Journal

The morning after making their escape from the Old Halls, the damaged skyship made its getaway across the snow-topped mountains. Cold air and snow blew through the damaged hull. Jericho did his best to steer the ship, avoiding the mountain peaks in the dark while Adelka tended to Rumbelow, lying injured in his hammock.

By the time morning came, and seeing the smoke from an isolated cottage, Jericho had moored the ship in the shelter of a mountainside. He and Sullivan explained that the ship needed some repairs before they could get any further: Work was needed to repair the holes in the hull. There were some materials aboard, but their tools had been lost during the crash. After some discussion Mile and Rivka had set off to find the cottage, and see if they could get some tools to make the repairs.

So it was that Mile and Rivka found themselves trudging through the snow on a wooded mountainside, with snow gently falling and a cold breeze on their faces. Before long they arrived at the woodcutter's cottage, spotting a youth working in the yard. Making their approach, Mile noticed a tripwire with a bell attached, which he carefully avoided, but hailed the youth in a friendly manner as they approached.

Introducing themselves they soon realised that the youth they had taken to be a boy, was in fact a slight girl with short boyish hair, named Liselotte. While Rivka bluntly commented on her boyish appearance, Mile smoothed things over and soon Liselotte introduced them to her uncle, an aging but still strong woodcutter.

After appraising the newcomers, the woodcutter agreed to lend them his tools if they first helped with some tasks. Mile and Rivka helped move lumber in the yard, and clear snow from the roof, culminating in Mile accidentally sweeping a thick layer of snow from the roof onto Rivka's head. As Rivka's outburst subsided, the woodcutter invited them into his cabin to share some warm stew and take the tools he had promised.

They were not long settled when their solitude was disturbed. An alarm bell signified the approach of intruders, and this time they were a threat. A column of Iron Crown soldiers approached from the east: Snow Raiders, but also elite Storm Raiders, under the command of Lady Melissa. Bidding them make haste, the woodcutter thrust a pouch of coin and a letter into Mile's hands, securing Mile's promise to take Liselotte to the witch Expedora, in the town of Southwatch. As the party escaped through a back window, the woodcutter remained, promising to follow behind.

So it was that Mile, Rivka and Liselotte escaped through the trees. Pausing on the hillside to look back, they saw the woodcutter emerge from the cottage one last time, but this time he stood tall, shoulders back, wearing a bright suit of armour and wielding a sword. This cottage was the secluded home of Corvus Septimus Meridius, last survivor of the Knights Meridian, and he prepared to make his last stand.

The advancing soldiers of the Iron Crown hesitated briefly, before Lady Melissa urged them on, demanding that they 'find the girl'. Advancing with renewed confidence they were met with the flashing steel of Corvus' blade, as he cut a swathe through their ranks, every moment buying time for Liselotte's escape. Finally, as he cut his way towards Lady Melissa, and an expression of growing alarm spread across her face, his path was blocked by a fearsome Captain of the Storm Raiders. It was here that he fell, surrounded, still bringing down his enemies left and right, while his young ward Liselotte fled into the snow.