The Battle Beneath Blackwater
The Battle Beneath Blackwater
“Stop the weapon beneath the road before the army marches into the flood.”
— Hook · Military sabotage and battlefield coordination
“Marshal Voss points toward the distant Blackwater Causeway, where enemy signal fires burn through the rain. The royal army reaches that road within hours, but the Ashen Concord has prepared a weapon beneath it that can drown the entire advance. Get there first, stop the device, and make certain the army reaches Veyrwatch alive.”
— Hook · Military sabotage and battlefield coordination
Marshal Elian Voss briefs the party in a rain-soaked command tent while distant thunder rolls across the floodplain. A map shows the royal army's route, the besieged fortress of Veyrwatch, and a black-marked section of the causeway labeled only with the words: ENGINE BELOW. Captain Mira Thorne offers to guide the party through the wetlands, but warns that the Concord has begun moving troops into position earlier than expected.
Marshal Elian Voss
Marshal Elian Voss summons the party to a command tent shortly before dawn and offers them authority to requisition supplies, question soldiers, and override local officers during the mission.
Rumours
d5 · table- 01The Concord has placed no soldiers on the old shrine road because even their officers refuse to use it after dark.
- 02The Blackwater once changed course in a single night, leaving a village buried beneath mud and reeds.
- 03A royal battlemage claims the enemy's weapon is powered by something that remembers being worshiped.
- 04The causeway's original builders carved warning symbols beneath the road, but the army covered them with foundations.
- 05A prisoner says the Concord engineers are terrified of their own commander.
If the mission fails, the royal army is trapped on the Blackwater Causeway and the kingdom loses its best chance to relieve Veyrwatch. Even success may unleash an ancient river power, destabilize the region, and turn a military victory into a supernatural crisis.
Background Lore
For three months, the Ashen Concord has besieged the river-fortress of Veyrwatch, the last major crossing between the eastern provinces and the royal heartland. The fortress can hold for another week, but the royal army is finally marching to relieve it. Between the army and Veyrwatch stands the Blackwater Causeway, a narrow stretch of raised road surrounded by flooded fields. If the Concord seizes and holds the causeway during the coming battle, the royal army will be divided, exposed to artillery, and likely destroyed.
The Ashen Concord is preparing to destroy the Blackwater Causeway just as the royal army arrives to relieve Veyrwatch. The party must infiltrate the causeway, stop the enemy weapon, and coordinate a safe advance before the army is trapped in the flooded lowlands. The mission may determine whether the war ends in victory or becomes a long campaign of retreat and siege.
