Invasion of Sandal

Prologue

The time has come to finish off the Kingdom of Sandal. With Valdemar fled to the Tang Empire, the Orc Nation subjugated, and Sandal in revolt - a fourth and final campaign season would promise to bring an end to the bloody fighting and the elimination of troubles at the southern border.

Ah, the Tang Empire - the ratmen and their damned ships, doom wheels and lightning cannons. Sandal needs be conquered and fortified against attacks from the sea - otherwise it will always be an easy landing place for the Emperor Win Lu. Of course, if Valdemar were gone - the Emperor's interest in the Reaches might wane. Ah, Valdemar - still causes trouble from afar - somethings never end.

The Battles

It is the last day of March 902 of the Third Age of Man.

Reports are coming in that the a surging force of Sandalese troops have summoned a demon host to aid them in their campaign - and just as the knights of the Reaches are beginning to limber for battle, Lechlade Keep falls to the enemy. A mighty blow - a fortress in the verdant fields of Tenbury is filled with demons festering in the middle of the Reaches.

Cautious, Dugald Axeworthy begins the slow march south to take down the forces of evil. To the east, legions of undead are sighted skirting the Sands of Time north - flanking the southerly moving troops and cloaked in the inhospitable climes of the desert. To the west an armada of Tang Empire ships sails up the coast - after having exited the great maelstrom which now hangs stalled over the southern coast of Sandal. It looks as if a trap is being laid.

By May, the Tang have landed in Freeport and are making their way east towards the mass of human and dwarven troops traveling south from Crossgate Castle. The new gnomish city of Nevermind is protected only by the swamps, but the Tang target is clear - strike forces in the open field from the west while the undead strike from the east. It is however, the elves traveling the Endless Forest who meet the Tang on the lonely road between Freeport and Everdoom. Against all odds, the forces of good taste victory - completely routing the hapless Tang and destroying any threat from the west.

In June, with the bulk of the human army to the south, the dwarves retake Lechlade Keep - destroying the demons and rescuing the remainder of the garrison. It is a grim task, but the forces of evil perish - even while the undead race across the plains of Overton for reinforcement.

Progress is slow for the generals of the Reaches. By mid-August it is clear that the Kingdom of Sandal will not be conquered - the ultimate victory belonging to the forces of evil. So in September, Dugald Axeworthy takes a radical departure from his march to the Sandalese borderlands. Striking into the now empty desert, his men sack the Tomb Kingdom capitol destroying its pyramids and defiling its crypts - a crushing blow to the Lich Priests.

Meanwhile, the rains of October find the Knights of Teufeldorf far from the capital of Sandal. However, a successful siege of Whitehall Castle is sufficient to assure at least one victory over their foes.

As the forces of good travel north to their homes, there is a grumbling among the men. The land is too vast to march all the way to the southern tip of Sandal. Some other means of transportation is needed...