Gaps Exist in Graywall Defenses
WROAT — On Zor, retired General Tauma Hilliard issued a report criticizing Breland's postwar western defenses. The report stated that "critical gaps in the Graywall fortifications endanger the entire realm."
Hilliard's report, delivered to the crown at King Boranel's request, said that bandits, marauders, and monsters from Droaam continue to slip through the Graywall Mountain passes and menace western Breland, even though the Graywall region is one of the most heavily fortified locations in Khorvaire.
Hilliard's report cited four breaches of the realm's defenses in Zarantyr alone. Furthermore, when the snow that renders many Graywall routes impassible melts, incursions from Droaam are likely to increase.
"While the Graywall fortresses themselves remain secure, the Breland military cannot project force across the entire border," the report continued. "For every monster or bandit gang the army defeats, another one slips between the patrols."
Among the incursions last month were the following incidents.
* In a series of raids on the mountain villages of Skerritburg and Olinton, gnolls killed 39, wounded scores more, and caused extensive property damage.
* A medusa attack on Watchpost 15 left fourteen petrified.
* A band of trolls sacked the mining town of Harrack. The creatures used a previously undiscovered tunnel to enter the mines directly and elude Brelish patrols.
* A minotaur/orc horde clashed with elements of the Brelish 11th Battalion at Jasper Pass. Some minotaurs and orcs managed to escape east into Breland before Brelish reinforcements arrived.
Hilliard's report recommended a 20 percent increase in troop levels across the Graywall border. It further advised that troops stationed there would require extensive magical support and training in long-range reconnaissance.
Calls for End to Fortress Moves
FAIRHAVEN—Aundair’s ambassador to Breland, Landrihl ir’Charbaux, said on Sol he plans to travel to Wroat next week and petition the Brelish crown to end “provocative” maneuvers that put “Breland’s floating city-fortresses a stone’s throw from Aundair’s borders.”
“In this time of peace, it’s galling that Breland persists in such aggressive posturing on what should be one of the most peaceful borders in all of Khorvaire,” ir’Charbaux said. “Such provocative, militaristic displays don’t advance the cause of peace. Instead, they’re ugly reminders that perhaps we shouldn’t trust our neighbors to the south.”
The ambassador also plans to address the issue of wine and other luxury goods tariffs assessed by local provinces in northern Breland. Preliminary discussions about a united effort to win the release of “cultural relics” held by Thrane are also on the diplomatic agenda.
But the matter of the floating city-fortress Argonth is expected to generate the most discussion when the Aundairian delegation arrives in Wroat. Argonth, which boasts more than a thousand soldiers, recently completed a journey along the Breland-Aundair border—a route it takes four times a year.
Breland diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity said that Queen Aurala may be trying to take advantage of domestic Breland politics to win Argonth’s withdrawal or even decommissioning. Breland Parliament members hailing from eastern Breland have been agitating to have Argonth patrol the border with the Mournland exclusively, responding to frequent monstrous incursions. Argonth currently patrols Breland’s western, northern, and eastern borders in a vast circuit.
“It’s a sure bet that Aundair is listening to our Parliament, and Queen Aurala is trying to give more ammunition to anyone who wants Argonth somewhere other than right on her doorstep,” one diplomat said.
Among Fairhaven’s diplomatic corps, ir’Charbaux’s reference to “floating city-fortresses,” rather than mentioning Argonth by name, launched a round of speculation. Breland’s second active city-fortress, Dejarn, is rarely seen and never discussed by either the crown or the Brelish Army. Some diplomats assembled at Fairhaven suggest that ir’Charbaux might obliquely be referring to a sighting of Dejarn, not Argonth, near Aundair.
