I played a scenario with Gabriel last week. Some interesting and disturbing issues came up.
He began his new character, Gruuthak the Orc, in the farming hamlet of Dek Kuchik, in the Kone valley of the region of Zamindan. His family herded goats and grew grain, which they traded with the Elves of Ayeraan to the east. The next valley to the west is the high, cool, and fertile Valley of the Horizon (Deraa Aafiq). In that valley two Orcish factions (Kizil and Aabi) had been fighting for the better part of a decade.
Until recently the Kizil faction had been winning. In desperation, the Aabi faction unearthed an ancient ruin and reactivated war-constructs in the hope that they could get the constructs to fight for them. The constructs quickly took over the region of the Aabi faction, and the fate of the Orcs is unknown. Within a few weeks the constructs did attack the Kizil faction, and took control of the entire Deraa Afiq, the Valley of the Horizon.
Fragments of the Kizil Army fled east into the Kone valley while Gruuthak and his older sister (Shahir) and younger brother were up on the high ridges herding their goats. The elf scout Hyntar found them as he returned from observing the fall of the last Kizil stronghold at the eastern end of Deraa Aafiq. Hyntar warns the Orcs not to return down into their valley, because the retreating Kizil army was certan to sack it; and far worse would happen if the construct horde advanced into the valley.
In exchange for allowing his dragon-mount to eat five goats, Hyntar gives the Orcish shepherds two black-cloaks. Hyntar then flies eastward toward Ayeraan to report what he has seen to his fellow Elves.
Gruuthak flees east
Gruuthak and his siblings slaughter a few more goats for supplies, and then flee east along the ridge-line for days. They come upon an abandoned hut, and evidence that Hyntar may have warned another Orc shepherd to flee.
Then they come across the Naqab mine, where a team of dwarves are trying to (re)develop the spell-wand that will deactivate the construct army. The Dwarves feel responsible for this disaster because their ancestors were the original creators of the war-constructs, 900 years ago. They give Gruuthak’s sister Shahir a prototype wand. It will work, but only as a touch-spell; meaning that you have to actually make physical contact with at least one construct. This was likely to be suicide-mission. The Dwarves also give Gruuthak some superb Mithral (Al/Ti/Mb alloy) ring-mail; filter-masks for all three siblings to protect against the swarming attack of Faeries; and two bags of Faerie-poison powder.
The Orcs continue east. They pass above Tejarat, the market-town where they used to sell grain to the Elves; it is a smoking ruin. At the end of their ridge, it descends into the Dazh valley, governed by Dazh Markaz, the major town in the valley. They are attacked by Faeries on the way, and kill most of them by bursting one of the bags of powder; but some Faeries flee away and report back westward. Gruuthak & co. take refuge in Dezh Markaz, and find the fortified town now governed by remnants of the Kizil army. The whole Kone valley to the west has been lost; its fate unknown.
Several days later another Elvish dragon-patrol is returning from a westward reconnaisance and they are attacked by a Faerie-swarm within sight of the walls of Dezh Markaz. Their deaths are horrible, as Faeries swarm down the throats of dragon and elf alike, suffocating them. Several survivors flee into the city; they turn out to be Dwarves whom the Elves were evacuating from Naqab Mine. They are injured but will recover, and are happy to see Gruuthak and his siblings again. But they warn that their highly-fortified mine was overrun by burrowing, heavily-armored constructs. They fear that Dezh Markaz may be attacked soon.
Several days late the constructs do attack: a massive “Bulette” rams the gate and deploys a swarm of eagle-sized “buzzies” to attack within the city. Hundreds are killed; but Shahir stops the attack by delivering the deactivate-spell to the Bulette, immediately before the ruined gates collapse on them. The Buzzies also receive the signal and deactivate en masse. The Kizil army are extremely grateful, and offer to bury Shahira with military honors. Gruuthak and his brother agree to have her burned in a pyre just outside the city. They themselves also loot the Bulette and several of thebuzzies, obtaining small and large Reception and Program crystals (two of the three components of any spellcasting item).
Gruuthak reports to the Elves of Ayeraan
Gruuthak and his brother continue east towards Ayeraan, and are spotted crossing the barren no-man’s land between Zamindan to the west and Ayeraan to the east. An Elven sky-patrol picks them up and brings them directly to Ahseman, one of the strategic cities of the realm. Other cities in the forest-canopies are bigger, but Ahseman is a dragon-roost carved directly into high granite cliffs. The sages of Ahseman agree to welcome Gruuthak and his brother in exchange for the opportunity to analyze the Dwarvish wand that had deactivated the Bulette-construct. Several days later another patrol returns from Dezh Markaz and reports no further attacks by the constructs. They also bring the Dwarves to the stronghold.
The Elves allow Gruuthak to use their extensive library. However, what he is interested in is the history and nature of constructs. But those books have been borrowed by the strategic war-planning team of the city. They are willing to share information, though, especially because Gruuthak and his brother have firsthand experience of this recent attack.
Constructs, it turns out, have many shapes. The Orcs have only encountered two forms emerging from the Deraa Afiq: a Bulette and Buzzies (Faeries are actually living beings that have allied with the constructs for some reason). In the past there have also been ‘Skeleton Walkers’ which are shaped enough like humans to pass, at a distance, especially when wearing armor or heavy clothing. There are also smaller and larger flying drones, and burrowers (which might have been involved in the attack on the Naqab mine). There is also one, most intelligent type of construct called the “Innovator.” These have never been seen, but they seem to be crucial to the strength of the construct-armies.
Gruuthak and his brother resolve to visit an ruin, out in the desert, which may hold more secrets about the constructs and how to stop them.