Report 5: Warlord Ykesha

*The following is inked on a sheet of folded vellum sealed with the wax seal of the agents of the Church of Tunare.*

To High Priest Yeolarn Bronzeleaf,

The world seems to crumble under the iron boots of chaos. As horrible as the recent memories of Bloody Faydark, as the criers care to glorify the great orc battles, the battles appear to be an act of misdirection. I know it is very difficult to consider such a terrible battle a simple act of deception, but I fear the elves have fallen into a well orchestrated dark elf plot.

For years the spies of Felwithe have known the connections between Crusbhone and Neriak. No doubt the superior intellect of Neriak could easily send the orcs against our building armies. No doubt Neriak understood what the reaction of Felwithe and Kelethin would be - isolationism. How could we send our troops across the seas to fight for cities they hardly know when elven blood spills just outside our own gates?

The true danger does not lie in the Faydark, however, but on Antonica. The ancient creature of the swamp, resurrected by a coven of necromancers loyal to Xin Quixill, has turned out to be none other than Warlord Ykesha, the great lord of the trolls from centuries ago. Dusty leatherbound tomes tell us of his fall in the depths of Guk and the loss of the Grozmok stone to the Broken Skull Clan.

Since his resurrection, Warlord Ykesha challenged all of the competing battlemasters of the trolls to battle on a stone walkway over the center of the hellish volcano of Lavastorm. His curved blade tore open those who opposed him and the rest bent their knee in loyalty.

With a pile of burned and flayed bodies behind him, Warlord Ykesha traveled back to Neriak's Foreign Quarter and began to prepare his army. He sent agents to the leader of the Broken Skull Clan, Spiritseeker Natox, in Gunthak. The Spiritseeker agreed to an alliance with Ykesha and more surprisingly declared that Ykesha was the Grozmok, the god-king of Trolls on Norrath.

Now Warlord Ykesha's armies march in the Commonlands. Dark elves, ogres, and trolls all march under the banner of Ykesha. They speak of revenge against Grobb but Freeport marks itself as an easy target. Whatever they choose, I fear no city militia can stand up to such a powerful force.

Again we must look to the mercenaries and adventurers of Norrath to break down the walls of this army. Their undisciplined approach to combat, attacking on the flanks in smaller groups rather than a line war in open fields, may shatter the pillars of discipline within this eclectic army.

If they cannot, no one can say what can stop such a force.

Many of my agents have paid for this information with their lives. My spies travel to the shadows of Neriak, the scorched hills of Lavastorm, and to the open planes of Antonica. Many have spilt their blood for the good of Felwithe. They risk torture, mutilation, and death for the good of a city they can never enter. Whether their skin was dark or light or green, they served our people and should be marked as heroes.

May the Mother protect us all,

High Priest Loral Ciriclight
The Hand of Tunare