[Absmalia]
[Campaign, The Blight I]
Troops were positioned on the walls as they always were looking for threats that might come from the Blight at anytime. After being shunned the Blight they might come after them anytime.

The sun rose bright the next morning, illuminating the horizon with a faded orange glow behind the clouds. The king woken. That mornings to the sound of an extremely loud knock on his door. "What is it?" He mumbled as h opened the door to see one of hi head messengers. "It's the Blight, they've been seen in the black ice wastes, working with the Orcs, they might be planning an attack."

Northgard, King's Palace

Duke Henry sighed as he walked down the ornate hallway of the King's Palace. He was only here on business, to meet up with a few Nobles. The interactions in the lobby have not done well so far, with the Council stubbernly refusing to do anything useful. He couldn't possibly wish that fate upon any other nation.

"Have you heard?" Duke Ferral called from the end of the hall.

As they met up, Henry knew that it was either very good, or very bad news. Ferral hadn't been so excited since the infamous trial of Captain Murwris. "No, I fear I have not."

Ferral gave Henry a frown. "It's been official in the higher circles since this morning. Some scouting parties have seen a mass of Orc up in the Wastes, for a suspected attack."

Henry chuckled. "If this is true, and I assure you that I do not doubt it is, then we have naught to worry about. The exit from the wastes is a long way from here, and would run into - before we would ever have to deal with it. They can't come over the mountains; they could likely freeze the dragons of legend."

"Rest assured, my friend Duke, we don't need to worry. I am sure the king can agree."

The result: The king and his staff have ignored the threat, underestimating it as something distant that couldn't possibly happen to them.

Midgard
Celestial Palace, Regal Room

"So, orcs to the North." The Divine Seer peered at the map table as servants helped her remove the bulky ceremonial regal robes and vestments she had still been wearing during the morning prayers to the Light before the reports came in. "How do you judge it, Lady of War?"

"Distant, but not something we can ignore." Said the silver-haired valkyrie that was the mistress of all the fighting troops of the Empire. "Afterall, we do intend to eventually spread the Light towards the territories of the North, correct? Letting orcs kill them all beforehand would rather defeat the purpose."

"Always the one with the dark wit. But yes, that is something to consider your holiness." Grumbled the Lady of Coin as she took out her magic ledger to begin recording and sending the orders to her subordinates. "But considering the distances and that we have yet to be able to open a bridge to the Celestial Realms anywhere outside of the capital, we can't afford to send too many. Say, two battalions?"

"Two battalions. Plus a levy of Blackwings." The Mistress of War raised a hand to forestall the other's objections. "Their methods may be harsh, but they are effective and we don't have a full understanding of everything that lies to the North just yet. They have their uses, this is one of them."

"I shall defer to your judgement." Declared the Divine Oracle, her friendship outweighing misgivings regarding the dark valkyries in the Empire's midst. "Select your two battalions to investigate this orc incursion and scout the Northern lands. Make sure their commander is one we can trust, they will be too distant for reliable scrying."

"Fret not m'lady, I know just who to send for a task such as this. The Silver Knight Whitechapel upholds her duty to the Empire and Light above all else. And she will not fail us in this regard either."

Summary: The Valkyrie Empire prepares to send two battalions of Valkyries (150 knights and 350 rangers) and a Blackwing cohort to investigate the orcs and lands of the North.

[Black Ice Wastes]
[Campaign, The Blight I]

"Set up th Ballistas!" The Orc King called from his platform in the Wastes. A smaller Orc approached him, "S...Ss...sir, there has been a s...sighting of v...v..." ""Get on with it" he said in a soft tone, but with anger. "Valkyries sir." "The advisor backed away slowly. "No matter, the ballistas will be ready by then, and the goblins have arrived, as well as the Giants from the west. We will be fine. Now! Ready the troops!"

@ArenaSnow @Skylar

Northgard, King's Palace, Council Room

Duke Henry strode into the large council room, being one of the last to come in, along with a few other minor nobles; ones who would no doubt contribute little to this special meeting. It was a grand room, slightly bigger than even the throne room, with almost a hundred seats arranged in a semicircle. The King’s throne was near the top, filled with a tired looking King Augustine.

Just a few days after his initial conversation with Duke Ferral, who gave Henry a smile and a wave from the other side, the King had called for a meeting of various nobles and leaders to discuss the situation in Blight. Apparently a new report had come in of a larger quantity of foes than was initially detected., with reports of Giants themselves. Henry, Ferral and an odd assortment of others he knew would oppose action. Some of the military representatives and nobles would be decisively in favor of another investigation, including a strike force. The rest were wildcards.

Scanning the room, Henry identified a variety of people from most parts of the country. Ferral was obviously there, not too far from the King’s seat. He knew the man could be trusted as an ally in the coming talks. There were a few Lords from the northern reaches, or as he liked to call them ‘Barons of the Countryside’ who would also be likely to join Henry. He spotted Sir Rodger near the end of the semicircle. A few other merchants and diplomats were scattered that Henry had known for a while.

He spotted Lord Raelstine, just a few seats below. A good speaker, but Henry found him rather empty. He would no doubt be the primary advocate of a search party. Also in the crowd were General Vernin and the naval commander Orsillian.

This will be a long one…

The result: After a long back-and-forth between the country’s finest, it had been tentatively decided to send a small task force of 20 men, lead by a captain as chosen by Duke Henry, to investigate the threat.

[Black Ice Wastes]

"Urgh. I hate teleportation sickness." Grumbled Brigadier Whitechapel as she walked with her scouts along the line investigating the orc threat, taking an offered spyglass as she tried to fend off another bout of nausia even her divine physique had trouble dealing with. "Orcs, trolls, goblins. Lots of goblins. I wonder who among them has the power to command such a host?"

"Meaning you would like whoever it is dealt with, Lady Whitechapel?" Whispered a cheerful voice into her ear, which revealed itself to be the short, seemingly cute-looking form of Adept Tarthe, the leader of the black-winged Valkyries attached to the expeditionary force. And notable for supplementing her rapier with a pair of quad-barreled flintlocks and bandoleers of ammunition, as well as the red runes tattooed into her face. "My talents only work up-close. But there is one among us with long-range skills and a new gun she is itching to try out."

"Use a gun, you draw the whole army down upon us with the noise." Dismissed Whitechapel. "And guns arn't accurate enough at range even with magic for that kind of thing. No, we need to handle this methodically. Orcs eat more than humans, giants eat for five times as many. Harry their foragers, coordinate with the scouts to hit their supply lines, but we must avoid direct action until we can set the time and place of it ourselves."

"Ah, just like seducing a tavern wench."

"Oh shut up."

Action: The Valkyries begin scouting the orc army while performing skirmishing raids. Objective is to harry supply lines and avoid direct combat for now.