A walk in shadow
Point of the Spear
To the east of the Barrens are the Salt Flats of Sanath. It lies across the great Nameless River that girdles the Barrens, connecting the Semmerlak and the Barren Sea to the Feverwater, and all three ultimately to the open sea. The deep, wide, muddy waters are easily fordable at only a few points. The Druj have built bridges in the past, but they rarely last long, and when they retreated from the Barrens they burned them in their wake. As such, the four armies set on striking into the Salt Flats must gather at Saltmarsh if they wish to ford the river with as little difficulty as possible.
Strike Flat, strike hard. We will open an opportunity to press the Druj and prevent their return to Imperial Lands. We are the Irresistible Spear, we will lead the charge supported by the Knights of Glory and Dominion will be ours. Fight with Courage, fight with Ambition, make me proud.
Nicassia Avicia of Phoenix Reach, General of the Citadel GuardThe Citadel Guard will lead the assault; drawing on the illimitable power of Summer to wield the Irresistable Spear technique. The sentinels of the army are strengthened with Summer enchantments, but their main focus is on identifying key strategic objectives, establishing safe camps, and using their magic to infuse barricades and palisades with immovable force. A small cadre of curious koboldi from the Crucible of Fate accompany them, eagerly adding their own magic to that of the Urzeni magicians.
The Valiant Pegasus and the Gryphon's Pride support the Urizen, flanking the thrusting point of the Imperial assault. Three years ago the Gryphon's Pride marched across the Golden Causeway and into Ossium and conquered; a little less than two years back they crossed into the Forest of Ulnak and were repulsed. This is the third time, now, that the Gryphon's Pride have marched blindly into terror incognita – into the Mallum to fight the Druj with no idea what awaits them. Bringing up the rear are the Iron Helms, the grim Varushkan army, dogs carefully leashed for the moment. Once across the river they shall bring their merciless will to bear on the orcs, spreading terror wherever they go.
Siblings, showing great loyalty to the other Highborn armies that resupply this season, we push into the salt flats, to liberate the tribes from the Druj Oppressors. Remember that Highborn armies inspire our allies, wear your virtue with pride, may vigilance guide us.
Jack Flint, General of the Valiant PegasusI call upon all those who will stand with me, we have healed our bodies and had time to mourn those who sacrificed it all. Now I call upon you to march with me to the Salt flats where we will strike at the heart of Druj home land. I will not rest till their capital burns! If you must do this for virtue, do it with loyalty in your hearts, loyalty to those who've fallen so their sacrifices won't be in vain.
Archavion Wolfborne, General of the Gryphon's PrideThe magical Summer knights that march with the Citadel Guard and the Gryphon's Pride give the Varushkans a wide berth. Several thousand glorious gold-and-sapphire knights of the Summer realm march with the Dawnish; the Urizen are supported by a shining cohort of feather-crested spearfolk whose scaled armour brings to mind the feathers of birds of prey.
The Imperial armies are further reinforced by some fifteen thousand or so Imperial soldiers lead by independent military captains, many infused with magic of their own. Most fight with the Gryphon's Pride, but only the Valiant Pegasus are without notable allies. Their scouts have spent a little time speaking with the Vendarri - the orc sept that calls the Saltmarsh home and has technically at least surrendered to the Highborn - about what they might encounter on the other side of the river.
With the sun rising before them, for the first time in a great many decades, the Empire's armies begin to cross the Nameless River into the Salt Flats of Sanath.
Crossing the Nameless River
The crossing is fraught, and made under fire. The Druj have clearly been bracing for an Imperial attack, even if they don't seem to know for sure which direction it will come from. They have scouts and watchers in the wooded marshes across the River, who quickly alert the orcs of the Mallum to the presence of the Empire's forces. Fortunately, the sentinels of Urizen are swifter than the orcs; they have already established a base-camp on the eastern banks of the slow-moving river before the first Druj warriors are able to reach them.
The White Lion – the Druj who fight with uncharacteristic discipline under the banner of the pale ant – are in the vanguard, but within hours the first Arrow Viper scouts and skirmishers are spotted, elite Chikad probing the defences, picking off any target they can identify. If they had been faster, more Vigilant, the Druj defenders might have been able to drive the Citadel Guard back before they could find their balance in the unknown lands. As it is, by the time sufficient force is brought to bear to potentially threaten the Urizeni and their fey allies, the other three armies are already across the river. Not everyone makes it; more than one Imperial soldier falls to a sniper's arrow, lost beneath the muddy waters of the river, their body stolen by the implacable current.
The Sydathian Fens
According to the Great Forest Orcs, the Salt Flats are broad plains criss-crossed by dark waterways. The ground is sodden, and the further east toward the sea one travels, the more marshy the land becomes. Eventually one reaches the Leen – the largest settlement in the Mallum according to the orcs, a sprawling mess of buildings and bridges and ramshackle towers held together by the malice of the Druj.
The Vendarri say that across the river from Saltmarsh lie the Sydathian Fens. A region of freshwater marsh that becomes increasingly salty as it runs along the river to the shores of the eastern sea. It is ruled over by the Razorbird clan of the Druj; cruel spear-fighters and archers who mark their territory with sinister wicker effigies of great long-legged marsh birds, their hollow bodies studded with barbs and spikes. Those who offend the clan are interred within and left to die of hunger, thirst, or sickness. They are cruel even by Druj standards. Or so the Vendarri say.
It is not the Razorbird Orcs that gather to resist the Imperial conquest of the Salt Flats, however. It seems that there is a significant Druj force waiting here – the scouts of the Valiant Pegasus suggest that they were engaged in desperate resupply which the Empire's soldiers have now categorically interrupted. Along with the White Lion and the Arrow Viper, the Deadly Blade and the Hidden Widow are both here, as are the vine-and-bramble adorned Thorn Born - all have faced Imperial troops before, and fight with a kind of desperate wariness.
The armies are further supported by a great many Druj warriors from the city of Leen itself. They are first encountered a fortnight after the initial probing engagements. Hateful, malicious, cruel like any Druj, many of them seem to be veterans of past battles in Holberg, Ossium, and Reikos. They focus much of their wrath against the Highborn and the Varushkans. However, they ultimately answer to the commanders of the White Lion, their fury that anyone would dare to invade their heartlands shackled to the Druj's wider defensive strategy.
The Fear of Fear
By all accounts, the Salt Flats are the heartland of the Druj. The seat of their power, their first and most precious home. It should not come as a surprise that it is well-defended by hard-bitten orcs who will stop at nothing to hold the territory and drive the invaders out. While there are a great many orc warriors here, there seems to be very little of the Druj's signature twisted magic, although it might be dangerous to read too much into that. For example, there's no sign the Druj have infused the waters of the Salt Flats with Spring magic – neither for weal nor woe – and no indication that they have raised the magical fortresses and wards from swamp or woodland that they so favour. With Imperial armies on their very doorstep, it's doubtful that this will remain the case, of course.
There is at least one obvious piece of magic at play here, however; a powerful shroud over the Salt Flats. Once the sun sets, the night sky is empty of stars. Only the moon, the lowering clouds, and the erratic red eye of the Wanderer are visible after dark. Whatever happens here is concealed from prying eyes by the obfuscating weave of Night magic.
And, of course, there is the Druj miasma. It clings to everything, a thick, nauseating stench of fear and despair that crushes the spirit and devours every hopeful thought. It's notably more potent than that the Imperial armies encountered in Zenith, or even Ossium. Older. More established. The orcs who live under it are somewhat inured, and the Druj themselves seem broadly unaffected, but even the Iron Helms and the Citadel Guard must admit that the potent aura is dragging on them. It slows the advance, as it has done in every land the Druj have claimed save the Barrens.
As in Ossium, however, those armies that fight alongside the knights of Glory find it a little easier to bear the pressure of the miasma, suffer fewer dark dreams, recover more quickly from bouts of introspection, morbid thoughts, and feelings of futility.
It must be noted also that the Druj are not the only ones wielding fear as a weapon. The Iron Helms are here, and once they leave the Barrens and set foot in the wretched Sydathian Fens, they are unleashed. The Varushkans work with a cold pragmatism, their every move intended to instil terror in the orcs of the Mallum, to break the morale of their armies, to cow any who might stand against the Empire. The leaders of the Druj cannot help but be aware of the ripple that runs through the defenders as the Varushkan army sets to work. The Iron Helms know how to employ the most ruthless tactics and one particular instance stands out. A group of injured Druj soldiers are discovered to be recuperating in a small village and when the grim-faced schlacta find them they put every single one to the sword. The soldiers asked the villagers who was responsible for sheltering the Druj - the elder - who is cut down ruthlessly. Then the Varushkans burn the village to the ground and slaughter the livestock, leaving its inhabitants unharmed and with no choice but to flee deeper into the territory with a warning for what happens when people harbour enemies of the Empire. There is more of course, they use tricks intended to make even the most hardened het consider retreating rather than face them. The carrion birds that follow the army wherever it goes feast well, leaving eyeless corpses nailed to trees, or pecking at the bloated flesh of orcs weighed down with chains and drowned in the stagnant waters of the marsh.
Iron Helms, hear me! It is time. Push into the Salt Flats of Senarth. The leash is off. We will be merciless in our onslaught. The enemy is weakened we have run the Druj to ground. Break them!
Alderei the Fair, General of the Iron HelmsSlow Progress
At first the four Imperial armies make reasonable progress across the Fens. They see precious little of the Druj's subject septs – only abandoned villages. The orcs fear the Iron Helms, and believe their masters when they tell them the cruel Varushkans are coming for them. They fear the cruel blades of the knights of Dawn almost as much, and would rather flee that face these imagined terrors.
After the first few weeks, though, the tide turns the other way. The five Druj armies, battered but not defeated in the conquest of the Barrens, reinforced by the personal soldiers of the Salt Flats' rulers, hold the line against the Empire. Then as more of their forces are gathered in the area of the Fens, they slowly push Imperial troops back, towards the banks of the Nameless River. The muddy land is churned with blood, with the bodies of the fallen often being left to be sucked down into the quagmire. Over fifteen hundred Imperial soldiers die on the Sydathian Fens.
The White Lion have taken charge, and execute a well-prepared plan to defend their territory. Their strategy is not without cost; while the other Druj armies fight only when the terrain favours them, those who battle under the banner of the ant must often deal with Imperial troops without being able to pick their own battlefield. The bulk of the Druj casualties are taken by the warriors of that already depleted army. Yet there always seem to be more of them; for each one an Imperial soldier cuts down two more emerge from the mud seeking vengeance. Still, perhaps twice as many Druj fall before the blades and arrows of the Empire and their supernatural allies - though it is always difficult to estimate casualties among the orcs of the Mallum even without the chaos of retreating back through the stinking marshes.
Try as they might, though, the Druj are not strong enough, not even here in their heartland, to force the Imperial armies all the way back across the Nameless River. They drive them back to that first armed camp the Citadel Guard created, but as the Autumn Equinox draws close the Empire's heroes are still there. They may be hanging on by their fingertips, but thanks to the arcane techniques of the Urizeni, they have not been driven from the Salt Flats of Sanath. Not yet, anyway.
Game Information
The Empire has no map of the Salt Flats - as with the earlier invasions of Ossium and the Forest of Ulnak it is thus difficult to know what is going on in the territory. There is certainly at least one fortification in the territory – perhaps more than one. The Sydathian Fen – the only region Imperial troops have seen - has the marsh quality, and is cloaked in the Druj miasma (which means that there is at least one miasma pillar somewhere in its depths). Beyond that, the Empire knows only what they have gleaned from the Great Forest Orcs. There are also signs that the territory is large. Not as large as the Barrens, but larger than the typical territory the Empire is familiar with.
Imperial troops are a tenth of the way towards capturing the Sydathian Fens.
Each other army in the territory is aware that the Iron Helms have performed a merciless onslaught, as detailed in the description of the cruel quality. It is also apparent to many of the Druj who live here, and to their enslaved septs.
Participation: Military Units
Every character who accompanied the Imperial armies into the Salt Flats of Sanath this season will have been exposed to an ancient and powerful Druj miasma. Such characters are encouraged to incorporate the effects of the miasma - which saps the will to fight and magnifies fear and doubt - into their characterisation. The page detailing the miasma's effects may provide some inspiration.
Any character whose military unit was assigned to fight alongside the Citadel Guard or the Gryphon's Pride this downtime has been exposed to the power of the Summer realm thanks to the experience of fighting in close proximity to large numbers of heralds of Eleonaris. In the case of the Citadel Guard, this experience is heightened by their use of their unique Summer magic technique; the Gryphon's Pride have been infused with a little of the powerful enchantment that settled over the Dawnish territories after the Solstice.
As such, any character whose military unit supported one of these two armies may choose to gain a single temporary hero point even if they do not have the hero skill. Once spent, this additional point is permanently gone and will have faded entirely by the end of the Autumn Equinox regardless. If you choose to claim this benefit, however, you also experience a powerful roleplaying effect: if you feel thwarted, belittled, crossed, overlooked, or wronged in any way it is easy for those feeling to be replaced by furious rage at the source. This anger fades quickly but it is easy and satisfying to give in to it and lash out at whoever or whatever has sparked your ire.
The roleplaying effect is particularly strong for anyone who already has the changeling lineage. If your character is a human without lineage who supported one of these armies, you may choose to manifest the changeling lineage as a result of your experiences, creating a story of a fey lover, a goblet of tangy apple brandy, or some other exposure to powerful Summer magic to explain the transformation. If you want your character to gain lineage this downtime as a result of supporting the Citadel Guard or the Gryphon's Pride, please email us with your CID and which lineage you want your character to acquire. Remember that you can only gain lineage in Downtime once for any individual character, even if you later lose the changeling lineage for whatever reason.
Breaking Down (Battle Opportunity)
At the Winter Solstice the Military Council took an opportunity to locate and kill the Druj governor - Sarra Grubfeast - who presided over a reign of terror in Dawnguard whilst that region was occupied. Despite the crushing defeat of the Druj forces on the field, they were unable to lay their hands on Grubfeast. It is unknown exactly what happened to her after this; at the Spring Equinox her forces moved against the Merigionne Estate under the command of her former lieutenant Dharrik Bonebite, suggesting she was no longer in command.
The Navarr have been hunting for her in the Sarangrave, but she eventually resurfaces in the Salt Flats of Sanath. The initial reports are confused, but the situation is quickly confirmed. Grubfeast is a prisoner! She is bound and being "escorted" by a large group of heavily armed Druj. Sarra, her captors, and a sizeable force of arkad fighters are making their way east; their ultimate destination is the sprawling conurbation of Leen. It appears the former governor is being taken there to face the music for her failures in the Barrens. If she is taken into custody by the Buruk Tepel then any chance to find out what she knows will be lost.
An opportunity to intercept the Druj at The Brineways has been identified on the Saturday of the Autumn Equinox.
Objective: Recover Sarra Grubfeast
- Capture the former Druj governor of the Barrens who is being held prisoner by the Druj
- She will trade knowledge in return for a convincing promise to let her go free
There is a chance to interrogate the Druj governor and learn more about the rumours that have circulated over recent months. Grubfest won't be a threat, she's definitely a prisoner of the Druj, but they are unlikely to just let her fall into Imperial hands. To get any chance to speak with her, the Empire will need to locate her and then "free" her from the group of arkad who are escorting her.
Experience has shown that the Buruk Tepel do not look favourably on failure - all the evidence suggests that she is being shipped back to the Druj heartlands to face an agonising death. The Druj are likely to have her secured well behind their lines, but it is possible for the Empire to reach her position and capture her. Normally she would have no reason to cooperate with the Empire, but she will likely do anything to save her own life. Her only opportunity to get off the battlefield alive is to flee from both sides, so the Empire could get her to tell them what she knows by promising to let her go once she has divulged her secrets. If the Empire can convince her the offer is genuine then she will answer their questions in exchange for a guarantee of her freedom.
Obviously, she will be alert to the risk of betrayal, the Empire could promise to let her go - find out what she knows - and then kill her anyway. Grubfeast isn't stupid, she will know that - but she will also know that she has no other chance to survive. Provided the Imperial interrogators are convincing when they promise to let her go, then she will tell them what she knows in the hope that she can save herself.
Objective: Execute Sarra Grubfeast
- Executing Sarra Grubfeast will send a powerful message to the Druj that the Empire are now in the Salt Flats in force
- Druj armies in Sanath will be more likely break this season as a result
Over the last year of campaigning the armies of the Empire have crushed the forces of the Druj in glorious charges and emphatic victories, carving out swathes of territory that has been held by the eastern barbarians for centuries. That time is now over, the Druj stranglehold on the Barrens is no more and they have been decisively routed. The attack on the Syndathian Fens, and the merciless butchery of the Iron Helms has loudly announced the Empire's presence, but to date progress has been slow. The Druj are starting to hope that the Empire has finally reached the limits of its power.
Nothing will dispel that notion faster than a very public execution of Grubfeast on the battlefield. If the Empire let Grubfeast go, then it will appear that she has simply escaped in the melee, but if she is executed, then it will demonstrate that the murderous brutality of the Iron Helms is coming for all the Druj. It will illustrate that the Empire can do as they please in the Salt Flats and the Buruk Tepel are powerless to stop them, even here in the heartland of their power. Druj warriors trying to stop the Imperial advance into the Salt Flats will be faced with the unpleasant reality that the Empire can bring death down on them at any time. The Druj fight like cornered rats, but this will be a big blow to their morale.
If Grubfeast is executed and Imperial forces continue an assault into Sanath then there will be an opportunity to strike at the Druj with the very weapon they so readily turn on their own foes - fear. If the Iron Helms conduct another merciless assault in the coming season inflicting unspeakable horror against the Druj in Sanath, then any barbarian army in the territory that falls below 1750 strength (2625 for a large army) will be broken and routed.
Objective: Give Grubfeast to the Rahvin
- Give Grubfeast to the Rahvin to deal with to improve relations with the sept
- Two Unconquered can take the former governor from the field and hand her over to the Rahvin
In recent seasons, Dawnish armies have hamstrung themselves to try to minimise any harm towards the Barrens Orcs labouring under Druj rule. This careful approach has allowed the Imperial Orc and Highguard armies to try to ingratiate themselves with the local orc septs. Through defiant acts worthy of Thrace they have encouraged the downtrodden to rise, and by careful words of Wisdom, they have tried to demonstrate that the Empire is not just the same lash wielded by a different hand. There has been some progress, but it is slow and painful and there is a long way to go yet. There have been too many betrayals in recent years for them to be won over easily.
One thing that might help to make a difference is Grubfeast. Some years ago, the brutal governor was part of the Druj forces that allied with the Empire to conquer the Barrens and crush the rebellious tribes between them. It was Grubfeast who took charge of the persecution of the Rahvin, choosing who to execute and who to enslave. The Druj rule through fear, and Grubfeast did not pass up the opportunity to inflict an experience that was cruel beyond imagination on the Rahvin, butchering the very young and the very old. Their accounts of her murderous cruelty have made even veterans of Reikos blanche. The Black Wind may hate the Empire even more than the Druj - but Grubfeast made sure the Rahvin do not.
It is barely five years since Grubfeast tried to wipe the Rahvin from existence and their Hatred and thirst for Vengeance remains white-hot. If Grubfeast is captured but not killed on the field of battle, the Field Marshal could try to hand her to the Rahvin. There are two unconquered scouts in the vicinity of the Brineways, part of the team that has been tracking Grubfeast and reporting back to the civil service. If the Empire take the field then they will make themselves known to the Field Marshal and leaders of Highguard, offering what aid they can in the battle. If the Field Marshal wishes, they could give Grubfeast to the scouts with orders to hand her to the Rahvin if they can get off the battlefield safely.
If Grubfeast is alive and handed over to the Rahvin it will create a small but meaningful improvement in their relations with the Empire. They are not going to abandon the Fangs or hand them over in return for Grubfeast - but this gesture would build trust and make them more open to the potential for negotiation.
Objective: Loot Tankath Seveneyes
- Tankath Seveneyes is a ghulai recently left in Sarangrave
- Recover their notes on the ritual text being codified at the Palace of the Sleepers
Tankath Seveneyes has joined the force moving towards the city of Leen. Tankath is one of the many ghulai that work at the Palace of the Sleepers in the Sarangrave and according to scouts using the spy network left the territory shortly after the Summer Solstice 385YE. Nobody has as of yet been able to uncover the reason that the knowledgeable ghulai has left the college of magic, but it is confirmed that they will have some notes on the ritual text currently being codified at the Palace of the Sleepers.
As a powerful Spring ritualist, Tankath will likely be performing Spring rituals behind the Druj lines once it becomes clear that the Empire is attacking. If the notes that the ghulai is carrying are retrieved then it could inform the Military Council of any unfortunate tricks the Druj have planned.
Battlefield Environment
- The entire battlefield is affected by the oppressive Druj miasma
- The miasma weakens anyone exposed to it who does not have the ability to overcome it
The entire battlefield is under the effect of the Druj miasma, a pall of a potent fear that the Druj inflict upon those who dwell in the territories they oversee. Any character entering the area will need to protect themselves from the clawing dread or succumb to a weakening terror that creeps into their mind.
The primary effect of the miasma is that it weakens anyone exposed to it who does not have the ability to overcome it. The easiest method to overcome the miasma is to receive an anointing, but particularly heroic individuals, or those in possession of certain enchantments or magic items may also be able to counteract the effect. In particular, those of the changeling lineage are able to fight the effects of the miasma, but at the expense of becoming extremely angry - which can cause problems all its own.