Vol II: Retreat
10th year of wolf
All would probably have been lost had the empire decided to send an army to Vesper right away. As it was they spent several weeks landing ships with supplies for such a large body of soldiers. In those days food was scarce for the inhabitants of Cerea and the Empire’s rule was harsh, and so many people left the city – some through the sewers, some swimming through the harbour – and fled to the other towns on the island, most of them to Vesper.
Meanwhile the Empire, not wanting to risk an enemy force endangering their supply lines, enslaved the goblins in the goblin valley and collapsed the entrance to the drog Caverns. Then they marched on the orc valley, King Obould having previously rejected the less than diplomatic offer of surrender.
But if the Empire had hoped for another easy conquest they were mistaken. King Obould had well prepared for battle, and in the narrow valleys, chasms and caverns, knowledge of the terrain weighed heavily in his favour.
After more than half a year of warfare, the Empire built a fortification at the entrance of the valley to prevent the orcs from leaving the valley and prepared for their march on Vesper…