Re: Scales of War
Mittens facepalms and headshakes. "Change. Of. Topic. SO! To get you newcomers up to speed on what we've encountered so far..."
She begins to recount the adventure so far in detail, focusing on combat, but of course she mentions a little bit about the history behind the Red Hand.
Summary:
Sinruth is a hobgoblin with greater aspirations than
a life spent preying on the fringes of civilization. He
listened closely at the campfires when his fathers
and uncles told tales of the Red Hand of Doom, a
mighty army that ran across the land like a scythe.
And when he became an adult and a leader of his
own band of hobgoblins, he found a cache of tunics
and weapons left behind by that army. Sinruth felt
his destiny calling. He declared himself the new
Warlord of Sinruth’s Hand (as he named the group),
emblazoned every possible surface with a crudely
painted, downward thrusting red hand insignia, and
set about recruiting the massive army that he felt was
his birthright.
But starting an army isn’t as easy as those campfire
tales led Sinruth to believe. Years passed with
Sinruth’s band eking out a meager existence in the
wilderness. But slowly, he started to gain allies. A
temporary bargain with some sinister, mischievous
gnomes blossomed into a lasting friendship. The Red
Hand’s exploration of the mountains unearthed some
undisturbed catacombs beneath the long-ruined
Castle Rivenroar. Sinruth struck another bargain,
and the undead guardians let the Red Hand move
in, in exchange for periodic payment of kidnapped
prisoners.
Sinruth and the reconstituted Red Hand had a
base and a growing reputation, but they were far from
a mighty army. An emissary from another remnant of
the Red Hand offered to join forces under Sinruth’s
banner and more than double Sinruth’s fifty soldiers
under arms. All Sinruth had to do was attack Brindol,
steal some relics from the original Red Hand invasion,
and take enough prisoners to keep the undead
guardians of Rivenroar satisfied.
The new Red Hand did recently, with Sinruth personally
leading the assault on Brindol. The Red Hand
sacked Brindol’s Hall of Great Valor, stealing back
many of the museum pieces on display there. Sinruth
brought back seven prisoners, despite the fact that the
new Red Hand lost half its number in the attack. So
now Sinruth waits in the Rivenroar catacombs for the
emissary to return with reinforcements, and he bides
his time by contemplating the stolen treasures of a
grander age and dreaming of conquests yet to come.
Meanwhile in Brindol, the dead have been buried
and the damage to the town repaired. But seven of the
townsfolk are missing—taken by Sinruth and the Red
Hand. The town council is willing to pay handsomely
for brave adventurers to rescue the prisoners and
recover the antique treasures taken from the Hall of
Great Valor . . . adventurers like those at your table.
Mits, Merv, Rai, May, and Kyle rescued the kidnapped townsfolk. Now Mits Merv and Rai are on their way back to Rivenroar to retake the stolen museum pieces.