Month In Review: Yarthmont 1015
Week In Review

YARTHMONT 1, AC 1015: Goblinoids Invade Darokin.
Location: Corunglain, Darokin. OW

Description: A significantly-sized horde of goblinoids jump out of the sewers of Corunglain and make a break for the city walls. Taken by surprise, the defenders are unable to destroy the goblins, and most of them make it outside the city.
Soon enough, the soldiers of Corunglain watch as the goblinoids regroup in the fields just out of arrow reach. Once completed, the horde begins their southward march toward Darokin City. (See Fl. 20; Ya. 10, Ya. 12.)

What This Means: The goblins have a clear shot for Darokin City. With the Great Wall completed, the leaders of Darokin were positive that no goblinoid horde would ever be able to march into the Streel Plains, so most military units of the area have been reassigned to more troubled spots (such as the borders with Sind, Atruaghin, the Orclands, and Ylaruam). Now, much to their surprise, such a horde is marching to their capital.

The Darokinians are also surprised from the seemingly advanced tactics these goblinoids are using. They have yet to discover that the leaders of the horde are shadow elves and not just mere orcs or goblins.

This event will put serious doubts as to whether Darokin should continue to expand the Great Wall to Fort Nell, as they begin to wonder if the wall is worth the money placed into it.

What The PCs Can Do: They have several options here. First, they can rush ahead of the horde and try to save as many people as possible. There are numerous villages and towns along the Streel River, and hundreds of homesteads belonging to the farmers of Darokin. They will all be easy targets for the goblinoids unless the PCs intervene.

They can also try and race to Darokin or nearby military forts and try to warn them of the coming dangers.
Finally - something the rulers of Corunglain probably haven't thought of - they can take care of Corunglain's goblinoid problem. With the majority of the horde on their way to Darokin City, the stragglers that have remained behind in the sewers should be something a band of well-equipped PCs can handle.

YARTHMONT 4, AC 1015: Fighting in Gunjab.
Location: Mumlyket of Gunjab, Sind. OW

Description: The first of a series of attacks against Hulean encampments in the mumlyket of Gunjab begins today. The Freedom Warriors and Followers of Gareth, increasingly emboldened by their success in Nagpuri and with a steady base of operations, have begun the process of taking back Sind, mumlyket by mumlyket. The Huleans try to reorganize themselves, but it will take some doing; they have grown sloppy since their conquest in 1005 AC. (See Fl. 12, Fl. 19; Kl. 5, Kl. 9.)

What The PCs Can Do: Plenty of opportunity for the PCs to get involved in warfare with the oppressive Hulean forces, and attempt to restore Sind to independence.

YARTHMONT 4, AC 1015: Boldavia Reinforced.
Location: Boldavia, Glantri. OW

Description: The war against Glantri has been going bad for the Ethengarians for a while now. The undead legions seem endless and tireless. Worse, their own fallen men appear to be joining their ranks to fight against their former friends and family. Even more surprising is the fact that despite a lack of leaders present with the undead, they seem to act as concentrated units following complex commands.
Now, the battle turns for the worse as several forces from the rest of the Glantrian principalities arrive to bolster the units from Boldavia. (See Fl. 20, Fl. 23; Ya. 18, Ya. 20.)

What This Means: The undead are indeed being controlled by someone; Prince Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany himself. It has been rumored that the prince long ago discovered some means of communicating with all of his minions - it turns out these rumors are true.

Still, even the Glantrians are not too sure about these undead. No one seems to know who is commanding them, and the Boldavian officers feign ignorance. They assume it's some over- enthusiastic necromancer from the Great School of Magic. Most units stay back and simply watch the Ethengarians get massacred, preferring not to get involved.

YARTHMONT 5, AC 1015: Jennites Go Underground.
Location: Faraway, Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. AS

Description: Governor Talin of Verdan publicly accuses his brother Kalin, the Governor of Blackrock, to be in the Alphatians' side. He prompts the true Jennites to take up arms against the evil Alphatians and the traitors. Talin ransacks the palace (he intends to use the money to buy weapons from unscrupulous smugglers) and leads a group of Jennites to the forests of Verdan, from where he plans to launch raids on Alphatians, using hit and run tactics and possibly rallying more Jennites. (See Nu. 14; Ya. 9, Fe. 26.)

YARTHMONT 6, AC 1015: Dreaden Lost At Sea.
Location: Thyatis City, Thyatis. OW

Description: The cargo ship Dreaden is reported lost at sea. This is the seventh thyatian ship to disappear since the start of shipping season back in Vatermont (the 25th). Sailors begin to fear that the Behemoth, reportedly slain by adventurers, has returned. (See Kl. 14, Fe. 15.)

What This Means: Although the Behemoth is indeed still alive (regardless of what bragging adventurers claim), it is not responsible for the recent ship disappearances. Instead, a new threat to the Thyatians has arrived: the mermen of the Twaelar Empire.


Second Week in Review

YARTHMONT 8, AC 1015: Caterpillar Sabotaged.
Location: Aegos, Alatian Islands. AS

Description: The dwarven team that was to use the gnomish caterpillar today finds it sabotaged. They set up to repairing it, but vital pieces of machinery were destroyed on purpose. The dwarves suspect the Thyatians of treachery and ask that the Minrothaddans set their own watchs. (See Th. 4; Fe. 23, Ei. 10.)

What This Means: The Thyatians are indeed behind this sabotage. Since it has been revealed that Alphatia exists in the Hollow World, they have lost interest in it and prefer the pit to stay as it is, unusable. Governor Francesca Egidio reasoned that without their only caterpillar the dwarves would have trouble continuing their work, and so asked a group of Thyatian bullies to do the dirty work. She knew the Thyatians would be suspected, but it was well worth it.

YARTHMONT 9, AC 1015: Kalin vs. Talin.
Location: Skyfyr, Blackrock, Esterhold Peninsula. AS

Description: Governor Kalin meets with President Favian Vern to discuss about his brother's acts a few days ago. Though they both would prefer a peaceful solution, former governor Talin, now rebel leader, gave them no choice. Favian Vern moves to Faraway to rule the province during the troubled times, and sends word to Commander Broderick in Ionace. (See Nu. 14, Ya. 5; Fe. 26, Fy. 3.)

YARTHMONT 10, AC 1015: Cestia Sighted.
Location: West of the Isle of Cestia. JC

Description: At midday today, the Isle of Cestia is sighted. Herr Wulf, having had a dream about a great banquet on a beach the night before, demands that the ship make landfall before sunrise tomorrow. (See Fl. 4, Fl. 22; Ya. 11, Kl. 8.)

What This Means: Vanya has decided to show her power once again, and has commanded her followers on the Isle of Cestia (who call her Vaati) to leave some preserved goods on the beaches before sunrise. She feels her champions have served her well so far, and has decided to reward them.

YARTHMONT 10, AC 1015: Darokin Besieged.
Location: Darokin City, Darokin. OW

Description: The horde of goblinoids marching from Corunglain finally reach Darokin City today. The majority of the horde attack the city, while smaller bands scatter off in every direction to plunder the countryside. (See Fl. 20, Ya. 1; Ya. 12, Ya. 18.)

YARTHMONT 11, AC 1015: The Snaplock Pistol.{to be explained later -Oracle}
Location: Smokestone City, Cimarron. SC

Description: The famed halfling jeweler Westron, along with the female dwarf Fredra Smithy, 40 years after inventing the wheellock pistol, release their improved flintlock pistols.

The weapon spreads rapidly among the people of Cimmaron, but hardly makes any grounds into the other baronies at this point, who are just now getting use to the wheellock. (The flintlock's exorbitant price doesn't help the market grow either!) (See Fy. 12, Ei. 2.)

What This Means: The wheellocks have been growing very popular among the Savage Baronies and even other nations of the Savage Coast. But many warriors still refused to use them because of their unreliability and the possibility of it exploding in your face. Now, with improved flintlocks, firearms will become even more common amongst the warriors of the area.

Statistics of the flintlock pistol are as follows:

Flintlock Belt Pistol, 500 gp, 2 lbs, S, P, speed 6, 1d8/1d8, ROF 1, Range: 2/4/6, Note: on a roll of 1, there is only a 10% chance of a backfire causing 1d6 damage to user.

Flintlock Horse Pistol, 750 gp, 3 lbs, S, P, speed 7, 1d10/1d10, ROF 2/3, Range: 3/6/9, Note: on a roll of 1, there is only a 10% chance of a backfire causing 1d6 damage to user.

Note that flintlocks use all the other standard Savage Coast rules of firearms as detailed in the Savage Coast online manual, notably armor piercing (goes through armor according to range; all/5/2) and the fact that Savage Coast smokepowder DOES NOT backfire even if a 1 is rolled (or the 1 then 10% for flintlocks; the 10% rule is included for those who do not use the NO BACKFIRE rule of the Savage Coast.)

{Oracle's Commentary, the Editors of this almanac made a huge mistake in developing the Flintlock weapon. First of all, had they have Studied the Evolution of Firearms or have read Sorcerous Sixshooters in Dragon Magazine, They would have Discovered that the Snaplocks are what comes after the Wheellock weapons. You simply can't Skip to Flintlock Technology without going to Snaplock Technology first. For those of you who wish to incorporate Snaplock weaponry, use everything written above but raise the backfire damage to 2d4\ damage to User -Oracle}

What The PCs Can Do: The chaotic Order of the Flame Inheritors would probably try and stop this invention, as it will encourage the use of smokepowder which is dangerous to Inheritors. The more Neutral and Lawful orders (Order of Crimson and Order of the Ruby respectively) would fight to allow the invention despite their personal dislike for it; the rest of the world has the right to do what it wants without their interference. This allows a lot of behind the scenes conflicts over one invention.

YARTHMONT 11, AC 1015: A Mysterious Feast.
Location: Near Amanara, Morovoay, Isle of Cestia. JC

Description: Herr Wulf's party is surprised to find a small pile of nuts, fruits, and dried fish waiting for them. The items are gratefully taken to the ship, which now heads back west for the Davanian coast, and towards Vanya's Rest. (See Fl. 22, Ya. 10; Kl. 8, Kl. 9.)

What This Means: Vanya's worshippers have left the food as commanded, and Herr Wulf's party has taken it so that the journey can continue without further delays.

YARTHMONT 12, AC 1015: Immigration.
Location: Five Shires. OW

Description: Mercantile trade begins to flourish in the Five Shires as foreigners begin to slowly move in. Some hin begin to become a bit edgy at the increasing number of non-hin in the Shires. (See Va. 20, Fl. 3; Kl. 8, Kl. 22.)

YARTHMONT 12, AC 1015: Arian Harvest.
Location: Yannivey Islands, NACE. AS

Description: Though the Arians have made real efforts to have a good harvest this year, the result is only a mild success. Crops are harvested, but definitely not enough to support the population. More crops than expected seem to have been lost to the northern cold.

What This Means: Spies from the Qeodharian Special Force have been instructed to do some sabotage on Floating Ar. When possible, they have destroyed crops and make it appear as if the cold was responsible. Baron Norlan is quite worried at the presence of Floating Ar near to his kingdom. By keeping Ar dependent on Qeodharian food imports and advises on how to properly grow crops in the north, he hopes to gain a hold over the kingdom - in addition to money influx, that is.

What The PCs Can Do: The PCs might expose the Qeodharian treachery, especially if they have an interest in the Yanniveys (e.g. if they possess some lands on which they want to grow crops). Since the Arians can't imagine it is a sabotage, they don't hire investigators, so the PCs must take the initiative or stumble upon saboteurs by chance. They can also be approached by Qeodharians to perform the sabotages.

YARTHMONT 12, AC 1015: Goblinoids Defeated.
Location: Darokin City, Darokin. OW

Description: The First Army of Darokin City finally defeats the goblins attacking their city. Although they are victorious in destroying the horde, a large number of goblinoids still survive. Most have retreated into the surrounding countryside, while a few actually made it into the sewers of Darokin City. (See Ya. 1, Ya. 10; Ya. 18, Kl. 1.)

What This Means: Deimos's - and hence Synn's - plan of causing chaos in Darokin has been brought to a halt. Although there are still plenty of goblinoids throughout the land to cause trouble, there are far too few to proceed along the lines Deimos had planned.
All except for two of the shadow elf leaders return to Sable Tower. One remains in Darokin's sewers, while the other in Corunglain's. The two that remain do their best to lead the goblinoids that are left in the area.


Third Week in Review

YARTHMONT 15, AC 1015 : Joint Polar Expedition Sets Sail.
Location: Mirros, Karameikos. KW

Description: The Joint Polar Expedition leaves Karameikos for the Hollow World on board of the Concordia. The skyship's departure is the occasion of rejoicing in the streets of Mirros, as King Stefan issued a day of celebration. (See Th. 15; Kl. 2, Fy. 9.)

What This Means: This is a joint expedition from Karameikos and the NACE to the Hollow World and especially to Alphatia. The captain of the ship and leader of the expedition is Nikolai Delarius, the young man of mixed Thyatian and Traladaran descent who was the leader of last year's Karameikan Polar Expedition; some of his comrades have joined the new expedition team as well. Claransa the Seer, who is longing for adventure and journals to write, also joins as Counselor Exceptional. A Karameikan diplomat, who is willing to stay for a long time in the Hollow World, is sent along to act as Karameikos's ambassador to Alphatia and address any other event there on his king's behalf.
Unknown to all but Baron Norlan, a Qeodharian spy has managed to pose as an Alphatian sailor; his mission is to learn all he can about the Hollow World as well as wreaking as much havoc as possible. For now, the Concordia is bound to Ionace where she will pick up a diplomat from the NACE.

YARTHMONT 15, AC 1015: Looking For Allies.
Location: Topolodzhik, City State of Zagora. SC

Description: Stephan Karvich, the exiled regent of Nova Svoga, secretly meets with envoys of Margrave Munte III of Zagora in the village of Topolodzhik. Stephan Karvich is looking for allies in order to take back Nova Svoga from the Huleans. (See Ka. 21)

What This Means: Last year Stephan Karvich found unexpected allies in the Dark Fang orcs led by Thurgg, the orc who worships Gareth, but he knows that he needs more (and better equipped) warriors to wrestle Nova Svoga back from the Master's grasp. Zagora's warriors are an obvious choice, since they're renowned for their bravery. Moreover both Karvich and Munte III know that Zagora will be the next target of Hule.

ARTHMONT 18, AC 1015: Ragnar the Pirate?
Location: Ostland. OW

Description: Ostman forces, which have been steadily losing the war with the ruling Cnute clan, are joined today by a fleet of Soderfjord ships, led by King Ragnar the Stout. The tide has turned once more, and it looks like the civil war in Ostland will last a while longer. (See Th. 15, Fl. 7; Am. 6, Am. 10.)

What This Means: Ragnar has long promised the Ostman clans that he would aid them when they decided to rebel... at least, according to his timetable. Riding high on his successes against goblinoids last year, and ever eager to get on the good side of a possible ally - provided the Ostman clans win - he has come to their aid. Additionally, as the King of Soderfjord, he is able to field a much larger force than he would have in years previous.

YARTHMONT 18, AC 1015: Undead Change Sides.
Location: Boldavia, Glantri. OW

Description: The horde of undead that was attacking the Ethengarians advances upon a Glantrian encampment. They rout the surprised units - comprised mainly of Averoignans and Boldavians - who expected them to continue on after the Ethengarians. (See Fl. 23, Ya. 4; Ya. 20.)

What This Means: As the Glantrians feared, the undead seem to indeed be controlled by some third party. Their units must now defend themselves against the Ethengarians and the undead. Unfortunately for them, the Glantrians have as few clerics as the Ethengarians do.
The battle has now turned into a three way war Glantrians- Ethengarians-Undead. This once again give the Ethengarians and even footing against the Glantrians.

YARTHMONT 18, AC 1015: Darokin's Bounty Hunting.
Location: Darokin City, Darokin. OW

Description: Chancellor Corwyn Mauntea, leader of the Republic of Darokin, announces a bounty on the head of any goblinoid slain within the Heartlands of Darokin. (See Ya. 10, Ya. 12; Kl. 1.)

What This Means: Despite having defeated the horde, the goblinoids are still a problem. Darokin City as well as Corunglain still have goblins living within their sewers who continuously raid and plunder every night. Mauntea wishes to solve the problem as quickly as possible, and that means hiring adventurers to clear the sewers.
The adventurers should eventually discover the shadow elf leading the goblinoids, and from him learn about Sable Tower and Deimos (although not necessarily the fact that he's a lich). Mauntea will then fund a party to go to Sable Tower and destroy this Deimos who is in charge of the goblins.

What The PCs Can Do: They can be the ones who discover the shadow elf, learn about Deimos, and then are hired to travel to the Broken Lands to find Sable Tower. The exact location of Sable Tower is up to the individual DM, although it should be somewhere in the western Broken Lands.

The storyline of the arcade game - "D&D: Tower of Doom" - goes something like this: The PCs, while visiting Athenos for one reason or another, are attacked by a minor horde of goblinoids that left the main group attacking Darokin City. They then go to Darokin City just in time for Chancellor Corwyn Mauntea to hire them. They proceed to clear the sewers and learn that the problem comes from the Broken Lands. They proceed to Corunglain (on the way to the Broken Lands), clear the sewers there and defeat the Shadow Elf, learning from him about Sable Tower and Deimos. Then it's off to Sable Tower.

YARTHMONT 19, AC 1015: Stampede!
Location: Village of Kandaputra, Jalawar, Sind. OW

Description: The Royal Elephant Grounds of Kandaputra are overrun by the forces of Hool's Great Migration today. The Himayas and their troops that guard the region fight hard to fend off the goblinoids, but there are too many of them. The village is devastated, pens are opened, and elephants run amok. It will take weeks to track down and recapture all the elephants, and to repair the damage done by the goblinoids. (See Th. 26, Fl. 3; Kl. 2. Kl. 6.)

What This Means: The Great Migration has struck westwards once more. This is but the first of many raids they will wage against inhabitants of Jalawar over the coming weeks. The sparsely inhabited grasslands make an ideal raiding area for the goblinoids, as an organized defense is very difficult to come up with.
Hool is also pleased with the new mounts for his army, for they have managed to capture a number of the Sindhi elephants, which will be used to devastating effect as mounts and bases for goblinoid war machines.

YARTHMONT 20, AC 1015: Council of Princes Meets.
Location: Glantri City, Glantri. OW

Description: The Council of Princes holds a secret meeting in which they demand that Prince Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany explain why he turned his undead against the Glantrian forces. The other princes inform him that they are very aware that he controls them, despite the vampire prince's attempt to hide that knowledge.

Prince Morphail informs them that he did, at first, control the undead thanks to his necromantic magic. Now, however, they seem to have broken free and are acting completely independent. After all, why would he have them attack his own forces?

Jaggar immediately assumes that the Ethengarian shamans must have created a new spell to break the mage's link over the undead. Morphail claims it is possible, although unlikely. He believes only a very powerful wizard could have pulled it off, not a lowly shaman.

Although no one outright accuses anyone, both Jaggar and Malachie stare toward Dolores. She simply smiles and shrugs. (See Ya. 4, Ya. 18; Kl. 11, Kl. 19.)

What This Means: As typical to Glantrian life, this is a plot within a plot within a plot. First of all, Prince Morphail is still in complete control of the undead. He had them attack his own troops just to place suspicions on someone else.

The idea came to him from Dolores Hillsbury. She tried to convince the Prince to pull back his undead legions, allowing the Ethengarians to pass and enter Glantri. Her reasoning behind this was that the next principality to fall would be Klantyre - the domain of Morphail's rival, Brannart. Once Brannart's land was destroyed, Dolores would bring her secret forces to stop the Ethengarians from advancing, and Morphail could bring his undead from behind to trap them. They could kill off the Ethengarians once and for all. Of course, Dolores has no secret forces. Synn simply wants more chaos to enter the land of Glantri.

Still, Morphail knew that if he pulled back his minions, the other princes would know he was letting the enemy in. Having shown how brilliant a tactician he was during the war with Alphatia, there is no way the Council would believe the Ethengarians outsmarted him and got into Glantri. So he devised another mean; he "lost" control of his forces.

Now Morphail hopes the Ethengarians will run rampant into Klantyre, causing Brannart more headaches than he can handle. Of course, the Prince of Boldavia has already evacuated most of his treasure and people into the Wendarian ranges where he believes they will be safe from the horde. He therefore has nothing to lose himself in his own Principality.

Next came the final blow. Morphail hinted that a powerful mage must have taken control of the undead. This was to cause dissension among the Council of Princes. And it worked. Both Malachie and Jaggar firmly believe that Dolores is behind it somehow, causing them to concentrate more spying activity to stop and defy her. Morphail has known about their desire to bring her down and was counting on their reaction. Morphail has always viewed Dolores as a potential rival should her power grow, so if he can discredit her more, all the better.

Dolores is smiling simply because she realizes the excellent maneuver Morphail has just made. She can't believe she's been outsmarted. Any claims she makes about Morphail will simply leak loose the information of how she wanted the Ethengarians to break into Glantri, placing her in even more trouble. She's beaten, and knows it. The end result causes chaos none the less, so she's still happy about it regardless. Her revenge on Morphail can wait until later.

YARTHMONT 20, AC 1015: Tiger Clan Surrenders.
Location: Atruaghin Territories. OW

Description: King Naravipa Dagger Tooth officially surrenders to joint Darokin/Atruaghin forces today, rather than continue the bloodshed. Over the next few days, he will sit down with representatives of the other Atruaghin Clans and the DDC to negotiate peace treaties between the nations. Then he and his people can set about attempting to recover after long months of fighting. (See Fl. 3, Fl. 12.)

What This Means: The Tiger Clan situation has been hopeless for a while now, but the priesthood of Atzanteotl continued to drive the people to fight. Finally, the king decided he had enough, and overruled the priesthood in favor of his people. This will undoubtedly have severe consequences, possibly resulting in civil war among the Tiger Clan, but Naravipa feels it was necessary. This is a major loss for his people, but a major gain for the rest of the Children of Atruaghin and Darokin.

On another level, a rift has been caused between the Immortals Atzanteotl and his disciple Danel Tigerstripes. Danel finally sees Atzanteotl for the callous, uncaring Immortal he is, and will take measures to protect his people from him.


Fourth Week in Review

YARTHMONT 22, AC 1015: Back to Safety.
Location: Forest of the Curse, Wendar. OW

Description: The explorers who survived the trek back home arrive today in the Forest of the Cursed and inform the clanleaders of the situation in the Forest of Geffron. A meeting is immediately called upon by the Alfheimers, who state the problem to the Wendarians as well. (See Th. 13, Fl. 19; Ya. 27, Kl. 2.)

What This Means: The survivors of the expedition have come back swiftly thanks to the improvement of the weather conditions (it's now late spring) and to the unknown "help" of the Shadowlord, who has ordered his troops to let them pass. They have reported their discoveries to the Clanmasters, who are obviously horrified and worried about the facts. Their primary concern will now be the rescue of the elven prisoners and they have called upon a state meeting to ask for the help of the Wendarians.

YARTHMONT 27, AC 1015: State Meeting in Wendar City.
Location: Wendar City, Wendar. OW

Description: The State Meeting is held in Wendar City, with every major clan and townleader (humans included) participating. After the explorers have exposed the facts, the Wendarian elven and human leaders express their disgust and concern about the Shadowlord's actions, but they don't want to take any measures against Denagoth out of fear of another bloody war.
The Alfheimers are astounded by this show of egoism and cowardice of the Wendarian folk, and publicly decide to take the matter into their own hands. (See Th. 9, Fl. 19, Ya. 22; Kl. 2, Kl. 10, Fe. 18.)

What This Means: Genalleth elves suspected about the fate of their brethren, but never took any direct action against the Denagothians so as not to risk another bloody war with that ruthless fellow. As for the Wendarian humans, they don't think it's worth the risk to help a bunch of foreign elves against a powerful opponent such as the Shadowlord. All in all, the Wendarians are now too scared or too concerned about their inner racial problems to support any action in a foreign country, especially if it comes from the Alfheimers and is directed against Denagoth. Once again, the Church of Idris's policy is dividing the Wendarians, so the Alfheimers have decided to solve the problem by themselves.


TOPIC OF THE MONTH:
THE GOBLINOIDS' EFFECTS ON DAROKIN'S ECONOMY

By Greenleaf Vickers, head of Umbarth House

Alas, it seems that Umbarth House might finally fall from its position as one of the wealthiest merchant house of Darokin. We took a hard blow last decade, as did most houses, during the invasion by Hule. Yet, the other houses soon recovered, while we lost are lucrative business with the exiled elves of Alfheim. The loss was significant, but not enough to ruin the House of Umbarth.

But now the shadow elves, may Asterius curse them, have taken over much of the Broken Lands and prevent our merchants from reaching our other main markets, notably those of Ethengar and Glantri. To make matters worse, those that do get through hardly find any market since those two very nations are now at war with one another.

Our only recourse was to concentrate on our local trade along the Streel Valley. What other choice was there, when most of markets of other nations are firmly under control by the other great houses? We might have been able to survive with this, especially if I pulled in favors that many a merchants owes my or Umbarth House, but alas, it was not the end of our problems.

Goblinoids have somehow managed to enter our land and now rampage and pillage across the Streel Plains. Agricultural lands are destroyed, villages in which we trade in were burned down, and many of my caravans were also taken. Have I do something do offend you, oh great Asterius? Surely I must have for you to destroy Umbarth House so quickly.

Sadly, Umbarth House is not the only house to suffer by this. All of Darokin is being negatively affected. Many of the small house that thrive with their trade between Corunglain and Darokin city will probably be financially ruined before the goblinoids are dealt with. Toney House has lost its major farms in the area, destroying their profitable agricultural deals they had. Pennydown House is also suffering with its loss trade to Corunglain, although shipments to Selenica still get through.

Corun House has probably suffered the most. With their base in the city of Corunglain, most of their shipments must have been cut off. Many of their businesses in that town will suffer greatly if goods don't arrive soon. And just think of all the money they placed into the Great Darokin Wall just to learn that the goblinoids can still get through. Admittedly, the government did finance a large part of it, but Corun House was responsible for almost all of the non-government payments for its construction. I believe Corun House will probably fall to fifth or six richest house by the next Great Reckoning.

Even when this is all over, there will be many repercussions to deal with. All the farms and village will have to be rebuilt. Worse, Darokin will probably have to import food so that there will be enough for the winter. I expect the price of food to increase again, a burden most families cannot deal with anymore. This is just one more major setback for Darokin's recovery ever since Hule invaded our land.