| Category | Wars | |||
| Period | 1826 | |||
| Theater | Clans | |||
| Belligerents |
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| Map | Narbuzad |
Two years in to the Fifth Suellk Invasion, in 1826, the Drachdekai Pact sent a probing action over Fargimdal's formidable mountain fortress, Khaleddagun. The attackers were divided into three contingents - a ground force, one led by illithids, and another composed of Neogi and their frost giant subordinates. The Neogi wing assailed the fortress from void ships, bombarding it for two hours. This aerial bombardment involved frost giants hurling boulders and ship cannons pummeling Khaleddagun's fortifications with iron projectiles. Though the defenders suffered catastrophic damage, the Neogi also lost several of their own vessels. This was a surprising outcome, as it was believed that the dragon grapples would be unable to secure the Neogi's airborne ships, rendering them easy targets for the fortress's 67 heavy cannons, 84 medium cannons, and 6 Bearded Belly batteries.
One ill-fated Doom Widow, the Alopecosa, drew close enough to strafe us with canister fire. The vessel was harpooned by the dragon grapple of the 12 th Platoon. The Alopecosa was sundered in twain when it failed to decelerate in time - the taut grapple chain at 700 feet.
Karun-Mek, of the Mighty 5 th - "Alopecosa Gutted"
The day's most momentous triumph for Fargimdal 's defenders was when a pair of Colossus cannons, operating in synchrony, felled a Green Orb Weaver and a Doom Widow. These void vessels plummeted into the dense thickets of Goldarah, slaying hundreds of neogi.
As the light of Khâls Forge dimmed, an Arachnidion troop transport passed over Khaleddagun and deployed neogi paratroopers. The ground force then initiated an assault against the walls of Khaleddagun. The assault was spearheaded by umber hulks and frost giants. The umber hulks, shielded by bombardment from giant missile-fire, commenced burrowing through Khaleddagun's formidable lava stone walls. Troops of the illithid wing then began materializing throughout the fortress interior, utilizing psionic blasts to eliminate random groups. Chaos erupted in the night, with attacks coming from within, in the skies above, and against the walls of Khaleddagun. At midnight, the umber hulks had breached the outer walls and stormed into the place, followed by hundreds of neogi.
At 2 AM, the defenders of Khaleddagun collapsed the Helmordorak bridge. They then retreated into the escape passages leading into the Jaborack woods. Accompanied by women, children, and the wounded, the defenders sealed a series of tunnels along their route of escape. By 4 AM, they had entered the misty woodlands of Jaborack. There, they were assailed on three fronts by the Horgmidia Army. Just as the siege commenced, this Ba'lith force had deployed in the woods, poised to ambush any who sought to escape through the woodlands.
With numerous avenues of escape obstructed, excluding those through the Underdark, the defenders sustained severe losses. Several hundred dwarves successfully fled to the secure ancient fortifications of Khunwrak.
For their assistance during the siege, Ba'lith acquired two steam engines. Suellk and the Arachnidion established a formidable garrison at the location and initiated raids on the surrounding territories. Khaleddagun was subsequently renamed Brachypelma, marking the Arachnidion's initial foothold on Bal-Kriav.