The Gnawing of the Bones Seige
In 325 AD, deep below the mountainous region between Aachen and Parisius there existed a Black Elf city. Numbering in excess of 150,000 Black Elves and three times the slaves, it was a major trading port for this species. It was used by the Black Elves for gathering slaves for their other settlements, and had built itself as a major player out of their settlements on Earth. They usually kept their slaves spread throughout it, and whole Black Elf clans ruled the city with their support staff. Little Dark Elf or Drow activity happened here, and those that were present helped their kin in the raids, and in the trade of slaves. It had existed for many generations, and was thought to be 1700 years old roughly at that time. They had extended the city below as far as possible, and had been expanding it further out & down when the unthinkable happened. Slave miners started showing signs of disease, and staging revolts. Many stammered about the shadows where rat-like creatures attacked them dragging of individuals never to be seen again. Strange sickly yellow-green gasses & fluids were found throughout many areas on the outskirts, with a small amount found in the major areas of the city.
The city was called Turoberg, and had a large garrison of troops to protect it from external threats, and as much from internal too should the slaves revolt. Suddenly, handfuls of troops started to disappear or get deathly sick, even when garrisoned in the inner city. After a while denizens in many of the old zones of Turoberg started to disappear or get sick too. Anyone left behind would complain of the smell of wet fur, scratching noises, and strange squeaking noises.
After sending troops out to investigate, the council of Turoberg were alarmed when the troops returned. only 7 of 25 returned, and they had grave news, and a grave present indeed for the council. They had been in battle according to the elite war leader of the troops, and only when they went down to the lowest levels, and found a part of the sewers had been breached. A horde of creatures resembling ratmen had swarmed them from the darkness. They carried blades coated in noxious substances, and threw clay pots containing similar compounds that splattered their pristine armour. They had fought their way out, sealing off the damaged sewers by collapsing it, and captured one of these ratmen. On the way back to the council chambers they had beaten information out of the ratman. It had gave them information, stating they were an advance patrol, and they had seen, heard, and smelt the works being carried out by the Black Elf slaves. They immediately set up plans to disrupt and scare off the Black Elves while sending for reinforcements from their warrens further below the new works to expand Turoberg. It turned out they had been breeding there for centuries after some rats, originally from Turoberg itself had came across a seam of a substance called warpstone.
Now their warrens had been turned into a thriving city on it's own, and wanted no other creature to find it. Eventually, the Dark Elf slaves had started the work of expanding Turoberg deep enough they were nearly through to the old warrens. This led to the patrol of the ratmen to send for aid & to warn their kin that others had found them. War was coming and nothing could stop it. The Black Elves armed themselves & anyone else willing to fight by their side, dug in, fortified, and waited for the inevitable.
The Conflict
Prelude
The first rumblings of the enemy forces was waves of rats, pouring from sewers and cracks in the ground. Thousands upon thousands flocked through Turoberg causing mayhem, and spreading tics & disease. About 20,000 Black Elves & slaves died as a result, with their bodies burned, and the diseases stopped by the use of magic. Over the next few weeks, the Black Elves were conscious of a build up of squeaks, and claws on rock, all around Turoberg. Beady eyes were glimpsed in areas around the city walls where light shone off them. The lower levels were plugged with rocks, rubble & debris to stop any trying to come up from below. Roughly three months later, the sounds from outside the city was tremendous and terrible in equal measure. Scouts reported that when they ventured forth thousands of ratmen surrounded them, all with weapons dripping a noxious substance, and warleaders wearing heavy rusted armour towered over their lesser kin, while the average ratman wore leathers and formed ranks upon ranks of troops. Larger ogre sized versions of the ratmen were dotted throughout, to bolster the lines. In each of the forward units, every other unit had a either a set of ladders, or a crude siege tower. Also, archers were sighted with bows made with bits of bone & mushroom, and at the back were crudely made catapults. Amongst the forces of ratmen were magic users. Rarely seen or encountered, were two types, the black wizards of the ratmen, and the bone white clerics, both giving off a sickly yellow or green glow. The whole city was surrounded by this point, and the Black Elves knew, it came down to whoever lasted the longest would win. The Black Elves were superior fighters, and their own powerful weapons of war, and powerful spellcasters. The only problem with the enemy was numbers.
Deployment
The Black Elves were arrayed around the city's battlements and at the core strategic points. They were commanded by the elite warriors of the families, with mages to set & receive messages as well as bolstering the fighters. Slaves were pressed into fighting too, allowing for an effective screen of chaff. They were expendable, and the Black Elves knew it. They also made use of placing troops amongst certain slave units as cover, and paced allies troops this way too. Their archers & their own catapults were placed in areas that were hard to spot, and in the former elevated for line of sight. The catapults were hidden in places not to be spotted, and had spotters hidden nearby to help coordinate with the remaining crews.
The ratmen had ranks of troops armed with spears and/or short swords & shields. Some carried ladders to scale the walls, and others had siege towers to push forward. Each of these were led by a slightly larger ratman as a leader, and the largest led from small units spread around the lesser units. Ratmen made use of creatures called ratogres, huge hulking creatures that seemed to blend rat and ogre together. These were spread out amongst the units in ones, twos, or threes to act as muscle. Archers and catapults were kept at the back to force the Black Elves to keep their heads down, or to cause maximum damage at a distance. Their spellcasters moved around with bodyguards able to buff their own side, or weaken the enemy through pox causing spells.
Battlefield
The main battlefield was Turoberg itself, initially the rocky terrain around it for many miles, and then the city itself. The city was surrounded by massive stone walls about two to three metres thick. The city was littered with family & clan sections, with slave holding pits, businesses, fighting pits, and a large manse where the head of the family lived. At the centre was the council manse where their leaders could meet.
Conditions
The conditions of the battlefield remained almost constant due to it being so far underground.
The Engagement
Since it was a siege, the ratmen made sure to use their numbers to full advantage constantly putting pressure on the Black Elves. They regularly would carry out large attacks along the walls from different angles at once, never committing their full numbers though. This was preceded by a bombardment of magic spells, catapult shots, and arrows.
The Black Elves repelled each attack by carefully aimed shots from crossbows, archers, and their own catapults at such time. Their spellcasters would confound opposing magic and blast apart opposing units. Each time they were repelled, the ratmen bunched up and waited for hours to days to carry out another attack.
The ratmen were actually digging the whole time through the rubble under the city themselves. Their numbers helped as if any were lost then they were easily replaced. The Black Elves didn't expect this, having never encountered such a foe before. Some of the ratmen also used this time to poison the river by the city, and to catapult whole corpses or other body parts into the city too. This caused sickness to slowly spread through Turoberg, and when they had dug enough, they let thousands of rats loose from below as well. All the while they kept digging.
After a year of digging, the ratmen were in position, and released the whole of their army at the walls, or so the Black Elves thought. The latter devastated many of the units here, even when ill, and reduced by a third at this point. They didn't though take into account the sappers below. When they thought the ratmen were going to lose, a massed underground force seethed up through the newly unblocked lower layers killing the majority of slaves & Black Elves, and finishing the city off once and for all.
Outcome
The city of Turoberg was left a ruin and the majority of Black Elves & slaves killed and some of these ate by the ratmen. A few living was carted off for eating or to be experimented on later. The trade in slaves from the city had just dropped to zero, and most other Black Elves who came here found a horrible sight of a razed city and a few survivors wandering the streets in abject terror & shock.
Aftermath
Slavery is now non-existent here now, and small bands of feral Black Elf & slave descendants live amongst the ghost haunted ruins. Ratmen sometimes venture here to kill them for sport or food, or maybe bring back a specimen for their masters.
The ratmen don't really bother with the city any more, their ancestors done what was necessary for survival in their eyes. The Black Elves have left it abandoned, seeing it as cursed, and not worth the bother of resettling it any more.
There is still great treasure to find in the council chambers, and with the family houses. With the spellcasters, books, scrolls, and other paraphernalia related to Black Elf still rots away here.
Historical Significance
When Black Elves returned after a year of no contact, they found the city in ruins. Also, piles of bones had been placed high with teeth marks on them. These were caused by the ratmen eating the bodies of many afterwards, and since that time they have referred to it as The Gnawing Of The Bones.Legacy
The Black Elves view it as a morality tale, telling that it was what happens when hubris takes over and your not looking at what's below or behind you. They also, look on those Black Elves with distain for letting a lesser race defeat them.
The ratmen don't care either way.
In Literature
So far, no literature has ever been created specifically about this, except for footnotes in Black Elf books, and even then, only as a side note of a once great city.
Conflict Type
Siege
Battlefield Type
Urban
Start Date
15th March 324 AD
Ending Date
6th June 325 AD
Conflict Result
The ratmen won by an act of attrition against the Black Elves.
Location
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