Valkenheim In Winter

*"It's time to show the Vikings who they really are. We would strike deep into the heart of their lands. But first, we needed to cross the mountain pass. And Holden Cross would lead the charge."*

 **Valkenheim in Winter** is the fourth chapter in the Knight Story Campaign. In this mission, players control the story character Holden Cross, the leader of the Blackstone vanguard. He is played in this mission as a Lawbringer. Accompanied by The Warden and several soldiers, Cross heads toward Valkenheim.

## **Events Of**

As Holden Cross leads his army through the forest, he is ambushed by a small party of Vikings. They fight their way through the forest and reach the frozen lake. They had just begun to cross when a catapult shot hits the bridge, separating Cross from his men. Cross proceeds on his own and takes out the catapults.

As Cross takes out the last siege weapon he comes face to face with Thornfinn. Thornfinn proves challenging but Cross bests him and continues, reaching the beachhead right in front of the fortress. They use ballistas to launch wood bridges into the fortress. Though many were destroyed, enough men including Cross make it across and open the drawbridge, letting the troops in.

## Transcript

**Holden Cross:** *(voiceover)* The snow was already falling on Valkenheim. But we went anyway.

*Camera fades in on the path to Valkenheim. Blackstone troops are at the ready. Holden Cross and The Warden make their way to the front. Cross directs The Warden to take the left flank as he takes the front.*

**Holden Cross:** *(voiceover)* I am Holden Cross. As Commander of the Blackstone Legion Vanguard, it fell to me to lead the way.

**Mission Objective: LEAD yours troops into Valkenheim**

*Cross leads his troops through the woods but are ambushed by a party of Vikings. They fight their way through the forest but the fighting alerts Vikings in the whole region. They begin opening fire with their catapults.*

**Mission Objective: KILL the Catapult Crews**

*Cross crosses a bridge to take out the catapults but a shot takes out the bridge, separating the commander from his men. Cross proceeds to slaughter the catapult crew himself, though he is confronted by Thornfinn, who flings him onto the frozen lake. The icy lake cracks and begins to fracture but Cross manages to kill Thornfinn and gets out of there.*

**Mission Objective: REGROUP with your army**

*Cross crosses the frozen tundra, killing the Vikings who stand in his way. The Blackstone Legion had set up a beachhead to assault the fortress.*

**Mission Objective: REACH the courtyard**

*Several bridges had been setup to cross the moat. Cross launches another one and he storms across it. Though one of the bridges falls, enough men reach the other side.*

**Mission Objective: LOWER the drawbridge**

*Cross and his troops fight their way to the courtyard. Though many Vikings barred their path, he succeeded in reaching and lowering the drawbridge. Once it was down, Blackstone knights poured into the fortress with Apollyon at the front.*

*Camera cuts to the drawbridge being lowered. The moment the bridge hits the ground, Blackstone soldiers begin pouring across. Apollyon slowly makes her way across the bridge with her lieutenants right behind her.*

**Holden Cross:** *(voiceover)* We couldn't leave a force behind to guard the prisoners.

*Cut to the Blackstones inside the fortress with the Vikings prisoners at their mercy. They have a small line of prisoners in front of a make-shift chopping block. One of the Blackstones forces a Viking down to his knees and Cross proceeds to behead the prisoner.*

*Apollyon watches the executions from a distance. She watches as a Viking Raider is brought forth, a Raider who would later be identified as Ragnar. They try to force Ragnar to his knees but the Viking refuses. They needed Mercy to strike his knees in order to bring him down. Cross prepares to behead him but is stopped.*

**Apollyon**: Hold.

*Cross stands down. Apollyon walks up to Ragnar, who looks up in surprise.*

**Holden Cross**:Master, this beast killed at least forty soldiers, including Davis.

**Apollyon**: *(to Cross)* Do you know to tell predator from prey? You can't, of course. Unless you see them in war.

*The Blackstone lieutenant holding Ragnar allows the Viking to stand. Apollyon walks up to the prisoner.*

**Apollyon**: *(to Ragnar)* Forty? Well done.

*The lieutenant hauls Ragnar away while Apollyon walks off. The camera fades out on Cross staring at his commander.*

**Holden Cross**: *(voiceover)* I had thought her laws of selection only applied to us.

## Observables

* Ancestors
	+ As you go through the mountain pass, keep an eye on the right for a giant statue of a Warlord.
	+ *“The Vikings are ancient, as we are. The difference is they vanished for centuries, we never left. But any who doubt their claim to these lands need only look at the ruins their ancestors built for them.”*
* Demons
	+ As you go through the mountain, you will pass under a small bridge while fighting the Vikings. There is a totem on the left side.
	+ *“So many of my people fear the decorations of our savage foes, but I have never feared the demons of my enemies. I am their demon.”*
* Civilization
	+ When you reach the bridge, take and follow the right path to some burned down houses.
	+ *“Wherever we go, the peaceful life that is called “civilization” scatters. It is a social agreement that is so easily dissolved, fragile.”*
* Knock Knock
	+ You will cross a bridge across a lake, which will trigger a cutscene where a catapult separates Cross from his men the cutscene ends, look to the right at the horn.
	+ *“The Vikings have filled their mountains and valleys with horns and drums and signal fires. We were never going to slip into Valkenheim unnoticed. That is why I chose to enter through the front door.”*
* The Cataclysm
	+ As you cross the frozen lake, before you reach land look to the right at the giant stone face.
	+ *“The Cataclysm was not one event, it was many. Lands rose and fell. The sky rained fire, ash, and worse things. The seas rose and then retreated. It is a miracle that any of us are still here.”*
* Apollyon
	+ As you reach the beachhead, keep an eye to the left. Your commander, Apollyon, will be watching the battle as an observable.
	+ *“I am Apollyon. I was a Warden once, now I have become something greater. I am the eighth warlord of the Blackstone Legion, the only one strong enough to survive, and through me, this land will see a new age.”*
* The Raids
	+ As you reach the beachhead, keep an eye to the right for a broken ballista.
	+ *“The Vikings have raided every year for as long as I can remember. They sack, loot, burn. My village was destroyed by them, mine and hundreds of others. Now, we would turn the tables.”*
* Technology
	+ Once you're at the beachhead, go to the bridge on the far left. You can't cross it but there is an observable in the center of it.
	+ *“Our technology is what separates us from the Vikings, and with these, we would make the so-called ‘impassable defense’ of the gates of Valkenheim meaningless.”*
* Gates of Valkenheim
	+ Once you're at the beachhead, head to the front and look at the drawbridge.
	+ *“Valkenheim, home of the invaders who call themselves Vikings. It had been forty years ago that Knights last crossed the threshold into that great valley. Whatever happened in there, we would certainly be remembered.”*
* The Vikings
	+ As you cross the bridges into the fortress, look at the Viking statue to the left, more specifically the fire.
	+ *“The ancient kings of the Vikings were mighty. They sailed across the ocean, and when the seas froze, they were lost to history, and then, they came back.”*