“They first used sharpened wooden sticks as spears and tree branches as clubs. After they had raided the nearby villages, they used kitchen knives and hatchets. We could handle poorly armed Goblins, but when they started attacking us with bows and iron swords, we couldn’t hold against them.

“Surviving villager account” Investigation into the Goblin raids of Norbury, 598 IC

Chapter 15

Erinn watched as Wil fell into the darkness, his scream echoing off the cavern walls as he disappeared into the darkness.

Victor, who was still reaching towards him, had tears running down his face as he slowly retracted his hand. The others stood still, shocked at the sudden loss, as Wil’s scream was abruptly cut off, only the echo remaining of their friend’s abrupt demise.

The triumphant roar of the Orc shook her awake; she looked up and saw the arrival of a well-armed group of goblins, taking aim at the party with short bows. Loud twangs rang out as the Goblins launched arrows at the group, Hale stood behind them on the ledge, lifting her shield to protect the others from some of the incoming fire.

“Move!” Hale yelled, urging the group on.

The quickly moved off the ledge and crawled one by one into the small space they had come from. Hale covered them with her Shield and Gunther blocked some of the arrows with his large frame, protected by his thick armor.

The Goblins could see the party over the gap by the torches the humans were still carrying but the group could only make out arrows flying towards them in the dim torchlight.

Finally, the Group reached the exit, after passing through the remaining caverns and tunnels, closely pursued by Goblins and Orcs.

By the time they had made it back into the sunlight, Gunther was carrying Victor, who had been struck in the back by an arrow, while Anise and Erinn assisted Hale, who could only walk on one leg, her other bleeding profusely from a long gash.

Leaving the tunnel entrance and the forest clearing, the group moved swiftly through the trees, reaching the path and following it out to the cleared farming fields beyond the forest.

The party could hear the shrill cries and yells of the goblins being driven forward by the booming voice of an Orc leader, only stopping as the party broke free of the forest’s edge.

Collapsing into the safety and protection of the bright yellow light of Primaris, the group rested for a moment, physically exhausted from the chase and emotionally drained from the loss of Wil. Although they hadn’t known each other for long, the group had grown close over the past few days.

After resting for a few minutes, they reluctantly climbed to their feet, Gunter lifting Victor over his shoulder. They started the five-mile trek back to Whitewater, not seeing any signs of the other Auxiliaries on the trip back.

Hale prayed that the others had turned back before they were trapped underground, they would not survive long against the force waiting for them.

Spotting Whitewater in the distance, Erinn observed that the town looked remarkably more fortified than when they had left, with a wide ditch and new palisade built in the short time they had been gone.

The walls were well manned, soldiers with bows standing evenly paced on the high walls. The gates were heavily guarded and steady streams of farmers were entering the safety of the town.

“Do you think they already know?” Erinn asked Hale, the other woman leaning on her heavily as she limped along next to her.

“They knew something was wrong yesterday, Goblins only take prisoners for sacrifices to their god on major raids. They wouldn’t waste the food otherwise.” Hale said.

They made their way through the town gates, Legion soldiers rushed out to assist them with their wounded, taking them all to the church for healing.

Hale wouldn’t let them bring her, telling the soldiers she needed to get to the fort right away. Erinn assisted Hale in getting there, where they were brought directly to the Commander in his office.

After a brief greeting, Hale proceeded to tell the Commander about what they saw, the ruined city, the Goblin numbers and their Orc leaders.

“Hundreds, sir, and that’s just what we saw in the city. The tunnels are riddled with them, and each group is being led by an Orc. How many have the other groups reported, did they see the same?” Hale asked, sitting in a chair in front of the Commander.

A Legion cleric had arrived, cleaning and healing her wounded leg while she reported. Erinn stood behind Hale’s chair, filled with restless energy and too tired to sit.

“The other’s reported the same, they barely entered the initial caverns before they were overrun. The survivors didn’t report seeing any Orcs, but they described the Goblins being organized and well equipped.” The Commander sat heavily in his chair, running a hand through his hair and letting out a deep breath.

“We lost close to half of the Auxiliaries, and those that made it back are in rough shape.”

Hale winced at the Commanders words, half of the Auxiliaries gone was a blow, they would need all the people they could get tomorrow.

“With Orcs leading and supplying the Goblins, we risk Whitewater being overrun. We prepared for only a few dozen of ill-equipped Goblins, not an invasion led by Orcs. We’ll need to change our plan of attack.”

“Thank you for the report, Hale, its terrible news, but at least we know what to expect.”

The commander dismissed them, telling them to get some rest and report to the Fort again tomorrow.

Hale walked out of the room without a limp, the cleric had healed the wound without trouble, although the healing had left her exhausted.

They made their way back to the church to check in with their friends and see how Victor was healing.

They all seemed well enough, although the group was tired and disheartened at the news of the Auxiliaries losses. They all went back to their lodgings to rest.

The town of Whitewater was a buzz of activity over the next day, with new defenses being added and the surrounding farms abandoned.

The Legion and House Guard fell back to the walls of Whitewater, the outlying areas would be too hard to protect from a large force of Goblin raiders.

The commander gave up on the plan to ambush the raiders as they left the tunnels, it was too high of a risk, they could easily be surrounded from hidden passageways, and they couldn’t afford to lose anyone else.

The Whitewater River saw an increase of boat traffic, rich families and merchants leaving the town with all their belongings as word of the approaching Goblin Army spread like wildfire.

Some residents packed up carts and carriages, risking the roads in order to travel west and escape the coming attack, while many more picked up weapons and joined the soldiers in defending their homes.

The Commander had sent news to the nearby city of East Haven, but it would take them time to organize reinforcements. It would take an extra day to travel to them, even moving swiftly by boats down the river.

As the last day passed and Night approached, the town was as well defended as possible. Children were protected in the church, under the care of some of the older townspeople who could not flee or fight.

The priests and priestesses of the Twin Suns were standing by, ready to heal the wounded. The remaining Auxiliaries, the lucky survivors, some still in shock over yesterday’s events, gathered their weapons and were ready.

The legion and Auxiliaries mages were gathered in the main square, preparing their spell components and consulting their spell books for suitable combat spells.

The commander would keep the mages in reserve, their destructive energies were best used to shock and scatter the enemy, countering their assaults. The mages would not be able to sustain their attacks for the length of time required to defend against a siege.

With trepidation, everyone in the town watched the sky, as the large black moon slowly made its way across the sky and Secundus sank below the distant horizon. The blue light slowly faded, in its place was a dark, star filled sky.

The black moon hung heavy in the sky, leaving a spot empty of starlight, a void in the heavens above.

Night had finally come, and the defenders of Whitewater were ready.