Chronicle of Gromok, Volume III

Book Text
Freed of any obligations of duty, the soldiers that accompanied me and I set out in search of a fortress that had not yet fallen. We traveled and fought for countless weeks only to be greeted by death and misery at each destination, what survivors did remain at the ruined strongholds of our once great empire often joined us in our search for sanctuary or at the very least a place to rebuild our fallen society. Gradually as we traveled across Tunaria, what began as a small unit from the Fortress of Krithgor became a large caravan of refugees. We settled in the Feerrott Marshlands near the ruins of one of the Rallosian Empires greatest strongholds. A handful of capable warriors among us set out to the west in search of survivors at the locations of the Rathe's executions and the death of Murdunk. Only two of the search party returned alive. They spoke of terrible devastation, Giants that were once allies of the Ogre people attacking without provocation, and of ferocious one-eyed giants that now guarded the valleys and canyons of the Mountains of Rathe's Demise.

So it came to pass that the Feerrott Marsh became the new home of we, the Ogre people. The men took on duties of hunting food in addition to protecting the women and children from wild beasts of the marsh. The women harvested and cultivated what forms of crops could be grown in the marshy soil. The children did nothing, and this instilled fear into our minds and hearts.

The children born to us survivors of the collapse of the Rallosian Empire were noticeably and frighteningly different than children of previous generations. This new generation of Ogres was for the most part hairless, only females showed any ability to grow hair and even then it was a thin and straggly. The flesh of the youngsters was of a paler complexion and warty and course, they suffered frequently from conditions that turned their eyes bloodshot, made their noses runny, and they often drooled incessantly. It soon became apparent however that these physical conditions were the least of our worries for they were still physically strong and enduring. It was their minds that concerned us the most.