A Scent of Blood

The air smelt of damp in every direction, every surface glistening  wet as if covered in a liquid mirror that ran across all that it touched. Here and there small islands of dry sat beneath rusted overhangs, ancient canopy's & silent balconies, small spots of reprieve from the constant deluge of water from above that seemed to stretch for as far as the eye could see and echoes from as far around as one could hear.  Each new droplet that landed left rippling rings to mark its passing as it added to the one before it, until new pools formed and added to the flowing streams under foot that coursed down the ancient roadway, collecting in old potholes and blast craters before swelling up and over the edge to begin the flow again. From her perch on the roof of what had once been a cargo transport of some kind Eyries  scanned the ruins before her as the flow from above poured down onto her head and ran down into her eyes, leaving slight streaks in her clans war markings as she shook the water from her face for what felt like the hundredth time that day. It had been just their luck to be picked to range ahead of the rest of the clan host, the Thaig that morning calling Eyries' thane to her tent and dispatching him just as quickly to take his clan ahead of the rest of the army into the deluge before them. Evidently the half functioning rusted out sluicing systems had switched into their cleaning cycle, and accordingly everywhere they stepped was accompanied by the wet slap of boot sole meeting the slick ground beneath it. The Forged didn’t crumble she thought to herself as she hopped down with a slight splash from her landing, when handed work that took them from their crafts proving their metal in combat was just as good of a way to remind the other clans they were more than just the smithing rites they appeared to be. Strength through an applied skill was a common hallmark of various clans throughout the entirety of the holds she knew as she prowled forward, there were gifted swordsmen and sharpshooters amongst her clan that could easily rival those of the great clans but they choose to put their skill at the craft before all others. Pausing for a moment she tried to block out the sound of the sluice fall, listening for anything else that might be out there. A few seconds passed with nothing but the sound of impacting rain, something tugged at her gut though that something else was out there. She’d always been a suspicious one amongst the clan, her sense for when something was up had come in useful in the past and saved the clan a few creds and supplies here and there over the years, “more than likely why I’m out on scouting” she quipped to herself as she got up and began to move forward once more. Despite the downpour cutting her sight in half she had begun to notice a striking similarity to ground she had paced before some months ago as she continued down the street, passing burnt out and wrecked vehicles of every kind. One side of the road was completely blocked by wrecks whilst the other had barely a few seemingly heading in the other direction, all though seemed to be coming from a large roadblock up ahead she pondered as she glanced down towards it. It took her a minute to close the distance but as she finally came up to it she found herself facing a decrepit check point of some sort, raised barriers blocking the side with all the wrecks whilst the other still lay cradled in its now waterlogged nest in the roads surface. The windows of the small rockcrete building where dulled with metal stripping through them like reinforcement, walking round the side she found a door half coming off of its hinges with some form of marking daubed next to the door itself. She crouched down and looked it over in case it was from another scouting band that had passed ahead already, but didn’t recognise any of the symbols involved. Standing up she made a mental note to report it in to her thane once she returned before drawing her side arm as she poked her head into the gloomy building beyond. Inside she found a small single room with the dull windows allowing a currently extremely dirty view back outside to all the wrecks, with a series of burnt out and busted controls laid into a control panel next to a broken window. Sweeping some of the debris away she flicked her hood down and looked the panel over before checking for any draws below it. The small cabinet below was completely empty but had clearly been intended to hold a side arm and ammunition by the set up she noted. Must have been a flow control of some kind she thought as she straightened, a sudden sound from outside in the rain had her snap round in an instant, her pistol covering the doorway as a figure loomed out of the deluge, their cloak slick trailing a pool of water behind them as they stepped into the old vehicle control booth. “Drop the cold iron Eyries” The figure grunted as they flicked their own hood back relieving a old scar covered face, “Coals Horne, almost put one between your eyes you old arse” Eyries swore shaking her head as she lowered her side arm, “Teach you to turn your back to an open doorway then” The old weapons smith muttered as he looked the room over for himself. “Anything useful?” He looked over his shoulder at Eyries as he moved past her to examine the control panel, “Only just started checking the place over” She shrugged as Horne wiped some grime off of the panels cracked touch screen. “Emergency power only” Horne read aloud as the flickering pixelated words glowed green on the screen, a flickering military logo swirling below it “Least it answers one thing” Eyries glanced at Horne as she tapped the logo “Aye” Horne nodded “Old Hive-sec Hold” Eyries sighed. The last one had been bad enough to deal with when they’d stumbled across it, and that had taken some wrangling by the clans in the green hold to sort out with some assistance from the Seccers themselves. The sound of Horne rummaging around broke Eyries’s thoughts as she looked round to find him pulling up a large picture frame that had collapsed to the floor, rubbing some of the dirt and dust off of it revealed a map of some kind beneath with barely legible writing covering certain bits. “Better answer than yours” Horne grunted as he tapped the centre of the old map. What plasti-paper had survived of the map seemed to show the check point they were in alongside a few more like it with a large compound marked at the centre with a few words still visible. “12th Light response South marshalling yard” Eyries read aloud slowly “Seccer Outriders” Horne explained to the Forged scout “Means parts and some munitions for the hold, Good find” Horne nodded as Eyries looked out in the rain. “Now lets see who left this mark shall we?” He added pointing at the crude daubing on the door as he pushed past the scout out into the rain, the old map rolled up and stowed under his cloak...

## Military Campaign Progress

Ever since humanity first climbed down from the trees and took up its crude spears as it began to rhomb the valleys and plains that would become their homes and hunting grounds in the years to come, mankind has never had to have an excuse to exploit an opportunity to its favour. The first tribes that found their lands fertile and temperate would grow and prosper as they became villages and the beginnings of petty tribal kingdoms, their luck grabbed firmly with both hands and used to cement their right to rule over other lesser tribes. As these proto-cultures became true kingdoms that would leave their marks on history humanities own drive to place their claims over others would expand in everyway as each new opportunity presented to them was pushed to its furthest reach in order to keep its holder atop the ever changing mountain that passed for society in those days. Some of these moments would come through passive means, a good trade here bringing in new wealth from unexpected quarters, a pact of friendship made with a old partner kingdom helping to form a key lynch-pin of a new empire. Other times bloody conflict would be the catalyst to a new path laid before the civilisations of the world as the march of progress presented an way to claim supreme dominance through the application of a new technology born from an opportunity of war. By the time these kingdoms had fallen by the wayside and truly established nations waged war on one another through traditional or more mercantile means no longer where these slivers of fate grasped by the higher castes, ordinary individuals making breakthroughs  that would change the face of the world through simple calculated risks that had presented themselves. With this even the most lowly of mankind could rise to the very top should they have the courage and strength to simply grasp the first rung set before them.

For the rites, Indentured and large masses of ordinary members that make up every clan amongst the Cellborn this ability to sense an opportunity is a core component of life amongst the ever shifting landscape of Cellborn society. Every clan must and should be willing to take the risk presented by an opportunity in order to climb the pile to stand amongst the greatest of the clans, or to at least set themselves up as beacons of strength to be respected by all those beneath them. Indentured take these risks every time they square off with their equal and opposites from amongst other clans, the destructive bouts and bloody bare knuckle bar fights seeing them wade through a sea of blood and violent potential to drag by sheer brute force their clans reputation up the slop of greatest set before them. For the Rites of every clan their wits and minds set of different path, but one no less fraught with danger and glimmers of fate that should they simply have the courage to grasp could see their clan elevated from amongst the rest. For every failed experiment or project a piece of knowledge is added to their growing stores that one day may prove to be the key to saving the clan or placing them in the right spot at the right time, their shrewdness setting the stage for their indentured brethren to seize the strength before them both. For clans as a whole these rare moments are often sort their entire lives, as each new thane comes and goes the clan endures until one day they seize the moment laid before them by fate and march onwards to the next challenge to face them. In this cellborn society has garnered its reputation for every challenging the world around them, grabbing hold of the day and roaring their defiance in its face with brutal enthusiasm. Accordingly like this the enemy's of the cellborn have learnt to watch they leave no door unlocked that the cellborn might one day come charging through, though sometimes a few fail to learn the lesson so painfully learnt as the cellborn emerge from an angle they never saw coming.

The first days of the new season would see the Iron blade twitch impatiently as it had for the previous few months, each day a small band from different clans would venture down to the hindered’s settlement and in each evening a small knot of Hindered would flow up to the cellborn's camp as each kept a cautious but growingly amicable eye on each other. In some ways the mutual respect for marshal practices proved a welcomed distraction for both sides as the worse elements of boredom amongst the Iron blade that plagued it when sat idle were resolved by bouts with the Fel’Ra, each side gathering in groups to watch their elected champion dual their counter part. By the eve of the fifth day this practice had begun to become a feature at the entrance to the camp so much so that an impromptu ring was erected with a couple of clans rotating betting rings and guard duty over it as both sides settled in to what was presumed to be another idle season.  Come the dawn of the following week this ring had found a small bar cropping up to one side of it, run by a rite from the daggers clan and a shrewd eyed elderly Hindered the bar took on its own name come the first evening of its operation as clans rubbed shoulders with Hindered, a small sign dubbing it ’The Meet’ hanging proudly, if lopsidedly, over the entrance. The next few days would pass by with little beyond the sound of guttural laughter and roars of enjoyment coming from the ring at each bout, the rest of the camp settling themselves in as each clan found its own distractions until come the final hours of the fourth day of the week the thaigs were awoken from their various tents by panting runners. One was almost knocked unconscious by the angered thaig of the second cohort he’d disturbed until they managed to get out who’d sent them between spitting blood and broken teeth, the thaig grabbed their armour and blade as they marched out from their tent bellowing for their banner bearer to form up. Assembling at the army’s command tent the five thaigs found a small detail of the army’s adjudicators and clan warriors guarding the entrance to the tent as they were allowed inside. Seated on the podium above the thaigs habitual seats the new hersekal from clan earl grasping the Iron blade itself waited until they were all sat in their seats before speaking, a curious women stood off to one side in the shadows watching them all as the hersekal spoke. The next few hours would see a flurry of questions, positioning, posturing and hierarchy clashes as was normal with a new general inside the tent as the hersekal settled his position before finally one of the thaigs questioned the women’s presence in their meeting, her garb clearly marking her out as outsider. Ordering the thaig to sit the women simply smirked as the hersekal spoke a few sharp words, the women was an emissary of sorts from the gun runners and was her at his invitation he explained.

At this the other thaigs seemed mollified; one giving an nod to the women in respect for riling up her counterpart, whilst the original questioner pushed the issue if only seemingly for the sake of it now. When they postured an actual threat the women simply grinned and let a sharp whistle fill the room, something in the shadows seemed to crackle as something appeared. 4 heavy armoured and armoured soldiers already positioned to eliminate the thaigs at a simple order, looking over his shoulder at the soldiers the questioning thaig let out a small laugh and bowed formally to the women “Well played Gun Runner, strength of the eye to you”. With a wave of her hand she returned a mock bow; a look of mischief covering her face, the soldiers holstering their weapons and fading back into the shadows once more with an electric snap. The hersekal for all this simply grinned darkly as he let the thaigs in on a small sliver of information that over the coming weeks would see a bloody amusement spread across the army as a whole. When the various clan thanes and demi-karls reported to their thaig come the next morning the first response from the army was illation at a new hersekal having seized the Iron blade, every warrior across the army wearing a slick grin on their face that when the now habitual party of Hindered arrived at the camp caused some great confusion. Those clans on guard duty that day had to take some time to explain to the hindered what had happened and that the clans that trod the green hold had come to elect a leader to lead them onwards once more. At this the Fel’Ra amongst the group seemed to understand as one was dispatched back to the settlement with this information. Nothing would happen for a another day or so but come the weeks end the army would find itself becoming more and more boisterous when a party of Hindered elders arrived at the edge of the camp during the early morning. After a few minutes one of the gate guards was sent for the hersekal who was roused and arrived at the camp with his own guard to meet the leaders of the Hindered settlement, the following couple of hours would see closed off talks between the general of the cellborn army and the leaders of the settlement but when they left it was evident some form of simple agreement had been made. What exactly that was unclear until the following day a small band of Hindered scouts arrived at the camp to talk to the hersekal and apparently help lead the army onwards, the Iron blade were once more on the move.

It would take the following week to successfully break camp and collect everything together once more ready to head out from the position they had been encamped at for the last six months or so. Great columns of armoured warriors supported by bands of skirmishing rites would assemble at the cleared muster areas as each Thaig collected their warriors and warbands together, their supplies lashed down and loaded into haulage wagons ready to begun to march when the orders came. The great sea of different banners and their accompanying sea of tents were reduced to a great formation of ready warriors, songs filling the air as they waited for the moment to come. At the forefront however of each cohort a couple of hindered stood waiting alongside the thaig, talking quietly with one another as they too seemed to wait for something as the hersekal finally called the order to advance. A great cloud of rock dust was kicked into the air as the army begun to move, their movement taking them eastward as they passed round the edge of the hindered’s settlement with the loaned scouts leading the way along the best roads and pathways to utilise to move the army along without causing any issue. Evidently the Hersekal had informed the Hindered elders of their intention to move onwards and eastwards this season, in return thanks in part due to the amicability between the two forces a number of younger Tor’Va; or scouts as the cellborn would call them, had offered to lead the army to the eastern edge of their lands and see them off as one would fellow kin. Even if the cellborn did not return here anytime soon they had evidently left some new and unexpected friends in some way a number of the army’s thanes chuntered amongst themselves as the army moved along. It would take a few days to get the entire army through the rest of the territory but evidently the scouts knew they jobs and land well as the army made good time through the remainder of the territory, passing by hordes of empty towers and small markets clustered around their bases. The small conversations that flited back and forth between the lead elements of the Iron blade and the Hindered scouts pointed to this place having once housed tens of thousands of people before the fall, a great habitation zone of some kind. As the final couple of days of the first month slipped by the Iron blade would find itself faced with a series of interconnecting tunnels, shafts and road ways leading them into the unknown once again. For their part the Tor’Va scouts waved the cellborn on as they watched the entire army pass into the tunnels, the final warbands pausing to thank them and wish them strength as the army passed on from the territory and onwards towards whatever was waiting for them on the other side.

The dawn of the second month would pass by to the sound of marching feet and mellow voices as the Iron blade pushed onwards and out into the territory beyond, only to be met by a seemingly unending deluge of water from above as the first bands cleared the tunnel exits and took up positions as the first cohort marched out in combat spread. Within minutes everything was utterly soaked, banners hanging limp in the rain as the warriors of the cellborn army grumbled at the unexpected constant shower. The next handful of days would see everything the Iron blade had brought with them completely soaked or coated with a sheen of water as they pressed onwards into the new lands, a few enterprising rites one evening managed to put together a collector of sorts and began to boil the water, before selling on the purified water to other members of the army. At this a few of even the most embittered cellborn couldn’t help but crack a smile in amusement at what had become an annoyance being turned into an advantage for them in some way. The following week would see the army push further and further into the lands with a knocking sense of familiarity beginning to creep in as they passed the first armoured road blocks and controlled check points, the road ways choked with the rusted and desecrated remains of vehicles and long dead skeletons alike. Calling together the thaigs during the eve of the second weeks sixth day the Hersekal would listen to each thaigs summaries and thoughts as they discussed what might be ahead, scout finds and the nagging sense that had begun to poke at them all.

The next morning would see those clans and warbands with a knack for scouting or who had able scouts amongst them dispatched forward to see what they could find as the rest of the army packed up its overnight lodgings and began to move forward once again. With each passing day the scouts would find more choked roads and more armoured check points, in one case during the eve of the third weeks third day one scout reported back having located a giant set of blast doors similar to the bulwarks themselves that guarded the entrance to the home holds. What lay beyond them they could say as they seemed to have been welded shut, mass weapons fire having been poured into the joints to seal them tight with the accompanying wreckage. One thing was handed into the thaigs and Hersekal however, as the scouts had checked over the position they had found ancient decayed skeletons in the remnants of hive-sec uniforms, what little was left of their markings pointed to a mixture of different troops clustered round the entrance to a sealed silo of some kind. Viewing the find for themselves one of the thaigs recognised it for what it was immediately as they walked through the silent battlefield to the silo doors. Wiping the grime from the doors plating “Civilian emergency shelter 479-B” he read as the other looked at the remains, the hive-sec soldiers had died to a warrior protecting a silo filled with civilians, making a last stand to buy them time to seal the shelter from the threat of the mutant horde judging by the amount of corpses ringed around the thin blue line. “We’ve had our clashes” one thaig stated “but you couldn’t help but respect fellow warriors dying to protect their people”, calling up a few members of the Shield-born from one of the cohorts the Iron blade paused just long enough to let them pay their respects as well as leaving a contingent to guard the spot, when questioned as to why by some of the younger members of the army the Adjudicators answered simply “Strength demands respect, they burned theirs to defend those worthy of defending”.

Moving on from the ancient battle site the Iron blade would push onwards into the deluge and in the coming days the hordes of ruined vehicles would begin to form a clear image in the minds eye of the army of the lands they walked, the final piece of the puzzle begin filled in when a pair of forged scouts brought back with them an old map they had located as they ranged ahead of the army. Evidently the reason this place felt so familiar was due to it belonging to the Hive-sec originally, accounting for the force that had been protecting the civilian shelter. The pre-fall hive-sec had built impressive redoubts and strong positions it was sure, but they always seemed to follow the same plan, down to the road ways and way they formed their structures. There was no doubting it anymore then the thaigs and Hersekal decided during the close of the third week this land would contain some form of defensive structure and supporting positions as they moved forward, though this time they would not be caught short like they had been before with the last military territory they had encountered. The next week would see the army called to a halt, the most heavily armoured being pulled to the front in great moving walls of shields and etched plate armour as the army prepared itself for what it might find ahead.

This precaution would prove to be a wise move as the army pressed into the final third of the territory in a slow methodical advance, teams of scouts roving ahead during the first days of the final month of the season would report back a well protected compound had been found nestled guarding the routes of the main artery roads leading further east and north. This had to be the central old hive-sec position the thaigs concurred with the hersekal as the army was drawn together into a great rolling wave of shield walls and ready warriors. It would take the next couple of days for the army to move into position but by the first light of the fifth day of the week they were all in position facing the compound walls with their sloped approach's, rifle slits and bunkered observation posts. Moving in slowly the first warbands in visual range sent back runners reporting a lack of any truly heavy automated defence like their hand been at the last position, a few automated search lights had swung round to cover them as they approached but the expected bombardment of automatic weapons fire had never materialised. Ordering the lead elements to form up and rush the entrance the Iron blade made its way into the compound to find wide open spaces positioned before what looked like old workshops of some kind, the half rusted forms of ancient vehicles sitting decaying into the cradles. Holding around the entrance area small groups of experienced rites were let loose into the compound proper and within a few hours the rest of the army had been cleared to move in an occupy the position fully as the tension dissipated away. Evidently this place had been intended as a fortified marshalling point for vehicle mounted troops of some kind the lead rite reported to the assembled thaigs and hersekal, with little work it could be formed into a strong point in the territory as the main approach routes had to come past this compound. The next few days would see a flurry of activity as the army settled itself into its new acquisition, indentured sniffing about the place for anything worth pocketing as the rites began their usual squabbles over finds and bits of tech worth fighting over.  In the end as the final week came round the army would find itself in a quite a good mood as the successful occupation of another decent defensive point gave them ample room to expand yet further in their own mind. The only point of contention was a number of reports about strange markings having been discovered around the territory, scouts pushing down the routes leading east and north from the territory border all reporting back find strange totems and painted markings starting about half way down, those scouts that had passed these finding small observation towers and camps at the other end with clear inhabitants within them. The ones to the north seemed more spread out and less well manned, with the ones to the east being linked up quite well by whoever had built them. At the mentioned of totems and markings the Hersekal raised an eyebrow and began to ask his won questions which the scouts answered as best they could. Seemingly satisfied with their answers the scouts were dismissed with a curt gesture as the Thaigs looked to their leader for an answer as to the owner’s identity of these buildings and lands “Watch you back Peoples” The hersekal smirked “We found you lands”...

Summary:

Following the last few seasons idleness the Iron Blade have pushed on eastwards away from the territory inhabited by the Hindered. Accordingly after several weeks of marching and cautious checking after some early discoveries the army has successfully claimed and occupied an tertius grade military territory still littered with the remains of the pre-fall hive-sec garrison posted here. As such the army has set to work settling itself in and making it clear who the new owners are, though a few of the army have taken to guarding an old battle site they came across during the march and have dispatched a outrider to talk with the clans of the green holds due to their previous dealings with the Hive-sec.

## Honour’s Due

With the ever constant rounds of baying by the clans of the cellborn the council chamber is never quiet, each new session and meeting being followed by hours of questioning and clashes amongst the smaller clans as they tousle amongst one another for position and prestige. Amongst this the council clans themselves have a clear idea of what is behind the recent spate of anger gripping the clans as a spike in clashes requiring the adjudicators to settle catches all five of them. Not a society given to worrying about the little things the cellborn as a whole have only three major things that rile them up to a major degree, disrespect of their strength, lack of a good fight and lack of good grub or strong drink afterwards. In this the recent lack of success in reclaiming a node from the control of the other cultures has left the stockpiles amongst the hold almost barren the council clans all understand, “from next season starvation will become a real and present pain they will all feel”  The thane of the grey-blades states before sitting once more, the expressions shared by all the thanes baring the same grim tone, even the psychotically enthused Skull-rakes seeming sombre for a change. “The Clans of the green hold must lay claim or we will have to find other methods to try and hold off the inevitable” The crow mother speaks sternly, the other thanes nodding in agreement, “then we will have to draw up plans of our own if they cannot seize a claim” the ancient thane of the shield-born adds. The following few hours would see the council clans discuss their options until a runner from the Iron blade arrives with news from the front. What they have to say sprouts two potential ideas in the minds eye of the council. The first option includes the Hindered who have been supplying themselves somehow enough to maintain a well established settlement and force, potentially a deal would be made to sustain the Iron blades for a time until a node could be claimed. The other option puts the Iron blade proximity to the discover peoples territory to some use, at this the thane of the Skull rakes lets a dark grin split across his features. A raid into their lands to seize what they need from who they need, the army’s berserkers  and indentured could lead the way in this hit and size attack and would potentially give enough supplies for a couple of seasons for the army, so giving them breathing room to figure something out. At this the council descends into its usual arguments and clashes, the vote being split down the middle thanks to the high adjudicators vote tying the matter. Accordingly a runner is dispatched to the green hold to see if the clans present their can settle the vote, alongside this the Shield-born also dispatch their own runner via the Outriders after a message from one of their own amongst the Iron blade reaches them just after the council meet concludes. What they discuss is unknown by the other council thanes, thought the Crow mother elicits a small smirk at the Warden of the Shield-born as she watches the runner depart.

Summary:

1) With the recent lack of success in claiming a node from next season onwards the cellborn have faced up to the fact that starvation will become an issue, as such they have begun to try to make preparations but know the only way to hold of the coming wave of death is via claiming a node (Note: From next downtime onwards the iron blade will begin to decay at a rate of 150 per downtime, this rate will grow with each downtime without supply e.g. 150, 200, 250 etc)

2) Accordingly with the imminent starvation the Council have drawn up to possible plans of actions, the clans present in the green hold will be required to decide on which route they wish to take and inform the Outriders so that the council may enact the final decision. (Note: this decision must be reach by Sunday morning at the latest and may be affected if a node is claimed during the event)

3) During the Iron Blades advance into the new military territory they have occupied they came across and ancient battle site involved pre-fall hive-sec troops defending a civilian shelter. Most likely this battle occurred during the fall itself, a number of cellborn from the Shield-born and other like minded clans have taken to guarding the site with a request to either return the remains to the hive-sec or to erect a tomb marker as is the Shield-born’s way (Note: Players must choose which they wish to carry out and inform the outriders If they with to erect a tomb marker, or the Hive-sec DPC’s if they wish to return the remains.)

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