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VATHIROND -- A horde of ghouls attacked the village of Janwell and killed scores of villagers. Augmenting the marauders' strength were numerous magical conflagrations known as living spells.
The attack began at dusk and continued throughout the night. By morning, the village had fallen, and most of its people lay dead. At first light, however, the marauders slipped back into the Dead-Gray Mists on the border of the Mournland.
Among the slain were local lord Orina ir'Ghalaro and the staff of a chapel devoted to the Church of the Silver Flame. Most of the survivors were villagers who had taken shelter in a forest to the west at the first sign of trouble.
The marauders included a massive construct known as a cadaver collector. The name seems to be something of a misnomer, however, since the construct doesn't limit its harvest to corpses.
Rhennek ir'Tallon, the region's representative to Breland's Parliament, offered condolences to the families of the slain and promised that their deaths would be avenged. "I visited Janwell just last year for the apple harvest festival," ir'Tallon said, "and never have I seen a more pleasant hamlet. All our hearts go out to the families of those who lost their lives in this senseless attack."
But ir'Tallon did not stop with mere sympathy. He indicated that within the week he would bring a plan before Parliament to put more soldiers on Breland's border with the Mournland.
Periodic incursions from the Mournland are a fact of life in far eastern Breland, but survivors indicated that this attack was another matter entirely. "Once or twice a month, some nasty beast comes out of the mists -- a carcass crab or some other horrible creature," said guard captain Aorolo Roklins. "But this attack was far beyond the norm. The marauders were organized and completely ruthless. However, they didn't loot any valuables, and property damage was minor."
About the Author
David Noonan is a designer/developer for Wizards of the Coast. Before coming to Wizards, he was a daily newspaper reporter in Washington state. Apparently the city hall beat is good practice for an Eberron campaign.
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