The current when it serves
From the Gathering Place
In the weeks following the Spring Equinox more than fifteen thousand Imperial soldiers gather at the Fortress of Kalant in Stark. The Bloodcloaks and Green Shield of Wintermark are joined by the relentless Imperial Orc warriors of the Summer Storm. The fort was raised for the Jarl of Kierheim, which makes it perhaps appropriate that the armies gather here. Under the watchful eyes of statues representing Raðljóst and Skjaldir, plans are finalized for the coming offensive. The Imperial strategy is founded on maps created by Imperial scouts, tempered by the powerful enchantments laid on all three armies that help them plan with supernatural clarity, and finalised with first-hand experience of Imperial captains who took part in the triumphant Autumn raid last year.
Once the plan is finalised, the three armies cross the western border into the wealthy territory of Skallahn, marching in the footsteps of Emperor Guntherm, ready to face the Jotun on their home ground for the first time in a generation.
Heroes of the Summer Storm! We have fought Marsh Bregasland pushing back the Jotun, now we go a step further! We will push into Skallahn on a Steady Conquest, taking their ground like they attempted to take ours. We will free the thralls, showing the Jotun exactly who we are and what the Imperial Orcs stand for ! Fight with courage and Pride! Fight Loyalty and with Vigilance!
Styx, General of the Summer StormBloodcloaks, the Season of the sword is upon us. Call up the banners, raise up your fellows, We march for Skallahn to take the western war into the lands of our worthy foe. Every step we take draws our foe from imperial lands like poison from a wound. Let us show every Jotun that the west is ours, that they have no place in it unless it is as willing part of our Empire.
Lofyn Blood-cloak, General of the BloodcloaksHeroes of the Green Shield, hail to thee! The West has beset battle across bloody fields, war and ruin, wrath running wild. In this fight our skeins are forged, from mud and blood to shining steel, a spear to strike our greatest foe. Following the footsteps of Guntherm we will walk the road to Kierheim as heroes. Fire of Virtue, walk with me.
Iron Osric, General of the Green ShieldInto Greenwall
The wide plains of Greenwall stretch across the southern coasts of Kalsea, home to great herds of lowland cattle and upland sheep. Farms are common here, with handfuls of small crofts scattered hither and yon, and there are a few scattered settlements along the coast dedicated to harvesting the bounty of the Gullet.
The majority of the population here are thralls. They are almost exclusively orcs but with small numbers of human families here and there, mostly descended from Winterfolk or Marcher ancestors. When then encounter Imperial soldiers, they react in one of two ways. Those who can flee north or west, taking whatever they can carry with them. Those unable for whatever reason to get away, immediately surrender. Human and orc alike are almost exclusively terrified of the Imperials; only those thralls taken from Sermersuaq during the recent occupation show any enthusiasm for being liberated.
Within hours of crossing the border, the Empire encounters the first Jotun however, and they react in a very different way. The first garrisons to spot the armies light wooden beacons – tall towers of seasoned pinewood that send pillars of black smoke up into the sky. They then immediately retreat, avoiding direct confrontation with the invading force as much as possible.
It's very unlikely that fifteen thousand soldiers could have invaded Skallahn without notice, even without the presence of another ten thousand or more warriors fighting beneath the banners of freelance captains. Yet there was a little hope that it might take a day or two before the Jotun were aware of their presence and direction. This hope is dashed; it is clear that in the wake of the Autumn raid and the retreat from Sermersuaq the western orcs have been preparing for an invasion and part of that preparation involves a reliable early-warning system.
Two days after the invasion begins, the armies begin to encounter some resistance. The first to respond are Jotun warriors under the banners of Jarl Asbjørn Dalgaard, the ruler of Greenwall. They are joined by orcs from the garrisons of the fortress at Kierheim and the Ulfsborg, but they are barely prepared to deal with an invasion of such scale.
The Green Shield are at the forefront of every engagement, never passing up a chance to engage the defenders, and in each fight they emerge triumphant. They continue the Wintermark tradition of facing the Jotun on their own terms, fighting as heroes rather than killers. They are here to conquer, but they fight as equals, with honour, and the Jotun cannot fail to recognise and respect that. While the fighting is occasionally fierce, both sides offer and accept quarter, meaning fewer deaths... and more land conquered.
The Bloodcloaks, too, fight as heroes, but they take it even further. Their soldiers and heroes make an active effort to fight honourably and are at pains to make sure the other Imperials who fight alongside them do the same. There is no slaughter of enemy troops, no wanton plundering, no strategies intended to psychologically torment the enemy. They ensure everyone stays on the same path – the path of honour.
They need not worry about the Imperial Orcs. The Summer Storm is here to liberate the thralls, and to fight with Courage and Pride. They maintain a steady pace, securing the lands the Winterfolk move across, ensuring their healers and physicks are on hand to preserve Imperial lives and even occasionally offer succour to thralls caught in the fighting. Many among their number can hear the voice of Sjöfn of the Bittenblade, the Jarl ancestor to whom they possess a peculiar link. By all accounts she does not seem to care that they are fighting her own descendants, her fellow Jotun, still urging the orcs to fight heroically, gloriously, and without regret as they clash time and again with the western orcs. As with the Winterfolk, the Jotun must be aware that they are intentionally fighting in a way that reduces wanton slaughter.
For their part, the Jotun are outmatched and overwhelmed, and most of the time they fight only to cover the retreat of the thralls fleeing before the advancing Imperial armies. When they retreat, they leave wounded Imperials behind them, either in response to the heroism of the invaders, or because they need to be able to move quickly to outpace the Imperial advance.
In a little over a month, Greenwall has fallen. Jarl Dalgaard and their warriors are forced to flee their northern hall, retreating toward Bjarkey to regroup.
To Iron Stand
Securing the Jarl's hall, the Imperial advance does not pause. They press straight into the Iron Stand, into the lands overseen by Jarl Ebbe of Overgaard. Now they are truly walking in the footsteps of Emperor Guntherm. The Jarl's hall stands in a small town surrounding the ruins of the Iron Banner, the fortification built a century and a half ago and lost to the Jotun when the Empire was forced to withdraw from Skallahn.
Here again, the majority of the population are thralls, eager to flee from their would-be liberators just as the grand herds of muskox and caribou do. Jarl Ebbe fights with the same ferocious zeal that their cousin to the south showed, but with equal lack of success. Even backed by the garrisons from the western forts, the Jotun are unable to hold the Imperial assault, merely slow it.
Now the Jotun have had more time to prepare, the going becomes more difficult. The orcs know the plains better than the Imperials, and while the terrain is mostly open and flat there are still places that can be defended. As the Summer Solstice draws near, with half the region still in the hands of the orcs, rumours begin to spread among the Imperial troops. Scouts report scattered aid being sent south by the Jarls of Tromsa, and of orc forces crossing Kongegőr from Hordalant. The Empire has taken the Jotun by surprise, but now they know that this is no simple raid they are no doubt coming to protect Skallahn – and to face the Empire's armies in glorious battle.
As the Colossus Rouses
There is one other matter. It's well known that the orcs of Skallahn have some sort of favourable relationship with the Forgemistress of the Fire Mountain. Her heralds have fought in the defence of the territory, and she is believed to serve as patron of the mighty Steelweaver's Crucible far to the north-west. Jotun warriors have always made great use of runebound weapons and armour, but even for the western orcs the defenders of Skallahn seem especially well equipped.
So far, none of the actual servants of the Forgemistress have been seen on the battlefield... but it looks very much as if that might be about to change, and change potentially catastrophically. Last Winter, news reached the Military Council of efforts to establish some kind of structure in eastern Skallahn with the aid of Estavus. Protected by the warband of Eisa Winterborn, and under the auspices of the powerful herald known as Blade Quencher, their building efforts were completed without incident. At first there was some concern about what the presence of a place given over to the Price of Shikal but in the months since, nothing seems to have happened.
Imperial Orc scouts visited the area and found a metal structure similar to a cross between a forge and a great hall, protected by bronze warriors and heralds. The supernatural creatures did not attack, and since no orders were given regarding the forge, a decision was ultimately taken not to risk the unknown quantity by attacking the emissaries of the Autumn realm.
A little less than a week before the Summer Solstice, with the bulk of the Empire's armies engaged in Iron Stand, the observers left behind to keep an eye on Blade Quencher's Hall sent out a desperate message to the Imperial commanders. The Hall was moving and it looked like things might be about to go very wrong indeed.
According to the witnesses, the hall itself seemed to expand, doubling in size over the course of a few hours, then again, until it resembled a small castle rather than a simple forge. Worse, warriors began to emerge from inside: heavily armoured creatures of the realm with metal skin and burning eyes wielding great hammers; minotaur myrmidons wrapped in bloodgold armour with two-handed axes; smaller creatures with metal and stoneworking tools and heavy packs laden down with weapons; and more. Many more than could possibly have been contained within the hall before it began to expand.
They moved with clockwork precision to attack Imperial forces remaining behind, quickly overwhelming them and forcing them to retreat. The last few scouts suggest the speed with which they are emerging from Blade Quencher's Hall has slowed but there will soon be several thousand of them and it is clear they are no friends of the Empire. Indeed, some of the Jotun warbands routed by Imperial forces are rallying at the hall, welcomed by the Autumn warriors.
The armies in Iron Stand are in no immediate danger – the northern region borders Sermersuaq and there are clear lines of reinforcement, support, and retreat as needed. But if Blade Quencher's Hall is allowed to complete its transformation there is every chance that some of the gains made in Skallahn will be lost, costing the Empire the beach-head they have established there, and offering who-knows-what level of support to the Jotun armies that are certainly on their way.
Game Information
The Empire has claimed the region of Greenwall, and is halfway toward conquering Iron Stand.
The Golden Fane (Battle)
The autumn regio and tunnels of the Well of Whispers were one of the first areas secured during the advance into Skallahn, with Imperial forces meeting limited resistance and no sign of heralds of the Autumn realm in the area. The emergence of the mechanical construct of Blade Quencher's Hall in the area has caused much alarm among civil servant logicians and prognosticators as it has continued its slow and methodical expansion. As it has grown, the magic of the Autumn Realm has begun to flow more strongly from a regio close to the Hall, enabling warriors from Estavus' legions to join the Jotun in battle.
If not stopped, the Hall will grow in size in the coming days, and the numbers of heralds issuing forth from the regio will become a major concern. The new enemy presence in Greenswall would complicate the supply of Imperial forces across Skallahn, slowing communication with the armies in Iron Stand, and threatening supply routes back into Sermersuaq. This would effectively undermine Imperial control of the area. and hampering the ability of the three armies of Wintermark and the Imperial Orcs to gain additional ground.
Objective: Sever the Hall from the Autumn Realm
- Locate and realign the Autumn mechanisms protecting the regio
- Success will allow the regio empowering the Hall to be disrupted
- Break the connection between Estavus' forges with Align the Celestial Net to destroy the hall
- Failure will see the Hall grow and counteract the Imperial beachhead in Greenwall
The building, if it can really be called such, is drawing strength from the Autumn regio located at the Well of Whispers. Magical energies are being drawn from Estavus' dominions and funnelled into our realm to power the edifice. If the regio itself can be disrupted, then the fane will cease to function; it will either shrink in size, or experience a rapid unplanned deconstruction, collapsing in on itself in a magical implosion.
However, the simplest means of disruption - casting Align the Celestial Net at the regio - is not possible until the network of arcane devices that protect it have been disrupted. Only once that task has been undertaken, could a coven then move the regio's power to the Day or Summer realm. If that happened the hall would be lose the power required to sustain it. Even when the regio inevitably realigns to Autumn, the damage would have already been done and the Hall would be destroyed.
To prevent this, Blade Quencher's artisans have erected five arcane mechanisms from Estavus' forges at key nexus points in the area. These serve to direct and tie the magic of Autumn emanating from the regio, and use it to protect the workings of the colossal mechanism of the Hall itself. Each mechanism consists of a metallic device that can be combined with a magical disc, with both devices etched with semblances of the runes and representations of the constellations. These discs are the key to controlling, and ultimately disrupting, the magic that sustains Blade Quencher's defences. Prognosticators have calculated there are some 120 possible combinations for the placement of the discs, making it unlikely to brute force a way to stop their operation.
However, a possible combination believed to deactivate the mechanisms has been provided to the Civil Service by a herald of Basileus Flint. They claim to be engaged in a complex double-cross against the armories and workshops of Estavus and are seizing this opportunity to betray the Bronze Artisan and his forces. This combination has apparently been hidden inside a riddle "Seal a Plot with the Great Wyrm; Place Wealth behind the Door; Seek Dominion upon the Mountain; Offer a Bargain to the Spider; Bind the Unnamed in the Chain". Any force travelling to the Well of Whispers will need to decipher this message and the information it contains to successfully break the flow of Autumn magic from the regio before the Hall can be severed from its connection to Autumn.
If the Empire fail to destroy the Hall, then their control of the region will be crucially undermined. The Empire will no longer be considered to control a beachhead in Skallahn and will need two more VPs to take the region of Greenwall from the Jotun (doubled to 4 because of the beachhead penalty).
Alternative: Destroy the Regio
- Rather than unlock the regio, the Empire could use brute magical force to destroy it
- Wind of Mundane Silence, a magnitude 150 ritual would destroy the regio - and the hall
Whilst the prognosticators have outlined the easiest means of disabling the Hall, provided the arcane devices protecting it can be depowered, another option exists. Blade Quencher has protected the regio against being realigned, but those defences won't prevent someone casting a much more powerful ritual to simply destroy the regio. Wiind of Mundane Silence, a magnitude 150 winter ritual could be used to destroy the regio without any need to bother with the keys.
Casting Wind of Mundane Silence on the regio, would destroy it utterly. That would deny the magic of the realm to the hall and ensure its destruction.
Objective: Kill Blade Quencher
- Slay Estavus' herald Blade Quencher
- Killing the master smith will deny the Jotun a powerful ally
At the Winter Solstice, the Military Council decided against taking an opportunity to defeat Blade Quencher as the herald marched against the Well of Whispers and the hiding place of the Imperial spies. Free from impedance the master artificer was able to complete the construction of a fane in the area. This location, right on the border with Stark and wider Sermersuaq, offers a place for the Jotun and Estavus' envoys to meet, negotiate, and agree upon exchanges of mutual assistance. It is clear that Blade Quencher has thrown his support fully behind the Joutn.
Blade Quencher is a skilled artisan; clad in the strongest armour and wielding potent weapons, the herald commands a force of well-provisioned warriors and mages. A towering guardian of the forges known as a Bronze Titan acts as a metal-wrought protector of the artificer's entourage, along with a number of minotaur myrmidons who have emerged from the regio. Already the Jotun at the Hall are well-equipped with magical provisions, enchanted weapons, and ensorceled armour. Not only are the heralds of Estavus clad for war, but the elite kirkja who march alongside them have been gifted with powerful boons and materiel that will enhance the Jotun's abilities upon the field of battle.
If Blade Quencher is killed, it will stem the flower of magical weapons and armour to the Jotun forces in the area. If that doesn't happen, then any Jotun armies fighting in Skallahn will gain an additional five hundred effective strength for as long as Blade Quencher is alive and the Hall is still intact.
Battlefield Environment: Forge Breath
- The Well of Whispers is under the effect of a powerful Autumn magic
- All characters experience a feeling of stubborn independence
- Any artisan who does not resist the aura can spend 30 seconds to mend a shattered magical item
The smell of burning coals and a metallic tang fills the air; the magic of design, artifice, and craft vibrates through the ground.
Anyone who travels to this location will experience a strong roleplaying effect of stubborn independence, with cambions feeling this to an even greater extent than normal, unless they:
- Expend a hero point upon entering the area
- Are subject to an anointing
- By drawing on their Merrow lineage and assuming a calm demeanour
- Are bonded to a magical item or have a ritual enchantment that mitigates effects like these
Any artisan who is affected by the aura will find their powers are enhanced while in the area. They will be able to mend a shattered item with 30 seconds of appropriate roleplaying without expending any resources or mana. Any character who successfully counters the effect of the aura using hero points or any other mechanism, cannot draw on the power of the forge in this way.
Non-orc Participants
- The Skallahn battle opportunity will involve a number of heralds from the Autumn realm, alongside the Jotun forces
- There are no Jotun Yegarra forces present on either of these battles
If the Military Council chose this battle, then there is the chance for player volunteers to take on the role of denizens of the Autumn realm, fighting alongside the orc warriors. These heralds will be given a separate brief and be led by a member of the Skirmish Team during the battle. This role is suitable for any player who already plays as a high-lineaged cambion, or who has access to suitable phys-reps for such a role. We cannot provide these trapping phys-reps, but if you have the iconic curved horns trapping, and can also display the Metallic Skin or Labyrinth Marks then we encourage you to come dressed to play this part in the battle.
We will be supportive of anyone who can come to monster the battle as an Autumn herald and will find a role for you. We are particularly keen for participant who can potrary:
- Armoured troops wearing as much chain or metal/polyurea plate as you can, equipped with shield and hand weapon, or great weapons
- Skirmish troops wearing the PD orc breastplates, equipped with polearms or paired weapons
- Battle Mages with rod and shield, or staffs
- Ritualists, equipped with staves
We understand the difficulty of getting to an event with additional kit at the best of times, but any kit you can bring with you on the day will make the battle cooler for everyone.
There are no Yegarra planned for the battle. If you already have an orc mask of your own, or fight as part of an elite monster unit, then please come to battle prep as you normally would for these battles. If you are part of an elite monster unit but do not have your own orc mask then we will aim to provide you with one. If you volunteer in a low-combat role - by playing a healer, mage, artisan, or other support archetypes - then the option to not wear an orc mask will still be available.
Conjunctions
Watchers and hunters (Conjunction)
- Blerunning Hall have asked for help in recovering the shield of Blerung the Bright Lantern
- The Sentinel Gate will open at 15:00 on Saturday to Kevan's Holt, Iron Stand, Skallahn
- The Watcher of Britta's Pool is responsible for recovering the shield and passing it to a host of Sulkavaris
As the Imperial armies push into Skallahn there is an opportunity to claim items of worth lost during the failed invasion of Emperor Guntherm. The shield used by Blerung the Bright Lantern, was lost during the Jotun's final push to conquer the Iron Banner fortification in Iron Stand. Though the rest of her personal effects were recovered and placed in the marshes of Kallavesa the shield was never recovered. Since then it has been in the hands of one of the ghodi, used in the training of aspiring skajldir; and Blerunning Hall have asked for the help of the Watcher of Britta's Pool in returning it.
If the shield is recovered and passed to one of the hosts of Sulkavaris then it can be delivered to the marshes to rest alongside the body of Blerung. Blerunning Hall are not asking for this to be done for free, if the Watcher of Britta's Pool is able to accomplish this task then they will commit to providing the Watcher with a gift of a jewellery every season - a Dragonbone Symbol each Spring Equinox, a pair of Greensteel Bracelets every Summer Solstice, a Bondring every Autumn Equinox, and an Alder's Edge every Winter Solstice - with the expectation that the Watcher of Britta's Pool would gift them to whoever they deemed worthy.
The band accompanying the ghodi is made up of a combined force of Raoljost, Ulvenwar, and Skjaldir. Given that this is a direct request to the Watcher of Britta's Pool it is the responsibility of the incumbent, Rafe, to recover the shield and pass it on to one of the hosts of Sulkavaris.
The last village (Conjunction)
- Jarl Asbjørn Dalgaard has called on the fyrd of Greenwall
- The Sentinel Gate will open at 15:30 on Saturday to Paegga's Rest, Bjarkey, Skallahn
- The General of the Summer Storm is responsible for stopping the Jarl of Greenwall
Asbjørn Dalgaard, Jarl of Greenwall, though forced to retreat west to Bjarkey still has loyal Jotun in Greenwall; organising their warriors and maintaining a presence that will continue to cause problems for the Imperial armies that stay in the territory. Jarl Asbjørn has sent forth the call of the fyrd to the Jotun remaining in Greenwall and is waiting to meet with them at Paegga's Rest. Steelborn Kappak, a soldier of the Summer Storm, was able to intercept the call of the fyrd whilst in one of the scattered fishing hamlets along the coast of the Gullet.
If Jarl Asbjørn Dalgaard and their warriors are not killed then the fyrd of Greenwall will form; providing an additional five hundred strength to the Jotun in the territory.
Asbjørn Dalgaard's band is made up of a combined force of Raoljost, Ulvenwar, and Skjaldir. Given that the information came from a soldier of the Summer Storm it is the responsibility of whoever is elected to be the General to stop Jarl Asbjørn Dalgaard and interrupt the calling of the fyrd.
Each region in a Jotun territory generates a fyrd when it is conquered by the Empire. As the Jarl and their warriors are forced to retreat from their lands, they form up into a fyrd, a warband with a military strength of five hundred. A fyrd is unable to act independently of fortifications or armies in the territory; it will only act to support a Jotun army in the territory or a fortification if there are no armies present..
A region's fyrd can be dismantled by killing the jarl or through other opportunities.