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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1237696" data-attributes="member: 6294">Kull's 9th Report - Part 1SaltmarshNinth MoonTo: Bishop-General Kartrak VisehartReport from Kull RedfistSir,I was disappointed to learn that there is currently no acolyte to spare for the position in Torlynn.  It is my belief that the Church would gain much from having a representative there, at the front, with the soldiers of this realm.  They could gain much from Hextor's strength, and the Church would stand to earn many converts.  I am sure you will fill the position as soon as you are able, for the glory of Hextor.The war continues.  All of the north has now fallen.  There was, until recently, a single village still unconquered, but this has now been evacuated, and abandoned to the humanoids.  I speak of this with firsthand knowledge, for I was there to lead the evacuation.Upon my return from Torlynn, I found that Saltmarsh had become home to a number of new refugees from the war.  Amongst these was a dwarf who follows the travel God, Fharlanghn.  This dwarf, one Ulfgar, was unusual in that he had come to Saltmarsh with the intent of heading toward the front, rather than away.  His quarrel with the humanoids is evidently due to their invasion sealing the roads, or some similar nonsense.  So few people here seem to see this struggle for what it really is: a trial of strength.  Either we are stronger, and prevail, or the humanoids are, and we fall.  There is no greater or lesser truth to the war than this.Whatever his motivations, the dwarf is a capable fighter, and I gave him permission to join my force.  There have been occasions when I have had to quash some foolish notion of his, but this has something to which I have grown accustomed to doing, with the wizard.A few days after my return, a large sailing vessel moored off shore of the village.  The ship flew the sun banner of the Church of Pelor, and I thus expected that it had come for the local Priest of that faith.  However, the message brought ashore asked for my presence.  It is not often that the Pelorites seek out the company of those of our faith, and I might have accepted the invitation out of mere curiosity.  However, the message specifically stated that they wished to discuss the progress of the war, and I thus had far better motivation to hear what they had to say.In the end, the matter proved intriguing: though all the lands of the north had been overrun by the humanoids, one village appeared to have avoided capture.  The Pelorites could not understand this, for the village - named Newtemple - had neither a strong militia, nor prepared defences.  They had consulted their god for answers, but had received only obscure answers, and an impression that something was amiss.It quickly emerged that the Pelorites were telling me this because they lacked either the strength or the will - or both - to investigate the matter for themselves.  They hoped that I would handle the matter for them, in exchange for funds to assist in the preparation of Saltmarsh's defences.  I agreed to their request, though not without first ensuring that the payment was more substantial than they had originally intended.  Their weakness has led to this situation: now they must pay for that weakness.With the details agreed, I advised Dargrim, Gnorric and Ulfgar of the expedition.  The wizard made some complaint about needing more time to study, but I overrode his protests.  There will be time enough for him to study once the war is won.The next morning, the Pelorites landed in the village, while I boarded the vessel for the voyage north.  It seems they lack the courage even to come within sight of the war, let alone fight it.The voyage was uneventful, showing the timidity of the Pelorites for the cowardice it is, and three days later the crew of the vessel rowed me ashore to the pier at Newtemple.  It was evident immediately that there was something unusual going on.  Despite the fact that the was had already swept well past this point, the village was as quiet and sleepy - as oblivious, in fact - as Saltmarsh had been, before my arrival.I was met by one of the local Priests of Pelor, a man who introduced himself as Killian, who advised that the head of their Order would see me in the morning.  In the mean time, one of the locals answered my questions about the village's remarkable escape from destruction.  By his account, the county has been mystically protected since the 'Edict of 1312', when all weapons were banned.  Since that time, any evil creatures who enter the county will immediately become sickened and die.At my request, the villager explained the boundaries of the county, noting where humanoid forces were camped just outside the borders.  It was quite evident from the numbers and sizes of the camps that the enemy forces were easily enough to swamp the town.  Of course, without weapons for the defence, it would not have needed much to sack.The local seemed quite proud of the village's lack of preparedness.  His belief was that by relinquishing their every aspect of their safety to the protection of Pelor, the locals have made themselves completely secure.Complete nonsense, all of it.</blockquote>

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