The Story So Far
You’ve come to the end of a long day’s journey. Your legs ache, yet you feel invigorated. A light breeze rustles your cloak and cools the perspiration on your skin. You take a deep, full breath. Crisp mountain air fills your lungs, and you feel it all the way down to the soles of your feet. You exhale and taste the sweetness of the air on your tongue.
On this day, you’re returning home after a weeks-long patrol of the Northern Pass. The hour is late, and the shadow of Atrox Mountain stretches out before you, reaching eastward across the Valley’s many forests, lakes, and streams.
As evening deepens, the song of frogs and chirping insects rises from the grasslands. Your path has led you out of the mountains and down to the foothills of Atrox Mountain, where tall trees now stand on all sides and the air is rich with the smell of pine and loamy earth. In the distance, you see a welcome sight.
Visible for miles even in the failing light, Lone Tree Station stands out against the evening sky. The sight of your home fills you with relief. After weeks on patrol, you are eager to get a warm meal and a good night’s rest. You hear the distant sound of laughter and merrymaking on the wind.
The sun dips below the mountains, painting the clouds in a rich vermilion. The leaves of Lone Tree glitter in the evening light, and you smell rain on the air.
If you have already completed the first campaign, The Lure of the Valley, go to Entry 1.
If you have not completed The Lure of the Valley, or if you’d like to start fresh with Legacy of the Ancestors, continue reading:
Lone Tree Station towers before you, its great limbs dark against the sky. From its base a warm light glows. A boisterous song fills the air—a traditional tune from the time when your ancestors roamed the Midlands, a song of reverent joy and the beauty of nature. As accompaniment to the song, you smell a savory aroma, one that could only come from the kitchen of Hy Pimpot.
Stomach rumbling, you decide to forego a visit to your quarters and make for the Old Ranger’s Root, the tavern at the base of Lone Tree Station, operated by veteran Ranger and celebrated hunter, Kordo Haverson.
Kordo greets you with a smile, and the gruff but amiable veteran accompanies you to the coziest of the Old Ranger’s Root’s dimly lit corners. You ease back against a smooth wooden bench and take in your surroundings.
The tavern occupies a large hollow at the base of Lone Tree Station. The tree's roots both form the dome of the tavern's ceiling and support its walls. The great room is furnished with artfully crafted wooden tables and chairs. Along the walls, smaller roots serve as benches, worn smooth with use. The tavern is full and spirits are high.
“Back from your patrol of the Northern Pass, eh?” Kordo says. “Find any reclaimers up there? No? If you ask me, I reckon we’ve seen the last of them. Good riddance to bad biomelds, I say!”
Two cycles of the moon have passed since you and your fellow Rangers made safe the Valley from the reclaimers—a rare species of biomeld that endangered all who crossed their path, and that very nearly consumed the village of Spire. Since then, however, the Valley has been comparatively quiet.
Kordo orders a round of Mulcher's Brown—a rich, nutty ale—for the table and sits beside you. After weeks on the trail, it’s nice to be in the company of your fellow Rangers, sharing stories over a hearty brew.
Conversations dwindle, and you look up to see a flamboyantly dressed woman carrying a dolewood lute step up to the low stage near the bar. You recognize her as Sasha Vero, a traveling talespinner from Meadow. An expectant hush falls over the crowd.
Sasha looks out at the patrons and begins to stomp her foot on the stage, pounding out an energetic beat that is quickly taken up by those in attendance. Soon, everyone in the tavern is clapping along, stomping their feet, or keeping time with their mugs on the table.
The tale is half sung, half spoken to a vigorous beat accompanied by percussive strums of the lute. She begins:
Ooooh, let me tell you a tale my friends. My friends, let me spin you a yarn. I sing the deeds of the brave and noble Rangers who saved our Valley from harm.
Her resonant voice fills the Old Ranger’s Root from corner to corner, and the strums of her lute dance upon the air.
Sasha's story begins several cycles past, when some fresh recruits first donned their cloaks and were assigned their first mission—a mission of tremendous importance.
“Biscuit delivery!” Sasha cries, and the crowd roars with laughter. It’s in this moment that you realize that her song is about you!
The Rangers bore their basket of delights and filled the bellies of their neighbors. Only a few of those biscuits did they sneak as they went about their labors.
Rangers Choose
A) That sounds about right. Lean back and continue listening.
You smile as you remember savoring Hy Pimpot’s warm, buttery biscuits. Was that really such a short time ago? That was also the day you met Kal Iver. You remember Kal’s disdainful attitude and let out a laugh, thinking of how your relationship with him has grown. You spot Kal sitting across the room. He catches your eye and gives you a playful wink.
Write STOOD UP TO KAL on the campaign tracker.
B) That’s not what happened.
You lean toward Kordo and tell him that you would never do that! Kordo laughs. “Hy Pimpot would be sorely disappointed to hear it!” He says. “He always bakes more than enough for just such an eventuality.” You settle back into your seat and your mind drifts to memories of Calypsa, your mentor, who made a bet with her patrolmate Kal Iver that you wouldn’t eat any of the biscuits. You smile to yourself, thinking of how you proved that her confidence in you was not misplaced.
Write IMPRESSED CALYPSA on the campaign tracker.
» Continue reading:
Sasha continues her tale, singing of the shaper, Aell, the dangerous rainstorms he inadvertently summoned, and the subsequent floods that revealed the presence of the invasive biomelds known as the reclaimers. She tells of how the Rangers encountered a mysterious Verdessian, a sentient plant who was unceremoniously killed—eaten by a sitka buck that mistook it for a meal. Was it connected to the reclaimers somehow? We’ll never know!
Rangers Choose
A) Nod in agreement.
You remember that the Verdessian was unlike anything you had ever seen. Its death was a tragedy. The Verdessian had acted with purpose and intelligence. You regret missing the opportunity to learn more about it.
Write VERDESSIAN KILLED? on the campaign tracker.
B) That’s not right.
As the song continues you tell Kordo what really happened. With the help of Spirit Speaker Nal you had a “conversation” with the Verdessian. It was very difficult to understand. In the end, however, you discovered that the Verdessian was trying to lure the reclaimers to Spire for some reason you couldn't discern. Kordo nods, clearly impressed.
Write ANGERED THE VERDESSIAN on the campaign tracker.
C) That’s ridiculous!
As the song continues, you tell Kordo what really happened. With the help of Spirit Speaker Nal you communicated with the Verdessian and discovered that its motives were complex. It was trying to guide the reclaimers toward destroying something beneath Spire, something it viewed as a threat. You wonder aloud what the threat could have been and whether that threat persists. Kordo nods, clearly unnerved by the thought.
Write BEFRIENDED THE VERDESSIAN on the campaign tracker.
» Continue reading:
Sasha’s song reaches a crescendo! With the whole of the Valley in danger, the only thing to do was to evacuate Spire and move the residents to safety. With only hours to spare, the Rangers came to the rescue and whisked the villagers away.
Rangers Choose
A) Raise your mug to the talespinner. That’s right. We got everyone out of there as fast as we could.
You remember the terror of that day. You managed to get everyone to safety, even as the reclaimers swarmed the village. Spire was heavily damaged before the reclaimers poured into the Arcology Threshold, disappearing into the darkness below.
Write SPIRE FALLEN, DACE'S GROUP SAVED, ELDER ORLIN'S GROUP SAVED, TOLLIN'S GROUP SAVED, on the campaign tracker.
B) No, we summoned a flood!
You tell Kordo of how you sought the help of the shaper Aell, and how he used a special conduit to summon a final, mighty rainstorm to flood the reclaimer nest, washing them away for good. Kordo shakes his head in amazement. “Incredible,” he says. “Simply incredible.”
Write INSPIRED AELL, AELL REDEEMED, and RECLAIMERS WASHED AWAY on the campaign tracker.
C) No, we fed them to the hydraworms!
You describe to Kordo how you worked with Kasende, the hunter from Tumbledown, to lure the reclaimers into the Marsh of Rebirth using a strange white flower as bait. Their appetites were matched—and exceeded—by the hydraworms of the swamp. In a feeding frenzy, the reclaimers were devoured. “I wish I could have seen it!” Kordo says. “That’s what I call nature at work!”
Write RECLAIMERS CONSUMED and KASENDE ALMOST SMILED on the campaign tracker.
» Continue reading:
With a final, energetic verse and a boisterous stomp, Sasha brings the tale to a close. As the crowd erupts in applause, she makes a sweeping gesture toward you. “To the heroes!” she shouts, and the crowd echoes the toast with raised mugs. “Thank you, one and all! May the ancestors guide you. I’ll be here all week! Good night!”
Kordo claps your shoulder. “Quite the tale,” he says, draining his mug. “Now go get some rest. I have a feeling you’ll be back on the trail before you know it.”
As you leave the Old Ranger's Root, a stiff wind rustles the leaves of Lone Tree. You close your cloak against the chill and head inside the station.
Gain the following reward cards: Biosign Sensor, Gauzeblade, Hy Pimpot’s Secret Recipe, Light As A Feather, Nal’s Understanding, Reclaimer Mucus, and Touch of the Verdessa.