Battle of Bitterbird Farmstead

Date February 11, 377
Location Bitterbird Farmstead, Tryr
Result Rangosian-Tryrian Victory	Date February 11, 377
Location Bitterbird Farmstead, Tryr
Result Rangosian-Tryrian Victory
Belligerents 	Belligerents
Kingdom of Brun 	Kingdom of Rangos
Kingdom of Tryr
Commanders and Leaders 	Commanders and Leaders
Lord Caeseth Craw (w)
Rossarch	Lord Protector Varagyr Witvote
Captain Loon
Strength 	Strength
3,500 	3,500
(2,500+
1,000)
Casualties and Losses 	Casualties and Losses
594
(202 killed,
312 wounded,
475 captured or missing)	80 (42 Tryr, 38 Rangos)
(98 killed,
501 wounded,
43 captured or missing)
Preceding 	Subsequent
Battle of Hentoil's Hill	Battle of Twoffes Wood
With the dawn of the new year, King Bard was nervous. He had heard very little news from his homeland beyond learning it was being possibly subject to two separate invasions: one from the Western Wastes, and one from Laashburk. Snowfire had advised the king to concentrate on maintaining the initiative in Tryr and not return to defend Brun, but reports of a horde 100,000 strong from the west and of magic-wielding drow from the north put Bard in a very nervous state of mind. His army numbered around 16,000 men, having received reinforcements from dragonborn whose wounds had healed and other recruits who had not yet joined the fight. And yet reports from Rossarch suggested that the combined Tryrian and Rangosian force numbered up to double the size of his own army. Bard's attempts to seize the initiative were frustrated due to a lack of knowledge of the surrounding area, supplemented by the absolute hostility of the local population. Disheartened by his enemy's seemingly endless ability to manifest armies 30,000+ in size and unable to find a chink in the armor of Varagyr's defensive cordon, Bard resolved to organize a staggered retreat from Tryr. 
In the winter before the humans would begin their campaign, he would pull his army back to Brun, aiming to relieve the sieges of whichever of his cities were under assault, and then defeat the humans on more familiar ground when they inevitably invaded his own turf. The plan was to use Rossarch's outriders to distract from his retreat with a feint towards the east which ideally would trick the allies into thinking that Bard was on the offensive again. This would distract them long enough for Bard to pull his army back to safety. He wished to accomplish this before the snows began to melt and the allied forces made their move, hoping to steal a march on them as he had the previous year at Mothsville. Unfortunately for Bard, Varagyr was not as torpid as he had been the year before. The Lord Protector had also heard news of Laashburk's invasion of Brun, and came to the same realization as Bard: he would either lose his war on Tryr, or he would lose his kingdom. Varagyr was far more confident in the capabilities of his army, and was especially impressed with the progress of the Tryrians. Their morale, discipline, and skill had increased greatly through constant drill, and it appeared to him as though they were finally an army that could win a conflict. He relied heavily on Onock as his main lieutenant of the Tryians, the men having developed a mutual respect for their professional soldiering. 
With that thought in mind, Varagyr approached Slovak, who had slowly began to regain confidence as the allied situation improved and the Brunian "savages" did not come bashing down his doors. He gradually began to emerge from his throneroom and bedchamber, still mourning his son, but now clearer-minded. Varagyr explained to the king that now was the time to strike, for if they put pressure on Bard at this moment while he was being invaded, his defeat was completely assured, regardless of whether they could decisively defeat him in battle or not. All they had to do was keep him busy. But they had to act quickly, or the opportunity would be lost. Slovak acquiesced, and Varagyr began to plan his move. As Rossarch's outriders rushed off to the east, Varagyr saw the bluff for what it was, and realized time was even shorter than he initially anticipated. He quickly ordered the host to muster, and soon found Bard's retreating army with his own scouts. Minus the surveilling protection of Rossarch's horsemen, and unsuspecting of any allied move, Bard was disastrously unaware of the 30,000 men that were now barreling down towards his army. 
There would be no fancy maneuvers from Varagyr; he aimed simply to bring the full brunt of their numbers to battle, and to force Bard to fight until he died. The allied force was nominally under the control of Slovak, as the 18,000 Tryrian troops made up the bulk of the army vs the 12,000 Rangosians, but the king deferred to the judgments of Varagyr. Accompanying the force, at Slovak's insistence and Varagyr's annoyance, was was Tryrian Lord Protector Gossoth Yond, a hugely obese behemoth of a man who required an ox to bear his weight. Gossoth insisted on participating in the final battle against the savage dragonborn, and Varagyr didn't have the authority to refuse him. Generals Gordon Onock and Varagyr's 2nd in command, Claus Weighmat, were also among the number of the army, with Onock perhaps finally being able to fight against the dragonborn on the battlefield. Not attending was the Crown Prince Trenchon, who Slovak ordered to stay behind in order to preserve their bloodline in case anything happened, much to Trenchon's protest. 
Bard had just began his weeks-long process of pulling back his troops when initial contact was made with the enemy. They first ran into Caeseth Craw's dragonborn force at Bitterbird Farmstead, a small, sleepy barn where Caeseth's men had set up their winter camps. The 3,000 dragonborn were taken by surprise by the allied vanguard of horsemen numbering around the same size under Varagyr himself. Scrambling for their weapons, many dragonborn were slaughtered, with Caeseth being grievously wounded by a cavalry saber and unable to take command. The situation quickly turned into a rout, fleeing dragonborn cut down by pursuing allies who were overjoyed at the chance to finally get back at the dragonborn. If the "battle" continued as such, it could easily have led to the entirety of Bard's army being rolled up and evaporated, but for Bard's cunning cavalry commander. Rossarch, who had ridden off with his cavalry, had planned on a series of circular movements that would greatly confuse the enemy army. As he performed one of his great maneuvers, Rossarch noticed that there were no enemy scouts shadowing him, and following his instincts, he quickly spirited himself back to the dragonborn camps as he realized that Bard was completely absent of protection. He arrived at the field in the midst of the rout and somehow managed to stabilize the situation, furiously countercharging the allied vanguard even though they were outnumbered 6 to 1. Varagyr had let his troops get uncharacteristically disorganized, and Rossarch's men were able to force them off before fleeing as the allies reorganized. Rossarch's mad dash saved the rest of Bard's army and allowed them to retreat mostly intact. He quickly sent word back to Bard of the advancing army, and went to work attempting to slow their march.
This was perhaps the most lopsided battle of the conflict, as the dragonborn had had little chance to fight back; as such, they suffered heavy casualties while dealing negligible damage to the enemy, a rarity for the dragonborn. Almost 600 dragonborn were now casualties, out of the fight that Bard was sure would be coming. The advance of the allies was relentless, and Bard knew that it was only a matter of time before the winter snows slowed them enough and Rossarch's harrassment would be unable to hold them off any longer. He would have to stand and fight.
== Background ==
== Order of Battle ==
== Battle ==
== Aftermath ==