik McSimmonds - Alive, OKPFC Gaspar Alonso - DeceasedPFC Magnus Keynes - Alive, Critically injured/sicknessMcSimmonds' report is as follows:
# Found a very significant hozen presence at [243, 136]. Also reported modern technology, such as mines.
# Found dark hozen, almost glowing.
# Pressing more into the concentration revealed a "fuck ton of them" who had taken over troll ruins in the area.
# Radio had troubles so they couldn't communicate.
# Radio operator PFC Alonso was compromised when the radio malfunctioned and blared Booty Bay music.
# He shut it off but it was too late, so he "went loud", drawing attention to himself away from the others, and was killed.
# On their escape, MSGT St. Byron had used a mine to detonate himself near hostiles to cause a diversion. This is not entirely confirmed, but likely.
McSimmonds has requested that both of the deceased heroes be awarded the Stormwind Medal of Valor.
We spent some additional time to help treat PFC Keynes before setting out to march, CPL Aurelious had led a small party out to a nearby area to harvest some herbs that would help treat the sickness.
During the march we experienced some delays, some with the jungle terrain, but most with the bridges that were still stuck in disrepair since the workers' incident.
We arrived at Ebonstone Keep late at night, and the Lord Ebonstone had already turned in for the night. We will reconvene at the soonest available time tomorrow morning to hold our meeting.
=== 12/12/39 ===
Author: SGT PotterPersonnel:GM MontclairCDR LaldereCPT SebaleLT FurlbrowLT ClementLT Davenport (Reignsford)LT ValrikLT Thunderaxe (Dwarven Vanguard)MSGT LockeSGT PotterSGT GromleyCPL AureliousCPL CooperCPL GreycliffCPL SilverlightPFC MawiPVT DawnbladeRCT CampanaRCT GizzletinkRCT KruegerRCT WoodSummary:We were to have a meal and meeting with The Lord Ebonstone, but he was busy with correspondence to Bleaktower, so we proceeded on with the meal without him. Near the end, he came to greet us and stated his piece: Lord Bleaktower, his son Cedric had been killed by the hozen in the jungle, and he wishes for us to render him the favor of eradicating all of the hozen, which certainly aligns with our agenda already.Mara was a hunter that reported the loss, one of the hunters in his party that survived and escaped.We went over a full overview of our intel and previous events in our campaign.Just as we sought to deliberate, hozen showed up. It would seem that the chief "Ro-Ro" wants peace and not war. They turned over the large hozen responsible for many crimes, such as a bulk of the Hayley Chain deaths, the engineers, and the Lord Bleaktower's death. All of these correlations have been somewhat confirmed by survivors. A messenger accompanying him stated that the hozen, Grimpot, was exiled for defying the chief's orders, and that they are sorry.Lord Ebonstone immediately sentence Grimpot to death, where he would personally sever the head. Despite some brief argument, concerns that they would be throwing away a crucial lead, GM Montclair respected The Lord Ebonstone's decision, that of a grieving father, and allowed it without question. He stated that they would instead keep the lesser hozen, the messenger, alive for questioning.With this new information in mind, our company will continue discourse and come to an plan of action for our campaign.
=== 12/13/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
CDR Laldere
CPT Sebale
LT Furlbrow
LT Clement
LT Davenport (Reignsford)
LT Valrik
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
CPL Silverlight
PVT Dawnblade
PVT Zander
PVT Lloria
RCT Gizzletink
RCT Krueger
RCT Wood
The Lord Ebonstone
Report:
After some time to let the matters discussed prior settle, we convened again at Ebonstone Keep to discuss our actions moving forward. The Lord Ebonstone was present during most of the deliberation. A meeting report has been compiled separately with the points covered in discussion.
During the meeting a soldier delivered correspondence written by Captain Reignsford, which suggests that he is well. A copy of the letter is attached to the meeting report for this date.
We concluded the meeting with an action plan titled Operation Hook, which would be revised by the meeting's topics, drafted by MSGT Locke. The revised version will be completed by tomorrow morning.
=== 12/16/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
GM Maxen
CDR Laldere
LT Clement
LT Davenport (Reignsford)
LT Reynard
LT Thunderaxe (Dwarven Vanguard)
SGM Witherseed
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
CPL Greycliff
CPL Silverlight
PVT Lloria
RCT Clye
RCT Wood
RCT Ravenbrew
Report:
Today we were to meet with the hozen enemy on the Nazferiti lake to discuss negotiations. We arrived in a semi-timely manner, bringing with us a sizable escort and had air support circling the air above us, as a means to show the enemy what they would be dealing with should they not surrender.
When the enemy showed up, only one of theirs, Ro-Ro, chose to board the raft provided. We had a radio communication established with the meeting so that it could be distributed and logged. A full log may be requested from CPL Gothsid. Key points of the meeting are as follows:
- Ro-Ro is acting somewhat against the interests of his people, in favor of protecting them.
- Says that they want to fight, but he doesn't.
- Says that they cannot win this war, but they don't know that. Only he does.
- Says that he is on thin ice; with his people upset from him exiling Grimpot.
- Any compromise on his part would lead to the end of his reign, which would in turn lead to war and the belief that all of his people would die in it.
- Wants to avoid that, but can't, and can only ask for mercy from us, as none of our demands could be given without him ending his reign and having the hozen start a war without him being able to stop it.
There was some confusion here, as I was under the belief that there would be a number of hours to deliberate and submit to demands, but as our people withdrew from the meeting that was making no progress with negotiations (after Ro-Ro's response was clear), the shore was bombed immediately, and they tried to kill him as well.
A few planes were shot down, another damaged, by void magic cast in retaliation. CPL Cooper and CPL Greycliff were among them, but they managed to have a safe landing and return.
After we returned to base, the radio operator said they had a feed to the enemy camp - the radio that we gave them. It sounded like an execution of Reignsford was about to take place, and LT Clement instructed CPL Gothsid to turn off the feed-- as soon as she did though, Reignsford's voice came on with a threat "Yes Die" as his last words, and there were hints of chaos before the feed was turned off, after which Clement instructed her to turn it back on, but it was interrupted by interference from Booty Bay for a while before the signal cleared.
From what we heard, Ro-Ro was still alive, and protected Reignsford from execution. He also warned us through the radio to "not drop fire there" or we will kill our people, and then the feed was muffled again.
After noting his survival, Clement advised LT Reynard about this, who went to provide some support in the field with CPL Greycliff. I assume to intercept should someone be letting Reignsford go, but they haven't returned. Under the Lord Commander's order, we should consider all of them a casualty of war and continue with extreme prejudice.
Phase 5 of Operation Hook was drafted up by the Lord Commander to maximize our advantages against the hozen, and it will begin execution soon.
=== 12/17/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
CPT Sebale
LT Clement
LT Thunderaxe (Dwarven Vanguard)
MSGT Locke
SGM Witherseed
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
CPL Silverlight
PVT Dawnblade
PVT Zander
RCT Clye
RCT Wood
Merc. Suuburina Crux
Report:
Some difficulty was encountered when beginning the assault phase of Operation Hook, as drafted by Lord Commander Laldere. For one, Tropical Storm Tammy was hitting the shores and providing harsh winds and rains, unsuitable for flying. Two, the escorted mages in the field were ambushed and mostly all killed, as reported by SGM Witherseed.
We convened for a small briefing of how to continue at that time, where LT Clement suggested that ground control is a good option, make sure that what we have is secure. CPL Gothsid mentioned that there was a warning from Mill-in-the-Vines (from our recon team stationed there), that they were experiencing some intermittent attacks and holding them off, but may need some assistance before long.
We deployed there with 100 men, four marching columns, but the jungle and rain proved to be a severe threat. Firstly we were ambushed viciously, with an alarming number of people killed or wounded - one of which was from an explosive thrown into a knot formation at our rear. We managed to gain our footing and scare them off, killing at least 3 of them per 1 of our soldiers.
They resorted to further stealth tactics, using the trees as cover while raining assault on us - we could hardly do anything but move quickly, as visibility and audibility in the storm was near nil.
Upon reaching Mill-in-the-Vines, we pulled together and flanked the hozen that were assaulting from the left side. The clearing of trees that was ordered last week proved very effective, removing that advantage from the hozen, and they were cut down from two angles, some managing to flee under the cover of one of their larger ones who was ultimately put down by a swift maneuver from RCT Clye.
There was some patrolling done within the mill that discovered a somewhat rogue hozen named Togapoo, Akuna Clan. After questioning we found out that it was the Baron Bramblebeard's friend, and they had been interacting with one another for the past month. Further questioning revealed that Bramblebeard had provided the hozen armies with tools and materials to build armor, but he claimed that rather than being a traitor to the realm, he was simply trading with travelers, as it had been done last month before they were considered a threat. He is being confined until further notice against his will.
Today, we had a mercenary with us, Suuburina Crux, who expressed interest in formally joining our regiment.
=== 12/18/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
LT Clement
LT Thunderaxe (Dwarven Vanguard)
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
CPL Silverlight
PVT Lloria
PVT Tork
PVT Zander
RCT Campana
Sir Obrahiim of Andorhal
Report:
After Tropical Storm Tammy had somewhat died down, we gathered for discussion on how to proceed against the enemy next. LT Clement had a rough idea of a saboteur plan, where we would infiltrate near their compound and try and draw as many out onto us as possible before executing them, a means to demoralize and cut out a large portion of their soldiers with minimal losses on our end.
The plan was refined as follows:
Small team, bring a radio operator to coordinate with pilots.
1. Move to location of choice, northeast of the "Temple" where there was some damage done by the previous air strike.
2. Escort Aurelious and Cooper who are carrying sensitive materials.
3. Cooper prepares explosives at our destination.
4. Aurelious handles a firestarter compound further in the distance to help draw out the enemy in addition to our mages also casting some fire.
5. Fires are to taunt the enemy to our location - them thinking that we are carving something out in the forest to stage an assault.
6. Pilot 1 drops a small payload atop the temple to incite the hozen, further pushing them towards our plan. Pilot 2 remains on standby.
7. We hold the location for a while to let Cooper arm the explosives.
8. Retreat through a portal once they descend upon us.
9. If we cannot manage to portal, paladins can shield us in an emergency from the blast radius, and we escape on foot.
The plan went exceptionally well during execution, with minimal casualties in the field in exchange for what we can only assume almost a hundred of the enemy. The portal had a bit of trouble, some kind of interference, but luckily we dropped off in a safe area near the shore, and also luckily Master James Brixton came across us, and he escorted us back to the JTSE compound, camp 1, encountering no hozen and simple minor jungle threats like snakes.
With the success of this operation, we need to act quickly to strike while the enemy is demoralized.
=== 12/19/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
CPT Sebale
LT Clement
LT Furlbrow
LT Thunderaxe (Dwarven Vanguard)
SGM Witherseed
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Cooper
CPL Silverlight
PFC Tork
PVT Zander
RCT Campana
RCT Gizzletink
RCT Wood
The Silverguard's soldiers:
Miralyne, Vanyali, Volantus, Lyraeni, Seriphene, Alamli
Report:
After our successful conclusion from the previous mission, various units moved in towards The Temple to surround it for siege.
We had a short briefing with the reinforcements that arrived from the north, The Silverguard order, and then moved southward to join the effort.
Upon reaching the point that we had cleared out prior, it was under heavy attack by hozen, and we worked to push them back towards The Temple, where we followed up and then met severe opposition.
The Temple was guarded by several dozen armored hozen enemies, very large, plated armor, tower shields, and iron poles. Through our combined efforts, we were able to push them back into the interior of the fortress as we secured the outside, taking over their towers.
We are stationed there for the night to precede our continued assault tomorrow.
In addition, from some magical scrying this morning with CPL Cooper, I was able to glean a vague idea that our prisoners have escaped from the fortress and are somewhere in the south. Recon has been dispatched to look for them.
=== 12/20/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
GM Montclair
CPT Reignsford
LT Clement
LT Thunderaxe (Dwarven Vanguard)
SGM Witherseed
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
CPL Silverlight
PVT Dawnblade
PVT Lloria
PVT Zander
RCT Campana
RCT Krueger
The Silverguard:
Lyraeni, Estelle, Ylandra, Malithanore, Avaline
Report:
Today we worked quickly to breach the enemy compound during our siege to rescue the hostages inside.
Our execution was as follows:
- Three breach points, two near the main gate, and one off in the distance using an arcane bomb provided by our allies. PVT Lloria handled the explosives for one side, with other engineers from our company on the main gate.
- Primary force entered through the main side, using the two breach points to help us enter quickly so that we wouldn't be too disadvantaged.
- Secondary force consisting of our allied unit entered from another position, working towards us in a pincer attack.
- Hostages were encountered near the main gate which added some chaos to our entry, but we were able to secure all of them before they were killed, despite an order going out from the enemy commander to kill them immediately.
- Our forces combined and then pushed the hozen towards a corner, where we noted some infighting amongst the enemies. Two of their leaders fought, with the one seeming more aligned with our side, "Ro-Ro", managing to gain the upper hand and kill the other.
- The hozen were fighting a losing battle, some seeming unfocused, and then their leader intervened and stopped the fighting.
- It was at that point, one of their void hozen went insane, along with the rest of them, seemed that they were triggered by something. LT Thunderaxe dealt a mortal blow to the large one which made it get torn apart by a faceless creature.
- The faceless was very aggressive and powerful, but CPL Silverlight managed to best it with the Light.
The remaining hozen have surrendered, and have been transported into holding at the JTSE compound. There are 300 remaining total, which excludes any that have escaped before capture. It would seem that their will to continue was broken, and they are compliant to our control for now. The void hozen seem to have lost some of their eldritch presence as well.
We shall convene to deliberate their further sentence. Perhaps a debrief is in order after that as well.
=== 12/21/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
GM Montclair
CDR Laldere
CPT Reignsford
LT Clement
LT Furlbrow
SGM Witherseed
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Aurelious
CPL Cooper
CPL Silverlight
PVT Zander
Report:
We convened this evening to decide the fate of the hozen prisoners. Three hundred total, with a couple dozen void hozen among them.
After much discussion, we decided on these terms for the hozen:
- It will be up to their chief to decide for the void hozen. He can either have them executed, or turned over to have them purged of their void (which may or may not kill them), whereupon a successful cleansing they will join the others.
- The remaining hozen will be indentured for 5 years and serve the kingdom. Upon expiration of their sentence to repay their debt, they will have the hoice to swear fealty to Stormwind and serve as paid laborers, or be sent to Pandaria.
- Those who refuse either option will be executed.
There were some strong motions against any idea of forcing the hozen to work, specifically from LT Clement and CPL Aurelious.
We went with the Lord Commander to present the terms to the hozen chief, Ro-Ro, who tried to argue against us on a few matters. He argues that the hozen do not owe any debt, using a few key points:
We were the ones who raided their islands and incited them to "attack and escape", and come here.
The forty men that were killed by hozen attacked first.
The hunters (Lord Bleaktower) that were killed by hozen attacked first.
I'm not advocating dispute against our decision, but I will state that these instances can be confirmed true:
Hozen settlements were being cleared on the Hayley Chain islands to mine azerite.
A surviving engineer told us that they were shooting and killing hozen before they attacked.
Mara Herring at Ebonstone mentioned they and Lord Bleaktower were hunting. I should think hunting sentient beings is a bad idea. - This instance I cannot confirm offhand, and if further clarification is deemed necessary, they may interrogate the witness.
The chief ultimately submitted to our terms, as he had no choice otherwise. As for the void hozen, he has left that to our discretion. He has stated that the hozen see the void ones as outcasts ever since they erupted with madness during our raid last night. By Lord Wanduke's order, correspondence will be sent to His Grace, The Duke of Westridge to inform him of the deferred choice.
=== 12/22/39 ===
Author: SGT Potter
Personnel:
GM Montclair
CDR Laldere
CPT Reignsford
LT Clement
SGM Witherseed
MSGT Locke
SGT Potter
CPL Cooper
CPL Greycliff
PVT Lloria
Report:
Today the camp was packed up and the soldiers were made ready to move.
His Grace declared that the void hozen are too dangerous to keep alive, and are to be executed. They were beheaded by PVT Lloria with assistance from the Ducal Guard. Lord Wanduke instructed that the rest of the hozen prisoners should be well fed before transport.
After that, we begun our long and boring trip home.
Signed:
Sergeant Abigail Potter
1st Company
7th Battalion
1st Regiment
Elwynn Brigade