News of the World
The Eroan Elves are cautious, sending troops to the north not to attack the Goblins but to watch them. Goblins tend to be cautious themselves, attacking when they have an easy opportunity or superior forces. Elven troops in rough terrain aren’t that easy. With no opportunity, there is détente.
Meanwhile, the send an engineer to the coast to look for a place to put a port. There are several short but navigable river/bay systems around here- a port could be put on one of them as well, closer to the towns of the Eroans. The Engineer has found the region to be uninhabited, but vulnerable to threats from the sea.
*****
Isole’s settlers make the same discover the people of Lyshart did: the northern end of Lyshart’s island is already occupied, by a city state of Elves! The Elves are not happy with this. They already have Lyshart’s troops in the area, and the Elves have sent their own to secure their territory.
Isole’s settlers withdraw. Isole can fight for their spot, negotiate for a spot, or the settlers will choose a less troublesome spot on their own.
Construction goes on in Isole’s cities: Oostral gets fortified, Isole gets a cultural building.
Isole’s troops help in the Great Goblin stomp, Whistleport Gnomes celebrate the defeat of the Goblins, but remain cautious. With multiple armies in their neighborhood they want to see who is friendly with whom. They approve trade and friendship but want to hold off on any commitments beyond that.
Gnomes are really hoping Isole and Bex aren’t hostile to each other. Whistleport has a unique product, Mechanicals, covering all sorts of contraptions they make from mill gears to clocks. The Gnomes of Whistleport have armies all around them… which is better than Goblins, but they really want to see the intentions of the various other nations before wading into things. Just in case, they start up a militia.
Goblin flee past Boscai, consolidating with their brethren and digging in as the Hag Queen prepares to defend her home.
The Freeholds build a road through rough forest mountain terrain. On the one hand, rough terrain is where roads are the most expensive and time consuming to build. On the other… that’s where they do the most good. But observers are puzzled- it’s not connecting their cities, it’s heading off into wilderness. Are they planning an expansion? Their troops move along this new road, approaching Goblin infested territory from the north, while Eroan approaches from the South. The Goblins dig into their mountain caves and wait.
Freehold Scouts also investigate the island to the east. It is a strange place, “creature infested” and has a newly discovered resource: Onyx.
Brisk trade develops between Freehold and neighbors to north, creating strong economic growth. Shippers want naval forces to protect these trade routes.