mortellan
writes "This is the first in a potential series of articles detailing
the known military history of the Flanaess. The Battle of Emridy Meadows
begins this survey because its location near Greyhawk makes it the best
known and most comprehensively written battle in canon (Out of over 50
listed battles and wars). All battle articles will attempt to cover the
conflict in three parts; the prelude to battle, the battle itself and
any possible aftermath. Maps and figures on troops strengths and
casulties when possible are taken from canon or otherwise inferred from
secondary sources.
-mortellan
The Battle of Emridy Meadows
Conflict & Date:
The Battle of Emridy Meadows occurred in the spring of 569 CY.
Armies & Commanders:
Allied army (1700 total)Prince Thrommel IV, Marshal of Furyondy and Veluna.
Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc.
1200 humans, 200 dwarves, 100 gnomes, 200 elves.
Horde of Elemental Evil (@4570 total)Unnamed cultist lieutenants from the Temple of Elemental Evil.
3500 orcs, 550 humans, 500 gnolls, 20 ogres.
Result:
The allied forces of Prince Thrommel IV slaughter the Horde of Elemental Evil.
Casualties:
Allied army200 human, 55 dwarves, 25 gnomes, 20 elves
Horde of Elemental Evil
4500+ (Survivors eventually fall at siege of Temple)
Prelude
Sometime
in the late 550s 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 568 CY. 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 Viscounty of Verbobonc to the ears
of Prince Thrommel IV, Marshall of the combined armies of Furyondy and
Veluna and also a renowned paladin. Compelled into a quest, the Prince
left behind his concerns to the north, 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 Velverdyva River in the
spring of 569 CY, the host of Prince Thrommel joined with waiting
contingents summoned from Veluna and Verbobonc. Accompanying these
forces was Serten of St. Cuthbert, the lone member of the Citadel of
Eight to volunteer aid to Thrommel’s cause.1 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 Lortmils, Kron Hills
and the Gnarley Forest, who had similarly decided to deal with the
growing presence of evil at their borders.
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
Verbobonc City 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
Velverdyva 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.2 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 Velverdyva 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 Lortmil dwarves and 100 Kron Hill gnomes, with
about 50 elven archers of clan Meldarin positioned in between.3 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 southeast and even the very depths of the Oerth. 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 Velverdyva
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 Gnarley Forest to close the killing arc.4 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.
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 573 CY.
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.5 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 Burne the wizard and his friend the warrior Rufus, both veterans of
Emridy. Another fighter earning fame at Emridy Meadows was Ricard
Damaris who lost a finger on his left hand and suffered a wound that
left him the distinctive triangular scar on his face. Ricard would later
return to the Temple of Elemental Evil with the opportunistic Lord
Robilar to help plunder its dungeons and earn enough to retire as the
owner of the popular Green Dragon Inn in Greyhawk City. 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.
Footnotes:
1.
Otis, a fellow member of Serten’s in the Citadel of Eight contended
that the Citadel was too absorbed in their own affairs instead of more
important local events. Otis left the Citadel well before the Battle of
Emridy Meadows and his whereabouts during that campaign are unknown, but
his prophetic claims surely had an affect on the undervalued Serten who
answered the call to Verbobonc. Otis would redeem his absence from the
battle a couple years later, as a ranger knight and a secret agent in
the town of Nulb, watching activity around the Temple.
2.
The actual placement of Emridy Meadows was the hardest part of my
research as very few reliable maps try to define its location. The most
consistent written sources placed it 10 to “several leagues” south of
Verbobonc City. However, the actual placement had to be more accurately
southeast along the well documented road towards Hommlet because once
Thrommel calls for the strategic withdraw north he leads the Horde
between the bend of the Velverdyva River and the Gnarley Forest and not
back to the gates of Verbobonc City. I was appalled to discover that
later semi-canonical (and possibly more widely read) Emridy publications
glazed over this critical maneuver and assumed the entire battle took
place on the meadows south of the city. So the true battle in fact takes
place east of Verbobonc though any map you will likely ever see will
claim the entire battle site to be the location where the armies only
skirmished on the first day.
3. Elves of Clan
Meldarin are well-known for their bowmanship. The Meldarin are also
favorable toward humans and gnomes, as such they have the highest number
of half-elves among their clan.
4.
Elves of Clan Sherendyl also of the Gnarley Forest have a reputation as
excellent warriors. Though the Meldarin were more apt to ally with
non-elves, Sherendyl elves could not possibly pass on a chance to battle
humanoids.
5. I speculate that if Serten
had survived until the siege, his aid might have been enough to allow
them to go after Zuggtmoy directly. In this case, Serten would not
necessarily be defending Prince Thrommel so much as the other way
around. Naturally the Prince would have preferred to have the entire
Citadel of Eight along on his quest and perhaps he still held out hope
they would show during the two week siege, certainly plenty of time for
additional messengers to be sent. When no special help came is when
preparations were finally made to seal the Temple.
Sources: Gygax, Gary; Frank Mentzer. The Temple of Elemental Evil. Cook, Monte. Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil.Sargent, Carl. From the Ashes. Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (1983). Moore, Roger E. Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins.Holian, Gary; Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer.
Mona, Erik and Gary Holian "Wheels within Wheels: Greyhawk's Circle of Eight." Living Greyhawk Journal #0.
Lundeen, Robert; Verbobonc Triad (RPGA). Journal of the Wanderer: The Wayfarer’s Guide to Verbobonc.
Bulmahn, Jason; James Jacobs, Erik Mona. Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk.
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he Battle of Emridy Meadows
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