The current when it serves

The Summer Storm cannot help but hear the whispers of their long forgotten Jotun ancestors as they march across the fields of Skallahn.

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From the Gathering Place

In the weeks following the Spring Equinox more than fifteen thousand Imperial soldiers gather at the Fortress of Kalant in Stark. The Bloodcloaks and Green Shield of Wintermark are joined by the relentless Imperial Orc warriors of the Summer Storm. The fort was raised for the Jarl of Kierheim, which makes it perhaps appropriate that the armies gather here. Under the watchful eyes of statues representing Raðljóst and Skjaldir, plans are finalized for the coming offensive. The Imperial strategy is founded on maps created by Imperial scouts, tempered by the powerful enchantments laid on all three armies that help them plan with supernatural clarity, and finalised with first-hand experience of Imperial captains who took part in the triumphant Autumn raid last year.

Once the plan is finalised, the three armies cross the western border into the wealthy territory of Skallahn, marching in the footsteps of Emperor Guntherm, ready to face the Jotun on their home ground for the first time in a generation.

Heroes of the Summer Storm! We have fought Marsh Bregasland pushing back the Jotun, now we go a step further! We will push into Skallahn on a Steady Conquest, taking their ground like they attempted to take ours. We will free the thralls, showing the Jotun exactly who we are and what the Imperial Orcs stand for ! Fight with courage and Pride! Fight Loyalty and with Vigilance!

Styx, General of the Summer Storm

Bloodcloaks, the Season of the sword is upon us. Call up the banners, raise up your fellows, We march for Skallahn to take the western war into the lands of our worthy foe. Every step we take draws our foe from imperial lands like poison from a wound. Let us show every Jotun that the west is ours, that they have no place in it unless it is as willing part of our Empire.

Lofyn Blood-cloak, General of the Bloodcloaks

Heroes of the Green Shield, hail to thee! The West has beset battle across bloody fields, war and ruin, wrath running wild. In this fight our skeins are forged, from mud and blood to shining steel, a spear to strike our greatest foe. Following the footsteps of Guntherm we will walk the road to Kierheim as heroes. Fire of Virtue, walk with me.

Iron Osric, General of the Green Shield

Into Greenwall

The wide plains of Greenwall stretch across the southern coasts of Kalsea, home to great herds of lowland cattle and upland sheep. Farms are common here, with handfuls of small crofts scattered hither and yon, and there are a few scattered settlements along the coast dedicated to harvesting the bounty of the Gullet.

The majority of the population here are thralls. They are almost exclusively orcs but with small numbers of human families here and there, mostly descended from Winterfolk or Marcher ancestors. When then encounter Imperial soldiers, they react in one of two ways. Those who can flee north or west, taking whatever they can carry with them. Those unable for whatever reason to get away, immediately surrender. Human and orc alike are almost exclusively terrified of the Imperials; only those thralls taken from Sermersuaq during the recent occupation show any enthusiasm for being liberated.

Within hours of crossing the border, the Empire encounters the first Jotun however, and they react in a very different way. The first garrisons to spot the armies light wooden beacons – tall towers of seasoned pinewood that send pillars of black smoke up into the sky. They then immediately retreat, avoiding direct confrontation with the invading force as much as possible.

It's very unlikely that fifteen thousand soldiers could have invaded Skallahn without notice, even without the presence of another ten thousand or more warriors fighting beneath the banners of freelance captains. Yet there was a little hope that it might take a day or two before the Jotun were aware of their presence and direction. This hope is dashed; it is clear that in the wake of the Autumn raid and the retreat from Sermersuaq the western orcs have been preparing for an invasion and part of that preparation involves a reliable early-warning system.

Two days after the invasion begins, the armies begin to encounter some resistance. The first to respond are Jotun warriors under the banners of Jarl Asbjørn Dalgaard, the ruler of Greenwall. They are joined by orcs from the garrisons of the fortress at Kierheim and the Ulfsborg, but they are barely prepared to deal with an invasion of such scale.

The Green Shield are at the forefront of every engagement, never passing up a chance to engage the defenders, and in each fight they emerge triumphant. They continue the Wintermark tradition of facing the Jotun on their own terms, fighting as heroes rather than killers. They are here to conquer, but they fight as equals, with honour, and the Jotun cannot fail to recognise and respect that. While the fighting is occasionally fierce, both sides offer and accept quarter, meaning fewer deaths... and more land conquered.

The Bloodcloaks, too, fight as heroes, but they take it even further. Their soldiers and heroes make an active effort to fight honourably and are at pains to make sure the other Imperials who fight alongside them do the same. There is no slaughter of enemy troops, no wanton plundering, no strategies intended to psychologically torment the enemy. They ensure everyone stays on the same path – the path of honour.

They need not worry about the Imperial Orcs. The Summer Storm is here to liberate the thralls, and to fight with Courage and Pride. They maintain a steady pace, securing the lands the Winterfolk move across, ensuring their healers and physicks are on hand to preserve Imperial lives and even occasionally offer succour to thralls caught in the fighting. Many among their number can hear the voice of Sjöfn of the Bittenblade, the Jarl ancestor to whom they possess a peculiar link. By all accounts she does not seem to care that they are fighting her own descendants, her fellow Jotun, still urging the orcs to fight heroically, gloriously, and without regret as they clash time and again with the western orcs . As with the Winterfolk, the Jotun must be aware that they are intentionally fighting in a way that reduces wanton slaughter.

For their part, the Jotun are outmatched and overwhelmed, and most of the time they fight only to cover the retreat of the thralls fleeing before the advancing Imperial armies. When they retreat, they leave wounded Imperials behind them, either in response to the heroism of the invaders, or because they need to be able to move quickly to outpace the Imperial advance.

In a little over a month, Greenwall has fallen. Jarl Dalgaard and their warriors are forced to flee their northern hall, retreating toward Bjarkey to regroup.

In the invasion of Sakallahn, it is warrior against warrior, steel against steel, storm against storm.

To Iron Stand

Securing the Jarl's hall, the Imperial advance does not pause. They press straight into the Iron Stand, into the lands overseen by Jarl Ebbe of Overgaard. Now they are truly walking in the footsteps of Emperor Guntherm. The Jarl's hall stands in a small town surrounding the ruins of the Iron Banner, the fortification built a century and a half ago and lost to the Jotun when the Empire was forced to withdraw from Skallahn.

Here again, the majority of the population are thralls, eager to flee from their would-be liberators just as the grand herds of muskox and caribou do. Jarl Ebbe fights with the same ferocious zeal that their cousin to the south showed, but with equal lack of success. Even backed by the garrisons from the western forts, the Jotun are unable to hold the Imperial assault, merely slow it.

Now the Jotun have had more time to prepare, the going becomes more difficult. The orcs know the plains better than the Imperials, and while the terrain is mostly open and flat there are still places that can be defended. As the Summer Solstice draws near, with half the region still in the hands of the orcs, rumours begin to spread among the Imperial troops. Scouts report scattered aid being sent south by the Jarls of Tromsa, and of orc forces crossing Kongegőr from Hordalant. The Empire has taken the Jotun by surprise, but now they know that this is no simple raid they are no doubt coming to protect Skallahn – and to face the Empire's armies in glorious battle.

As the Colossus Rouses

There is one other matter. It's well known that the orcs of Skallahn have some sort of favourable relationship with the Forgemistress of the Fire Mountain. Her heralds have fought in the defence of the territory, and she is believed to serve as patron of the mighty Steelweaver's Crucible far to the north-west. Jotun warriors have always made great use of runebound weapons and armour, but even for the western orcs the defenders of Skallahn seem especially well equipped.

So far, none of the actual servants of the Forgemistress have been seen on the battlefield... but it looks very much as if that might be about to change, and change potentially catastrophically. Last Winter, news reached the Military Council of efforts to establish some kind of structure in eastern Skallahn with the aid of Estavus. Protected by the warband of Eisa Winterborn, and under the auspices of the powerful herald known as Blade Quencher, their building efforts were completed without incident. At first there was some concern about what the presence of a place given over to the Price of Shikal but in the months since, nothing seems to have happened.

Imperial Orc scouts visited the area and found a metal structure similar to a cross between a forge and a great hall, protected by bronze warriors and heralds. The supernatural creatures did not attack, and since no orders were given regarding the forge, a decision was ultimately taken not to risk the unknown quantity by attacking the emissaries of the Autumn realm.

A little less than a week before the Summer Solstice, with the bulk of the Empire's armies engaged in Iron Stand, the observers left behind to keep an eye on Blade Quencher's Hall sent out a desperate message to the Imperial commanders. The Hall was moving and it looked like things might be about to go very wrong indeed.

According to the witnesses, the hall itself seemed to expand, doubling in size over the course of a few hours, then again, until it resembled a small castle rather than a simple forge. Worse, warriors began to emerge from inside: heavily armoured creatures of the realm with metal skin and burning eyes wielding great hammers; minotaur myrmidons wrapped in bloodgold armour with two-handed axes; smaller creatures with metal and stoneworking tools and heavy packs laden down with weapons; and more. Many more than could possibly have been contained within the hall before it began to expand.

They moved with clockwork precision to attack Imperial forces remaining behind, quickly overwhelming them and forcing them to retreat. The last few scouts suggest the speed with which they are emerging from Blade Quencher's Hall has slowed but there will soon be several thousand of them and it is clear they are no friends of the Empire. Indeed, some of the Jotun warbands routed by Imperial forces are rallying at the hall, welcomed by the Autumn warriors.

The armies in Iron Stand are in no immediate danger – the northern region borders Sermersuaq and there are clear lines of reinforcement, support, and retreat as needed. But if Blade Quencher's Hall is allowed to complete its transformation there is every chance that some of the gains made in Skallahn will be lost, costing the Empire the beach-head they have established there, and offering who-knows-what level of support to the Jotun armies that are certainly on their way.

The first true invasion of Jotun lands since before the death of Britta has begun.

Game Information

The Empire has claimed the region of Greenwall, and is halfway toward conquering Iron Stand.

Battle Opportunity

The activation of Blade Quencher's Hall presents a serious threat that some of their gains may be lost however. The prognosticators have identified a conjunction of the Sentinel Gate that will allow Imperial heroes to intervene, should the Military Council wish to do so.

Conjunctions

Watchers and hunters (Conjunction)

• Blerunning Hall have asked for help in recovering the shield of Blerung the Bright Lantern
• The Sentinel Gate will open at 15:00 on Saturday to Kevan's Holt, Iron Stand, Skallahn
• The Watcher of Britta's Pool is responsible for recovering the shield and passing it to a host of Sulkavaris

As the Imperial armies push into Skallahn there is an opportunity to claim items of worth lost during the failed invasion of Emperor Guntherm. The shield used by Blerung the Bright Lantern, was lost during the Jotun's final push to conquer the Iron Banner fortification in Iron Stand. Though the rest of her personal effects were recovered and placed in the marshes of Kallavesa the shield was never recovered. Since then it has been in the hands of one of the ghodi, used in the training of aspiring skajldir; and Blerunning Hall have asked for the help of the Watcher of Britta's Pool in returning it.

If the shield is recovered and passed to one of the hosts of Sulkavaris then it can be delivered to the marshes to rest alongside the body of Blerung. Blerunning Hall are not asking for this to be done for free, if the Watcher of Britta's Pool is able to accomplish this task then they will commit to providing the Watcher with a gift of a every season - a Dragonbone Symbol each Spring Equinox, a pair of Greensteel Bracelets every Summer Solstice, a Bondring every Autumn Equinox, and an Alderman's Edge every Winter Solstice - with the expectation that the Watcher of Britta's Pool would gift them to whoever they deemed worthy.

The band accompanying the ghodi is made up of a combined force of Raoljost, Ulvenwar, and Skjaldir. Given that this is a direct request to the Watcher of Britta's Pool it is the responsibility of the incumbent, Rafe, to recover the shield and pass it on to one of the hosts of Sulkavaris.

The last village (Conjunction)

• Jarl Asbjørn Dalgaard has called on the fyrd of Greenwall
• The Sentinel Gate will open at 15:30 on Saturday to Paegga's Rest, Bjarkey, Skallahn
• The General of the Summer Storm is responsible for stopping the Jarl of Greenwall

Asbjørn Dalgaard, Jarl of Greenwall, though forced to retreat west to Bjarkey still has loyal Jotun in Greenwall; organising their warriors and maintaining a presence that will continue to cause problems for the Imperial armies that stay in the territory. Jarl Asbjørn has sent forth the call of the fyrd to the Jotun remaining in Greenwall and is waiting to meet with them at Paegga's Rest. Steelborn Kappak, a soldier of the Summer Storm, was able to intercept the call of the fyrd whilst in one of the scattered fishing hamlets along the coast of the Gullet.

If Jarl Asbjørn Dalgaard and their warriors are not killed then the fyrd of Greenwall will form; providing an additional five hundred strength to the Jotun in the territory.

Asbjørn Dalgaard's band is made up of a combined force of Raoljost, Ulvenwar, and Skjaldir. Given that the information came from a soldier of the Summer Storm it is the responsibility of whoever is elected to be the General to stop Jarl Asbjørn Dalgaard and interrupt the calling of the fyrd.

Fyrds

Each region in a Jotun territory generates a fyrd when it is conquered by the Empire. As the Jarl and their warriors are forced to retreat from their lands, they form up into a fyrd, a warband with a military strength of five hundred. A fyrd is unable to act independently of fortifications or armies in the territory; it will only act to support a Jotun army in the territory or a fortification if there are no armies present..

A region's fyrd can be dismantled by killing the jarl or through other opportunities.