Frick's Hordes
The first report from the scouts following Frick.
Captain,
We have been rapidly closing in on the new Cave Goblin army -- it's easy to follow the trail of destruction they leave in their wake. But although we have not seen any of them yet, we have learned enough consistent information from the survivors that we want to pass it on to you. I am writing while Caeleb is changing our mounts.
Several people say that the new Summoner Frick has lost both an eye and his nose, making him truly hideous even to those who don't mind the appearance of Goblins. I'm not sure what his undoubtedly violent past may tell us about his personality, but it's worth mentioning. (Caeleb says he might have been born that way, but I think loss in combat much more likely.)
The major consistent theme we have heard in the descriptions of Frick's assaults is their overwhelming numbers. Cave Goblins often attack in large hordes anyway, but the witnesses we questioned include a few sober-minded folk not prone to exaggeration, and Caeleb and I can only conclude that Frick has found a way to marshall his forces so that more of them attack at once than would normally be expected from the rabble.
While on the trail we have debated how this could be. It's possible that Frick has taken the time to give his forces superb military training. But we think it more likely that he has chosen to use his Summoning Stone to enhance his soldiers. This makes an interesting contrast to Sneeks, who uses his Stone to make his soldiers terrifyingly harsher in some of their attacks. But Frick may be going for quantity rather than quality, allowing more units to attack simultaneously.
One thing Frick's army has reportedly done that we have not heard about Sneeks, or indeed any other army, is the use of simple stones as missile weapons. At times the entire force will start flinging stones with surprising accuracy and force. We have no doubt that this is a Stone-enhanced effect.
Caeleb is ready, so that is all for now. We hope to catch up with the Goblins soon, so we can report with details about Frick's actual forces.
