The following words have never been uttered in the history of witchardkind: Bodiam has fallen. This, at least, is the theory that spreads like lightning after the discovery that the Outpost has been silent for a full week. Last communication comes from the second-to-last tour of visitors who went to Bodiam on Sunday, April 17th. The civilians, who came home safe and sound, reported a wonderful experience and were excited to return for the next “open days”. Now, it seems those may never come.
No-one has heard back from the last tour of that fateful day, which may have included as many as 150 civilian visitors, mostly children and young adults. The Paladins of Bodiam haven’t been seen or heard from, either.
First concerns were raised by the relatives of the Bridgerman family that was supposed to visit Bodiam last Sunday. The grandparents found it strange that the children hadn’t contacted them after returning from an event they had been so excited about. The Bridgermans’ house was empty and the neighbours hadn’t seen anyone in a week.
The Guardian Order rushed to investigate the case, but found that all runic bridges leading to Bodiam and its entire conflux had been destroyed. Specialists from the Artemis Order say that it may take many days or ever weeks to establish a new runic bridge.
It is uncertain if the civilians and Paladins are still alive. Our contact within the Guardian Order tells us that there is no doubt it was a combined and highly coordinated attack of the Were forces, aimed to crush the witchards’ morale. It sends a loud and clear message: “your greatest warriors have fallen and so have many of your children; if they aren’t safe from us, who is?”
However, our source within the Rosencrantz Order firmly believes in the Outpost’s survival.
“We may have lost communication with Bodiam, but we haven’t lost the people within it. No way,” our contact says. “You don’t just come in and tear down a castle full of people who have fire in their hearts. Not within a week. And certainly not when these people have so much to fight for.”
We encourage the families of Bodiam visitors to contact the Guardian Order and share any information they may have. Likewise, the Rosencrantz Order has issued a request to the visitors from earlier tours to contact them if anyone has seen something that was out of place or didn’t seem right.
“Every trail and every clue will be followed until we find out what happened at Bodiam,” says our contact in Rosencrantz. “We won’t rest until we get our friends and children back.”
In 1655, for the only time in history, Bodiam lit up the sky with a magical flare, signalling to the world that the Outpost had abandoned neutrality and joined witchards in the fight against their enemies. These days, every night since the start of our war, witchards have been looking to the sky, waiting for the flare and the heroes that would save them.
Now, it seems, nobody’s coming.