Raining Fire

On July 25, the Order of Ashfall moves against the pirates occupying the port town of Halimar.

## Background

Halimar was in the possession of a band of pirates, who used it as a land base for support of their ship, the *Lady* *Lightskirt*. There, they stored gunpowder and other supplies, and stored valuables and captives for transfer and security.

Upon the liberation of Pinehold from Blackrock terror, the captain of the *Lady* *Lightskirt* determined that the humans to the north might discover them, and contracted with Zul'Maka, a troll shaman, to provide a distraction. The price--described as a reagent for the ritual--was the regular sacrifice of captives, which the crew provided from their predations on the sea.

The Order of Ashfall, naturally, investigated the distraction, which was the sudden uprising of water elementals in the Willowswift River. Whereas many would be satisfied with merely suppressing the disturbance, Lord Auromere preferred to get to the core of the matter, and ordered an investigation. This led to Earth's Hand, the site of the "sacrifices", and thence to Halimar.

When the Order made an attempt on the town, they were discovered, and an alarm sent up. The pirates moved to shelter in certain buildings, and the ship, standing off the coast and shrouded in fog, began a bombardment of the town. The Order escaped through a breach in the wall, setting the gunpowder on fire to cover their retreat.

## The Battle of Halimar

   Lord Auromere, unwilling to accept defeat and leave control of the mouth of the river to these brigands, began building a strategy to retake Halimar for Stormwind and Ashfall. This plan involved the purchase of three cannons from the dwarves of Dun Vor.

The cannons were then placed in two locations in the cliffs above the town, overlooking it and the Bay of Lonn. A small party, equipped with colored smoke bombs, infiltrated Halimar through the breach in the wall.

However, while the party was to attempt stealth, they would not want to try *too* hard; being discovered was part of the plan. Upon the pirates twigging to their presence, Alexander Soltum attacked, killing two of the three advancing pirates. The third fled, raising the alarm.

The alarm caused two desired outcomes: the *Lady* *Lightskirt* began to bombard the town, and the pirates moved into their designated shelters to avoid it. The strike team followed a group of nine pirates into their shelter, slew them, and awaited the Ashfall cannons to begin their work.

Using the muzzle flashes from the *Lady Lightskirt's* cannons, one bank of cannons targeted and opened fire on her, drawing her attention away from Halimar. With the diversion in progress, the strike team moved out, throwing smoke bombs onto the roofs of the designated shelter buildings and into the watchtowers.

The second bank of cannons used those smoke bombs to target the shelters, and when the party made it to the pier, opened fire, killing all of the pirates in the town. The strike team then boarded a longboat, rowed out to the *Lady Lightskirt*, and boarded her.

Once aboard, the strike team cleared the deck of pirates, and went below to neutralize the cannons. This was done efficiently. The remaining crew came up from below, but were intercepted and held back by Peryn Crowson and Ragnar Blackburn, while Lord Auromere and Neapolitan Butterchurn contended with the captain and Alexander Soltum healed both groups efficiently.

The captain was slain, and three of the remaining crew surrendered.

## Outcome

The *Lady Lightskirt* was seized in the name of King Anduin Wrynn--and due to the commandment with which Lord Auromere had been sent to Ashfall in the first place, is now under Auromere's command. She will be refitted and renamed.

Halimar is also now in Auromere's possession, and Ashfall forces have moved in to secure, clean up, and search the town for anything of value. Currently, several stockpiles of powder, supplies, and valuables have been discovered, and a half-dozen prisoners awaiting ransom were released.

Three pirates survived, and are under the medical care of Soltum while they await interrogation and trial.

The Ashfall cannons and their crews all survived.

## The Heroes of Halimar

* Neapolitan Butterchurn
* Ragnar Blackburn
* Peryn Crowson
* Alexander Soltum