The Town of Lorinorea
No Map Known to Exist
(The following document was copied from the Royal Library
of Evendarr April 603 E.R.)
At first, the reports that the lands beyond the parting
rivers held great promise were dismissed. Evendarr had many more pressing issues
to deal with at the time, but the rumors still spread. As time passed many
would-be pioneers set out to these lands to make homes away form the more
populated areas of the kingdom. Word began to come back of a baron land with
little native life, but still more and more small families found their way to
those lands near the northern river. This river was referred to as Lalusmore by
the few barbarians of the area. These barbarians seemed to follow the spirit of
the shadow wolf and had little respect for the settlers. Some Goblinoids and
undead began to plague the farmers but still they remained.
In the fall of 597 all contact with the settlers stopped. Months would past
before a few survivors made their way back into Evendarrian lands. They told
stories of how the land started growing rapidly. The crops began to become more
and more prosperous when suddenly the Goblinoids, which had been attacking
randomly in small numbers, began to come together in formations and attacking
with stunning force and precision. They continued saying that some of the
families had pulled together and tried to flee up the river bed but a group of
Orcs had caught them in a valley near the eastern cross of Lalusmore. The Orcs
killed everyone but these three. They seemed to be following the commands of a
half-Orc who kept screaming that the humans brought the darkness.
A small group was sent to investigate these claims but was forced to return due
to the early winter conditions. With the increasing wars in the north the
military force of Evendarr did not have the free men to send to an area outside
Evendarrian borders to find some lost settlers. Many family members of the
settlers lost began to speak out against the lack of action for the death of
this people.
In the spring of 599 a small military force lead by a low ranking kingdom knight
named Joseph DeLaney set out to investigate the matter. By the fall Sir Joseph
and his men had established two bases near the northern river and begun scouting
the area. Joseph's initial finding was that the land was baron and with very
little life. Slow reports of small goblin tribes, some minor undead in random
force, and a few native races began to surface. By the first signs of winter the
scouts had discovered the remains of most of the farms. Some of the building
appeared to have been converted into barracks with small straw beds and rudely
formed dinning areas. This barracks seemed to have been deserted for sometime.
The winter was very harsh. At first the men found that the food they had brought
was rotting strangely quickly. Soon after that some of the men began to speak of
nightmares that were so real that some of them began to fear sleeping. The
winter was only endured because of a deal that Joseph made with the chef of the
shadow wolf barbarian tribe. Joseph and his men received food and the shamans of
the tribe helped stop some of the nightmares in exchange for weapons and some
earth spells that the tribe didn't posses. By the end of the winter many men had
died or disappeared.
As spring broke Joseph began to report strange actives from the west. He stated
that the darkness of winter seemed to hang over everything. Some troops were
rotated out but Joseph's main force remained. Toward the end of that spring the
Goblinoids started becoming more and more aggressive. Orc raiding parties were
seen attacking supply lines and scouting parties. Undead were becoming more
prominent and some of the men began reporting that they had seen their fallen
comrades as part of the walking dead.
Over the next couple of months, the Orc attacks slowed and the undead seemed to
retreat away. The scouts were pushed farther into the wilderness and Sir Joseph
was preparing for his final report. He was amazed at the fact that the land
seemed to become more prosperous as the time pasted.
On the eve of their planned departure, the western base was attacked and
destroyed by a Goblinoid force. The force, which was made up mainly of goblins
and hobgoblins, seemed to be attacking with frightening intelligence. A couple
of the very few survivors told stories of a small band of Orcs that arrived
toward the end of the attack fighting against the goblins. The Orcs were lead by
a half-Orc that seemed set on killing, what appeared to be, the dark goblin that
was leading the Goblinoids.
Sir Joseph's orders to leave the lands were resented. He was commanded to
investigate this Goblinoids and determine their origins. Over the next two years
Joseph's forces were severely beaten and pushed back to the lands of the
northern river. By the end of the fall of 601 undead and Goblinoids plagued the
area. Then on a misty October morning Joseph was attacked by a shadow creature
and many of the men that try to stop it were killed. A few of the soldiers told
stories later that a half-Orc had entered the encampment during the commotion
and used it to attack Joseph as well. Joseph became ill due to the strange
wounds he had suffered. He ordered his forces to retreat the next week and then
die at his home outside of Ravenholt on April 19, 602.
Just before his death Sir Joseph petitioned to have permission to knight his
daughter and allow her to take his place trying to claim the lands that he had
fail to. His dying wish was grated and Kayin DeLaney was knighted on the same
day he died. She was ordered to continue to settle the land between the rivers
south west of Evendarr, and she was promoted to the rank of Baroness due to her
fathers efforts. As her small group of scouts and military personnel arrived at
the site of the first base camp she reported a rich and fertile land with no
sign of hostile creatures. Fearing a repeat of her father's experiences she
began to request more personal from Evendarr to secure the area. Evendarr
declined her request, so she began to offer limited taxation of farms and homes
to would be adventures or seasoned adventures. She also sent out word to many
retired military personnel asking for help in settling these lands. Some have
responded but she expects most to simply arrive.
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