Battle of Bitterbird Farmstead

**Location** Bitterbird Farmstead, Tryr
 Kingdom of Brun
 Lord Caeseth Craw (w)
Rossarch
 3,500
(2,500+
 594
(202 killed,
312 wounded,
475 captured or missing)
(98 killed,
501 wounded,
 Preceding

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 yet reports from Rossarch suggested that the combined Tryrian and Rangosian force numbered up to double the size of his own army. Unable to seize the initiative due to a lack of knowledge of the surrounding area, and frustrated at his enemy's seemingly endless ability to manifest armies 30,000+ in size, 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, relieve the sieges of whichever of his cities were under assault, and then defeat the humans when they inevitably invaded on 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 distract the allies 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 year previous at Mothsville. Unfortunately for Bard, Varagyr was not remaining 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 lose his war, 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.

With that thought in mind, Varagyr approached Slovak, who had slowly began to regain confidence and emerge from his throneroom and bedchamber. Varagyr explained that now was the time to strike, as if they put pressure on Bard at this moment while he was being invaded, his defeat was completely assured, regardless of whether they could 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. As Rossarch's outriders rushed off to the east, Varagyr saw the bluff, and ordered quickly found Bard's retreating army with his own scouts. Minus the protection of Rossarch's horsemen, and unsuspecting of any allied move, Bard was completely unaware of the 30,000 men that struck out for his army. There would be no fancy maneuvers from Varagyr, but simply bringing the full brunt of their numbers to battle, and forcing 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, to Varagyr's relative 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 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 week-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, with fleeing dragonborn being cut down by pursuing allies, 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 Bard had a cunning as a 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 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, saving the rest of Bard's army and allowing 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 not dealing much damage to the enemy, a rarity for the dragonborn. At least 300 dragonborn had been killed, with many others wounded enough to put them 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 Rossarch would be unable to hold them off any longer. He would have to stand and fight.