Editing Roland (section)

=== Letters to Catherine ===
The following letters from Roland Ironfist to his wife, [[Catherine Ironfist]], were added to the manual of {{mm6}}. Note, that the text used in the manual was formatted poorly, and as a result some parts of the text are difficult to read or may appear to have orthographical mistakes (such as a lack of apostrophes). 

==== July 28, 1152 ====
:My Beloved [[Catherine]], 

::It is my sincere hope that this letter will lay to rest the fears you have expressed for my safety and that of my men. As you must understand, this trip could not be avoided. Both the [[Kilburn]] investigation and the [[Blackshire]] appointment require my personal attention, and I haven't visited the Northwest in ages. It troubles me that you should fret over my welfare during my absence, however short it will be. So please, dear, accept my promise that I will return by September without mishap. 

::After all, what could go wrong? I have five hundred armed men in my expedition, all of them veterans of the [[Succession Wars|Archibald campaign]]. I am a popular king travelling in lands no one disputes as mine, and we have heard no news of rebellion or unrest. Many people flock to watch us pass through their hamlets and villages, eager to get an admiring glimpse of their king and his men. 

::Nothing stands in our way and no dangers beset us. Even the monsters are scarce. We've seen but a handful of [[goblin]]s and [[ogre]]s, and not even one [[red dragon|dragon]]. The only trouble we ve had was a freak snowstorm that struck as we entered the village of [[Rockham]]. Even that - peculiar as it was - was of little consequence, as the villagers put us all up for the night in their houses and barns. 

::Of the [[devils]] that some say plague towns in the Northwest, we have only rumors. We have not yet encountered a soul who claims to have seen one himself, nor anyone who has found the bodies of [[Lord Kilburn]] and his [[Rangers]]. The only [[devils]] we have seen are these huge mosquitoes that love the swamplands so much. Wretched pests! My place in history would be assured if I could only think of a way to rid the world of such nuisances. 

::No, [[Catherine]], [[Lord Kilburn]] was probably slain by something much more mundane than [[devils]] - perhaps a pair of [[dragon]]s or a large band of highwaymen. Either way, we shall resolve his disappearance in short order, bringing any human culprits to justice or slaying any monsters. I cannot have my men attacked with impunity ! 

::Now, once again, put your fears to rest and believe me when I say that I will return come September. Tell our son [[Nicolai]] that I love him, and know that I love you with all my heart.
:Forever Yours, 
:''Roland Ironfist''

==== August 4, 1152 ====
:Dear [[Catherine]],

::Due to the snowstorm in [[Rockham]], of which I wrote you last week, we have reached [[Blackshire]] one day behind schedule. By the time you receive this letter we shall once again be on our way, following the leads we discovered while in town. [[Kilburn]]'s expedition disappeared a few days march west of here, so we shall soon reach the site of his last stand and begin tracking the killers. 

::[[Blackshire]] received us enthusiastically, and a few hours consideration was all I needed to select a new town magistrate. His name is [[Acton Spindler]], formal replacement for my previous magistrate and old friend [[Aaron Hampton]]. I have reason to suspect that [[Hampton]] was murdered - poisoned to be specific - but there is no time for me to conduct another investigation personally. Instead, I am leaving [[Fineous Hogworth]] behind to look into the matter. 

::Ordinarily, I would not involve myself in local criminal matters, but [[Hampton]]s death fills me with a vague unease. It is probably a much simpler matter than that, but I am nonetheless anxious to learn the results of [[Hogworth]]'s inquiry. 

::In the meantime I am proceeding with my investigation into [[Kilburn]]'s death. Yesterday evening, at the inn in [[Blackshire]], I received a letter from a rather nervous messenger who said he was paid to bring it to me by a mysterious stranger who didn't look quite human. Pressed for a description, he could only say that the stranger was very tall and broad shouldered: You know, BIG -  like he barely fit into his own body. And that he wore a hat that could have concealed inhuman ears.

::The letter turned out to be a map showing a location near [[Kilburn]]'s last-known camp with the name [[Kilburn]] circled in red ink. I smell a very obvious trap, which could, of course, conceal a more devious plan, but I cannot see exactly how. Or perhaps the stranger is honestly trying to help anonymously. Either way, no trap set by man or monster can overwhelm the fighting force I have with me. Caution will see us through this safely.

::I will, of course, write you when we arrive in [[Edenbrook]]. You are always in my thoughts, and I miss you dearly. Please convey a father s love to [[Nicolai]].
:Love,
:''Roland Ironfist''

==== August 11, 1152 ====
:Dear [[Catherine]],

::I cannot honestly say that our trip to [[Edenbrook]] was uneventful. As we approached the town we encountered a trickle of refugees fleeing [[Edenbrook]] that gradually increased to a flood. When questioned, they told us that an army of [[devils]] had been spotted walking and hopping toward [[Edenbrook]] - a town with no wall and no standing garrison. I immediately increased our pace to reach the town before the monsters could sack it.

::It was well that I did, for our arrival was but hours ahead of the enemy. Exhausted and ill-prepared to fight against an unknown enemy, my men nonetheless girded for battle. I ordered archers to the hilltop overlooking the town, and infantry to hide amongst the houses near the road, with flanking cavalry out of sight around the hill. Thirty men on horseback were sent on ahead to lure the enemy into the trap.

::It worked. The [[devils]] must have lacked even rudimentary discipline or intelligence, for they immediately gave chase to my men. The horsemen raced past the archers hiding below the crest of the hill, and passed into town with the [[devils]] hot on their heels; the bait was taken, the trap sprung. As hundreds of the most filthy, vicious, and stupid beasts ever to draw breath filled the road beneath the hill, I gave the archers the signal.

::Arrows rained down upon the [[devils]] from above while the infantry sprang from their hiding places to bar entrance to the town. Before the first shock of the two armies clash faded, the light cavalry rode around the hill, charging into the main mass of [[devils]] with lance and sword. Then the battle began in earnest, and it was all we could do to hold our lines against the demonic horde.

::Though the battle was short, the tales of valor and bravery are many. [[Sir Ragnar]] rescued [[Chief Sorcerer Tanir]] from certain death, when he was set upon by no less than five [[devils]], after his [[fireball]] spell failed. [[Ragnar]] charged into the group swinging wildly and screaming like a [[barbarian]]. His first swing lopped one head clean off while the next skewered an enemy through its black heart.

::The other three [[devils]] quickly overcame him, but a recovered [[Tanir]] slew all three with his famed insides out spell in time to save [[Sir Ragnar]]. You'll be happy to hear that he is recovering nicely at the [[House of Healing]] in [[Edenbrook]] and will be out of bed in no time.

::Unfortunately, many were not so lucky. Others who survived the combat itself contracted a disease our healer says was caused by the filthy condition of the devils claws. In all, eighty-three men fell in the fight against these [[devils]]. Yet, we have providence to thank that our fortuitous arrival in [[Edenbrook]]s hour of need prevented the death of hundreds more. The [[devils]] suffered much heavier losses - 272 dead. The survivors, - much less than half, thankfully - fled as one, on some sort of unseen signal, and we were too exhausted to give chase. After a short rest here we will hunt them down and finish them off.

::I know you will want to know that I have survived the battle unscathed. I fear that what I have just written may be disquieting, but you would never forgive me for telling you anything but the truth. I am entrusting my advisor [[Sulman]] to take care of the detail of informing the families of the fallen as I have entrusted him with so many other things, including the delivery of these letters to you. He will handle the matter with tact, and can be relied on to select the speediest messengers for my letters!
:Eternally,
:''Roland Ironfist''

p.s. I will send another letter after we have caught up to that [[demon]]ic army and dispatched it. [[Catherine|You]] and [[Nicolai]] should hear from me in about a week.

==== August 18, 1152 ====
:Dear [[Catherine]],

::Before the sun rose over the battle of [[Edenbrook]], we departed to give chase to the monsters. Clouds streamed over our heads, very like the ones that delayed us in [[Rockham]], threatening more summer snow. Dauntless, my men pressed on, driven by the desire to avenge their fallen comrades and send these foul demons back to the Hell from whence they came. 

::The [[devils]] seemed tireless at first, stopping only for water and fleeing like darkness before the sunrise. We chased them for days, even though they seemed to be outdistancing us mile after mile. Our forced marches and short rests made the hot summer days nightmarish and confusing. Several men were felled by the heat and strain and we had to send a small contingent of sick men back to [[Edenbrook]] lest they die from the stress of the march. 

::On the fifth day we reached the bitter, barren land of [[Pleasant Valley]]. If the [[demons]] did not turn from their path soon we would chase them into the sea. Since we simply could not catch them at their tireless pace, I took a gamble and travelled northwest until we reached the old trade road that snaked along the western coast, hoping that when the enemy reached the sea, they would lack any real plan and would follow the road. 

::Again, the enemy proved mindlessly predictable, and again, I was able to lay an ambush that proved decisive. With a full days rest at the narrow pass I had chosen, my men were able to contrive a vicious ambush that would have turned [[Archibald]] green with envy. When fully half of the enemy had filed into the pass we attacked, rolling boulders down the cliff face and showering them with arrows. The avalanche we caused blocked the road, splitting the [[demon]]ic army in half. We concentrated on the part of the army that had yet to travel through the pass and thus lacked leadership from the front. In minutes we had decimated that portion without a single loss on our side.

::The remaining army of [[devils]] immediately fled north, chased by our arrows and curses. Considering the small number of [[devils]] remaining - forty-five or so - and the difficulty in chasing them any further, I declared the mission a success and we spent the night celebrating our victory.

::The celebration, I fear, was premature. As the night hours wore on, my outriders began to return from their scouting details with reports of an army of [[devils]] - numbering in the thousands! - travelling out of the badlands in our direction. I was forced to order a retreat: hunter and hunted reversing roles. [[Catherine]], I write this letter to you during one of our infrequent and brief rest stops. Our pursuers are faster than us and do not tire as easily. My scouts and seers report that the [[demons]] have followed our trail despite all efforts to shake them, and these horrible summer snowstorms seem to pursue us as relentlessly as the [[devils]] themselves. I fear there is a traitor amongst us, somehow signaling the enemy our every move.

::My dear, I want you to give this letter to [[Wilbur Humphrey]]. He is to organize an army large enough to put these [[devils]] down, say twenty- five thousand men, and do it immediately. I also want you to call upon [[Rocklin]], the King of the [[Dwarves]], and inform him of the situation. He'll come - this danger affects both our kingdoms, and he also owes me a favor since I came to his aid during the [[Succession Wars]] against my evil brother [[Archibald]]. In the meantime, we will flee east again to seek a fortified location that can hold off the [[demon]]ic army until help can arrive. I am not going to reveal the location until we arrive there for fear these messages will be intercepted by the enemy. I am having [[Sulman]] dispatch our fastest messenger with this message. May you get this soon and act on it sooner. I am counting on you and thinking of you and [[Nicolai]] all the time.
:''Roland Ironfist''

==== August 23, 1152 ====
:My beloved,

::We reached Castle [[Kriegspire]] a day ahead of the enemy and have fortified our position in anticipation of attack. This is the last message you will receive from me until we are liberated by the army you and [[Humphrey]] are preparing.

::I thank the gods that I reserved this particular castle as a future reward for some loyal knight or nobleman. It has been unused since the [[Succession Wars]], having formerly belonged to a supporter of my brother. Provisions here are meager — we are counting on resupply from either [[Rocklin]] or you, as we can only hold out for two weeks with the available rations . The forces we have here are barely adequate for a defense, but we should be able to last until your reinforcements arrive. Hurry!

::We have spent some time exploring the castle, finding many secret passages and surprises; perhaps we may even find an escape tunnel! If the wall is breached, the traps, pits, and secret ways will serve us well. I hope it never comes to that, but it is best to be prepared. I will be much relieved if the treacherous [[necromancer]] who used to own this castle was paranoid enough to have dug an escape tunnel.

::[[Sulman]] has been a great help during this entire misadventure, and he has promised to look into the cause of the snowstorms - he is, after all, a Master of Air - to see if they are divinely sent. Another has already formed over our castle and is even now covering us with snow and misery. [[Devils]] seem to operate better in cold weather. Anyway, this siege will give [[Sulman]] plenty of time to look into the causes. Perhaps the traitor, that is surely amongst our ranks, is also the cause of the storms.

::Fear of such a traitor has me sleeping poorly at night - presuming I could ever sleep well in these circumstances. What would a man have to gain from such treachery? A high post in the [[devil]] hierarchy? I would like to see that! Wealth? Do [[devils]] even HAVE wealth? What could it be? If there is such a traitor, I shall catch him and have him publicly strung up and tortured. To think that he is probably hiding under my very nose makes me sick unto death. There is nothing worse than a traitor. Even [[Archibald]] would agree!

::Well, no use complaining. He will show himself soon enough, I am sure. I must go now and finish preparations for the siege. Know that if I never see you again, I love you and I love [[Nicolai]]. And, if you love me half as much, move as fast as you can to send reinforcements to our rescue.
:Pray for us,
:''Roland Ironfist''

p.s. If I should fail to return, tell [[Nicolai]] that the [[Third Eye]] is in the Well - he'll understand when the time is right. It is his birthright and he will need it if he is ever to be King.