It can't get much worse

Overview

Before each summit, the Imperial war scouts and the prognosticators produce lists of every conjunction that they have been able to identify. These are not all the conjunctions, these are simply all the conjunctions that they have been able to find. Because of their focus, these conjunctions are usually very military-orientated; they are focused on the movement of the Empire's armies and the barbarian forces arrayed against them. Smaller conjunctions that allow groups to purse their own personal agendas are only rarely discovered by the Imperial civil service.

It is important to note that the details of a conjunction is not fixed - in theory new conjunctions can appear and the destination or size of a conjunction are know to be mutable. The civil service strongly recommend that you check the size and timing of any conjunctions that interest you after you arrive at Anvil.

OOC Note

Depending on the number of skirmish crew available, the size of the conjunctions might be increased between now and the event. They will be fixed Friday afternoon at time-in. Please check the conjunctions early Friday evening to confirm the gate size.

Friday

Refugees from the ice

The woods of Floes Descent are the first feature one encounters when beginning the climb up into Pakaanan's Pass on the route into Skarsind. A woodland that clings on in the shelter of the rising mountains, protected somewhat from the icy winds that blow across the expanse of Sermersuaq. It is here that a number of refugees have headed as the Jotun armies have swept across the Suaq territory. Many have already made it through the woods and are on the road up between the peaks of the Imperial Orcs' new home. At the rear of those fleeing are a contingent of Wintermark heroes, those who often visit the gatherings each season at the heart of the Empire and count themselves among the the Heroes of Anvil. These are people of the Mark who would already be on a journey to Casinea, if it were not for the invasion of their lands and the burning of their halls. Many stayed until the last, intent on securing possessions, ensuring loved ones got to safety, or slowing the barbarian's advance as best they could. On their heels come a warband of heavy Jotun kirkja warriors, shield-carrying Skjaldir and axe-wielding Ulvenwar, intent on catching up with them. When they do, they will be offered The Choice - to die with honour, weapon in hand, or to become a thrall in service to the western barbarians. It appears to those heading east that their end is close...

Yet, watchful eyes guard the passes into Skarsind and the refugees have not gone unnoticed. Messages travel between the civil service war scouts and prognosticators in Anvil, the Sentinel Gate is scrutinised and the Spirit of Wintermark is consulted. Even as tents start to be erected in the fields around The Forge tavern, a conjunction is found that will lead to the area, and offers a chance to rescue those who are in immediate danger. The portal will only be open for a short time, allowing rescuers a mere ten minutes to get in, reach those fleeing, and hold back the vanguard of the Jotun, before the gate closes.

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Floes Descent, Pakanan's Pass, Skarsind	18:10 Friday	30 people	10 minutes
Floes Descent, Pakanan's Pass, Skarsind	18:30 Friday	60 people	20 minutes

A further opportunity shortly afterwards will allow a larger force to intercept the main Jotun warband and engage them in battle. Any heroes that attempted this venture can expect to meet with the heavy resistance of a well disciplined force moving against them. As the Mark fight with their skops and grimnir beside them, the barbarian force has healers, champions and priests bolstering their fighting strength. Any Wintermarker eager to make a name for themselves or an Imperial Orc wanting to protect their new homeland from the Jotun would do well to make themselves known to their egregores.

Success in the woods of Floes Descent will save the lives of Imperial citizens who would otherwise not be able to make it to Anvil for the Autumn Equinox. Defeating the Jotun force and preventing them from moving a small force of warriors - a small raiding force - into the region of Pakaanan's Pass, in Skarsind, will deny them the ability to scout the region adjacent to Sermersuaq and learn move about routes into the Imperial Orc lands.

Note: We are offering a chance for any Wintermark player who has their personal resource located in the territory of Sermersuaq to start the event fleeing for their lives across the border from Sermersuaq into Skarsind. Anyone interested in taking part should meet with our Battle Team at the Battle Prep Tent at 17:45, ready to time in at 18:00. Your character will be lost along with others in the woodland, with no knowledge that you might be rescued, and only a vague idea of where safety in Skarsind lies.

There is every chance that you will be involved in combat as part of this encounter. It will involve moving (likely at speed) across rough terrain in the woodland. There is no requirement for you to participate and it is entirely fine that your character made it out of Sermersuaq and to Anvil earlier in the season.

If you do not meet the criteria above, please do not email us asking if you can participate. This opportunity is only available for those players that meet the criteria.

Souls of malice

"There's a sound. In those bushes, there's a sound. There's a noise. A noise like people."

Polonius sighed and put a hand on his brother's arm where he lay. "There's going to be sounds, Salvius. We're in a forest. Try to get some sleep. We'll be walking all day tomorrow. And when we get to Therunin, it'll be nothing but forest." In another hundred miles, he left unsaid, and it tightened his stomach to think of it.

"But what if it's the Druj?" The younger student rolled to look at him, pale and shivering.

Polonius took a deep breath and watched the bushes intently. If he was looking up, his brother couldn't see the tears threatening his Poise. "Then we... fall on our swords like heroes," he said, steeling his voice, "There's no sense being caught. I don't want to go back to the Labyrinth in pieces. And there's nobody coming to rescue us."

"How sure are you about that?" a quiet voice, far too close, came from behind them.

Polonius leapt a foot off the log, forgetting all his form as he scrambled to put his sword between him and the voice, while his brother scrambled to his feet. He heard the boy give off a little sob. "Wh-who goes there?"

The Thorn melted out of the shadows, flanked by two others like her - and a pair of battered-looking Sentinels. Polonius let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, a little sob of his own, and lost the battle with his tears.

"Olwyn, and this is Morwen and Seren, and that's Caius and Decima. We're from Peakedge. Are there more of you?" Polonius shook his head, dazed, his heart still pounding, told them about the gryphons that had driven them off into the night.

"Do... do you know where we are?" Salvius asked with a note of hope.

"We know where we're going, and we know how to get there. Caius, are you confident making your way in the deep woods?" The Sentinel nodded curtly, managing to look only a little offended. "Good. Now, in the battle of Sentinels versus gryphons, I rate the Sentinels. So boys, Caius, you head off to safety. We're going to go find the rest of your people."

Over the last month the Druj have spread out across eastern Morrow in their destructive rampage. They have come here to burn and to sow panic. While the armies of the eastern barbarians have smashed apart Citadels and well-defended Spires, driving the stubborn Highborn defenders back time and again, smaller groups of elite Druj fighters have criss-crossed Perego and Caeli in search of prey. These insidious scourges have chased down fleeing villagers, strung up fallen Cataphractoi and Sentinels, and sent mutilated captives with taunting messages back to their comrades. There are reports from near the Therunin border of soldiers returning to their lines only to collapse moments later with their insides burned out by bitter poisons. Closer to the incursion into Operus come accounts of orc mage units harrying the disciplined ranks of the Granite Pillar, unleashing spells to envenom, weaken or pin their foes in place. It would seem that the Druj have unleashed their full arsenal against Morrow, the weapons of the Tepel and the Vikari arkads turned on the Empire as best can be. There are also scattered reports that agents or even heralds of the Whisper Gallery accompany the barbarians, hoping to snuff out the light of knowledge carried by the scattered teachers, scholars and mages of Morrow.

Yet there is worse. Far worse. The last reports tell of sighting of the dead, Imperial dead, among the Druj forces. Dead mages from Zenith, unconquered from the Seventh Wave, and yeofolk bearing the heraldry of the Barrens houses. The dead of heroes that have been laid low, broken in spirit and bound to serve the Druj as vassals of terror. The sight of them is known well to those Highborn who suffered in Reikos. Tortured Souls, sad echoes of once great and virtuous citizens, twisted by Druj witchcraft and turned against the Empire. A child is found stumbling up to the Frozen Citadel conjured to defend Operus; her weak voice, stammering at the horrors she has witnessed, brings a message to the defenders:

"The tortured of Vilewrither march forth..."

As news of the destruction of the Halls of Knowledge still spreads across the Empire, word comes that there is also hope and the chance of rebirth. The weakened Heliopticon tells of a number of parties known to have escaped the death and flames that befell so many of their fellow researchers. These scholars carry with them ancient books and scrolls, artefacts, and curiosities - and most importantly, every member represents a fraction of the wisdom once held at the Halls. Scattered across Caeli and Perego, they are attempting to reach safety with the Highborn armies, or fleeing north to the forests of Therunin. Smart minds are quick to suggest that if they can be saved, then perhaps they would make the foundation stones of a new centre of magical learning in the Empire. Whilst getting hold of the physical knowledge they carry is, of course, important, bringing back these mages, stargazers and theoreticians is the most important goal. Each saved researcher will help in any future attempt to found a replacement for the Halls, depending on who is rescued and the extent of the knowledge that they possess.

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Iron Citadel Field, Caeli, Morrow	20:00 Friday	35 people	20 minutes
Meadow of Clouds, Caeli, Morrow	20:30 Friday	35 people	20 minutes
Peakedge Road, Perego, Morrow	21:00 Friday	35 people	20 minutes
Sulphur Vent, Perego, Morrow	21:00 Friday	35 people	20 minutes

Through the efforts of the war scouts operating in Morrow, and the prognosticators they supply with information, the following four opportunities have been divined, each a chance to inflict blows against the Druj sweeping through the valleys and passes of the Heart of Urizen. Each conjunction taken will allow the Heroes of Anvil to strike against the twisted cicatrix, devious tepel and cunning ghulai, and the chikad fighters they have dispatched across Morrow. While there is obvious interest in these conjunctions for Urizen; the soldiers of Highguard and skirmishers of Navarr will all find reasons why they wish to assist in these endeavours. As is customary, the organisation of any mission nominally falls to the title holder of the Imperial postion, the Provost. The war scout will have further information on the threats faced and how the Heroes can prepare themselves to face them.

Dawn raid

During the gathering at the Summer Solstice the magistrates received a tip-off concerning a number of criminals wanted for the murders of a senior member of the militia and an Imperial magistrate. Using this information and the network of spies that slip across the border from Holberg into the Carmine Fields the magistrates have learned of the location of key figures from House Martel, now disgraced and on the run from the law. Interested citizens will certainly be able to learn more from the militia, magistrates, and the Dawnish egregores about the particulars of the investigation.

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Rookwood Estate, Murderdale, The Barrens	21:15 Friday	25 people	20 minutes

Magistrate Karkovitch will be able to brief members of the militia that gather in Anvil and can advise them how best to prepare to act on the information they have. It is understood that the Sentinel Gate will align with a conjunction to permit travel to the Rookwood Estate in the Barrens. The magistrates believe that the nobility of Martel will be supported by their loyal retainers and household troops, and expect the militia to make preparations and equip themselves for a heavily armed raid. While they will undoubtedly have the element of surprise, it might be difficult to make these criminals come quietly. There is also the ever present risk of Druj fighters in the area who might be alerted to any Imperial force that arrives.

Saturday

Draw out the poison

None can doubt the massive contribution the physicians, chirurgeons, and hospitaliers have made over recent months during the bitter fighting in Morrow. Without the aid of the healers drawn to follow the soldiers of the Valiant Pegasus by the Imperatrix's decree, many thousands more would now be dead by the poisons of the Druj. Yet, as the equinox arrives and the armies pause for the turning of the seasons, there are many quartermasters, apothecaries and herbalists among the stoic Highborn who find themselves drawing on the last of their stocks of true vervain, marrowort and cerulean mazzarine. Some worry, some carefully portion out what little they have remaining, some grimly begin to prioritise the injuries they can afford to tend, should more casualties arrive.

And come those casualties do. Reports of a series of sudden strikes by elite chikad skirmishers reach Anvil just as the great and the good of the ten nations arrive. What appears to be a carefully planned and coordinated strike hits the Valiant Pegasus' camp at in Ossuary. Arrows fly, barbed spears plunge into flesh, blades slide through armour to deliver their painful poisons, carnage ensues.

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Silver Light Tower, Operus, Morrow	14:30 Saturday	50 people	20 minutes

Despite the lateness of the hour, the prognosticators are quick to check and confirm that a conjunction will allow travel to Silver Light Tower, close to the front lines where fighting is continuing. Winged Messengers from the Valiant Pegasus and war scouts in the area confirm that chikad skirmishers and hupul archers have pinned down a number of Highborn physicks who had been tending to casualties. Despite having the numbers, it appears the Druj are cautious of a reprisal from the army itself and have not yet engaged with the injured to finish them off. A force about 20 strong will be sufficient to drive off the Druj and hold off any additional forces in the area. The most pressing concern is dealing with the casualties the barbarians have already caused. Many have already succumbed to injuries common in the thick of battle, but there are also those who also are afflicted by the myriad poisons of the Druj.

This opportunity will require the assistance of the healers of the Anvil Hospital to effectively and quickly deal with the injured, allowing them to return to their units and continue to hold off the barbarians. Should the intervention not be successful and treatment not be administered to the poisoned physicks, then prognostications indicate that there would be insufficient healers available to the Valiant Pegasus for the general to issue a successful Tend the Fallen action in the coming campaign season. The war scout will have further details and will be found close to the Sentinel Gate.

Note: This opportunity will offer a chance for both fighters and healers to work together to save the lives of Imperial citizens. The main battlefield area will be split in two; with any combat taking place at the far end of the field, and the casualties located close to the Sentinel Gate. This will allow players wanting to avoid combat and excessive travel during the skirmish to participate, without being put in a situation where they could find themselves in combat. Further details can be supplied by consulting a referee about this specific conjunction.

Forth comes the beast

There are many stories among the refugees from Proceris, Zenith of the terrors brought by the Druj from out of the east. It is perhaps the accounts of the great monsters they use on occasion in battle that are heard the most frequently; told as the embers die in the makeshift camps and the children are in bed. Of course, these are no tall tales told by a Varushkan crone of the dark things that wait off the road, they are rational and precise tellings of what the Urizeni observed as they fled for their lives. The great Marshwalker, writhing and heaving as it made its way up the rocky mountain roads to the white granite damn that fed the waters of the Golden Cascade. The horrific creature of the Mallum the Druj call an oduli, a crashing bulk of muscle, spines and savage claws; that harbours a potent poison within its blood, powerful enough to pollute and manipulate the very land upon which it is shed.

Sentinels operating along winding paths, and from hidden fastnesses high among the peaks of Caeli, have been sending missives back to the civil service in Anvil, noting the movement of the Druj in the region. Combined with war scout trackers, they have reported that the Druj are escorting one of their poisonous beasts, an oduli, through the ruins of Caeli towards the massed hosts of their armies in Operus. Opinion is currently divided as to the Druj's plans for the creature - Is it another monster they can use to terrify their foes with? Could they utilise its power in Ravion to replicate whatever arcane rite was deployed in Proceris to turn the fertile valley into a foetid mire of swampland? What would happen if the creature were led to the hot springs of Peregro?

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Cascade Pass, Caeli, Morrow	15:30 Saturday	45 people	20 minutes

Regardless of the Druj's actual intent, there is a chance the Empire can slay this creature while it is still vulnerable and isolated from their armies. By using a portal from the Sentinel Gate to travel to Cascade Pass Imperial Heroes can intercept the oduli and the barbarians that accompany it through the hills. A swift and powerful strike could deny the enemy the support of this monster and prevent any future plans they might have from nearing fruition. An opportunity perhaps for monster hunters, brave questing knights, aspiring heroes and cunning rangers to prove their worth?

Note: This skirmish is being filmed by UniLad. Anyone who does not want to be filmed will need to skip this skirmish.

Magic of the forests

Sharp-eyed war scouts moving ahead of the Golden Axe's advance into the Bonewood in Ossium have tracked a band of Druj ritualists, servants of the Ghulai, being escorted east. It is understood that the mages are part of a ritual coven known as the Writhing Shadow that has been active in the region in the last week, possibly linked to the magic mists now spreading through the territory. Where the other members of the coven might be is unknown at this time, but at least three of the party are travelling with a warband of hupul and chikad fighters. The scouts have reported the Druj are aware they are being tracked and have attempted to shake their pursuers on several occasions.

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Blood Spike Glade, Bonewood, Ossium	16:00 Saturday	45 people	20 minutes

An opportunity to ambush the barbarians has arisen in a dark and forbidding location dubbed Blood Spike Glade by the Imperial war scouts; referencing the gore covered stakes seen in the woodland. A party of heroes can make use of the Sentinel Gate to reach the location and attack the Druj before they can flee. Eliminating these three ritualists will certainly limit the ability of the Writhing Shadow to cast higher magnitude rituals in the future.

The war scout will be able to provide more information to any citizens interested in this opportunity. Of course, the presence of an oppressive fear that blankets the area will make it hard for any heroes to drawn on their inner might, or for mages to utilise their magical powers, unless preparations are made beforehand.

Note: This skirmish is being filmed by UniLad. Anyone who does not want to be filmed will need to skip this skirmish.

Note: This skirmish is located in an area affected by the Druj's fear miasma. The entire location is under this effect. All Imperial Heroes will be under a permanent WEAKNESS unless they:

• spend a hero point upon passing into the area
• use their changeling lineage to fight the effect
• have a magical item or ritual enchantment that mitigates the effect
• are anointed

Display of power

For over a month all eyes along the coast of the Bay of Catazar watch the ships of the Grendel armada, waiting to see what - if anything - they will do. Are they going to sit idle and wait for the Senate to accede to the payment of 400 thrones? Will they sail off back to the Broken Shore? Can the captains and crews resist the bounty that lies along the seashore of the Brass Coast and Sarvos?

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Orieni Villa, Cazar Straits, Feroz	18:00 Saturday	40 people	20 minutes
Glass Point Cove, Uccelini, Sarvos	18:30 Saturday	40 people	20 minutes

The answer comes at the equinox arrives. With barely a warning two small landings are made, likely from fast ships that had remained far out in the Bay, away from prying eyes. Elite moridun marines put ashore and head inland. One assault is made upon the Orieni Villa, a fortified structure close to the settlement of Cazar and nominal seat of the holder of the Broken Shore Bounty. Another force slides up on the sandy beach of Glass Point Cove in slim, agile row boats accompanied by slaves with large baskets. Fierce fighting breaks out in both locations as the orcs attempt to storm through defences. In Feroz the invaders are quick to surround the villa and control the area surround the walls; whilst in Sarvos the marines quickly reach the cliff tops and hold off any approach from inland.

Two conjunctions have been identified that will offer chances to drive off the attacks and protect the locations from the Grendel's thieving hands. Prognosticators note that if the landings are not repulsed then the following outcomes are inevitable:

• Glass Point Cove: Grendel slaves will loot the mana sinecure of the coming season's production, and likely leaving the Custodian with a repair bill of several thrones.
• Orieni Villa: The attack on the villa will disrupt the network that supplies the Bounty as the fisherfolk who discover the ilium wait for a more suitable time to trade the precious metal, resulting in no acquisition of Ilium

this coming season, but a potential larger haul the following season.

Rich pickings

As the Golden Axe pushed from Lestasny into the Druj territory now know to be called Ossium they encountered few settlements of any value, just scattered hovels and farms barely worth a second look. Now, as the summer draws to a close, the wardens that flank the army's advance and keep watch over the darkness have reported several Druj warbands moving through the scattered woodland of the Bonewood heading away from the Imperial advance. It is apparent that many of the subject nations and slaves in the area are fleeing into the east of the territory. With them they carry their meagre possessions and supplies of food; a few larger groups of cowering refugees are escorted by chikad skirmishers, evidently guarding more precious items. Observations suggest that these barbarians are carrying quantities of green iron out of the region, having cleared some as yet unknown mine complex.

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Wither Oak, Bonewood, Ossium	20:00 Saturday	35 people	20 minutes
Warden's Reach, Bonewood, Ossium	20:30 Saturday	35 people	20 minutes

Two conjunctions have been reported in the area by civil servants' divinations on the Sentinel Gate; one to Wither Oak and the other to Warden's Reach, that coincide with the accounts of the Varushkan wardens and information passed from their egregore. An excellent chance for the folk of Varushka to demonstrate their competence in raiding and to enrich their nation with whatever they can capture.

Note: This skirmish is located in an area affected by the Druj's fear miasma. The entire location is under this effect. All Imperial Heroes will be under a permanent WEAKNESS unless they:

• spend a hero point upon passing into the area
• use their changeling lineage to fight the effect
• have a magical item or ritual enchantment that mitigates the effect
• are anointed

Monster in the mist

A week before the equinox reports filter back into the camp of the Gryphon's Pride that a monstrous beast stalks the woods a day north of their current location. Without a seconds thought, three dozen questing knights proclaim that they shall be the one to slay the creature and be celebrated as a glorious hero. Banding together into several groups these keen nobles head out into the oppressive woods to confront the beast. Three survivors return. From the accounts gathered by their retainers and passed on to the War Scouts it is apparent that they encountered one of the Druj's poison beasts, sometimes referred to as an oduli. These monstrous creatures stand 10 feet tall with powerful limbs that can bowl over a knight or shatter lances and a toxic blood that will envenom the blood. It transpires that the questing knights were drawn into an ambush by chikad fighters as they sought to confront the oduli.

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Fangmoor Dwell, Galath Fields, Ossium	21:00 Saturday	35 people	20 minutes

The last known sighting of the orcs and their monster was in Fangmoor Dwell to the north of Lomaa, Galath Fields. Using this information the Civil Service have confirmed that the Sentinel Gate will align with a conjunction on Saturday night, offering a chance to confront the Druj, prevent them attacking other Dawnish nobles, and to possibly kill the poisonous beast, denying it as a strategic resource to the enemy.

Note: This skirmish is located in an area affected by the Druj's fear miasma. The entire location is under this effect. All Imperial Heroes will be under a permanent WEAKNESS unless they:

• spend a hero point upon passing into the area
• use their changeling lineage to fight the effect
• have a magical item or ritual enchantment that mitigates the effect
• are anointed

Easing the fear

A band of yeofolk hunters from House Chambrun report to their egregores and the civil service on the location of a miasma pillar in the Bittershore. Scouting inland from the shore of the Semmerlak at Scarred Bay, the were nearly overcome by the overpresent fear in the territory. Were it not for the youngest in their party - Heloise Fletcher - who had been bestowed with an anointing by her parents before crossing the Golden Causeway, the group would have fled back to the army camps. Instead the intrepid youngster was able to resist the worst of the miasma and venture into the forest where she came across a pillar of grey rock that radiated a near-physical feeling of dread. Heloise had sufficient sense to understand what the stone was, and that reporting back would be sensible

Conjunctions
Where	When	Size	Time
Scarred Bay, Bittershore, Ossium	21:30 Saturday	35 people	20 minutes

An opportunity exists for heroes to visit the pillar and attempt to stop it sustaining the miasma of fear in the area. The breaking of the misma pillars is normally undertaken through the Day ritual Chimes of Annulment, but it is also possible for priests to break the aura if they were to consecrate the pillar should they be able to work out the strength of the miasma aura upon the pillar.

Note: This skirmish is located in an area affected by the Druj's fear miasma. The entire location is under this effect. All Imperial Heroes will be under a permanent WEAKNESS unless they:

• spend a hero point upon passing into the area
• use their changeling lineage to fight the effect
• have a magical item or ritual enchantment that mitigates the effect
• are anointed