Rumors of the Valley
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The near-white headed halfling know to most simply as Gears has apparently returned to Narfell after who knows how long. He can often be seen hanging about Ginger Tealeaf's tent, or strolling on no particular course, looking around in a slightly bewildered fashion.
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_The Silver Valley residents awake one morning to the sight of flocks of carrion birds circling lazily over the forest, about a mile and a half directly to the north of the valley, and occasional shifts in the wind present the less than appealing smell of rotting corpses.
Any Valley residents that have been patrolling during the night will say that they have heard the sounds of battle the last couple of nights, though no further attacks on the Valley itself have been mounted.
Better news is the warm welcome Drem receives as she is seen taking small walks along the river and is believed to be recovering nicely from the nearly fatal wounds she suffered during the hobgoblin attack. She is quick to smile and promises she will be back to work in no time._
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Rumor spreads that Zyphlin has two shortbows of decent quality for sell. One is a famed Raider Bow, the other a normal cherry short bow. Its said to leave a message at his house in Jiyyd if you're interested
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A small forest of sonic traps has been lain in and around the point where the hobgoblins forced their way into the valley. Presumably somebody thought the traps would give fair warning if patrols or another attack were to come from that way.
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On his recent patrols, Yarchum always approaches the northwest part of the Valley heavily prepared and, as Juster does, gives the guards on duty a chance for a break before continuing on his own patrol route.
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The hobgoblins and ogres were attacking each other. Almost as if by chance their forces were colliding in the valley with us caught in between.
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Juster enters the valley, patrols for a bit, then sits and spends a while guarding the trail, giving the others a break to get some food and sleep.
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Visitors and valley residents will notice that two Silver Dragoons guard the northwest corner of Merin Wyerspell's yard. On closer inspection, there appears to be a large pile of trees that have been cut into usable lumber and stacked beside a pathway in the forest.
Rumour has it that an army of hobgoblins chopped their way through the northwest woods to the Silver Valley. They were met by a small army of Jiyyd and Silver Valley residents led by Legion General Theaon Thorn and Silver Dragoon Captain Ginger Tealeaf. The brave defenders were aided by elementals and a neverending barrage of powerful magics.
The battle with the hobgoblins was complicated by a simultaneous attack from ogres who had burrowed their way into the valley from the north. The defenders persevered. At the end of the day, Yondalla defended her people and used the river to flood the ogre tunnels, forcing their retreat.
Some folks say they heard that the ogres could part of the same bunch who attacked the south gate of Jiyyd only a few days earlier. A map of the area surrounding Jiyyd was found on one of the ogre bodies at the earlier fight. There's speculation that drow or orcs had struck a deal with the ogres to attack from the north, and had provided them with maps.
Did drow chase the ogres out of the cold caves by the gypsy camp?
Did drow send the ogres out with maps of Jiyyd and plans to attack from the north?
Are hobgoblins and ogres allied?
Where does the hobgoblin path in the woods lead?The attack certainly has folks talking.
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A mid sized group of people consisting of the well known hins Ginger, Scutum, and Juster, along with some tallies are seen entereting the valley and escorting some of the animals out of the valley. They are also seen listening, it seems somthing is going on to the west of the valley.
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When passing by the edge of the woods on the west side of the valley, Yarchum can hear the very faint sounds of chopping.
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Yarchum seems to be slowly setting in to a routine of patrolling the Valley once a day. He always starts the patrol with a prayer upon the altar of Arvoreen and then continues to stroll slowly but warily all around the little village. He changes a few pleasant words with everyone he happens to meet upon his patrols and expresses his concern of the recent animal activity in the Valley.
"There's something in the west that causes this. And we'd be wise to find out what it is before we are overrun by surprise and running for cover like these animals now."
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Juster watches the animals for a while before going off to see what Drem knows. He is also seen patrolling the valley a bit more frequently with the arrival of the new visitors.
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_What started as a pattern among small game - namely squirrels, muskrats, beavers, badgers, and other sundry rodents - has grown to include deer, wolves, and other medium size game.
Scutum Hedges sprinted to grab a child in the path of a charging mountain lion, though it turned out the lion was not hunting the child but, like the other animals, making a break for the other side of the valley and the relative safety of the woods there.
Circini reports having seen a black bear near dusk when she was cleaning up the crafthall.
What seems to be concerning the hin and gnome folk most is that the predators and their prey seem to be ignoring each other as they mill about the edge of the forest on the west side of the valley and when they dash across the valley to the east side._
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Residents of the Valley have been surprised to note the increased animal traffic moving down the ridge that denotes the west side of their valley. The animals have looked uncomfortable as they pace around just inside the forest edges, and occasionally some of them sprint desperately across the valley floor, making for the woods on the eastern ridge.
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Juster also strolls into town looking a bit tired, but mostly just happy to be home after his short trip to who knows where.
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An older Hin whom many of the longstanding members of the community would recognise as Yarchum Ammathwood, a former Silver Dragoon and council member of the Valley, seems to have returned from his almost 15-year long trip to Luiren. Looking slightly grizzled and wrinkled, Yarchum greets both familiar and unfamiliar faces with a warm smile and at least a few polite words before giving everyone the blessings of Arvoreen and continuing his stroll around the village.
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The latest rumour around the valley is about a brave party of hins (with the aid of a few legion members) slaying a huge ice golem on the road to Ormpur. It's rumoured the hins also made quick work of several undead hiding out in the worg cave.
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Off and on, Nicahh or Jerr are seen taking a young hinnish looking girl to the valley to play with other hin children and to learn of their cultures much to the little girl's delight. Strangely in all the years that her or Jerr have taken the little girl there to play, she seems not to have aged a single day.
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Two playful dire bears were spotted recently. They fished and played in the stream, then laid down for a nap nearby. There was no violence; they left the locals alone. Experienced woodsmen would recognize them as a male and female bear of the same species. Was the female bear pregnant? Only time will tell.
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The valley is bustling happily with activity lately. It seems preparations are being made for some sort of celebration. The smallfolk have been ordering banners, kegs of ale and other various party supplies.
