"My line has ended!" called Denethor from the throne room floor as he wept for the loss of his sons. It was only upon Damrod's return with the news that the advancing orcs had been thwarted did the reality of his situation really hit him. His line had indeed ended. He would be the last Stuard of his line to administer the realm of Gondor. No matter how his aids and Damrod attempted to calm him, it was of no use. He was no longer fit to rule... And so, the rule of Gondor was handed over to Mithrandir until the king returned out of the north (or perhaps the south...).
As Denethor wept on the hallowed floors of the throne room chamber, the forces of Mordor made their plans. The Witch King crossed into the west of Osgiliath along with the remainder of Gothmog's Horde. The Haradrim allies finally reached eastern Osgiliath. The Witch King stayed his forces, now that they had consolidated in Osgiliath they were close enough to strike Minas Tirith itself in the next turn. If only they could lure the White Wizard away long enough to leave the city undefended...
The Witch King sent Khamul, his most trusted of the eight, to send word to the Easterling horde advancing from the north to move in and attack the town on the northern most tip of the Pelennor. The Witch King hoped that the White Wizard would be drawn off, drunken by his previous victory on the Pelennor, and leave the walls of Minas Tirith to be guarded only by the insanity of the Stuard... Although none could see, the Witch King's lips curled with a sinister smile as news returned to him that the Easterlings had indeed begun their siege on the northermost Gondorian town...
Gandalf surveyed the field of the Pelennor. Rumour had reached him that the Witch King had reached the western shores of Osgiliath, and the legions of Haradrim from the south had also reached Osgiliath. Also there was news of an army approaching from the north, one of Easterlings. With Damrod's return to Minas Tirith, along with the Witch King's inability to bring all of his forces to bare against the white city of Minas Tirith for another turn, he chose to continue to defend the Pelennor against the advancing hordes of Mordor; the towns in the Pelennor were vital to allowing Gondor to muster more armies in the future!
Taking command of the Defenders of Cair Andros, he drove northward to help defend the town that was besieged by the advancing Easterlings. If he could stop the Easterlings, perhaps drive them out altogether, then Gondor stood a real chance! The Easterlings were few compared to himself, Pippen, and the Defenders of Cair Andros (about 520 points vs 300 points), so, if they could be wiped out, then the tides would indeed be turned.
And so it was that Gandalf, Pippen, and the Defenders of Cair Andros intercepted the advancing Easterlings as they were laying their plans to besiege the town. The Easterling commander rallied his forces and noticing that they were outnumbered he decided that he would attempt to break through his assailants and drive towards the remaining armies of Mordor in Osgiliath (the relief force scenario was played - page 188 of the One Rulebook - with the Easterlings attempting to break through).
The battle raged, and the defenders of the free peoples did not fare well. Many men of the west fell to the blades of the Easterlings. Both Pippen and the Captain of Men that lead the defenders of Cair Andros were killed, and Gandalf received a grievous wound. In the end, the Easterlings outwitted their attackers and broke through! The Defenders of Cair Andros were pushed back in their retreat to Cair Andros itself (since the Mordor player won, they were able to decide the direction that the Gondorian armies would be sent. They were both sent further northward and two turns away from Minas Tirith!). Gandalf was able to revive Pippen, although he would never be the fighter he once was, as well as the Captain of the Defenders of Cair Andros who would also never regain his former fighting abilities. Gandalf himself (along with Pippen) was driven north west toward the Druadan forest.
Woe be to the world of men... Mithrandir and the remainder of the Defenders of Cair Andros are stranded beyond the lines of Mordor. The walls of Minas Tirith are withing striking distance of Sauron's forces... What will the future hold for the people of the west? Only time will tell...
The Easterling horde lost nine soldiers during the fighting. No captains were lost from their ranks though, so considering how outnumbered they were they fared quite well.
For their aftermath roll, the Easterlings scored a five on a six sided die, meaning that two out of three warriors would return to the ranks. This saw only three permanently removed from the Easterling Horde. The Easterling Horde now has the following list:
The forces of Gondor were soundly defeated during the battle (the Gondor player urges everyone to postpone any campaign games when you are just recovering from a cold and are sleep deprived!). The forces of Gondor lost twelve soldiers during the fighting, not to mention both the captain of the Defenders of Cair Andros and Pippen. For regular troops, a five was rolled, meaning only four would be permanently removed from the army list.
For Pippen's recovery roll he scored a four, meaning that his Fight value would be permanently reduced by one... So he drops from a fight of 3 to 2. The Captain of the Defenders of Cair Andros rolled a 5 for his recovery, and so he too would see his Fight value reduced by one permanently to a value of 3. The Defenders of Cair Andros now have the following list: