Ches The Crowing Cockatrice in Skullport is host to a most unusual competition. A drunken Calashite wine trader by the name of Alajafi Anwar yn Mahmud el Synabbat boasts that he will fill the gullet of every citizen of the Port with his finest wine if one of them can beat his best guardsman - a hulking hill giant by the name of Gwatt - in a wrestling match. Arrikett Uruth (the hin), a bristling, brawling, snarling sub commander of the Promenade of Eilistraee's temple guard, is on hand to not only accept the wager but also to soundly thrash the oafish giant. Many of the trappings of the Crowing Cockatrice are smashed into kindling, forcing the Calashite to not just make good on his wager but also pay for the damages. It is estimated that 15,000 gp of the trader's finest wine is consumed before morning the following day. The trader is forced to obtain a loan from Transtra, the owner of the House of the Long Slow Kiss, so that he can return home and recuperate from the loss without a similar loss in face. »
The ogre mages Sothillis and Cyrvisnea emerge from the Small Teeth with their army of goblins, kobolds, ogres, and hill giants (which they had been preparing over the past 14 years). They attack eastern Amn. After sacking Fort Ishla, the army of monsters attack Esmeltaran with complete surprise and quickly conquer the city. While the ogre mages did not find the Armory of Nedeheim under the castle of Dahaundar, they did find royal records dating back to Imnel's regime suggesting that the armory had been moved to the city of Murann after the Horned Mage's attack.
The ogre mages then split their forces. Cyrvisnea led a host of goblins and kobolds west to Imnescar, where they and Cyricists of the Twin Towers of the Eclipse together sack the town. In Imnescar, Cyrvisnea searches the old armory hidden beneath the town, confirming that Prince Imnel had indeed looted it of its weapons centuries before. After leaving a garrison in Esmeltaran to occupy Amn's army, Sothillis leds the remainder of his forces southwest through Trademeet to the port city of Murann, where the monsters laid siege on Eleasias 22, 1370 DR aided by a naval blockade by the pirates of the Nelanther (who were contracted by the Rundeen).
The siege grounds to a halt over the winter while the monsters fortified their rear flank against attack by Amn's army. »