Early in his reign St. James had signed treaties with both the
Elves and also the Dwarves of
Mountain Hall. These treaties have stood the test of time and
proved valuable to all three peoples. When
Reetland invaded Cambria in the year
57 the Dwarves had indeed sent a force south to bolster the defence of
Pell's Hold although the Reetland force never reached the capital.
In the year 98 therefore when a combined force of Orcs and Hobgoblins erupted out of the North
Saint Erin was keen to repay the debt and to cement the alliance
with deeds.
St. Erin was indeed on the Northern Plains with his personal guard of
Rangers when he heard the news of the invasion. He sent messages
to Pell's Hold to mobilise the regular army but also to the Elves begging for help although they had
no direct treaty with Mountain Hall. The Orc and Hobgoblin Horde was led by Agluk an Orc/Hobgoblin
cross bred specifically to lead such an alliance. They laid siege to
Ironhold which was forced to seal its doors to the outside world. Unable
to penetrate the dwarven stronghold Agluk left a large force to continue the siege and headed south
to Mountain Hall.
St. Erin had, however, by this time arrived in the North and in a typical bold moved his
Rangers, dressed in white to camouflage themselves in the snow, ambushed Agluk and the vanguard
of his army. It is said the St. Erin took the form of a great white northern bear to crash through
Agluk's personal guard and engage the general in combat. Sadly both St. Erin and Agluk tumbled
to their deaths from the steep mountain path into a ravine and the remaining Rangers took heavy
casualties. St. Erin had hoped that maybe the
death of Agluk would halt the invasion entirely but Agluk's army pressed on after a two days spent debating who
should now lead the Horde. The issue was not resolved, however, and the Orcs and Hobgoblins pressed
on with each half of the srmy having a separate commander.
The delay and the division of the Horde proved crucial on the battlefield before Mountain Hall.
Cambrian troops and the Elves had reached the Dwarven city the night before and King Frundar of
Mountain Hall
proved to be a wily general. The Cambrians had sent mainly a force of light cavalry which were used
by the Dwarves as to outflank the enemy and the Horde had no cavalry of their own to counter this move
(wolfriders did not appear until the Second Northen War).
The presence of the Elvish archers was
also completely unexpected and they caused many casualties with the range and penetration of their
bows. The battle therefore turned on whether the Horde could break the Dwarven shieldwall which it
could not, Frundar having chosen his ground for the maximum advantage. As the day wore on the two
Horde commanders fell to arguing and choosing his time wisely Frundar ordered an advance which split the
Horde in two. While the Hobgoblins retreated to the North the Orcs were trapped with their backs against
a precipice and were cut down by the relentless pressing of the Dwarves. Not content with his victory
on the day King Frundar harried the remaining Horde all the way back to Ironhold whose defenders,
hearing of the approach of their cousins, burst forth from their gates to squeeze the besiegers
between two armies and create panic in the goblinoid ranks. Only a small remnant of Agluk's original army
made it back to their homes in the mountains.