Ember Wind: Online

Foggy Secrets

As the end of the warm autumnal season came to pass, the users of the Uskor region began their preparations for the second most favorite holiday of the year: Halloween. Most MMOs put on some event, usually a highly ranked boss raid along with some themed quests and decor changes. However, in the northern snows of Uskor, Halloween was known as the Goblin party. Every aspect was dedicated to the goblins.

Rothguard waited patiently at the large dining table. His luxury chair was seated at the head of the table. Creoft, Dailin, Tangurple, and Falcher made their way into the dining hall, escorted by some of Rothguard's servants. Each of them given a chair on either side of the table. Seconds later, the kitchen servants emerged from a hidden corridor behind one of the bulky tapestries carrying silver platters loaded with food. The food was set on the table along with the placemats, silverware, and plates. The Kitchen servants then stepped back and waited for further orders. Rothguard nodded and motioned their dismissal.

"What brings us together today?" Creoft asked.

"As you know, the month of Octural is coming to a close, marking the end of the harvest season. On the last day of the month, we celebrate an event called the Goblin Party." King Rothguard replied. "The details of it are simple and straightforward. Upon that night, the people of the land are to disguise their homes as goblin huts, them as goblins and the like."

"What for?"

"Some centuries ago, before the recent events imposed upon us by Boudal, the cities were united under one banner, the Akorian Empire. Like today, the people of the Akorian Empire faced a goblin threat. Some scholar got the idea that to prevent goblin raids against the wealthier cities, the people need to disguise themselves and their town as a goblin settlement."

"The Goblins would fall for this?" Falcher scratched his head at the real level of goblin intelligence.

"Always. There were many times when this city faced a goblin threat in the past years and it always warded them off. Goblins don't fight other goblins because they seem to be afraid of what the other can do. That's what Talren believed anyways."

"I take it Talren was the scholar who proposed the idea in the first place?"

"Indeed. He was a cultural researcher, naturally, he got curious about the goblin culture, thank the gods for small things. However, in recent years the goblins from the south, skull biters as we've translated, have become a bit bolder. Last year they attacked the city and although we fended them off, we're concerned about what's going on down there."

"What do you need of us then?" Dailin leaned back in her chair, taking a bite of the lamb leg.

"According to my scouts, they have a new warlord. Bigger, Badder, bolder than the last twenty. Supposedly it stands six feet tall, like the average gnoll. On top of that, this warlord seems to have magical abilities. Through the use of totems and shamans, he's been able to manipulate the southern clan to do his bidding. He has also been raising an army. An army of six centuries of goblin bones."

"A goblin raising the dead?" Creoft laughed. "You're joking, right? I thought Goblins were designed to be the epitome of mental retardation?"