You can’t go far outside of Cropsford without seeing a goblin or two hiding amongst the trees, or skulking in the hillsides, just waiting upon an opportunity to pillage the storehouse or any harvest left unguarded in the fields. The leaders of the town fear that the many small tribes will one day band together and attack Cropsford in number. So certain are they of this inevitable attack that they have taken to hiding some of their books and tomes by a waterfall just outside of the town lest the goblins destroy them in a raid, as they have heard stories of town’s entire libraries being striped for kindling.

They say that members of the largest tribe, the Bloody Hand, have been spotted lurking on the outskirts, watching the villagers. They ask me to ‘deal’ with one of the skirmishers, to dissuade any imprudent endeavours the goblins might be planning. Yet not all see the goblins as an impending menace. A reclusive chef from Daggerfall for instance has taken to feeding one, and almost adopting it as a tamed pet. Although he does not see it that way, claiming they are misunderstood and when treated kindly, can be friendly, and loving… which sounds much like a tamed pet. In much the same way however, the town leaders themselves think they can fend off future attacks by the goblins by simply allowing them to raid their warehouse occasionally. It makes about as much sense to me as a shepherd allowing a wolf pack the odd sheep from his flock every now and again to abate their appetite.

But even so, the leaders still understand that pests need to be culled in order to keep them under control, so I am sent into nearby Timberscar Hollow to kill a goblin leader. Unfortunately when I return I learn that the Bloody Hand goblins have again raided the storehouse, but this time they took the seeds upon which next year’s crops depend; without them, the town will possibly starve. Whilst several townsfolk chased the goblins back to their lair in Cracked Wood Cave, none have returned. So it is for me to retrieve the seeds, and rather then treating them as misbehaving pets, I shall hunt them down like the wild beasts they are.

S.K