As
dusk approached on Saturday evening, King Aug and his Fractured Skull Orc Army
staged an assault on the Hoblings which nearly resulted in the death of The
Great Old Guy. The village’s
women and children were in the process of evacuating their homes when the first
attack came. The Hobling
Lumberjacks fought bravely but many died in the initial engagement.
When the second wave came they brushed aside the Hobling defenders and
set fire to the village. The Great
Old Guy attacked the Orcs virtually alone and rallied what Hoblings still lived
to his side. Taken by surprise by
the old Hobling’s power the Orcs were again repelled.
Exhausted, The Great Old Guy led his people to a group of little known
caves which Artemis Silvertree told him of.
Only 42 villagers survived, 9 of which were males, 20 of which were
females, and 13 of which were young. Among
this group was Captain Raspberry Wiltflower who was later put to death by The
Great Old Guy for the murder of Lady Morgan Scenarius.
Help from Lumberton Shire came too late to save the village but the sheer
number of townspeople who eventually came forced King Aug to retreat.
Many farms outside of Lumberton were burned and pillaged as well and no
one feels particularly safe as long as King Aug still lives.
Raspberry
Wiltflower Captain of the Hobling scouts assigned to assist with the defense of
Lumberton Shire was executed shortly following the Orc attack. It seems that Raspberry, one of the Hoblings’ most highly
decorated scouts, entered Lumberton Shire to seek help and ended up attacking a
towns person and killing Lady Morgan. Raspberry’s
reasons for committing these atrocities were not clear, but The Great Old Guy
had him obliterated. Raspberry
received his final death as a result.
Late
Friday night a man entered town with what appeared to be a magical staff.
He said that he had found it in a nearby stream and that he was not sure
who its owner was. After much discussion Rhea Skylark came over to observe the
scene and the staff. As soon as she
touched it her and the staff both vanished.
The man was totally surprised as was everyone else. He left town saying that he would try to figure out what may
have happened. Multiple times
throughout the night Rhea appeared as a vision asking for help. There was no one who knew how to help her and everyone feared
that she may be lost.
On
Saturday afternoon a farmer named Sullivan entered Lumberton Shire seeking Lady
Morgan. When she emerged from the
crowd Sullivan told her of a suspicious man that he had seen talking to Rhea’s
vision the previous night. Her
Ladyship decided that the militia and her should investigate. Many from the town also went along to see what was happening.
Once
there the recently appointed Sergeant Flint interrogated the man and got a full
confession from him. The man begged
Lady Morgan for mercy and accompanied the group back to town saying that he
would help. On the way he said that
his master was trapped in another dimension and the only way to return was for
him to follow directly after a Biata. A
weak dimensional portal was going to open and only five or six brave souls would
be able to pass through it without it collapsing.
The master was planning to follow Rhea through this gate but Lady Morgan
decided that a group would be sent in to save Rhea and kill this unknown being
who had entrapped her. Upon their
arrival back in town Lady Morgan instructed Chalene Silvermoure to get a group
together. Along with Chalene the
party consisted of Proteus the Dwarf, Urik, Seudor, an Dinen Davere. The portal opened and Urik bravely led the way as the group
entered. After a long struggle in
which Urik was charmed by the being and Chalene was silenced, the group
prevailed. Rhea was freed from her
bonds and they returned to town through the same portal which by they left.
An
alleged highwayman named Midgon was apprehended by Lady Morgan’s men on
Saturday. A bounty hunter named
Therebol had entered town earlier seeking Midgon and asked that he be detained
if he was seen. The rogue was wanted for having stolen some items in a
neighboring town. Midgon was held by the Lumberton Militia until Therebol
returned. When he returned the
bounty hunter thanked Lady Morgan and led his quarry out in bonds with an armed
escort of townsfolk.
As
they neared the outskirts of town, Midgon’s band killed Therebol and sprung
their leader free. A lengthy chase
yielded little results as the bandits escaped into the countryside.
A
man named Marwick entered town trying to buy some formal components which would
aid in his attempt to rid his fields of spiders.
It seems the critters have become quite a problem.
A retired adventurer, Marwick said he would attempt a ritual to fix the
problem. Many other farms have The
same problem and if it is successful the ritual could help many local farmers
produce more food.
In
Remembrance: Breelen Silverleave
On
April 20, 596 in Lumberton Shire, Breelen Silverleave gave his life defending
the town from an orc attack while others stood and watched. This was not the
first time he willing sacrificed his self for the good of the town. A few months
ago he lost both a life and an ear while attacking a carnivorous plant. His
example should be followed by all especially those who sat and allowed the orcs
to burn defenseless Hoblings. For Breelen, it was not his worry whether he had a
treaty with them, he just protected what needed protection. He will be
remembered as a TRUE courageous warrior.
Lady
Morgan,
I
have items that belong to you. I will return them to you when we meet again.
Talin
People
of Dylleria,
My
name is Marius. I am urgently concerned about a certain member of the Order of
the Raven. His name is Coe. He is my pupil. Several months ago he left for
Lumberton, but I have not heard from him yet. I fear the worst. Coe contacts me
every month to keep me apprised of his studies. It has been several months since
I heard from him. Please watch for him.
Marius Bendletwine
Lady
Morgan Le Fay Scenarius:
I
would like to apologize regretfully for the disrespect shown to you and your
citizens by one of my Hoblings. I
understand that the unfortunate incident left your town without a leader and
therefore further delayed the arrival of any assistance against the Orcs.
I hold Raspberry Wiltflower completely responsible for his actions and he
has been dealt with properly. I
hope that you will not let the actions of one pompous Hobling damage our long
standing relationship. As far as I
am concerned our treaty is still in place.
It may be some time before we can get back to lumbering at our regular
pace since nearly 3/4 of our people were wiped out.
I can assure you, however, that we will do everything within our power to
uphold our end of the bargain and make the monthly shipment to Lord Balladan.
Thank you,
The Great Old Guy
Sheriff
Angus Ebonheart has begun working for Lord Negeon Mangus and will eventually
kill Lord Arianus.
The
Traveler’s Stone has been emitting an eerie glow sometimes at night.
Lord
Arianus is considering making necromancy illegal.
The
Bugbears are amassing a large force.
Strange
poisonous mists have been rising from the Shadowgate River.
A
merchant from Helmwood seeks the pelts of Bugbears and will pay top price for
them.
Lord
Arianus is a lich.
The
Earth Circle no longer functions properly.
Giant
Armadillos from the Valley of Bones are slowly moving north into the area of
Galavast.
Dwarven
miners stumbled across an ancient tomb near Galavast and died of some unknown
disease.
LUMBERTON
SHIRE
- A potentially explosive situation is calmed when The Great Old Guy
apologizes to the people of Lumberton. Lady
Morgan still is undecided in her response.
STONEGATE
KEEP - Lord Balladan
officially backs Lady Morgan one-hundred percent and publicly commits to giving
more aid against the Fractured Skull.
Lord
Balladan will arrive in Lumberton Shire in June for a grand feast with the towns
people and the Hobblings.
AELIN
- Marauding Ogres overwhelm Stonegate forces protecting the town and burn many
buildings. Trade has slowed almost
to a halt and High Merchant Ivy Rose condemns Balladan for not supplying enough
troops to protect the town. Ivy is
also upset that his Hobling brothers and sisters in Lumberton have not been
protected.
FREE
CITY OF MYTHAMBER - First
General Seth Farrius offers assistance in the Lumberton Orc War in return for
abolishment of Lumberton Shire as a taxing station.