Parents across the turn of the Sphere often trot out the old adage that ‘bullies are cowards; if you stand up to them, surely they will leave you alone!’ While there are more than a few young people with blackened eyes and split lips owing to this piece of knowledge, there is likely some truth in it.
The Boar’s Head Clan, those mountainfolk of the Steinvaults, have thrown their weight around The Concord for years at this point. Their relentless need for captives to work at their frozen plans and their sneering contempt for Concordian unity have become plain to see. For seasons they had survived at the edges of Concordian consideration, by boon of being not worth the trouble.
But this tormentor dreamt too big, pushed too far, and when The Concord stood up to them they did so with thousands of armoured boots.
Crushed Betwixt Frosted Steel
The sound of ice crunching beneath feet would be once more broken.
Sure is cold up-
I swear on my Bill and Block, if you complain about the weather one more Spheres damned time, I’ll push you off the nearest cliff myself.
A small chuckle spreads through the soldiers at the thought. Some murmuring agreements for both sides, a source of simple enjoyment amidst the snowy valleys of The Steinvault Pass.
Well, if you’d peel yourself away from your blasted polearm for a second, you’d feel it too! No clue how you keep a hold of that thing with no gloves in this weather.
Maybe it's not a choice! Poor bastard is probably fused with it in this frost! A new voice, eager to join the jabs at his comrades, affirmed and encouraged by yet more mirth and laughter.
Feels just yesterday that we were down in Mukarrem kicking out some wizards, now here we are up in the mountains putting down some feral boars.
Guess they weren’t joking when they said “Join the army and travel”! Hold on a second, does anyone else hear that?
The crunch of snow and the sound of conversation would finally be interrupted by a thunderous rumbling not too far further down the Pass, soon followed by the echoes of hollering and combat.
Alright lads, you know the drill! Get to your positions, knuckle down, and let's get about it!
-=-=-=-
The Iron Brawlers would move in great force into The Steinvault Pass over the Summer Season, the only time at which the Pass is not effectively impassable. Under Brigadier Griff Baker’s orders, the army would split into two primary forces of nearly two thousand common soldiers each, with one force moving to each entrance to the Pass. With an intent to herd and harry The Boar’s Head Clan from each side, the two forces would enter the Pass on the same date and attempt to meet in the middle, fighting as cautiously as possible to minimise risk while still taking ground.
Such a strategy would be designed to take advantage of the narrow nature of the territory; bordered on each side by the Steinvaults and as such difficult to progress through as a singular large group. While the fighting force of each group would be technically lower than if they had progressed all at once, their unified attack on two fronts was designed to split The Boar’s Head Clan’s attention in half, bringing them back down to more equal footing.
Upon entering the Pass, each force would array themselves as they saw fit, bolstered by a small number of Heroes and their personal fighting forces. So long as their surroundings were thoroughly checked and cleared of enemy combatants, the standing order would be quite clear; “Kill the enemy. Take the land”.
There would be no perfect supply line and communication here, as with The Legion in Mancante Terra, but progress would nonetheless be quick and responsive due to the more constrained area of The Steinvault Pass. It would not be difficult at all to come to the aid of fellow soldiers engaged in nearby battle, so long as the canyons, slopes and gorges of the Pass allowed for it.
Nonetheless, the fighting would be harsh. The Boar’s Head Clan would be fighting in their home territory, and The Iron Brawlers but a cautious invader. Still, with the enemy's attention split on two fronts, the Bordevarian army would outnumber them easily, and find themselves matching a furious defence with a bloody steadfastness. For the next few months, all the soldiers in the brigade would come to know is snow, war, and blood.
Eventually, there would be but one final mountain left to climb, one final holdout to mercilessly put down.
In the rough center of the Pass, where the split forces of the army would form once more into one unified brigade, would sit a half-built fortress of stone and ice. Clearly protecting within it one of two of the largest settlements seen by the Bordevarians so far, and standing as a shield for the other high up on a mountain behind it. These settlements, clearly the chosen final stand of The Boar, would seem almost pitifully small to the army outside their half-wall. And such pity may even have been warranted, had the short history with this enemy been filled with anything other than violence and greed.
The fortress would not last long.
Here The Iron Brawlers would make their final push against The Boar’s Head Clan. Here would the rest of the campaign be spent, in what could barely be called a siege against an enemy so plainly outmatched. Here would the shouts of war be matched by the cries of anguish and rage.
Here would victory be claimed for The Concord, and blood be repaid so quickly and curtly in yet more blood.
Game Information
The Concord has won a campaign in The Steinvault Pass crushing and routing The Boar’s Head Clan Army that is present. With nowhere for The Boar’s Head Clan army to retreat, the army has been destroyed. The remaining fighters and leaders are attempting to flee even deeper into the mountains to freeze and die. Or perhaps to regroup and rearm, becoming a future foe for The Concord.
There will be an opportunity to face the last of The Boar’s Head Clan’s fighters in a Strategic Conflux at this summit. Victory will mean that the warriors of The Boar’s Head Clan will be forever vanquished, never again to threaten The Concord.
Spoils of War for defeating an enemy army and conquering a territory have been given to the War Chamber, as is customary.
There will be decisions relating to the conquering of The Boars Head Clan for the General of The Iron Brawlers.
A Throne You Can’t Describe
The crackle of a fire blazing in the hearth of the lodge seemed almost unnaturally quiet to the people around it, so focused as they found themselves. The table around which they stood was covered in maps of The Steinvault Pass, aged but annotated nonetheless. The knock at the door, brief and sharp, would signal it was finally time to move.
Let’s go get our people back.
The stern nod of Rumwold miners and the heave of Summiter Packs onto heroic shoulders would be all the agreement needed. There were captives in The Steinvault Pass, under the violent hands of Boar Clan raiders, and while the rest of The Valley moves to simply remember them, there would remain stoic few who would see them brought home.
-=-=-=-
A low whistle would hum through the wooded forest, met in kind by differing short tones. A sign, one of careful safety and agreement to meet. Out of the forested shadows would appear cloaked figures, bows slung over shoulders and gryphon bracers gleaming in what little moonlight pierces the canopies.
If we are all present, we should make haste.
Barely a word of agreement would be spoken as Kings Rangers look to the mountains before them and begin to move. Bordevarian people, against their will and in danger of their lives, wait for rescue beyond the forest. There would be a duty to fulfill, and Heroes all too willing to shed blood to see it done.
-=-=-=-
The cold wind whipped through the now empty collection of homesteads, barely habitable even now in the summer. Signs of brutal fighting could be seen everywhere, a clear result of the war between The Iron Brawlers and Boar’s Head just a few days prior. Yet it was not this that drew the attention of the Summitter, as such a sight was familiar this far into the Pass. No, it would be the strange markings on the ground and the far too recent blood within it.
A sacrificial circle, clear to any who would see it.
There would be no sign of fighting near the circle, no dead warriors or soldiers or even broken weaponry. The circle, surrounded by strange and unknown runes as it were, showed but one remnant worth mentioning. One horrific memory left to pass along to those that found it. Marked in now frozen blood, purposeful and at the clear cost of at least a single Concordian life.
The symbol of a dragon.
-=-=-=-
The twang of the bowstring cut the shout of the raider short. The arrow, landing perfectly in the raider’s neck, would fill their mouth with blood rather than angry words. The weapon clanged to the stone beneath their feet, and soon their lifeless body would follow. A simple and swift end to a brutal life.
The Rangers swept through the narrow tunnels of the frozen cave, clearing it of its hidden enemies with merciless intent. This was no military raid, but simply one of the last hopeful locations of hidden captives left. Each passed settlement or home empty save for strange ritual markings and the clear loss of Concordian life.
A shout echoed down the cave as the last raider was felled, clenched fists and muttered words following. Another dead end. Another strange ritual circle.
Now, only one place remained. One final holdout to check. One last fortress.
-=-=-=-
We will move at night, following a tall cliff edge above the north side of the fortress. It's risky, but we can do it. We know our mountains well enough.
Night works well for us. In that case we will see what we can do about scaling and clearing from the wall beneath your cliff face. That way we can cover each other if something goes wrong.
Together, then.
The clasps of hands and firm pats on shoulders would unite the Summitters and Kings Rangers in their purpose. Shared reports of the north and south of the Pass would align far too well, and it would be clear to all that should any captives remain alive it would be here, amongst the largest settlements of The Boar. It would be here, behind the stone and frost half-wall, currently besieged by the full force of The Iron Brawlers.
And it would be here that any chance of rescue comes to fruition or failure.
-=-=-=-
Out of breath yet finally safe after a near full week of ambushing and escaping, the forward scout leans against the wooden post embedded in the stone next to her. It's been damn hard, she thinks to herself, but Spheres am I glad we at least got a few people out. She looks over the edge of the cliff she stood atop, wincing at the thought of the long fall she had just forced on the raider who attacked her.
Nearly done though. One last hurdle.
Pulling a whistle and a horn from her belt, she blows the whistle twice short and sharp before giving the horn one long bellow. The order for a full retreat. It was time to go home, at last.
She breathes out a sigh of relief, finally happy to be done and beyond ecstatic that there were some Concordian lives still able to be saved. But the sigh held with it a regret. A melancholy that eked its way out for just a moment. She knew what was to come, and what choice the heroes must make in but a few weeks from this moment. It would be a difficult decision to make, but she knew she would not be part of it.
At least I am alive, I suppose
The thought echoed through her mind as the world of snow around her ceased to exist, replaced only by one of flame.
Game Information
The combined efforts of fourteen different Summiters, Kings Rangers, and Rumwold miners, would see The Steinvault Pass combed completely for surviving Concordian captives. In tandem with the work of The Iron Brawlers, such an act would be near effortless to the almost two thousand total numbers set to the task. Even still, nothing could be found throughout most of the Pass except cryptic and worrying signs.
It would be in the half-built fortress and beyond that success would finally show itself in droves. Perhaps due to the Bordevarian invasion, or perhaps for some other purpose, the captives had all been relocated to the largest Boar’s Head settlements. It would be here that dozens of prisoners would be rescued and escorted to The Brawler’s military camp laying siege to the fortress itself.
Such a daring act would take time and be risky, but nonetheless done successfully thanks to the sheer numbers present and the supporting brigade. Seemingly in spite of this, a great beast has taken to wing over The Steinvaults, called by magic and desperation. It hunts for warm-blooded prey.
There will be a very dangerous and difficult Skirmish Conflux for Bordevarian and Iron Valley forces during this Summit. Success will rescue the remaining few captives from the Boar’s Head Clan, and see whatever foul faith the Clanners hold defeated and banished.
The Fool’s Stone Fortress
While the Boar’s Head Clan flees into fantasy or the mountains they themselves fear to tread, the Concord is left amidst ruin and woe. What was once an inhospitable wasteland, tamed by harsh mountainfolk wielding axes and grim resolve, has fallen under Concordian control—for better or worse.
From Southern Weiland to Northern Windholme, The Steinvault Pass is a labyrinth of yawning canyons, gravel-strewn mountain slopes, and frozen caves. Nothing grows here save foolhardy goats and foul-tempered mountain beasts. Even with the Boar’s Head’s hidden paths revealed, the region is barely navigable in winter, plagued by frozen rain and oppressive snowfall. Summer offers little reprieve; snowmelt brings landslides and flash floods that crash through the north and south alike.
The defeat of the bulk of the Boar’s Head forces has left the region in flux. The Clan has abandoned not only their half-built fortress but also their meager settlements. Fighters, priests, and anyone able to carry supplies have retreated deeper into the mountains, leaving behind remnants of their people scattered across the land. Two key sites remain: Falviig, huddled within the ruins of the unfinished fortress, and Kothukal, perched high in a western mountain valley where meltwater slows and stubborn life ekes out an existence with equal parts madness and grit.
Civil Service estimates place The Steinvault Pass’s remaining population at over five thousand, spread across settlements, caves, and hidden refuges. These are mostly non-combatants: the too young, the too old, the infirm, and those burdened with families. Though they have cast down their weapons before the advancing Concordian forces, their eyes still burn with defiance. For centuries, they have hated the "Lowlanders," and no abandonment by their leaders will shake that enmity. They are the descendants of kings; even clad in rags - they will not kneel.
As the last remnants of The Boar’s Head Clan are defeated, retreat, or vanish into secrecy, The Concord must now turn its gaze to the future. Despite its barren landscape and scant resources, The Steinvault Pass is a keystone to eastern defense. With sufficient investment, it could also become a vital trade route, linking The Iron Valley with the Kingdom of Bordevar—a dream unrealized since The Boar’s Head Clan first emerged to block the way.
But ruling the Pass comes at a cost. Whoever takes up the mantle must contend with a population that loathes them, a climate indifferent to life, soil that yields nothing willingly, and a history chiseled into stone and soaked in blood. They will be the Warden of the Pass.
Game Information
Given the small size of The Steinvault Pass region (only containing one territory), a new title has been created to govern the region, rather than a normal senator position. This title is the Warden of the Pass.
The Concord is currently facing numerous crises in The Steinvault Pass as it attempts to consolidate its control on the region and its people, all while winter approaches. There will be numerous decisions and opportunities available to the Warden of the Pass, the High Reeve’s Council, the Ducal Council of Weiland, and the Senators of Windholme and Weiland this Summit.
Further reading at Winds of the World - Autumn 225