Retcon: Things I forgot:
The enemy arrives in just as the glow of day lights the horizon. The rain has stopped, but pregnant clouds threaten more rain.
“In the murky pre-dawn light, a sea of dark figures stretches across the field below. Over 400 Umbral Bound Legion soldiers stand in eerie silence, their armor and weapons creating a dull, metallic sheen. Obwez warriors, their muscular forms hunched and ready, intermingle with the jerky, twitching forms of undead soldiers.
At the rear, the imposing silhouettes of armored Umbral Bound knights loom ominously. Your eyes are drawn to this group of figures on horseback, set apart from the main force. The Umbral Knights, their armor a deep, light-absorbing black, oversee the battle with cold detachment. Among them, one figure stands out – a knight in ornate armor, intricate designs etched in silver across the blackened plate. Beside him sits a robed figure, hood drawn low over their face.
As you watch, the ornate knight leans towards the robed figure, speaking in low tones. The robed figure nods, then raises a hand wreathed in dark energy. Suddenly, a voice echoes in your mind, cold and mocking:
“You have become known to me. And the knowing of you raises a wrath within me. Know this – your defeat is inevitable, and when you have fallen, I shall shake from you all your joyful memories and twist them into nightmares. Your lives shall be spared but you shall be mine and within your minds, I shall paint landscapes of suffering and madness within which you can live forever. Then the Umbral Bound Legion will sweep across these lands, and your pitiful resistance will be nothing but a footnote in the annals of our glorious conquest. Enjoy these fleeting moments of defiance… while you still can.”
The charge up the hill:
“With a bone-chilling war cry, 200 Umbral Bound soldiers surge forward. The ground trembles under their collective charge, a wave of destruction racing up the hill. Obwez warriors lead the charge, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust, while undead soldiers scramble between them with unnatural speed. The air fills with the thunderous sound of armored feet and the clanging of weapons, as the horde ascends like a tide of darkness threatening to engulf the fortress.”
Successful attacks on the horde (5-6 descriptions):
a) “Your attack rips through the front line of the horde, sending bodies tumbling down the hill and creating momentary chaos in their ranks.”
b) “A devastating blow cleaves through multiple enemies, leaving a visible gap in the advancing force and slowing their momentum.”
c) “Your well-placed strike causes a ripple effect, toppling several attackers into their comrades and disrupting their coordinated advance.”
d) “A powerful attack sends shrapnel flying into the horde, peppering the front lines with deadly projectiles and forcing them to falter.”
e) “Your decisive action triggers a small avalanche of loosened rocks, which cascades into the climbing enemies, sweeping many off the hill’s face.”
f) “A perfectly timed maneuver catches a group of climbers off-guard, sending them plummeting into the masses below and sowing confusion in their ranks.”
Characters taking damage from the host (5-6 descriptions):
a) “A hail of arrows darkens the sky, several finding their mark and piercing your defenses.”
b) “An Obwez warrior crests the wall, its jagged blade slashing viciously before you can react.”
c) “A grasping, undead hand clutches your ankle, pulling you off-balance and leaving you vulnerable to a flurry of blows.”
d) “A massive boulder, hurled from below, crashes into the rampart, showering you with deadly debris.”
e) “The sheer press of bodies against the wall causes a section to give way, and a wave of enemies pours through the breach.”
f) “An Umbral Knight, having scaled the wall, brings its full might to bear, its heavy mace crashing against your guard.”
Carnage left behind after retreat (2 descriptions):
a) “As the horde retreats, the hillside is a grotesque tableau of death. Bodies of Obwez and undead soldiers lie strewn about, their dark blood staining the earth. Broken weapons and shattered armor litter the ground, testament to the ferocity of the battle.”
b) “In the wake of the retreating force, the land itself seems wounded. Deep furrows mar the hill’s face, filled with the twisted forms of the fallen. The air is thick with the metallic scent of blood and the acrid smell of spent magic, as wisps of dark energy still curl around the corpses of the Umbral Bound.”
The relief of the siege:
“A clear, piercing horn call splits the air, momentarily silencing the chaos of battle. All eyes turn to the crest of a distant hill, where the glint of armor and the flutter of Iixian banners appear. As if in slow motion, a wave of allied soldiers pours over the hilltop, their war cries building to a deafening roar. The relief force thunders down the slope, their charge unstoppable. They crash into the rear of the Umbral Bound host with devastating force, scattering the enemy like leaves in a gale. Caught between the hammer of the relief force and the anvil of your defenses, the remaining attackers break ranks, fleeing in a panicked rout. Victory erupts in cheers from the battered fortress as the last of the Umbral Bound disappear into the distance, the unexpected route a testament to the turning tides of war.”
After the battle, the leader of the foot delivers you a sealed message. You’ve seen these before. You must breath on the seal and speak your true name (you may whisper). It will only open for those who’s breath and name match. Everyone of you as part of your initiation in to the officer corps, participated in a ritual where you stored your breath and name into the magical system the military uses for this kind of communication. You know to attempt to open a message with this type of seal will obliterate the message beyond recovery.
This will open for anyone of the player characters.
The note reads:
From Captain Duul Kovier
Received your communications regarding the intelligence you’ve discovered. There is little of this that is not known. So I wonder if that is old intelligence. We’ve been aware of these Gate Stone references for some time. But I feel like there must be more. There is nothing earth shattering in what you found. Please search again. Do not transmit anything you find, rather bring it back to me.
If the characters search again, they will discover (with a DC 20 Investigation) a pile of rubble and offal that lifts up on a hinge to reveal a small compartment. In the compartment they find a leather bound journal.
The contents of the journal speak of a prophesied one. One who find the way to Ansurak and Free The Demon Yegfix. One who will open the way to the forgotten secrets of ancient time and turn the tides destiny in their favor. There are many convoluted notes and references, some of which you recognize as fragments of children’s stories your mother/auntie used to tell you. A few passages catch your eye:
Dark Prophecy
This is familiar to you and you realized you have seen these scraps of information before, but with slightly different wording:
Additionally there appears to be list several locations that might lead to more information about the Prophecy. One of them matches the other Umbral Bound Outpost Location you found in your previous search. Another references a location In Ruoxum Ferry suspiciously close to where Patchwork Pete’s sister lives.