Perils & Legends
The Sarn Valley stretches from wet farmland and lakes to the exposed Shivefrost Plain. Its roads connect old villages, mountain forts and disputed crossings. Travellers will hear plenty about the dangers ahead, whether from a fisherman protecting his lake or a soldier waiting outside an occupied fort.
The Shivefrost Storms
Fine crystal grit blows across the Shivefrost Plain from the Screaming Wastes. It gathers in the roads, clings to animals and clothing, and gives the daylight a pale blue-violet colour. When the wind strengthens, the dust stings eyes, grinds between teeth and wears exposed skin raw. Ordinary cloth gradually frays under it.
People have adapted their lives to these conditions. Steadings sit low in the ground, with sheltered cellars and passages between buildings. Woolback horses carry travellers and goods across the plain, and a good sperenweave cloak is a valued possession. Even with proper equipment, the roads involve long stretches with little cover. Several of the forts and stopping places along them are now controlled by the Palemen.
The Ancient Stoutbear
Stout bears are a known danger in the mountains, but accounts of one exceptionally large animal appear in records stretching back decades. Soldiers at Fort Deros reported it taking pack animals and driving patrols from the upper ridges. The garrison offered extra pay, rations and brandy to men willing to join a hunt.
The fort is abandoned now, with papers still scattered through its rooms and soldiers’ carvings scratched into the bunks. Among the records are traces of the garrison’s efforts to deal with the bear. Higher in the Stoutspires, enormous tracks and deep claw marks suggest that an animal of that size still inhabits the mountains.
Ol’ Eftie
The people of Eftwade tell stories of an enormous creature living beneath their fishing boats. They credit Ol’ Eftie with saving the village from starvation, driving shoals of fish into the shallows with two children riding on her back. Generations later, she is still spoken of as the lake’s protector.
The village depends on those waters, and respect for Eftie runs deep. Sightings are rare, but the stories consistently describe a huge ridged back, powerful jaws and a roar that can be felt from the shore. Boats cross the lake every day, over depths the villagers have never fully explored.
Bra’ghumel
Blackstone Fort once helped Sarnath control the road through the forest. Now its ruined defences and overgrown battlefield are occupied by the dead. Armoured skeletons move through the old trenches, and graves have been disturbed around the walls. Beneath the fort, burial chambers hold the remains of many more.
Bra’ghumel stands among them, a huge creature assembled from fused bones, skulls and rotting cartilage. Smaller limbs crowd its body beneath long arms ending in heavy talons. Its size and strange shape make it difficult to take in at once, especially in the cold blue light that spreads through the lower chambers. Reaching it means exploring well beyond the fort’s ruined buildings and the patrols outside.
The Palemen’s Warbeasts
The Palemen’s capture of Fort Globurn has cut a vital crossing through the Sarn Valley. Sarnath’s soldiers are camped outside, while the defenders crowd behind barricades made from carts, timber and stone. The siege has dragged on, leaving both sides short of comfort and surrounded by wounded men.
Among the Palemen’s defences is an armoured Brulgorg. Thick plates have been fastened across its back and forelimbs, covering an animal already large enough to crush people beneath its weight. Brulgorgs are notoriously difficult to control, and forcing one into service is a brutal undertaking. This one is held inside the occupied fort, where its strength adds considerably to the dangers facing anyone joining the assault.