It was a crisp fall day when he first set off. No longer a boy, Corath was finally leaving the orphanage that he called home. He had been there for as long as he could remember and remembered nothing of his parents. Those at the orphanage had told him that they died to the wild hobgoblin hordes led by none other than the infamous bugbear, Feng Stonefist. That was over fifteen years ago and the thought of finally being able to get revenge was strong in Corath's mind. However, he had precious few clues on how to go about the ordeal. One clue he did have was a recent pillage of a village not to far away, about a week's travel on foot to the east. He decided to go there first and look for clues.
His travel there was uneventful. All he saw were woodland creatures and the passing of a few caravans heading into the town of Loudwater. The weather was fair and still warm, so he had no need to set up any tents and instead slept under the stars. He did have some sneaking suspicions that he was being followed, but he saw no one going the same direction as himself. He attributed the paranoia to his new found freedom, as he was hardly even let out of sight by the Mother of the orphanage, Madame Foxfire. He was glad to be out from under her kind but sometimes oppressive care.
After seven days of travel, he arrived at dusk in the village, or what was left of it at any rate. At its peak, it could have been a bustling, thriving woodland village. Now what was left were a few blackened buildings surrounded by piles of rubble and ash. A handful of people could be seen, trying to make some order of the mess that Stonefist had left in his wake. Unsurprisingly, the villagers did not take well to a stranger emerging at the edge of town. A burly man walked up from where he was working and proceeded to find out who exactly Corath was.
"Who might you be and from where do you come?" the burly man demanded in a husky voice.
"My name is Corath and I come from the town of Loudwater," Corath replied.
"Well what are you doing here? Haven't you heard that we were sacked by Feng and his horde? Not that the council in Loudwater cares. We sent for aid days ago and this is what we get?" the man angrily declared.
"My good sir, I know little of the matters of the council, I came here under my own will. I'm looking for this Feng. He killed my mother and father when I was but a baby. I have lived in an orphanage until just recently. Though you may think little of my town, I will help you as best I can if you so wish," Corath replied trying to calm the angered man.
"I…I'm sorry good sir. It's just that we're so tired and our lives have been so long since the horde came though. We'd be more than glad to have another strong hand help us. Hopefully aid from Loudwater will come soon."
The man showed him into one of the few standing buildings. "You can rest here tonight my friend. If you need anything, we'll see what we can do. Oh, and by the way, the name is Travis Lightfoot."
"Thank you Travis," Corath said respectfully, "and my Kord watch over all of us tonight."
"Yes, may all the merciful gods watch over us tonight," Travis replied quietly.