Teaser
Lair of the Wolfskull goblin tribe, an hour or so before midnight
Chief Kloss scratched his chin as he studied the drawing on the parchment. The dire wolf resting on its haunches beside him let out a low growl at the visitors looming over his master.
"Enough!" Vlack cried, seizing the scroll atop the wooden chest as his bodyguards flung the makeshift table aside. "You have seven days to find it. You got that? Now step to it! You're behind schedule. The Red-blade and the Viper tribes left two days ago. They'll reach the human settlements by tomorrow night."
Kloss snorted, then leaned back in his throne. "You lie!" he retorted. "The Vipers are cowards. Chief Dashga would never agree to your plan!"
Vlack turned to one of his guards, who handed him a burlap sack. "You're right," the hobgoblin conceded. Turning the sack upside down, he spilled its contents to the floor. It landed with a thump, then rolled to a stop in front of the chieftain's feet.
Kloss looked down. It was the head of Dashga, several days old.
Vlack waited until the goblin chief's gaze returned to him, then grinned. "He didn't."
...
All through the night, louder and louder, closer and closer to the civilized lands, the drumbeats echoed across the Dymrak Forest: the slow, steady thump of three goblin tribes on the march. Red-blade, Viper, Wolfskull.
Cut to a tavern, Town of Kelvin, late morning...