-----“What was the disturbance at the eastern edge?” a cruel sounding voice asked, coming from a rider wearing a large horned helmet.
-----“Bandits from the countryside,” answered a large hobgoblin among the troop.
-----“Were they killed or captured?” the horned rider asked coldly.
-----“No,” the goblinoid replied, “but our soldiers drove them off. They ran to the north fields.”
-----“Then you roust more of your soldiers and set them to watch the northern borders. If any intruders make it into this town, your chief will hear of your failure,” the horned one warned. “Now, you have your orders!”
-----With that, the riders rode toward the eastern end of the village while the hobgoblins grumbled but moved in the direction of the inn.
-----Whisper slipped back further into the shadows and soon was moving along the outskirts of the occupied village. As he moved in a southwestern direction, he could tell that away from the village, torch lights and bonfires were seen about a hundred yards away by the river. Like a moth attracted to a flame, Whisper moved swiftly closing the gap toward what lie there. The land he crossed was mostly flat plain and off to his left, he could see a trail road that ran from the village of Ku running parallel with the river.
-----If Whisper found the scene in Kulendra nightmarish, what he found by the river side was downright hellish. An army of heavily armed orcs kept a watch over dozens of slaves working the river. The slaves, mostly humans, were stripped down to loin cloths and hauled buckets of muck from the river to small stations set up along the length of the river shore. There some of the slaves under the watchful eye of the orcs would place the muck in flat constructs that seemed to sift the river material. Some of the slaves would occasionally fall or get tripped up, only to be mercifully whipped until they regained their footing.
-----The slaves appeared to once be strong and healthy people who now suffer the affects of abuse and neglect. A great sense of hopelessness prevails here although the humanoids appear to enjoy their unholy work.
-----Up from the river bank, many tents are set up, probably housing the orcish army. It is apparent to Whisper that it would be hopeless to try to do anything here.
-----Light have mercy.
-----That thought ran through the Elf's mind as he watched the horror of the river complex. And then, the cold hard reality of Whisper re-asserted itself.
-----Calmly, and silently, Whisper withdrew. It seemed like a hopeless situation. At the first sign of trouble, the barn would go up in flames, at least, if Whisper was commander of Goblinoid army.
-----Another thought struck him. Perhaps he could cause some ... logistical chaos.
-----Using the dark, Whisper made his way back to the village.
-----And then he thought better of it. From what Whisper had learned it would be easier to lay siege and storm the gate of a castle using a frontal assault.
-----Grim, and not a little irked, the Wood Elf made his way back. It was time to try to get back to his companions, and see if he could warn them that the Hobgoblins would send a force out to find them. And then they would have to wait, and see...