Campaign 1 • Chapter 13

"*In our culture, The Valkyr are warriors of the light that fight every night to bring back the suns from the clutches of the dark. They are children’s tales, but never have I seen any who are more befitting of the name than you.*"
 ― Sven Tyrsson

## Rivers Run Red

Arriving at Leftbridge late in the evening, they find that the eastern half of the town has been completely overrun, while the western side is still under the control of the beleaguered imperial troops. All that separates the two sides is a wide wooden bridge. They speak with the Thane of the town, who informs them that they could not hold the bridge for long, and that if the separatists took it they would control the Ashburn for miles, all the way down to the coast.

Along with the remaining defenders, and two travelling Sceída brothers (Sven and Leif Tyrsson) who had been caught up in the conflict, they formulate a plan. They would attack on the dawn, attempt to push to the far side while a team of engineers placed explosives on the bridge, then retreat and destroy the bridge preventing any feasible attack across the water for days to weeks. This would hopefully give enough time for reinforcements to arrive.

During the restless night before the battle, Castiel is visited by a strange dream, where he sees a figure of crackling white energy in an endless landscape of shallow water. The figure takes his hand, and the resulting connection seems to siphon warmth from Castiel for the briefest moment. Then, just before the dream ends, the apparition motions to a distant towering silhouette of a mountain cliff, with towers rising at its peak and waves crashing at its base.

In the morning, Castiel and Custos lead the line in a shield wall advance across the bridge. The battle is bloody and brutal, and hostile archers bring down many of the engineers before they can finish their work. The shield wall begins to crumble under overwhelming numbers, and in desperation, Namfoodle uses one of the explosive charges to clamber over the top of the fighting soldiers and dive straight into the enemy line. The resulting explosion damages the bridge severely, but it shatters the opposing shield wall, allowing for a morale-breaking charge that sends most of the separatist into a full retreat. Enraged, Custos chases after the survivors, and Namfoodle follows after him.

The chase goes on for a while, heading south along the river, but ultimately it ends with all the separatists they can find, dead. They begin to hunt some of the remaining groups, but receive word from Castiel and Nemeia, who had stayed back at the town, that a prisoner had revealed the location of a nearby separatist hideout. The party agrees to reconvene in that direction, and Custos and Namfoodle set out immediately. Castiel and Nemeia prepare to leave too, bidding farewell to Sven, the only brother that survived the battle. Their departure is however interrupted by the arrival of troops from Ashdun, led by Earl Ashford and Alyssa Lynnwel.

After brief discussion with Alyssa, she convinces the earl to provide the party with a contingent of imperial troops to aid in the assault on the hideout. The warband is led by Marlin Ashford, the earl's nephew and only surviving immediate family. Alyssa bids them good luck, saying she can't come help because she is required back at the capital immediately to organise security for an upcoming solstice festival, during which delegates from the Vigil Protectorate would be attending to celebrate the anniversary of the Triskele Treaty.

During their journey south, the party accidentally stumbles on a strange cottage, which turns out to be a smithy. They meet the blacksmith, Renna Hammer, a mysterious grumpy elf that seems to be surprised and annoyed at the visitors. She asks them where they were right now, and seems to imply that her house decided where it would go on its own whim, potentially not remaining in the same spot for long. Determining that they weren't going to be buying any of her goods, which are powerfully magical in nature and therefore very expensive, the smith tells them in no uncertain terms to leave and they hastily comply. With more questions than answers, they leave the smithy behind, and continue on towards the hideout.

When they arrive at the hideout, built into a cave network at the base of a cliff along the southern shore of the Ashburn, they set up camp an hour away and send Namfoodle and Nemeia to scout ahead for other entrances. The two manage to sneak into the back via a hidden tunnel, but run into some trouble with a null magic barrier that nearly gives away their position. With a bit of luck, they manage to escape the way they came without drawing too much attention, and with some much needed information about the layout of the hideout.

Making their plans, the party sets off with the elven soldiers in tow, attacking in the dark before dawn. Namfoodle and Nemeia enter through the same tunnel as previously, aiming to cause a distraction inside the cave, while the main force, led by Castiel and Marlin, made their way down the treacherous cliff-side path and mounted a frontal assault on the liar. Though initially taken by surprise, the separatists nonetheless immediately muster a resistance and fierce fighting in the narrow caves and tunnels ensues. In the rear of the cave, Nemeia set fire to a number of crates and supplies, causing a distraction that diverted just enough attention for Castiel and the elven troops to push through. Sensing defeat, some of the separatists use a strange type of crystal to transform themselves into horrific mutated monstrosities that wreak havoc on the party and their allies before they are brought down. In the fighting, Namfoodle's pet, Bewchacca, is killed, leaving him distraught. Nearly half of the elven contingent also perish, but ultimately they are victorious and the liar is cleared of resistance.

In a laboratory-like room in the hideout, they discover a bloody set of blueprints that seem to show the sewer system of Silverthorne City, as well as a ledger with a list of shipments for very specific ingredients. The party does not recognise the recipe, but the sewer map is evidence enough that some kind of plot was underway, and the group resolves to return as quickly as possible to the city to warn Alyssa and Evan. In the hideout, they also discover a strange elven prisoner in shackles by the name of Malus. He is eager to be freed, and immediately takes a bloody revenge on the remaining separatist prisoners, executing all of them with a black onyx blade he calls Urathain. Noting that the party seems to be heading towards fighting and bloodshed, he offers to join them on their journey.

Clearing out the hideout and burning the bodies of the fallen on ceremonial pyres, the party returns to camp, where they find that Custos and Zugzug have disappeared, leaving only a hastily scribbled note stating that they had business to attend to, and would return when they could. Sending word ahead to Silverthorne by bird, the party leave Marlin and his troops behind to return to Ashdun, and set off at full speed towards the capital.