The Valeriad: Book I, Chapter 1

The others have returned from unknown reaches, and Gash appears older somehow. With some prayer to the Lady of the Moon this was resolved. The others also resolved to return to Mysteria with more than a few from their last missions. They have claimed to be slaves escaped from a horrible fate on Poryphoros. Shortly thereafter a Feloran ship arrived bearing the colors of the Dotharan Alliance. It appeared that the the Dotharans, spearheaded by General Iymbryl, needed the assistance of the the Mysterian Band to eliminate Soren's strength once and for all. Naturally Valeria took up the cause alongside other, less prominent members of the Mysterian Band, sadly the other magnates of the band elected to remain behind to attend to civic matters. The travel by ship was mostly uneventful though Faolan was unnerved the entire time, mumbling about Krakens and other terrors from the deep. Valeria was concerned for the ever fading sanity of the stalwart fighter.
 
Our time in Til Formen'ya was mercifully short, and one could hope the Dotharans had become more competent since their last time to call upon the Mysterian Band. The Band was shuffled into the docks once more in short order. It was a five day trip down the canal, and the destruction of Soren had become apparent. The Band had passed a scuttled Feloran War vessel, otherwise perfectly operable, and it appeared the Soren was on its last legs. Valeria took stock of the situation and appreciated the annihilation of Sorenians, though her tender heart considered interning the bodies. Though she felt little sympathy for the Sorenians, and the mood of the crew make it impossible to push for it, and thus she elected to remain silent on the matter. In a few days, the Band had arrived near the opposing encampments.
 
The tactical situation was challenging, though the Dotharans had in fact made it far into Sorenian territory, Soren maintained firm control of relevant tunnels into their capital city as well as all major bridgeheads to the same. The possible courses of actions were few, and many odious and devastatingly costly. It did not help that there was an intelligence breakdown between Dotharan Camps, and to make matters worse the Generals of Dothara did not want the aid of foreign generals. Nevertheless the Band was sent to reconnoiter the area. On route, the Band was acosted by ununiformed brigands. They were dispatched with little effort. The sole survivor had mentioned that the other allied camp was operational at least, and that is compatriots had been ravaging the local countryside and disrupting lines of communication. Valeria believed then, that reestablishing communications was a priority.