Beyond this dark house

This is Varushka; it is a dark house with a welcoming hearth.

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Empty Echoes

Amid thunder and lightning and torrential rain, the Gryphon's Pride and the Iron Helms arrive in Ossium to meet the Thule. Two armies of orcs march cautiously out of Otkodov to defend Ossium alongside the garrison of Flajokep. While the northern orcs take up defensive positions to ensure the invaders claim no more land, the Imperial armies push into the Echofell to face the Druj.

They find that the Druj are already gone. The armies that tore down the Tower of the Scorpion have left behind only ruins and the broken shells of their siege engines and disappeared back into the shadowed depths of the the Forest of Ulnak.

Soldiers of the Pride! The Druj come with blade and poison to terrorise the citizens of Ossium. This will not stand! We were first across the Golden Bridge to liberate the Sand Fishers and others and we will not allow the Druj to return. We march to aid the Varushkans and must be aware that the Thule may march against the Druj as will. Drive them back into Ulnak, for what we take, we Hold!

Garravaine De Rondell, General of the Gryphon's Pride

We shall not allow more Varushkans to fall to slaughter and slavery due to inaction. The Iron Helms attack Echofell to drive back the Druj Infestation. Our loyalty to our nation is absolute.

Alderei the Fair, General of the Iron Helms

As the Dragons will it, we shall offer aid to the armies of the southern humans against the eastern people. But do not needlessly throw your lives away, for these are not our lands we defend.

Vilborg Guðmunds, General of the Cry of the Highest

Eastern Ossium is not entirely free of threat, of course. There are still raiders and guerrillas lurking in the Drownbark Forest and the Echofell, leaving the territory under threat of their return. Yet these scouts and ambushers and saboteurs present little threat to the two Imperial armies; they flee back to their hidden sanctuaries and wait in the darkness for the armies to depart again. It is a simple matter for the Imperial armies, aided by the magical defenses raised in the Drownbark Forest, to mop up the less cautious raiders and quickly bring Echofell back under Imperial control.

With the territory as secure as it can be while the Druj still threaten the eastern borders, the Thule return to the Bonewood, and uneasy peace settles over the Varushkan lands once more.

Game Information

The Druj have left Ossium; the Echofell is quickly brought back under Imperial control.

During the Summer Solstice, Druj forces attempted to destroy the Bone Hives - to deny their bounty to the Varushkans. Thanks to the action of Imperial heroes, their bitterly destructive scheme was thwarted. Unfortunately, the orcs were able to destroy some of the hives - enough to prevent the Keeper of the Bonehives gaining any of the unique drugs that they produce for six months (i.e. they will receive no production until the start of the Spring Solstice 385YE).

Tower of the Manticore

• Lise de Lionsgate has put forward a new proposal in the wake of the Tower of the Scorpion being destroyed

During the Spring Equinox, veteran Dawnish siege engineer Lise de Lionsgate presented a proposal to rebuild the now-ruined Tower of the Scorpion as the Tower of the Manticore. She has not given up hope of a permanent base of operations up on the borders of the northern Mallum from which questing knights and knights errant might adventure into the dark lands east of the Empire. Unfortunately, with the tower in ruins, the cost of constructing the Tower of the Manticore has risen to 130 wains of white granite, 70 wains of mithril, and 50 thrones. However, she still believes that the work can be done in only a year.

Once work were completed, the Tower of the Manticore would be a rank two fortification protecting the eastern borders of Ossium. The plans still expand upon and extend the original cruel metalwork the Druj favour, replacing it with razor sharp mithril and concealed trapdoors that will mean the fortification increases all casualties it deals during a battle by a half. Finally, with a new garrison supported by Dawnish knights, the tower would be used to drive the orcs out of the region and permanently remove the under threat quality from Echofell.

As a place for Dawnish knights and Varushkan raiders to quest into the Mallum, the Tower would also support the Seek Glory in the Twisted Woods action available to military units. This special downtime action is currently temporary but as long as the Tower of the Manticore is commissioned before the end of the Winter Solstice 384YE, it will remain available either permanently once the construction is complete or until it is clear the tower is not going to be finished.

Further Reading

• Ossium
• Keeper of the Bonehives