==Event Info==
Ice and snow across Mardrun quickly turns to muck as the seasons turn over to warmer, more unreliable weather. Between the melting snow and the pouring rain, trails and footpaths all over the continent are becoming pitted and borderline un-traversable without extra hands to pull both feet and supplies out of the mud.
But through the muck, mud, rain, and slop, Nightriver’s army pushes on. After Prince Aylin’s agreement to pledge his martial forces to Clan Goldenfield, many expected Nightriver to focus their efforts alongside Newhope to secure their foothold on the other side of the Yurnai, but Nightriver is not a Clan known for leaving their allies behind. While Aylin’s Reach and Nightriver’s forces come together to start pushing back the Stonetooth incursion, land is lost and won in a constant battle of attrition. Supplies are constantly moving into the area to support these battles and keep the line moving forward as Nightriver’s forces continue to push Stonetooth back.
These rear supply lines have seen quick, intense fights over the control and safety of the supplies. Between either small groups of bandits or Stonetooth forces trying to take them from Goldenfield, with rumors of even bandits sometimes fighting Stonetooth– Clan Goldenfield, already hit hard by Stonetooth’s initial blunt-force offensive into their lands through the winter, cannot afford to lose even more supplies to these quick-and-dirty raids. With Nightriver’s present forces and Aylin’s Reach still-arriving troops keeping the main fight well-in-hand, allies are called in to fill the gaps and secure the supply routes behind the main fights.
Blood spilled across golden fields will stain the grain forever, but the grass can only grow greener where you water it.
==Event Summary==
The day started with a thin layer of fresh snow dusting the ground, peaceful and pure, before the sun melted it away and boots tore across the dirt. The mucky mess spared absolutely no one as the water levels continued to rise throughout the day.
But the water wasn’t all that had risen. A small amount of Undead made their way towards the camp. Luckily, they never made it or tore down any allies, but their presence confirmed the fears of many– that unfound bodies from the winter battles are thawing, and Stonetooth leaving behind bodies without burning them could spell very, very badly for the continent.
Goldenfields operations throughout the day went contested, at first by Grimward soldiers who caused supply chain efforts to notably slow down, but then heavy bandit activity quickly moved into the area. Whether the hunger these people used to gain favor was real or not, Goldenfield’s hospitable ways and hesitation to send away a hungry group of people cost them supplies. Land was won back and several logistical goals of the day were completed, but shipments have been delayed and supplies were lost to these bandits, and only time will tell how great of a loss it truly was.
Among the dirt and muck, it seems Clan Stonetooth left behind quite a bit of their own mess in their evident rush to leave the area. Several sites of apparent worship were seen on the trails between outposts, each one with trinkets and offerings left behind to a specific god in what seems to be a pantheon the Stonetooth believe in. Each site included a prayer written in ancient Ulven, leaving those with knowledge on Ulven and their religious practices able to decipher the meaning. One in particular was especially gruesome, and according to the prayer left behind, was actually the strung up body of one of Stonetooth’s own, left there as a shameful reminder of his or her own failures to their people and gods for “failing their oath”
The only question that seemed to go unanswered was– where are all the Stonetooth now?
Each prayer left behind, every altar left untouched gave the impression that Clan Stonetooth intended to stay in the area. Keeping this area conquered just like the land they took from Clan Shattered Spear seemed like Stonetooth’s main goal, so where could they have gone without enough time to take their ritualistic things with them?
But just as the night watch was starting to arrive, the question was answered.
A herd of Shattered Spear thralls came screaming out of the trees quickly after the first group had already been cut down, but rather than raise their swords against the Goldenfield allies, their attention turned to their Thrall-Watcher. Each one took turns wounding him, running him almost back into the tree line before he finally fell, left to bleed out in the dirt the way he’d done with so many Shattered Spear before.
One thrall stood tall, pulling a letter from his pouch and reading out loud in front of all the witnesses in camp– Clanleader Laifnar Icefury has raised Clan Shattered Spear from their positions as prisoners of war to that of rebels fighting back against their captors. The price of their freedom will be high, but Clan Shattered Spear has never been known to shy away from a fight. The Great Wolf will hear their names in the months to come.