Battle of Emridy Meadows

Prelude

Sometime in late 3545 PD, the village of Nulb began to fester with all manner of evil folk, culminating with the founding of the soon infamous Temple of Elemental Evil. Before long local caravans, gnome clans and the neighboring village of Hommlet became easy targets for bandits from that region. Following many years of these simple raids and complacency among the rural folk, matters grew steadily worse by 3562 PD. First was the construction of the Moathouse, an outpost east of Hommlet meant for further raids, then agents of Good also discovered that not only was the Temple mustering a small army but that the cult of Elemental Evil was actually under the direction of a powerful demoness.

News of this Evil quickly spread from the Viscount of Hommlet to the ears of Prince Thrommel IV, Marshall of the combined armies of Alderac and also a renowned paladin. Compelled into a quest, the Prince left behind his concerns to the south, and promptly called upon his most pious knights, clerics and his own picked guards to help bring down this profane temple. Shortly after crossing the Eastern River in the spring of 3571 PD, the host of Prince Thrommel joined with waiting contingents summoned from Forkend and Wallowdale. Accompanying these forces was Sertene of St. Cuthbert, the lone member of the Citadel of Eight to volunteer aid to Thrommel’s cause. Not long after the allied column began their slow march to the southeast they were met by a welcome council of demi-human bands from the The Beddingwell Timberlands, Crater Ridge Mines and the Grey Wolf Forest.
When the allied forces closed to within a day of the Temple they first encountered the enemy on the open fields several leagues south of Phandalin and northwest of Hommlet called Emridy Meadows. The bulk of the Temple’s human forces, comprised of mostly mounted bandits, brigands and mercenaries had moved to stall Thrommel’s advance. Elven scouts then reported that a much larger than expected army of creatures was approaching from the south. Knowing the Temple might empty its entire horde early, Thrommel went with a contingency plan drawn up in council. In an attempt to draw this Horde of Elemental Evil away from any population centers, he ordered the withdrawal of the entire allied column north, to a strategic position near the east bank of the Eastern River. Despite some later historical accounts there was no significant fighting at Emridy Meadows, for the only action that day was light cavalry skirmishes screening the withdrawal to a more favorable battlefield. Outnumbering their foes by more than three to one and eager for their first combat victory in the region, the Horde of Elemental Evil predictably pursued Thrommel’s forces north.

Battle

It was at dawn when the horde was roused early from their rest by the signal horns of the allies preparing their formations for battle. The packed ranks of the allied contingents were arrayed so that 500 pikemen were protected on their flank by the Eastern River while at the center was displayed the colorful banners of 400 light cavalry and 100 heavy cavalry led by Thrommel himself. Finally, on the allied left were deployed blocks of 200 Dugrim dwarves and 100 Ironwind Hall gnomes, with about 50 elven archers of clan Meliamne positioned in between. The Horde of Elemental Evil was comprised of two forces. On the hordes’ left flank rode 550 human cavalry made up of bandits and Nulbish thugs with little experience in warfare beyond raiding lightly defended caravan trains. To the bandit’s right was a much larger force of humanoid infantry, a host of 3500 orcs drawn from the dark forests to the Northeast and even the very depths of the Barrowmere Sea. Also among them howled frenzied warbands of gnolls some 500 strong, and towering over all nearly 20 crudely armed ogres culled by the Temple from the surrounding wilds to provide heavy support.

With reckless abandon the cultist lieutenants commanded their human cavalry ranks to engage the right flank and center of the allied forces, not that the rabble of humanoids gave them much choice. The majority of the Horde immediately charged the allied left flank once they saw the shields and heard the taunts of their traditional enemies. The enraged mass of humanoids was allowed to push aside the smaller demi-human ranks in a hasty attempt to encircle the rest of the allied army. Thrommel’s pikemen and screening cavalry also allowed the charging bandit cavalry to penetrate their line leaving them between the bend of the Eastern River and packed in with the encircling mob of humanoids. This of course sprung the trap planned by the Prince. At once the whole allied army pivoted counter-clockwise to encircle the Horde in this pocket. As Thrommel’s knights quickly turned to counter-attack the humanoid main body from the rear, 150 more elven warriors came from hidden reserve in the Willowy Thicket to close the killing arc. With their backs to the river and their leadership in disarray, the Horde of Elemental Evil was completely routed. While most fought to the death, scattered groups did manage to break out of the allied lines only to be hunted down or drowned in flight. However some survivors were allowed to flee south back to their Temple as a message of what was to come next.

After the field was won Prince Thrommel wasted little time in rallying his weary troops and collecting their fallen. The most storied among those slain at Emridy was Serten of St. Cuthbert who fell during the final moments of the battle zealously defending the Prince to his last breath from Lord Bhaale. This would later be a major loss to the allies’ plans for their next phase in the campaign, the siege of The Temple of Elemental Evil.

Aftermath

News of the victory at Emridy Meadows spread fast to Hommlet, the first evidence coming as strange men dressed in ochre were sighted running through the village in panic. The Temple of Elemental Evil lay within a couple days march for the allied host. Their coming emboldened the local villagers and farmers, knowing the end of the Temple were at hand. The allied forces, having met no resistance on their march were refreshed and well supplied once they finally laid siege to the walled fortress of the Temple. Inside the cult of Elemental Evil futilely held out with a scant garrison of troops, falling within a fortnight as the army threw down the upper works of their fortress just short of damaging the central Temple itself. Only a few of the vile leaders of the Temple managed to escape, and it is said these vengeful individuals were later to blame for the sudden disappearance of Prince Thrommel IV in 3578 PD.

Fearing a raid on the dungeons of the profane Temple would be too costly given the presence of a major demoness (Zuggtmoy), Prince Thrommel summoned all his mages and clerics to cooperate in creating great seals to bind this evil within the deepest parts of her own dungeon. Four pairs of large bronze doors starting with the Grand Entrance of the Temple were each bound with heavy iron chains and their seams filled with softened metal. Lastly runes were carved into the bronze portals bearing abjurations of arcane and holy power. With the final spells in place Evil was contained at last, but in the following years, agents of Good would remain nearby to keep an eye on the Temple for its inevitable resurgence.

Nearly inconsequential during the siege of the Temple, the raiders’ Moathouse was the last piece to fall before Thrommel’s quest was complete. While the Prince oversaw the binding of the Temple, he sent a splinter force with their leftover siege machines to take the small outpost. Remarkably a mob of villagers from Hommlet, long terrorized by the evils of this place, joined in to help surround and raze the Moathouse.

There was no shortage of heroes at the Battle of Emridy Meadows. Viscount Wilfrick attained fame for his part in commanding the campaign. His fortune and gratitude was shown to Hommlet through the construction of a temple of St. Cuthbert and the beginnings of a walled castle bestowed upon Burnes the wizard and his friend the warrior Rufus, both veterans of Emridy. Another fighter earning fame at Emridy Meadows was Wilmont the Broken who lost a finger on his left hand and suffered a wound that left him the distinctive triangular scar on his face. Wilmont would later return to the Temple of Elemental Evil with the opportunistic Thrinan the Sly to help plunder its dungeons and earn enough to retire. And brave Serten was given a grandiose funeral service in Verbobonc attended by many who fought with him at Emridy. Ironically, also in attendance were all his former companions from the disbanded Citadel of Eight whom for their own selfish reasons, had failed to take part in the most historic battle of the century.

Armies & Commanders:
Allied army (3718 troops: swells to 4500 with the addition of more local militia after the Battle of Emridy Meadows)

Prince Thrommel IV, Marshal of Alderac
Viscount Wilfrick of Hommlet.
Bishop Haufren of St. Cuthbert.
260 light and medium cavalry
100 heavy cavalry and 140 light and medium cavalry
740 standing army infantry and archers
660 levies under the local company banners
500 pikemen
301 hill dwarves
522 sylvan and grey elves
402 gnomes

64 adventurers and folk of unusual and potent talents, including Serten of the Citadel of Eight, the wizards known as Lanithaine, Falrinth, Niemad, and Burnes, and the warriors Wilmont the Broken, Rufus, and Otis and several score clerics of the churches of Hommlet and Forkend

Horde of Elemental Evil (5260 total, with more remaining behind at the temple)
Hedrack, Lord Priest, Commander of the Temple
Senschock, Lord Wizard of the Temple
A number of cultist captains and lieutenants from the Temple of Elemental Evil, including Verigan the Scarlord and High Priests Alremm of Fire, Ashrem of Air, Volagar of Water, and Melric of Earth.
1252 evil men, including 550 light bandit cavalry
1894 goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears
1198 orcs
420 gnolls
322 kobolds
73 ogres
5 trolls
3 hill giants
8 gargoyles
6 kopoacinth
2 harpies

and 44 clerics and wizards spread throughout the ranks.

Casualties:
Allied army
406 human, 65 dwarves, 35 gnomes, 28 elves

Horde of Elemental Evil

More than 3700 (with most survivors eventually falling at siege of the Temple)