A small, pathetic Empire patrol, equipped with shoddy uniforms and shoddy weapons, approaches you. They tell you they're looking for a band of Empire army deserters who've been robbing caravans in this area. They look very relieved that you aren't them.
You leave the campsite, still confused by the lack of guards. You soon find out where the guards were, unfortunately ... they were out looking for the bulk of the bandit force. You soon see them, getting back to their cache as fast as they can.
You decline his offer. He smiles. "Oh, well. Always a market for my wares in troubled times." He gives you some more tea and then bids you farewell.
The renegade soldiers are all dead. You've just made life a lot easier for the people living in these parts. Unfortunately, all the loot they owned was already back at their camp.
The glowing shape suddenly glows, turns red, and splits into several shapes. They coalesce into solid, fiery humanoid beings, each nine feet tall. One of them barks "At last! Our masters have had enough of you. Prepare to die!" They attack.
The sight of this desolate, blasted valley sends chills up your spines. It's dark and lifeless, filled with bones, and reeks of sulphur. There are also many lizard scales, some of them as much as a foot wide. You feel like you're being watched.
The bones are mostly, but not all, of animals. There's also humanoid bones, and the remains of some large beasts with 6 legs you're not sure you recognize.
You charge the encampment. They see you, and react instantly. Several of them pull out rough clubs and try to delay you. The rest of them flee into the hills. You butcher the fighters easily, but they achieve their mission. Their women and young get away.
You search their encampment. You find a tiny amount of food, little in the way of weapons, and no possessions. Whatever or whoever this clan was, they were poor and almost totally defenseless. Having nothing else to do, you leave.
You back away from the Nephilim encampment, unsure what to do about them.
The shade doesn't coalesce all the way, remaining a vague, glowing, insubstantial humanoid shape. It says "Exile's struggle continues. You have been seen. They search for me, too. I can help you little now."
"The enemy is near, and their hatred is great. More monsters are being prepared. The attack on Valorim is only the beginning. The vengeance will continue. They must be stopped. Please, for us all, fight on. I must go. It is unsafe." The shade disappears.
A shadow flits across the ground towards you. You look up to see what casts it, and gasp. It's a massive lizard, eighty feet from head to tip at least. It circles over you, looking down at you, and then flies east over the mountains. It's gone.
A platoon of Empire soldiers, nervous and alert, comes near you. They don't approach or say anything. They only look you over and move off quickly. Their weapons were drawn and bows were nocked. Whatever they're looking for, they're very nervous about it.
You come across the ruins of a small farming community. A half dozen farms were clumped together here. Something destroyed them, however, the overgrowth indicates it happened at least six months ago.
The terrifying thing is the huge force that was exerted on the sturdy stone buildings. They were smashed apart, as if someone had attacked each one with a battering ram. However, the stone shows claw marks - the buildings were torn apart by huge animals.
The efreeti and their salamander pets lie dead before you. Alas, you find nothing to help you figure out where they came from or who sent them.
You walk away quickly. When you look back, you see that the shade has faded away.
She slowly unzips her skin tight leather jumpsuit. "Oh boy", you think.
You encounter a band of Empire army deserters, hiking west to escape the carnage to the east. They seem to feel you're an easy target for a quick robbery.
The bit of land encircled by the river to the east was an Empire army outpost. The wall to the west and the river to the east made it a perfect place to keep soldiers safe and fed when the army wasn't out marching.
The outpost has been destroyed. Some creatures actually clawed their way through the thick stone walls, and the settlement was devastated. This happened some time ago ... you only find broken weapons and crumbled buildings, all starting to be overgrown.
You find the site of a small battle between humans and golems. Unusually, the humans seem to have won, and won decisively. You find the broken down remnants of thirty golems, and no dead humans.
Carved on the torsos of one of the destroyed stone creatures is a simple message: "Baziron Was Here."
A small band golems, faceless, powerful, tireless, and implacable, reaches you. They attack fearlessly.
You meet a patrol of Empire soldiers. Unusually, they seem cleaned up, well equipped, and entirely professional. They tell you they're operating out of Tevrono under General Baziron, and to watch out for golems. Then they leave.
This valley is deathly silent and devoid of life, and the dirt and stones are covered with a thin layer of slime. These signs, together, are generally indicative of a highly unwelcoming place.
You leave the gold and turn back. As you walk away, you hear the eye beast's eerie keening laughter behind you.
When the eye beasts see that no payment is coming, they react with instant and mind shattering violence ...
You walk straight into a golem ambush. They move rapidly and mechanically from the woods.
You return to the concealed settlement of soldiers. Grateful for your delivering of their message, they welcome you in for coffee and military-type camaraderie. They also heal your wounds before you depart.
They are clearly angered and offended by your refusal to help them. Your visit doesn't last long after that. They roughly blindfold you and march you off into the woods. When you can remove the blindfolds, you find you're alone.
A patrol of Empire soldiers, marching close together with weapons at the ready, comes near you. When they see you aren't golems, however, you cease to be interesting to them. They march off without a word.
The forest suddenly grows very silent. Slowly, a group of faceless gleaming statues comes into view, approaching you. They look you over carefully, seemingly analyzing you and estimating your strength. Then their programming tells them to attack you.
When you move towards their line, the golems do not hesitate in attacking.
You join the soldiers for what looks like a cakewalk of a battle. However, when golems start crawling over the railings of the bridge, it becomes clear that the creatures have set an ambush. The intense battle begins.
The soldiers thank you profusely for saving their bacon. They tell you they're led by General Baziron, in Tevrono, the only general to have success leading soldiers against the golems. They tell you to be sure to go up and meet him. Then they head north.
The Empire army had a small fort here. It didn't last long in the face of golem fireball barrages. There isn't much left.
You find the chopped up remains of a dozen Fire Golems. The lack of charring in the surrounding vegetation indicates that they were destroyed before they were even able to shoot flames back. One of them has 'Baziron' carved into the once featureless face.
They give you a small sealed scroll. Their captain says "We know you're Exiles, but all we've heard tells us you can be trusted. Don't let us down. General Baziron needs to get this!" They blindfold you again, and take you back to where they found you.
You encounter the soldier's concealed camp. However, their memories of your refusing to help them are still fresh. The brush you off and disappear into the woods.
You meet a patrol of Empire soldiers. They're clearly on edge, and clearly searching very carefully for something. They ask you if you've seen signs of 'the beasts' nearby. When they hear you haven't, they move on, relieved.
There was a massive battle here, you would guess about a year ago. Bits of broken metal and bone are everywhere, and the ground is still lightly stained with blood. The scars of fireballs are everywhere.
You find several skeletons. They were large, six legged creatures. The number of these you find is very small, compared to the size of the battlefield. It can't have gone very well for the humans.
Twenty heavily armored guards are watching the bridge. They ask you if you've seen signs of 'the beasts' nearby. When they hear you haven't, they motion for you to move on, relieved.
From a hill here, you are able to get a good view of the massive wall surrounding Footracer Province. It glows slightly, a sign of the powerful spells placed on it to keep the alien beasts imprisoned inside.
Nearby, you find several human skeletons, and some scraps of the mage's robes they were wearing when they died. The alien beasts caught them and literally ripped them limb from limb. The enchanting of the wall was clearly not done without great cost.
This large bridge is poorly maintained, and is starting to be overgrown with ivy and moss. Although this is clearly a major route, people must be going out of their way to stay away from here.
