The Challenger

Guzur

The gnomes lived peaceful lives, safe within their hallowed homes in the Northern Hills. The humans thrived across the land. The centaurs were no longer fighting each other, and even the bugbears had stopped raiding villages. Peace reigned throughout the land.

But, as in most stories, some people can't live with peace. Some people thirst for conflict, for thrill. Indeed, many cannot sit still. One such individual is Crall the Trickster.

Born and raised in Old Fiera, Crall was taught to tinker and build from birth. But he always made things for pranks, annoying or even dangerous creations at times. He was eventually expelled from the gnome town's only school, and he struck out on his own making trouble. Literally.

But the years passed and the era of peace came. Crall was not happy.

"I think," He said, "It's time for the gnomes to test out some of their creations."

That very night, Crall snuck into the Huoysten Forest, where a group of bugbear marauders were said to dwell. He easily found their camp and set up a bunch of traps, very obvious and very painful. He also made sure to make them look as gnomish as possible. His aim? Incite the bugbears to war with the gnomes. Did Crall get anything out of it? Hard to be sure. But he was bored, and when Crall was bored, he tended to do... interesting things.

The bugbears woke in the morning and the camp flew into chaos as all of Crall's traps went off, harming many, and killing a few. They were outraged, and immediately made preparations for war.

Crall was watching from a distance all the while.

At noon, the camp was packed and the bugbears took off up the road, towards Old Fiera. The trip took a few days, but eventually, after much cross country and detours, the bugbears arrived at a little village with small residents.

"This has GOT to be the one," One of them growled.

"Look at the little pests. Scurrying about." Another scoffed.

"Let us exact our revenge!" A third cried.

And then they all charged down into the village.

They had killed a third of the population before one of the smarter bugbears realized that these weren't gnomes at all, but rather, halflings.

"Aw man, we got the wrong pests." A bugbear complained after they had regrouped.

"We can't just leave them here alone. They'll hunt us down for what we did!" Someone else added.

"Then we'll make sure they won't. We'll keep guards here and make use of these pests. We'll return for them when we're finished with the gnomes." A bigger bugbear planned.

And so, they left behind a few of their number to occupy the village, and the rest kept on marching towards Old Fiera.

Here we meet our hero. Guzur was a regular halfling, though perhaps a few inches taller than most. Like all good heroes, Guzur's family was tragically murdered (they were part of the one third that got wiped out). And so, with righteous fury, Guzur started planting seeds of rebellion. He eventually recruited the whole village, and in a desperate attempt to win their village back, Guzur led an ambush against the four guards. Even though the bugbears were much, much taller, had more armor and better weapons, and were stronger than the halflings, the villagers' numbers overpowered the guards, Guzur cleaving the head off of one himself.

With the invaders successfully removed, the people celebrated their victory, but also lamented their loss. A large portion of the village was missing, including family, friends, and loved ones. It didn't matter how many bugbears they killed; that wouldn't bring them back. So instead, with Guzur's leadership, the halflings built walls (tall enough to repel bugbears) and trained themselves to fight. The bugbears would inevitably come back from Old Fiera, and the halflings had to be ready.

Finally, the day came.

"Guzur! Bugbears on the horizon!" A scout reported.

"Ready the defenders. Notify the archers. Brace the walls. We don't go down easily." Guzur commanded solemnly. He then turned to look down on the village from upon the wall on which he stood. His gaze drifted to a destroyed hut, burned during the bugbear's first assault.

"I will do my best to protect these people." He swore to his family. "Our people."

And then the bugbears arrived.