- Back to Part 4 of the Chronicle.
- The Wyrmdowns. May - September 1097TA - Farlass, Goblin Hordes and the Return to Malham.
- Velwyth. September 1097TA. The Goblins are Coming.
- Velwyth Borders. Mid September 1097TA. The White Mist.
- Velwyth. Late September 1097TA. The Siege of Braemar and Rendezvous at Wolf Lake.
- On to Part 6 of the Chronicle.
The Wyrmdowns. May - September 1097TA - Farlass, Goblin Hordes and the Return to Malham
Hugo eventually found the rest of the party. In the fort he had overheard part of the goblin leader’s conversation before being discovered. They were awaiting the arrival of someone called ‘Prophet Ronga’ at the ‘Farlass Staging Camp’. The camp was located somewhere to the south of the fort.
The party set off south, following the river, and eventually came to a large lake. Living around the lake in a huge tent city were thousands and thousands of goblins. More alarming were the large number of human slaves used extensively by the goblins. Having discovered the location of a large force of goblins, they made the decision to head back to Malham.
They spent the next two months trekking back across the downs to Velwyth. As they approached the camp they set up in the Black Hills, they were attacked by goblins who had overrun the camp and were waiting for anyone o approach. They defeated the goblins but found no sign of the Guide they left there. They carried on back to Malham, passing several more goblin patrols on the way.
Velwyth. Early September 1097TA. The Goblins are Coming.
Upon their return to Malham they were appraised of the situation that the other Guides had discovered. Durban discovered that his parents had sold their farm and left. They haven’t left any contact details for Durban to follow them. The Guides have dicovered a large force of goblins just a few months away to the east. A week after returning to Malham, the final group returned with news of a major force of goblins at the ruined Annan city of Callanath, farther east. King Corvallis had also issued a decree instructing the Dukes of Moorland and Sutherland (Edmar Borbrant and Barryn Farroth) to withdraw their subjects to the west of the Wall.
The Guides decided to man a series of abandoned guard towers to the east of Malham. Built around a century ago, they had been abandoned for decades. They rounded up a number of local villagers to help and sent them with the party out east. While they waited for signs of the oncoming goblins, the Guides helped the local officials to begin the movement of humans west to safety. All resources were to be gathered in the county towns of Braemar and Langston. Sources of fruit, vegetables and grain had to be harvested or destroyed. All of the livestock was to be driven west or slaughtered.
Velwyth Borders. Mid September 1097TA. The White Mist.
The villagers who traveled with the party split themselves up amongst the five towers and the party took the easternmost one. A week later, they awoke to find the tower surrounded by mist. After a few hours, when the mist didn’t disappear, they became suspicious and began to investigate. The mist had strange magical properties; they could see shadowy figures moving around them and hear ghostly murmurs. Whenever they rode out into the mist, they got turned around and found themselves riding back to the tower. Unable to leave, they decided to wait for the mist to end.
Four days later they awoke to find the mist gone. To the west they could see a huge wall of mist stretching as far as they could see to the north and south. It seemed to be steadily moving westwards. Fearing the worst, they sent word to the other towers that they were heading west to see what had happened. They passed through Malham and discovered the village had been abandoned. They continued west, heading to Braemar.
Velwyth. Late September 1097TA. The Siege of Braemar and Rendezvous at Wolf Lake.
When they arrived, they found the town under siege by goblins. Somehow the goblin army had used to mist to transport themselves through Moorland and Sutherland and were now besieging the Wall and Braemar. Hugo used his shape shifting powers to enter the besieged town and spoke to the Guides. He brought back orders from Vikko instructing them to head north to the mountains and to find a Guide meeting place called Wolf Lake. Guides are instructed to travel to this place in the event of a disaster. All of the Guides who are still in the eastern counties will gather there. He also brought back the news that most of Malham’s inhabitants were in the besieged town.
Patrick was adamant that he wanted to rescue his sister from Braemar before the city was inevitably overrun. About five thousand goblins were besieging the town; most of the goblins were protecting the river banks, leaving the eastern part of the town easily accessible. The Duke’s mages had used spells to construct a series of stone ramparts along the town’s southern and western sides. An earthen rampart had been constructed along the town’s western and northern sides. The mages had tried to reinforce the western defences but resources had run low. Houses beyond the ramparts had been burnt to the ground by early goblin attacks.
Hugo was sent off to pass Vikko’s message to the Guides and villagers left at the eastern towers while the rest investigated Braemar and the goblin defences. Hugo told the people at the towers to travel to Wolf Lake and then flew there himself.
Wolf Lake was high in the foothills of the Gaerdaen Mountains. The ground approach was via a steep goat track that wound its way through the hills. When Hugo arrived there were already three guides at the hideout. They had been gathering there over the previous few days. After discussing the situation with the Guides at Wolf Lake, the party decided to head off east to track the goblin's movements.
