Runequest Thursday #173 - The Second Battle of Moonbroth!

In the most recent session of Brightwater Saga, the Brightwater Company took part in the attack to liberate Moonbroth from Lunar control. The heroes of the Saga have been working toward this event for about a year, assembling alliances, building power, and helping to plan the assault itself. Many aspects of this planning have been the subject of adventures for the Brightwater Company. 

Below are the writings of Theudulf the Learned, Swordsage of Lhankor Mhy, friend and patron of the Brightwater Company, in his report to the Lightbringer Hidden Council who work against the Lunar occupation of Prax, Pavis and the River of Cradles. Theudulf delivered this address to the Hidden Council, and to all those withing earshot of the open doors of the chamber of the former Governor of Moonbroth, during the aftermath of the attack, when the disposition of the town, its future and fortifications, as well as its chattels were under discussion:

Noble Wind Masters and Mistresses, Sages, Merchants and Healers: I speak to you, and to all those who fought, bled and died here in the service of our combined gods and peoples.

The action we have recently concluded, the successful liberation of Moonbroth Oasis, town, and fortress, began a year ago when the Praxian shaman, Ughari, gained the friendship of the River Horse. Over several seasons of service - including one particular quest in which Ughari and the others of the Brightwater Company saved the River Horse from chaotic corruption. I am not here to tell that story, though I do know it, and have related it elsewhere.

I am here to tell you of the idea which occurred to the Brightwater Company when Ughari's discovery, that the River Horse's ability to transport significant numbers of travelers from one point on the Zola Fel to another, could be used to breach the defenses of Moonbroth, an oasis dozens of leagues from the River of Cradles - and completely separate from it.

Or so we thought . . .

Any Praxian knows of "the Serpents", the rivers that appear in the plains and wastelands during  Storm and Earth Season, dry to nothing within weeks of their borning, only to reappear again with the renwed rains and fury of their Stormbull, who we Lightbringers choose to name Urox. What no one knew, was that the Serpents do not die in Fire Season - They merely slumber in their burrows, far below the surface. And they are the sources of the many oases of the plains of Prax.

Whose idea it was to attempt to enter Moonbroth from below, through the very "throat of the Oracle" as the pool itself is known, is debated.

There are those who claim that Ughari wished the notion into reality in the Spirit Realm, and that spirits great and small, River Horse amongst the most puissant, heeded his wish and made a route that could transport men. Some say that River Horse himself was so enraged by the chaos that nearly claimed him that he galloped through Hell, beneath the Plains of Prax to bind the Serpents together. Others profess that the gods were involved directly: If the seed of Stormbull makes the Serpents run in Earth season, surely his children will heed him in his efforts to drive out the Chaos-lovers. Still more state that Orlanthi, exiles and natives of the Cradlelands alike, prayed so strongly that Orlanth, filled with the Winds of their fury, gathered his strongest storms, Urox foremost, and drove the water serpents through the earth in fear of their gods combined wrath. Still more, who hold closest to their own gods, credit the Life Blood of Eiritha, the Black Blooded Vengeance of Babeester Gor, the Charge of the White Moon Goddess through the very font of the Oracle itself. 

I am not here to decide, or to encourage you to do so. I say it is best to thank Gods and spirit for whatever part they played! And then look also to ourselves as the ones who accomplished what was made possible.

We here are the ones who drove forth the demon Horsekiller, whom I will not name!

We are the ones who forged alliances between enemies - for who could imagine Orlanthi and Praxian, or even the diverse tribes of the Plains themselves, fighting on the same side without appearance of the White Bull Tribe!

We are the ones who put aside tribal animosity and feud, remembering what the Gods of Prax hold dearest - this land and the people who live the way of Waha! And those of us who are not Praxians, We are the ones who put aside the ire of generations toward a greater goal - which we now are on the verge of realizing.

We, the Alliance of Prax and the Cradlelands. hold Moonbroth. We hold the surviving Lunars: their priests and governors, their warriors - yes, even their wyverns! Whether we were at the sacred Paps when Prince Argrath brought about this great unity or not, we are the White Bull tribe! It is up to us now to determine the outcome of the taking of Moonbroth!

This fortress of Moonbroth, is the keystone to Prax, to Pavis and to the Rozgali Sea. It is no surprise that the Lunars bent their first and strongest effort to take it. The minds of their generals are honed by centuries of studying war. To take Pavis, they must take Moonbroth. To hold Pavis, they must RE-take Moonbroth. The Lunars cannot allow Moonbroth to remain in our hands, or they are a single steading in a hostile land. Their armies fight in Sartar - and all here should know how much they owe Starbrow, and to King Brion's war! For without it, the garrisons of Moonbroth and Pavis would be one of conquest, rather than of occupation.

So we must be ready for their attack. And we must plan to repulse it. We must hold Moonbroth. To do these things - the White Bull tribe MUST hold!