Info
| Size |
176x176 (L) |
| Type |
 Building mission
|
Briefing
The smell of burning village hung thick in the air. Up close it was almost comforting, if you could blot out the images that had come before the flames. Bodies lay in the streets and along the outskirts I see one man still clutching his shield, as if hoping it might guard him in the afterlife. When we found the secret passage and met the tribe's first warriors, their answer was raw and immediate: a frenzy of violence, like a bear roused from sleep. No map showed the place where we now stood. Luckily, we have one of the Queen's subjects, captured in the battle and spared, along with his family. His freedom, and their safety, bought me the information I needed.
Centuries ago, the underground rivers were gentler, during drought that caused a long starvation period, desperate folk would swim the passages to seek new homes. Now the waters run deep and violent, those who tried to follow the old paths drowned, ending the long misery that had driven them below. Their weapons differed from the Queen's, though echoes of craft and design remained. Their skin was pallid, like the parchment my scribes use.
I urged my horse about and followed the column as it pushed toward a ravine whose breadth hinted at the island's vast, hidden underworld. I did not know where this new path would lead, but if we are to conquer the island we must first purge the dangers that lie beneath it.
