The Assault on Globurn
Sarnath’s war against the Palemen has stalled at Fort Globurn, where the fort and its river crossing stand between the army and the Shivefrost Plain. Repeated assaults have left broken ladders, abandoned shields and dead soldiers beneath the walls, but the Palemen still hold the gates.
The Fight for the Crossing
Globurn controls the main crossing over the River Globurn, carrying the Woolback Road east into the Shivefrost Plain. Sarnath needs the bridge to move its soldiers, wagons and supplies into Palemen territory; until the fort and crossing are captured, the army cannot advance across the plain to confront the forces gathered at Shivenmolt.
Neither side can break the deadlock. Sarnath’s assaults keep failing, while the Palemen remain trapped inside, patching damaged walls and reinforcing the gates as their supplies dwindle. Wounded fighters share the cramped yard with those still able to defend it. Outside, an army meant to march east is losing men without gaining ground.
Corren Rell & Walter Hale
Corren Rell once guarded caravans on the Woolback Road, where he came to hate the soldiers he now faces at Globurn. The partially blind commander knows how Sarnath fights and has made the fort costly to approach and harder still to take.
Siege commander Walter Hale treats each failed assault as a personal humiliation, committing soldiers to attacks his officers question in his determination to see Corren defeated and executed. Their feud began long before the fort fell, and the men fighting beneath its walls are paying for it.
Life in the Siege Camp
Built to be packed up and moved, the army’s camp has stood far longer than intended. Thousands live among damp tents, churned earth and stale rations, with drills continuing within earshot of the wounded.
Sergeant Anson Samlin keeps the camp running while Hale plans the next assault. He wants an end to the siege that leaves his soldiers alive, and clashes with Hale over the fate of captured Palemen. Fear and boredom draw some soldiers towards the Storm worshippers at Fulgury Chapel, adding to the officers’ struggle to keep their men together.
Reinforcements That Never Arrive
The siege depends on support from the other forts, but requests for help go unanswered. At Sarnlock, sealed river gates hold up barges carrying timber and stone meant for Globurn. Farther west, Brackendor’s small garrison is fighting to survive the undead spreading through Gloomwode.
Hale’s camp needs those supplies and soldiers, making contact with the isolated posts as urgent as preparations for another attack.
The Quiet War
Osric Dane carries reports, payments and instructions across the Shivefrost Plain, using his knowledge of the valley’s roads and outposts to deal with people the army’s officers prefer to keep at a distance.
His work reaches towards Shivenmolt, where shortages and rival commanders are putting pressure on the Palemen’s alliance. With its army pinned at Globurn, Sarnath is looking for ways to turn those divisions to its advantage and weaken the Palemen from within.