The land that bordered the Roaring River in the kingdom of Cianna was lush and fertile on its southern banks while they were rougher, broken and hilly on the Northern side. So it was on the south side that the land’s of Parryatis’s only Halflings had settled. Seven villages laid out in a row, separated by no more than a mile or three was what they called their home, and this land was gifted to them by the King of Cianna more than three hundred years ago.<br/><br/>Most Halflings were content with living their peaceful life while rarely venturing past what they deemed to be the limits of their village. They were craftsmen, vintners, brewers and growers of the finest tobacco in all the lands. Each village had a Sheriff who made decisions for the village and these seven Sheriffs would often times get together to discuss matters that related to all Halflings. The title of Sheriff was hereditary, passed on from generation to generation to one of the original founding families, who had been elevated to noble status by the King many years past. The typical day in the life started with working the fields or the gardens and ended gathered with friends enjoying a pint and puff, but today was not a typical day… Today was a tragic day indeed…<br/><br/>Several clans of Western Orcs had gathered and made the crossing in the late fall when the river was at its lowest and calmest and they fell upon the first of the villages in late afternoon. The invasion continued to the next village, then the next. The western orcs, the smallest of their kind gave no quarry to the unprepared Halflings. Many were killed, but more were taken as prisoners or slaves. Few were  allowed to escape… But in one such village, the eldest daughter of the Sheriff had been on the outskirts of the village when the orcs attacked, and she did manage to flee, but not before a couple of the orcs had spotted her and began to pursue…