darkjungle

The Orcs of the Dark Jungle and their master.

By Bruce A. Heard

For centuries, the humanoids dwelling in the southern region of the Orc's Head peninsula have resisted Nimmmur and Herath' repeated attempt to subjugate them.They owe their success to their ability to adapt to the jungle and sea. Their success also comes from their ancient leader, the dragon Pyre, who has added his knowledge of the northern foes and a ruthless authority without which the orcs would quickly return to their old habits of fighting each other.

The orcs of the land have formed dozens of tribe, with the smaller owing fealty to the larger. The tribes depicted on the map with this article show the boundaries of the five largest tribes only, the lands of the smaller ones being part of the main tribes. Their kings are listed in the following tribal entries; however "royal" succession tends to be frequent ( 1d12 years from the moment PCs have their first interaction with this land).

Dark Jungle orcs have the ability to hide in the forest as a thief can hide in shadows (30% chance, individually or in a group). If the orcs have enough time to set up an ambush, if they use all camouflage usually available to them. and if they remain perffectly motionless, their chances go up to 60%. They do not wear armor, but carry shields and fight mostly with short bows, spears, and stone axes. Except for the Green Slayers, all Dark Jungle orcs know how to maneuver their giant outrigger canoes in high wind conditions or worse, using both sails and paddles. Their shamans also know how to cast predict weather as a lst-level druid.

Their fighting units break down into hordes of about 1,000 orcs, then into war-bands of approximatelv 100. Up to 75% of a tribe's adult population can muster during a war. About half of the Dark Jungle poputation lives in caverns underneath the Dark Jungle which connect to the ancient Sokhtars' caverns and those of the Herathians . The connecting caverns are fortitied and heavily guarded bv the orcs and the forces at the tunnel's other ends.

Tribe of the Black Orchid-(Northwest)

Main tribal camp: F'faug (Pop.: 1,500 orcs, 310 troglodytes; Subject tribes: 4; Hordes: 7 (30 war canoes on the coast and last 80 miles of the Ganlil river); Ruler: King Qreetak "The Dreamer"; Symbol: black orchid on a crimson field; Patron: Aït-tha (a.k.a. Talitha).

The black orchid shamans are reputed to be the most skillful among the orcish tribe of the Dark Jungles in herbal knowledge. They concoct a black paste in which their warriors rub their arrows.The paste, made from a black orchid found in this region of the Dark Jungle, causes a fever within an hour to those wounded (save vs. poison allowed). The fever lasts for ld6+4 days, during which the victim is amnesiac and prone to follow any order whispered into his ear. The Black Orchid tribe is favorable to the Sea Plague tribe, but dislikes the Green Slayers who have allowed their dreaded green slime to infest the shores of the Ganlil River.

Tribe of the Silent Death-(Northeast)

Main tribal camp: Ol-ömoi (Pop.: 4,100 orcs, 570 lizardmen); Subject tribes: 10; Hordes: 20 (45 war canoes, half of which prowl the Forbidden River); Ruler: King Bratagh "The Impervious"; Symbol: mouthless yellow skull on a black field; Patron: Karaash.

This is the most powerful tribe of the Dark Jungle, and also the one with the biggest problem: a long border with Herath. It is notorious for to sailing up the Widow River on war canoes and slipping deep into Herath. They hide during the day and travel at night, pillaging villages or caravan camps they find. The orcs of this tribe have developed the ability to move silently (40% chance on foot or on their war canoes; roll for each 120 orcs or single canoe involved).

Silent Deaths view themselves as the exemplars of orcish kind and demand that all other tribes subject to their authority and to the patronage of their great orcish immortal, Karaash. The Silent Deaths dislike the Green Slayers and the Storm Bringers, who have resisted the Silent Deaths' attempts to make them subject tribes. The Silent Deaths, however, occasionally join major sea raids initiated by the Storm Bringers, for loot and to demonstrate Karaash's powers.

Tribe of the Green Slayers-(Northcentral)

Main tribal camp: Argak (Pop.: 2,200 orcs, 230 trolls); Subject tribes: 6; Hordes: 10 (9 war canoes, mostly in the swampy maze around Argak); Ruler: King Haitar "Wood-Crawler"; Symbol: white eyeless face on a dull-green field; Patron: na'al (a.k.a. Nyx).

These orcs have learned to capture and raise green slime in large stone vats. Before a battle, they fasten clay jars containing green slime (three 2-HD slimes per jar) on ballista-fired javelins. They can fire these javelins up to half the normal ballista range; on impact, the slimes are released and randomly scattered. Slimes are only used once during an ambush (the first round of javelins). The ballistae are usually installed at an ambush site and camouflaged under fresh foliage, or mounted on war canoes. Green Slayer shamans know how to prepare a slimerepellent paint that protects flesh from the green slime's corrosion.

The Green Slayers are the only orcs who know how to get around the dark bayous of the swamps surrounding their main tribal camp. The other tribes avoid this area for fear of the deadly green slime ambushes set by the Green Slayers. This tribe is favorable to the Sea Plague tribe but dislikes the Black Orchids for attempt ing to steal the secret of the protective paint. They fear the power of the Silent Deaths, their ancestral rivals, owing their freedom mostly to their knowledge of green slimes and help from swamp trolls.

Tribe of the Sea Plague-(Southwest)

Main tribal camp: Zrag (Pop.: 1,800 orcs, 250 snappers); Subject tribes: 5; Hordes: 8 (53 war canoes scattered on the coastline); Ruler: King Ukul "Harpoon Hand"; Symbol: red harpoon on a dull-blue field; Patron: Oruguz (a.k.a. Orcus)

Once per moon, their shamans can cast a cloudkill spell as a 9th-level wizard. For this, at least 12 shamans must howl and dance for an hour. Shamans can perform the ceremony at sea if all are aboard the same canoe. The spell can neither be cast in the jungle nor at sea with high wind conditions or worse. When the spell is cast, greenish bubbles burst at the surface of the sea, releasing the cloudkill's deadly vapors. Upon reaching a ship, the vapors sweep the outside decks, then sink into the ship's lower levels. The spell can be used against only one ship.

The Sea Plague tribe is favorable to both the Black Orchids and the Green Slayers, during whose disputes they often act as mediators. The Sea Plagues, however, hate their ancestral rival to the east, the Storm Bringers, who can call upon high winds to dispel their cloudkill spells.

Tribe of the Storm Bringers-(Southeast)

Main tribal camp: Ugmar (Pop.: 2,800 orcs, 290 ogres); Subject tribes: 6; Hordes: 11 (73 war canoes, of which 53 are scattered on the coastline and 20 control Red Lake and the downstream segment of the Forbidden River); Ruler: King Orogi "The Half Ogre"; Symbol: black foot on a brickred field; Patron: Crakkak of the Sharh Tooth.

Shamans of Crakkak have the ability to cast a weather control spell for the exclusive purpose of summoning or dispelling high winds at sea. They can do so once per moon; this requires at least 12 shamans howling and dancing for an hour. The shamans can perform the ceremony at sea if all are aboard the same canoe. The use the spell to break up large enemy fleets, flee a battle, or disperse cloudlike spells.

The Storm Bringers occasionatly accept war canoes from the Silent Death tribe during major sea raids against the eastern kingdoms of the Savage Coast, such as the raids of the Great Sea Terror, mostly to bolster their overall strength. If this is done, Storm Bringer shamans arrange for Silent Death war canoes to be in the first lines of combat. They also hate the Sea Plagues, with whom they've had numerous clashes at sea when attempting to intercept the same merchant ships.

The Overking:

The Overking is Pyre, an ancient, huge, red dragon with the ability to cast spells (AC -5; HD 20" "; 120 hp; MV 150'(50')/360'(120'); AT 3 on the ground, 6 in the air, fire breath, or magical spell; DMG as per Rules Cyclopedia, page 169; Save F36; ML 11; TT Hx3, Ix2; INT 15; AL C; XP 24,000).

Pyre owns the druidical ebon eye stolen from Robrenn, in addition to whatever is in its treasure hoard. This magical item allows Pyre to turn anyone gazing at him into an ebony statue (save vs. petrification allowed). Removing the ebon eye (manually or with a wish spell) from his head would cause Pyre to suffer 3d6 points of damage ( no save ).

Pyre has also gorged himself with cinnabar, which has contaminated him to the 9th degree . The cinnabar has enabled the dragon to survive much longer than its draconic longevity normally allows. Cinnabar provides

him with the following abilities: cinnamorphism, detect cinnabryl, immunity to electricity, repel metal, X-vision, regeneration, antimagic Il, and planar phase.

Pyre knows the following spells: Level I--charm person, darkness, read magic, sleep, ventriloquism; Level II-detect invisible, entangle, ESP, invisibility, phantasmal force; Level III-clairvoyance, dispel magic, haste, hold person; Level IV-confusion, hallucinatory terrain, wall of fire; Level V-magicjar, teleport

Pyre's lair is located underground at a secret location that may have hidden access to all of the orcs' caverns (this is up to the DM). In general, Pyre ignores occasional border clashes between the orc tribes. but he always puts an end to all-out tribal warfare and puts to death all tribal kings involved in such wars. If not sleeping or spying upon his underlings, Pyre is likely to be secretly traveling the northern nations.

With all its abilities put together, this is one of the most powerfut dragons on the world of Mystara. Pyre should be used as a background figure that PCs do not encounter unless they are on a quest for Immortality. Destroying Pyre will probably mark the end of the Dark Jungle orcs' power, as well as an inevitable destabilization of the political balance between the nations of the Savage Coast.

Either way handle with care!

Giant war canoes: These are huge outrigger canoes comparable to Viking longships, which Dark Jungle orcs use to wage naval warfare and conduct river raids. Each canoe requires 100-120 orcs with paddles for maximum speed, but otherwise can use normal sails for long-distancenavigation. Each comes with a ballista capable of shooting a solid harpoon attached to a rope. Tents can be pulled over the rowers to protect them from the sun.

Cost:4,000 gp; Crew 100-120 orcs; Capacity: 30,000; Move (miles/day): 18/90; Move (feet/round): 90/150; Maximum speed: 240 for one turn; Hull points: 40-60; AC 8.

After a full turn at maximal speed, the orcs are exhausted and must stop.If attacked then, the orcs fight at -3 to hit and damage (1 hp damage minimum) for the rest of the encounter.

The Dark Jungle pantheon

Aït-tha (Talitha):

Among the orcs of the Dark Jungle, this immortal stands as the patron of thieves and victory by deception. Her shamans are the ones who ordered the Green Slayers' slime-repellent paint to be stolen. They often seek to capture isolated Nimmurian manscorpions; using the amnesia induced by the black orchid, Aït-tha's shamans plant secret orders into their captives' minds to steal some precious object from their Nimmurian masters. They usually do this to set Nimmurian rulers against each other (Pyre provides the information on the objects to be stolen). Orcish shamans of Ait-tha can also pick pockets as lst-level thieves.

Crakkak of the Sharp Tooth: Storm Bringer orcs adopted Crakkak as their chief Immortal after witnessing numerous ravenous sharks attacking helpless human sailors from a group of sinking ships. So impressed were the orcs with the sharks' feeding frenzy that they began honoring the "great shark Spirit." This caught the attention of Crakkak, who created a new following of shamans by sending dreams and visions. He rewarded his followers with the tribal ability to affect high winds at sea and with a new protec- tion spell. Orcish shamans of Crakkak can cast this unique protection from sharks 30'

radius spell in addition to their normal complement of spells. There is a 10% chance of sharks being present at a naval battle near the Orc's Head Peninsula (1d4 shark per ship or war canoe in the battte). This is a sign of luck for the Storm Bringers, who then get a + 1 bonus to their morale. Those orcs eaten by sharks anyway are believed to have been called to serve Crakkak.

Karaash (Ilneval):

Karaash is the patron of orcish warfare. He also defends the traditional values of the orcs and backs their struggle against not only Herath and Nimmur, hut also against Pyre. The antidraconic sentiment remains well hidden, but shamans of Karaash might secretly back a serious attempt at destroying Pyre if they were convinced of its success. Karaashite shamans know of the Order of the Ebon eye and its purpose. They don't believe these knights have a chance against Pyre. but they will not interfere with the knights' efforts.

Karaash is honored to various degrees in most tribes of the Dark Jungle. His following is strongest among Silent Deaths. If there could be such a thing as "orc-paladins," devout followers of Karaash are it. They constantly seek to demonstrate the greatness of Karaash's precepts and the value of orcish supremacy. Karaashite zealots gain a + 1 to hit and damage when fighting unbelievers. Their shamans can also use crossbows.

Na'al (Nyx):

As the patroness of darkness, Na'al is often honored among orcs of the caverns. The foggy region of the swamps around Argak is dark and dismal enough to remain a haven for her followers. The Green Slayers' attempts to raise green slime as pets and teaching it tricks caught Na'al's attention. This unique and totally hopeless endeavor to raise the level of consciousness of green slime received her utmost sympathy. As a reward for the Green Slayers' work in this field, she granted their shamans the knowledge of various slime-repellent recipes. Orcish shamans of Na'al can also cast a darkness spell once per day in addition to their normal complement of spells.

Oruguz (Orcus) :

The orcs of the Sea Plague tribe started out as pig-herders centuries ago, trading their pigs to neighboring tribes. The tribal kings of the Sea Plagues were then (and still are today) devil swine. This secret community of lycanthropes always managed to keep one of their own on the tribal throne, without the orcs' knowledge, thanks to the devil swine' ability to charm their victims.

The devil swine are the ones responsible for enforcing the precepts of Oruguz among their tribe. As a reward for their undying faith to him, Oruguz granted his followers the tribal cloudkill spell, which made them more powerful sea-raiders. Their new ability at sea earned them the great enmity of the Storm Bringers, who became direct rivals. Orcish shamans of Oruguz also receive a bonus of -2 to their armor class when fighting demihumans (dwarves, elves, and halflings).

Stories brought back to civilization by adventurers .

Nimmurian Clay Tablets, by King Anupalassar ll

I. "I loathe the orcs for the scar their warriors left on my face-and on my armies. It happened years ago, during the campaign of Nin-Shurgon. Most of the forest in this region had been cleared of the orcish infestation threatening the eastern Province of Sur. All seemed quiet as we prepared to cross the Ganlil River on our way back to Er. There was no sign of the orcs' imminent ambush, as is typical of these jungle savages. Hundreds of raging orcs rose from the bushes, from behind trees, and from concealed holes dug into the narrow forest trail, while others swung down from trees hanging from vines.

"Their attack was sudden and deadly, almost defeating my royal guard. Our war chariots had virtually no room to maneuver on the trail, and many were overwhelmed by the howling mass of orcs. We owed our survival to a desperate charge down the trail. Unfamiliar with this type of combat, the orcs attempting to stop us died under the vicious blades of the chariots' wheels. It was a dark day for Nimmur's neroes, as two thirds ot the royal guard perished. All the wounded had been left behind, and no doubt they were taken away by the orcs and tortured for days, somewhere under the dark and mysterious canopy of the jungle."

II. "By the end of the campaign of Nin- Shurgon, the orcs had discovered the nature of our curse . I have declared it against the law of Nimmur to venture along the southern trail without full military escort. Some imprudent travelers occasionally ignore this law yet almost invariably their rusted and charred remains are found later at the edge of the trail, grotesquely propped up on bamboo sticks as a sinister warning to others.

"Although they seem barbaric and unintelligent, the orcs of the Dark Jungle remain cunning, ruthless warriors. At the Nimmurian methods of war and discipline, they throw total savagery. This does not explain how they still defy civilization after so may wars with Nimmur and Herath.

'The key to their strength is the jungle itself. The thick forest forbids the use of war chariots, relegating these powerful machines of war to the mere patrolling of trails. This has forced our armies to dispatch teams of convicts to keep the trails free of vegetation, as far as thirty feet on both sides of the trail. This is enormously expensive and dangerous. These teams require heavily armed escorts both to prevent them from escaping and the orcs from interfering with the clearing work.

'The orcs have also mastered the cowardly talent of hiding. They cover their bodies with the sap of certain plants to turn their skins green or brown, and their shamans often draw lines or paint stripes on the bodies of their warriors to imitate the foliage in which they will hide. These dyes can leave stains on skin for several weeks even under rainy conditions. Sometimes, the orcs even add leaves or mosses to blend in perfectly with their milieu. In response to this, military scouts must always precede Nimmurian caravans traveling on the southern trail, to constantly probe the bushes ahead of the caravan."

lll. "The orcs' tribes are independent from each other however, major efforts from Herath or Nimmur to reduce the orcs' power have prompted the tribal kings to ally against the threat. The orcish population also develops faster than what the jungle can accommodate, so the orcs constantly try to conquer surrounding landsprimarily Nimmur and western Herath. Because of this, the orcs stand unvanquished, a deadly threat to civilization that must be dealt with once and for all."

Excerpt from a Tome ol Herathian Alchemy

"My servants have recently begun working on a unique alchelmical potion of blight. The project has been generously funded by King Anulpalassar 11 of Nimmur. This poison is to destroy vegetation, in particular jungle. It is clear that the Nimmurian king wishes to wage a new war against the orcs of the Dark Jungle.

"If the potion works, the orcs would eventuatlv be forced to fight most of their battles in the open. They would not stand a chance against Nimmurian war chariots. Vast new lands would then become available for substantial Nimmurian conquests. The consequences were too important, and I revealed the nature of our task to our king. Unbeknownst to Anupalassar, King Yahav of Herath has decided to quietly fund our research as well. Should Nimmur produce this potion, Herath would then do the same in order to claim its share of the southern peninsula .

"I surmise Nimmur's primary plan consists in pouring the poison into the Ganlil River, south of Mardesh, to clear its banks and open a roadway into the heart of the Dark Jungle. However, I suspect this poison conceals a greater curse, for its etfects could spread to the lands of Nimmur and Herath. There is no telling how long this poison could affect the land. The tentative samples are so potent they could turn several acres of jungle into totally bare and sterile dirt for several decades. We are studying antidotes. Already one of alchemists accidentally died after mishandling the substance.

Visions from a set of enchanted orc vertebrae (comments by sir Archibald Foulkes of Bellayne).

"These twelve orcish bones are an amazing item , creating magical images and sounds in the mind of their user. They are simply tossed on a table, like dice, and depending on their facing they generate fragments of orcish lore. Although confu sing and time consuming, fragments of stories could be reassembled in a logical sequence. I am convinced some of the vertebrae are missing from my set, but here is what I gathered from a long series of bone tossing:

"A great fire-breathing dragon apparently lived among the orcs of the Dark Jungle at the time these bones were enchanted. The monster was called Pyre and ruled the orcs from a great cavern in the middle of the Dark Jungle. There it kept hundreds of slaves, including humans and nonhuman creatures of the Savage Coast, that worked to extract a strange red ore from the earth. The enchanted bones referred to the ore as cinnabar. Pyre used the ore to augment its magical abilities and survive well beyond what its natural age should have allowed: The bones reveal Pyre was more than five centuries old at that time.

"Pyre subjected all the orcish tribes to its power. Every moon, tribal kings paid trib- ute to Pyre, in slaves, food, and treasure. There were several major tribes independent of each other, with an almost infinite number of subtribes owing fealty to the tribal kings. When Pyre desired it, these tribes united and conducted massive inva- sions against their northern foes. It seemed these coincided with the natural cycle of the dragon, when it awakened from long periods of slumber.

"I suspect Pyre still lives, judging from the orcs continued ability to foil Nimmur and Herath's concerted efforts to pacify them. According to visions from the orcish bones, Pyre sometimes adopted a human shape and traveled the lands outside the Dark Jungles. It spied secret places in Herath, Nimmur, and Robrenn, stole precious magical items and killed rulers or key military leaders who showed success against the orcs' tactics. The last images I could piece together showed Pyre tearing to pieces an obscure group of Herathians alchemists working on a new magical potion."

Druidical Icons from Robrenn

"An ancient king of Robrenn once went on a quest to destroy a red dragon called Pyre. He died in his quest, but not before wounding the beast and causing it to lose an eye. The dragon fled, but it stole a sacred object from the druids, an eye made of ebony, before leaving Robrenn. This eye was a key item in the Robrenn mythology.

"Pyre placed the item into its empty eye socket as it left Robrenn. The eye bestowed upon its user the ability to turn its foes into ebon statues. The druids had used it for centuries to punish criminals and heretics. It was said that a victim's soul remained in the statue until it was destroyed or until the statue was returned to flesh.

"The missing ebon eye has become the oject of many quests since it was stolen. The military Order of the Ebon Eye was estahlished by the druids with the sole purpose of returning the sacred object. Many of the order's young knights have sworn to find the ebon eye and have left on life-long quests. So far, none of these popular heroes have returned. It is a great honor among Robrenn warriors to become such a knight, or even to have such a knight in the family."

Ideologic runes painted on mummified lizard skins, by Haz'ar, Shaman of Shazak (translated by Thibaud cle Châtelguyon)

"The orcs believe that the spirits of the dead remain in the trees of their jungle. Indeed, it is not rare to discover on some remote trail the ebon statues of warriors or sometimes even influential members of the tribe who were thought to have lost their way in the jungle. The shamans say that the forest spirits have captured their souls.

"The orcs build great wooden forts, especially near the entrances to their ancestral caverns. They cut down trees in some areas, haul the trunks to the top of forested hills, and build the forts among the growing trees. These fortifications are very difficult to spot from above. The shamans often have the builders carve on the forts' logs the screaming, demented faces of tribal ancestors know to have been taken away by the forest spirit. There are often hundreds of faces for each tribe, some dating back several centuries. Shamans will have ebon statues found in the jungle incorporated to the walls of the forts or temples. This is part of these orcs' ancestral lore.

"These orcs speak the same language as the one used in the Yazak Steppes by the goblins. The orcs know of the goblins but have no direct dealings with them. The Master of Hule has attempted to influence the tribal kings, but they change too quickly for him to maintain any real effective control. Somehow, tribal kings that have dealings with the Master end up as ebon statues within several moons. The shamans usually frown upon any dealings with foreigners. However, not all foreigners captured in the jungle are immediately put to death. I once observed a chieftain free a human visitor from Vilaverde after a long discussion. The human fluently spoke the language of the orcs. He came back weeks later with strange red pieces of metal and weapons. Right after tlhe human's departure, the chieftain mounted dangerous ambushes against several caravans on the northern trail. That chieftain was never turned into a statue of ebony."

Scrolls found in a bottle floating off the coast of Davania (signed by a Capt. Enver Zogar)

"The orcs captured me many years ago. I then commanded the Sea Fox, a merchant ship from Shkodar. I am the last survivor of this ship and fear I'll never leave this forsaken jungle. King Ukul, my captor, has allowed me to write on these scrolls, thinking I would tell the story of his rule. For some strange reason, I felt compelled to do so at first, but over time I found myself unable to comply, with Ukul any Ionger. Ukul is a despicable monster with a powerful personality who has replaced his severed hand with a harpoon head. I was to give him these scrolls yesterday, but instead I escaped with them. In these scrolls lies a warning to the ships that travel the seas near the Dark Jungle. I entrust the scrolls to this bottle and will cast it into the sea. I pray that one day one of my kind will find these words.

"Beware of the tribes living along the shores of the peninsula. They've acquired a cunning knowledge of the seas and mar itime weather. Their shamans have acquired the magical ability to predict weather. I am certain that this is what allowed them to gain mastery of the seas. at least as far as one can tell from the land. Within the past decade, the substantial increase of merchant traffic between the Texeiras colony of The Horn, Nimmur,and Slagovich greatly encouraged the orcs to practice piracy, so far with great success. "King Ukul once invited me to one of these raids. He had five giant outrigger canoes, each of them holding up to 120 warriors with paddles. Fully manned such war canoes could easily reach twice the speed of a large sail ship for a short time. The king positioned his canoes ahead of the incoming ship, a Vilaverdan merchantman. This tactic forced the ship to attempt to break through the orcs' line, or else to double back and flee against the wind. The ship veered to the south instead. attempting to circumvent the line and still retain some speed, but two of the war canoes were able to pursue the ship. They came close enough to fire powerful ballista-mounted harpoons that got stuck into the ship's hull and its riggings. The orcs tugged on the lines attached to the harpoons, pulling themselves closer to the ship. Under scores of arrows fired from the canoes, brave sailors attempted to sever the harpoons lines. But there were too few soldiers aboard to return such fire and the two canoes maintained their grip on the ship long enough to slow it down and allow other canoes to catch up. Finally, like a whale exhausted by the tenacity of its hunters, the ship came to a halt. The Torreon swordsmen aboard fought gallantly, but soon the entire crew buckled before the fury of the orcs' barbaric assault. No one aboard survived. The orcs quickly plundered the cargo, scuttled the ship, and returned to the safety of their jungle lagoons.

"Should you decide to sail in these waters, either come with several ships and well armed, or stay out of sight of the coast. The orcs' ambushes at sea can be as swift as they are unexpected. I have seen them operate as much in broad daylight as in the middle of the night, homing in on the lanterns of unwary ships."

Excerpt from "Ship and Battles," by Joâo de Texeiras

"The biggest sea raid ever seen had 9,000 orcs from two tribes in 90 giant outrigger canoes. It is now referred as the Great Sea Terror, which lasted almost a year. This huge army spread chaos and destruction all the way up to the Gulf of Hule, where concerted efforts from Vilaverdan and Texeiras fleets forced it back south. The orcs had been terrorizing the coast from Herath to Narvaez, where they sacked and burned down the city of Puerto Morillos. They looted and foraged during the night, then fished, rested, and sailed during the day under the shade of makeshift tents spread over their war canoes.

"The orcs had easily avoided our slower war galleys, taking advantage of storms and fog to escape. Their canoes were sturdy enough to weather the brutality of the storms, and the Great Shaman aboard the canoes was cunning enough to use fog as a means of avoiding unfavorable battles. The orcs often snuck back at night, sinking or setting fire to several isolated vessels in order to threaten the rest of the fleet. Then, they quietly retreated into the night.

"After months of rapacious plundering, mounds of loot began to slow their giant canoes down. This prevented them from escaping a two-pronged attack from Slagovich war galleys and Zvornikian troop transports. The orcs' sheer savagery was almost enough to defeat the coalition, but their Iuck turned when a javelin fired from a galley's ballista killed the orcs' Great Shaman. Deprived of their most potent sea magic, the orcs lost heart and abandoned their war canoes on the shore east of Robrenn, set fire to them, and continued their rampage on firm land.

"Pursued by all the local armies, 5,700 surviving orcs fled into the Yazak steppes banded with goblins (for a stiff share of the orcs' booty), re-entered the forest north of Bellayne, skirted the Herathian border and finally returned to the Dark Jungle, following the Forbidden River. Of the 9,000 orcs that had left, only 3,800 survived but with great treasures. The remainder had fallen before rakastas of the Forest Marches of Wyndham, lizardmen or gatormen of The Bayou, and finally, before allied Herathian and Nimmurian border forces on the lookout for them."

Bruce Heard.