Greensmore Valley/Donglemore
The dark history of Gardonia
Donglemore was once a pristine, lush valley the gnomes originally named Greensmore Valley. It was a virtual Eden in the northern region of the gnomish kingdom in a circular bowl-like valley surrounded by steep jagged cliffs. The early gnomish explorers that ventured into the valley found it very difficult to get into and even more difficult to get back out of and so the valley was never settled.
In the early years of the kingdom, long before the Mushroom Knights were an established order in the land, the gnomes encountered many nuisance creatures that plagued their gardens and farms but for the most part were not typically outright aggressive towards the gnomes themselves. Bears, deer, large white bunnies, big slugs and weird clammy creatures they called Cobbies to name a few. After the discovery of Greensmore Valley an attempt was made to capture and relocate these creatures to the valley where they could live in peace but not be able to escape back into the surrounding lands and harry their gardens. The endeavour was initially successful and over the next two hundred years nearly all the bears, many dozens of Cobby colonies, numerous deer and the large white rabbits among many other creatures were relocated to the valley.
Then one day the gnomes relocating some animals saw that there was a strange green fog over the valley. There was a chill air blowing up the pass that carried strange noises up with it and tremors could be felt coming from below. A terrible, dark, brooding mood was felt about the place and the animals refused to leave their cages.
In the following months, all the vegetation in the land immediately surrounding the valley wilted and died and the ground became dry and cracked. Rumours of strange creatures appearing around the valley emerged—ghostly pale creatures shuffling about aimlessly, or jet-black ones crawling on all fours skittering here and there, furry slugs with porcupine like quills and mouths full of sharp teeth, bunnies with antlers and all sorts of bizarre and foul things. A brave gnome explorer with a small crew volunteered to enter the valley in an attempt to find out what was going on, but only one member of the expedition team ever returned. From the little that could be understood of his mad ramblings before he died, it was pieced together that under the blanket of green fog, the once beautiful valley was now a terrible, twisted place, and the creatures were even more twisted and terrible. After that the valley was renamed Donglemore, after the expedition leader Sir Petrwick Donglesbeeg. The one known entrance to the valley was blocked off with boulders and forgotten. The lands north of Donglemore were for the most part deserted and those who refused to leave their gardens and homes were eventually cut off from the rest of the kingdom by the dangers of the fouled land and the eventual abandoning of the North Road and have been lost to history. Now the name of Donglemore is only spoken in whispers and brings dark feelings of fear and visions of terror.
The Twisted Creatures of donglemore
There are many strange and terrible creatures that find their way up out of the pit of Donglemore from time to time. Some are hideous but harmless, but many are both terrible and murdery. If you can imagine it, it probably exists in Donglemore. Below is a short list of some of the more common creatures as well as a few infamous ones.
Ghost shufflers and night Skitters
Of the Cobbies colonies that were relocated to Greensmore Valley, there were tribes both of Mountain Cobbies and Hill Cobbies. After the corruption of the valley, ghostly white creatures were sighted wandering around the borders of the valley. These creatures resembled Cobbies but were taller and quite gaunt. They shuffled about aimlessly with blank stares on their expressionless faces, but were drawn to motion and the light of fires. They are a fright to behold though they are slow and easy to avoid. The only close encounter reported was from a trapper who was awoken one night in his camp to the sight of a ghostly pale face peering down at him with drool dripping from its mouth. Bony clammy hands were pawing at him—or maybe the turnip beside him in his pack. He screamed and rolled away and bumped into the legs of another one of these creatures that was shuffling slowly around his fire. The trapper fled into the night abandoning all the shells of the bugs he had trapped as well as his pack goat and all his gear.
Another creature resembling Cobbies have also been seen in the vicinity of Donglemore. These ones are jet black and skitter across the ground from cover to cover on all fours in the manner of a spider. The few times they were spotted they were observed to follow an individual or small company of gnomes for many miles darting from one rock or tree or shrub to the next and then peering over or around the cover for a few moments before darting to the next. There has not been any confrontations with travellers and it is unknown if they are dangerous or not, but militia soldiers and later Mushroom Knights would pursue and chase off any that were reported in the area, though they never successfully caught up to any. No one knows if the two different creatures are in fact twisted Cobbies thought it seems likely, and it is also unknown if their being Mountain vs Hill Cobbies had any bearing on which twisted creature they became. No one has been interested enough to attempt to enter Donglemore to perform a study.
The (Really) Horrible Spider
The Really Horrible Spider is a horrifying thing that looks like three spiders in one that definitely has more than eight legs. It is quite gross and scary and has an appetite for anything, which unfortunately for gnomes is a category they fall into. The Horrible Spider was probably the cause of the final abandoning of the North Road as it attacked and ate several of the few travellers still using it. It was never hunted down successfully and even though it hasn’t been seen for a long time, it is unknown if it is still out there.
Naked Vulture Bat
A horrifying mix of featherless vulture and furless bat, the Naked Vulture Bat has come to inhabit the dead forest west of Donglemore. More frightening than aggressive there have only been a few recorded attacks and one confirmed death at the hands of the Naked Vulture Bat. Still it is daunting to have trees full of the nude creatures eyeing you up as you pass them by.
Twisted Slugs
There have been a number of one of a kind, strange looking slugs that have appeared after the corruption of Greensmore Valley. There have been slugs with horns, slugs with antlers, slugs with mandibles, slugs with ducklike bills and slugs with centipede type legs to name just a few. But the only slugs that have been encountered on a semi regular basis are the Quilled Slug, the Rock Slug and the Stegoslug.
Measuring two to three feet long, the Quilled Slug isn’t any larger than the normal slimy kind except that instead of being slimy, they are hairy on their top side and have porcupine like quills and they also sport sharp incisor-type teeth. They appear not to feed on plants but rather prefer to eat meat. Their quills have a paralyzing poison in them though it would take several to completely paralyze a full-grown gnome.
Rock Slugs grow to about three feet in length, but they are nearly as wide as they are long, resembling more of a blob. The bodies of Rock Slugs are covered in thick, hard plates that come together to create an impenetrable surface resembling a rock when they ball up. They are able to suction themselves to the ground making it hard to roll them over. The best way to dispatch one is with a two-handed hammer or mace or with fire.
Stegoslugus’ are slugs growing up to four feet in length with high-arched backs. They have two rows of stegosaurus type plates running the length of their backs and have a few sharper cone shaped spikes scattered across their bodies. Not known for moving quickly, Stegoslugus’s aren’t really any more dangerous or difficult to kill than a regular slug if you know where to stick them.
Were Rabbit
Though being far past the cutesy image of a bunny, there is nothing actually “were” about the terrifying Were Rabbit. Were Rabbits lumber upright on their hind legs having a bearish shaped body with long clawed, bear paws. They have long rabbit-like ears and flat faces that sport sharp, long teeth. They also have little round tails. The name “Were Rabbit” comes from a line of miscommunication. The first surviving gnome to encounter the large creature came up to a Vegetable Hold wide-eyed and white as a turnip shouting between gasps, “Bear! Rabbit!” Though it came across more like Bear-rabbit! Bear-rabbit! Rampage-teeth-carrot! Bear-rabbit! (his words were later adapted into a song sung at school to teach children the different creatures of the land). A messenger was sent with all haste to North-South Village for more Mushroom Knights but at the time the northern forces were stretched thin and so runners were sent up to North Town for aid. As the message was passed from runner to runner it became slightly altered and when it reached the garrison at North Town it was reported that a monstrous “Were Rabbit” was rampaging through the land. The Garrison was emptied and twenty Mushroom Knights hurried to join the five stationed at North South Village. By the time they caught up with the beast on the doorstep of the Sproutlock farmstead, it had completely decimated five other farmsteads, killing all the inhabitants, and had trampled over a dozen gardens eating all the carrots. The fight was fierce by all accounts, the beast fought with the ferocity of a mother bear protecting her cubs and was as quick as a rabbit. That and it being ten-feet tall made for a tough fight for the little defenders. It was a sad victory for the gnomes, half of their number were killed in the battle. Nine received fatal slashes from powerful, clawed swipes that ripped right through helm and shield or sent them hurtling through the air. Two were crushed under foot. One was eaten and another torn in two. Another three died as a result of their injuries after the battle had finally been won. The body of the Were Rabbit was hauled to North-South Town where it was examined and then stuffed. It was displayed for a few decades before being taken to Kingstown and placed in the Hall of Deeds.
The Were Rabbit was assumed to be the only one of its kind, but nearly 300 years later a second Were Rabbit emerged from the lands of Donglemore rampaging its way south in the direction of Kingstown before being brought down in a decisive battle. Nearly 200 years after that a third emerged following the same path the second one had taken towards Kingstown. This one didn’t make it very far as it happened upon a carrot farm just after a bountiful harvest and ate itself into a stupor. When eight squads of Mushroom Knights found it it was curled up asleep in a haystack, and the fight was over quickly with minimal casualties. Even though there haven’t been any more Were Rabbits encountered for nearly 500 years, the Mushroom Knights continue to practice drills for an attack and the creature is one of the most feared throughout the kingdom.
Eyeshanks
Seen only a handful of times, the things known as Eyeshanks are frightful beasts made up of a pair of hairy legs and a giant mouth on which sits an even larger eyeball. Standing upright and about six-feet tall an Eyeshanks will charge straight at anything it deems edible, opening its mouth and launching itself the last few feet towards its prey. The creature is quick in a straight line, but without arms or a tail for stability, it doesn’t turn very well. Still one chomp usually proves fatal. Being made up of nearly half eyeball, the Eyeshanks does have a rather exploitable weakness.
Black Dancer beetles
A very odd creature, the Black Dancer Beetle is about five-feet long somewhat resembling a cockroach with a shiny jet-black shell. It is quite fast and will scuttle up to gnomes then stand upright on its back legs shuffling from side to side in a dance of sorts as it makes a strange rattling sound and stares at its audience with black, beady eyes. No one has stuck around long enough to see what happens next but there have not been any recorded attacks by the strange bug.
Mug Flies
Mug Flies are giant, disgusting flies. Their young hatch inside of their abdomens, which become bloated, squirming sacks. When the fly spots a living creature it buzzes around in the air above it dropping its live larva down onto the target. When it has dropped all its young the fly crashes to the ground and dies. The wriggling maggots, six to eight inches in length, bite and hold onto the unfortunate beast excreting a toxin that will slowly kill it if the poor creature cannot dislodge them quickly. Any maggots that missed the target zone smell their way over to the dying creature and join the feast. Eventually the maggots turn into adult flies and start the cycle over again. Luckily Mug Flies are rare and don’t venture too far from the edges of Donglemore.
The Terrible Wyrm
The Terrible Wyrm was an unprecedentedly large inchworm of sorts that crawled out of the pit of Donglemore. It was over 50 feet in length with a row of razor sharp spikes down either side and large pinchy mandibles. After gorging itself on a small farmstead, mushroom houses and all, it headed south on a course directly towards the Great Carrot. When the wyrm’s path was recognized, runners were sent to Kingstown to raise the alarm while as many knights as could be mustered gave chase and harried the beast until it lost them in the Mountains. When the wyrm emerged from the mountains right on the doorstep of The Great Carrot a hundred Mushroom Knights led by King Gobeak himself, as well as hundreds more farmers and villagers armed with pitchforks, axes, shovels and hoes were there waiting for it with more and more arriving. A great battle was fought on the slopes of Carrot Mountain and the Terrible Wyrm was finally laid low and the Great Carrot saved. The worm was too big and heavy to bring to Kingstown and so the head was brought back and put on display in the hall of deeds. Sections of moss covered carapace can still be seen poking out of the ground on the northern slope of Carrot Mountain to this day.
The Frilled Land Fish
The odd fish-like creature known as the Frilled Land Fish was an enormous fish thing with a spiky frill, stone-hard scales, a long whip-like tail and squishy, suctiony legs that crawled up over the sharp walls of Donglemore and began venturing south. Mushroom Knights were quickly summoned, but the scales proved too hard for their weapons to penetrate, the mouth too devoursome to stand before and the tail too strong and smashy to assault. The knights harried the beast as best as they could but dealt it little hurt as it lumbered on its way. Fortunately, the creature was quite slow and it eventually dried out under the sun and died not ten miles from North-South Town. No one knows what the beast wanted but its very nature suggests that there is still a significant presence of water down in the evil pit of Donglemore.