To the Council of Grognards,
This is a summary of our exploration to the southwest and northwest of the tower between the dark tributary and the middle tributary of the Black River.
The following Guild Journeymen participated in this scouting/mapping mission: Chillax, Manawa, Darragh, Hetch A’Khan, Amabel, and Wenzan.
We set out the 24th of Frostmarch from the tower and explored a day to the southwest of the tower. This area is just north of the dark tributary of the Black River. We journeyed northward exploring the next morning. This are is changed from plains to forest and then quickly to a dense forest. Other than reduced speed of travel and exploration, no issues were encountered during the 25th of Frostmarch.
The next day while exploring the dense forested area, we were attacked by a large bird creature with a large beak that resembled an axe head. The plumage of the approximately 8-foot tall creature was mostly a dull brown with a white chest area. This coloration helped the creature blend in with the wooded surroundings. After defeating the large bird, we determined the bird was quite tasty. We were attacked by a dozen Goblins (we sent a sketch during the last summary) during the night of the 26th of Frostmarch. We slew six and the remaining goblins scattered in the woods. These creatures did not ride wolves like the last Goblins we encountered. However, they were quite adept with movement through the forest and undergrowth.
The morning of the 27th we set out to track the Goblins and continue exploring. We spent the entire day exploring and tracking the Goblins. We discovered a large black stone obelisk. It appeared to be made of two pieces of granite. The base or pedestal and the main part of the obelisk appeared to be two different pieces. It stood between 15 and 20-feet tall. The granite was smooth to the touch. The black color of the granite contained red specks of color over the entire area.
During the 28th of Frostmarch, we came upon the city home of these Goblins. The Goblins had settled in an area adjacent to the middle tributary of the Black River. We have determined that this are is approximately two days via canoe upstream (one day downstream) travel to where the three tributaries form the Black River. The forest floor was mostly flat during our travels from the 25th through the 27th of Frostmarch. Just before we discovered the Goblin settlement, the terrain started to go uphill. Once we crested the hill, we were above the canopy and noticed rolling hills to the north. On the side of one of the hills right next to the river were three Ziggurat type pyramids. Surrounding the pyramids were huts. We were able to communicate with the tribal leaders and formed a peaceful resolution to their attack against us in the evening. This tribe refers to themselves as the River Tribe. They acknowledged that other tribes were not as peaceful. They told us where to find the Wolf Tribe. We feasted with the Goblins. The River Tribe is over 100 Goblins strong. They paid us for their attack against us.
We have agreed to help them defeat the Wolf Tribe in exchange for more coins. We also agreed to set up and trade with them as well.
During our feast with the Chief, he talked of the Hinalu who they call the ancient ones. Evidently, these are celestial beings who occasionally return and trade with the River Goblins. The Hinalu are the ones who taught the River Goblins to speak the Common Tongue.
We set out to return to the tower the morning of the 29th reaching the tower late the next day (30th of Frostmarch). It took a while to be able to ford the middle tributary.
Journeymen Chillax, Manawa, Darragh, Hetch A’Khan, and Amabel each received a total of 15 Gold, 182 Silver, 353 Copper and a small trinket or statuette valued at 25 Gold. Wenzan received 15 Gold, 182 Silver, 352 Copper, and a small ring instead of a statuette.
Here ends the summary of our most recent exploration.
Wenzan Treeblitz