Reconnaissance

> *”To reach the great city of the Emperor, the Vikings now faced the Myre. Here, brute force would not suffice. Skill and knowledge would be needed to cross safely. The Warborn Valkyrie, Runa, was sent to find a way through.”*
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**Reconnaissance** is the fifth mission in the Viking Story Campaign. The Vikings have taken on the Samurai and defeated the first outpost in their path. Now they need to find a safe way through the Myre before they can reach the city of the Great Emperor. The Valkyrie Runa is sent to find a way. There are 12 Observables and 10 Breakables in this mission.

## Events Of

The beginning of the mission starts with the objective of exploring the Myre. Immediately after travelling further into the forest, your next objective is to kill the ambushers within the woods, which involves soldiers, Kenseis and Orochis. When you kill the last one, a dying samurai behind you will pull out a flare signal, firing a light into the sky to warn more samurai. Head forward further and you will see a tower, some spiked walls and cages guarded by a small soldier, a samurai captain and a Kensei. An Orochi will come down from the tower, a place where you can receive the Javelin equippable. Defeat the enemies and head over to one of the cages where a Berserker is being held captive. He will inform you things have happened at the docks to the north, and follow you to the docks. Slaughter any enemy in your path until you find a bonfire surrounded by a Kensei and a Shugoki. Defeat both of them and another cutscene will play.

A single samurai soldier at the wooden deck of the dock will look toward you, intimidated. You notice him, and the screen fades to black. When everything comes back into view a while after you’ve taken him out, Stigandr will come up to you saying that the Vikings need maps for their raid. You tell him there’s a monastery in the distance, and he’ll tell you to stay put and wait for the others. Deciding otherwise, you head toward the temple, initiating the second part of the mission.

When you approach the monastery, you’ll need to cross a bridge guarded by an Orochi, who will cross the bridge and fight you. Defeat her and go up a run-down wall in the temple, where you’ll meet a Nobushi. Kill the Nobushi, then make your way to the other side of the monastery while defeating opponents coming your way. Once you’re on the other side, you’ll have to travel up a tower while facing more enemies until you find a Shugoki by the name of Teramori. Once you’ve defeated Teramori, you will find a chest that you will need to open to aquire a map, only for an Orochi to ambush you. While you’re fighting the Orochi, archers will fire upon you, but you grab the Orochi and use him as a human shield to avoid getting hit. This is when you decide it’s time to leave.

Head down the tower and out of the temple as more samurai are summoned from within the monastery to stop you. Fighting them is optional, but the real objective is to reach the wooden bridge from where you came. Once you’ve gotten to the bridge, you’ll sever the ropes holding it up, causing it to tumble down into the valley beneath. The samurai pursuing you will halt as you run off into the forest.

## Transcript

*Cut to The Myre, a vast swamp littered with the ruins of samurai buildings. Runa suddenly comes into view.*

**Runa:** *(voiceover)* The Myre. An apt name for a terrible place.

*Runa glances around at her surroundings, then slaps her neck in response to the effects of bugs.*

**Runa:** *(voiceover)* I was sent. To find a way through.

*Behind Runa, an Orochi runs past her in concealment.*

**Runa:** *(voiceover)* Let’s start by finding an outpost. Or a camp. Or something.

**Mission Objective: EXPLORE the Myre**

*Runa trudges into the woods of The Myre, wandering around aimlessly. However, as she approaches what looks to be an archway, Samurai emerge from the underbrush and attack.*

**Mission Objective: KILL the ambushers**

*Runa proceeds to kill her attackers. It appears that she has slain them all. However, one of them, on the verge of death, pulls out a hand-flare and creates a light signal to warn other samurai. Runa notices this and rushes over to the dead samurai. But the flare is sent and, in the distance, an alarm is sounded.*

**Runa:** *(voiceover)* Whoever that warrior had alerted was probably who I wanted to talk to.

**Mission Objective: REACH the source of the alarm**

*Runa heads forward and sees a tower, spiked walls and cages guarded by samurai.*

**Mission Objective: FREE the Viking Prisoner**

*Defeating the samurai, she frees a viking prisoner in one of the cages.*

**Viking Hostage:** There was activity by the docks to the north!

**Mission Objective: REACH the docks**

*Runa and the Viking head towards the docks. Unfortunately, when they get there they find a squad of Samurai waiting for them.*

**Mission Objective: KILL the enemies**

*Runa proceeds to kill the Samurai in her way.*

*Once they manage to kill the samurai surrounding the bonfire, the final one on the deck sees Runa, who turns toward him, spear and shield ready. Fade to black, then immediately cut to some time later, when Stigandr finds Runa at the dock.*

**Stigandr:** So. What did they tell you?

**Runa:** *(glancing at the dead samurai, then back up again)* I don’t speak Japanese.

*An awkward pause comes into motion.*

**Stigandr:** Well. Now what? We need maps.

**Runa:** There’s a monastery.

**Stigandr:** How do you know?

*Runa points directly behind her with her spear. Stigandr follows the direction, then sees a temple in the distance.*

**Stigandr:** *(laughing)* Wait here. I’ll get reinforcements.

*Stigandr turns and starts walking off, then suddenly halts and turns back.*

**Stigandr:** Wait for us here.

*As Stigandr heads off, Runa gets up and begins her trek toward the monastery, and the second half of the mission. Cut to a vast valley at dusk in the forest, just in front of the temple. Runa runs into view.*

**Runa:** Finally.

*Runa begins heading forward.*

**Runa:** *(voiceover)* I guessed that what I needed would be at the top. Seemed reasonable.

*Runa comes across a wooden suspension bridge guarded by an Orochi, who begins battling her. Defeating the Orochi, Runa enters the monastery through an opening in the wall, then fights a Nobushi.*

**Mission Objective: REACH the top**

*Beating the Nobushi, she heads across the monastery up a tower encountering multiple enemies. Suddenly she sees Teramori at the top and defeats him, finding a chest with what she needed: a map.*

**Mission Objective: RETRIEVE the maps**

 *An Orochi ambushes Runa, and a fight ensues between them. As they’re battling, archers formulate on the other side of the monastery, all led by a samurai captain.*

**Samurai Captain:** *Archers!*

*The archers fire upon Runa. Runa manages to see the arrows falling toward her, so she grabs the Orochi and uses the Orochi as a shield. She drops the corpse off the roof and begins heading out.*

**Mission Objective: ESCAPE!**

**Runa:** *(voiceover)* In hindsight, I should probably have waited for backup.

*Runa sees the entrance in which she entered through before getting attacked by more samurai.*

**Runa:** *(voiceover)* Too many to fight. I needed to just run.

*Runa exits the monastery out of the stone wall she came into the temple through, heads to the other side of the bridge and then uses her spear to cut the ropes supporting the bridge, making it fall to the pit below, along with a samurai who managed to get on the bridge. The samurai immediately stop. Runa begins running off into the forest.*

**Runa:** *(voiceover)* I had what we needed. A way through The Myre. The city would be ours.

## Observables

* The Swamps
	+ There are 6 observable in the first part of the mission and 6 in the second. The first is easily found just by walking forward. The arch will have some hanging corpses.
	+ *"Taking the beach was one thing, crossing the Myre was another. But there was no plunder to be gained along the shore, the wealth of the Samurai lay beyond the swamp.”*
* Vikings Scouts
	+ After the archway, head to the left. There will be some Samurai by a demolished boat.
	+ *“The first scout group the Viking sent out into the Myre never returned, nor the second, nor the third.”*
* Defense of The Myre
	+ If you head through the map, you will inevitably come across a guard tower. There is an observable on a shield near its base.
	+ *Control and defense of the Myre is split among the many houses of the daimyō. Their defenses vary in quality, but none of their defenders lack in skill.”*
* Newcomers
	+ After you pass the guard tower, keep to the left and keep an eye on the left. You should find a statue of a face.
	+ *“Five hundred years the Samurai have been here. Long enough to call this place their home. Long enough for their work to fall into ruin. Still, we treat them like newcomers.”*
* Danger of The Myre
	+ You will pass by the entrance of a fort and a large bell. You can't miss either. Once you pass those, keep to the right and keep an eye on the right. There will be an abandoned rowboat on the water.
	+ *“The Myre is a dreadful place for an army. It can swallow up an entire force without a trace. Its paths shift and change, but boats are no safer when your enemy has hidden catapults and fire.”*
* Safe Passage
	+ After you pass the guard tower, keep to the left wall and an eye on the left side. It will be a length run. There will be a viking corpse on the ground.
	+ *“The Myre would claim many Viking lives if their scouts could not find a safe way through to the city. Or, even if they could.”*
* Blackstone Spy
	+ From this point on, the remaining 6 observable are in the second half of the mission. Once the second half starts, cross the small bridge and keep an eye for a knight corpse on the right side.
	+ *“Whoever the lone scout was who found that monastery must’ve wondered what a Blackstone knight’s body was doing there, so far from home. They would find out, soon enough.”*
* The True Emperor
	+ Once you are inside the monastery, look for a fountain at ground level. The observable is on the head of the statue at the center.
	+ *“He failed to escape their homeland during their exodus. I have not heard any tales that describe his fate, but I do know that the emperor who rules their city now is false.”*
* It's A Jungle Out There
	+ Inside the monastery, look for a fountain at ground level. Its statue is facing toward the observable. Head to the wooden balcony in the direction the statue is facing and look out across the Myre.
	+ *“A thousand years ago, this place was underwater, a sea. Our people made cities on its shoreline. Now, it is a jungle, claimed by anyone who passes through it. I think I prefer it this way.”*
* The Failed Raid
	+ Once you find the previous two observables, follow the balcony up the stairs. you'll find a gong.
	+ *“Vikings came into the Myre once before, decades ago. They came through the waterways with their ships. The sounding of the gongs filled the air. By nightfall, no Viking stood in Samurai lands. It was a lesson they would not forget.*
* People At Peace
	+ In relation to the previous three observables, these are on the opposite side of the monastery. Look for the shattered door near the tower.
	+ *“The daimyō in the Myre claim to be at peace. But it is strange for a people who are at peace to fight so many battles with each other each year.”*
* Mercy and Honor
	+ The two sides of the monastery are connected by three pathways: through the building, across the docks, and through the dungeon. The observable is in the dungeon on one of the doors.
	+ *“To the Samurai, taking someone prisoner dishonors them, but to a Knight, it is an act of mercy, and to the Vikings it means they become your slave. How much of our hatred comes from this...misunderstanding?”*