Originally Posted by
Kaptin Keen
Scouting the human towns takes a couple of nights work, but is easy enough as long as caution is maintained. There is a town, called Hallow, and two smaller villages called, respectively, Riverford and Brooksglade.
Hallow is a reasonably large town, numbering an estimated 1000+ humans. It is walled in stone and wooden palisade, and looks fairly formidable, having been built on a naturally defensible hill. It even has a moat. This is certainly a dangerous land, but this town looks like it was built to withstand concerted assault. It's also reasonably newly built, if you had to guess.
Riverford, unsurprisingly, is built beside the river, in a place where it is fordable - however, a bridge across is being built. The town has a low wooden wall, irregular guard towers, and - as judged from a safe distance - a modest militia. It is, however, defensible, and ready. It is the lightest defended of the settlements. It is also the easternmost, farthest from the ruined keep of the vampires. Possibly there's a direct connection between those facts.
Brooksglade is built where a brook skirts the boundaries of a copse of deciduous trees - most of the trees in the valley are firs and pines. It is strongly defended for it's size, with robust walls and stakes at the base. Well equipped militiamen are on patrol. Brooksglade houses a large church, proudly perched upon a hill in the center of town.
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For his part, Gibs rides off north, towards the caves, and home. The trip is largely uneventful, until - as night lightens into dawn - Gibs encounters two humans. It being late, Gibs is looking for a decent place to sleep during the day, while the humans are just leaving their camp. They are mounted on sturdy horses, with a laden pack mule tagging along.
One is a portly fellow, weirdly dressed in puffy cloth and a silly hat. The other wears chainmail and a shield. Both are armed.