Incident report number 1189. Date [illegible]. Location-Rivish.

Written by Captain Greendal.

The Southwestern garrison intercepted a runner at the break of evening. Taking him into the fortress, his appearance was disheveled and, he was covered in blood. Sending one of my subordinates to question him, he relayed his message to us. He told me that his city, the city of Rivish, was under attack by something. He didn’t know what they were, only that they were made of stone, and fast enough to kill a man in seconds. He said he was part of a group of messengers, all of whom had set out upon the onset of the attack, to warn nearby settlements and request aide from where ever possible. He told me that he initially wasn’t headed for our garrison, instead being destined to go to the nearby location of (the ink is smudged out). However, upon attempting to depart from the Western gate, the group was intercepted by a group of the stone beings outside the gate. They were then slaughtered, although it is uncertain to what extent. The messenger thinks that there might be another survivor, although he isn’t certain.

After witnessing the deaths of his group, the messenger rerouted to the nearest location he knew of that could provide assistance, that being this garrison. Upon delivering his message, he stopped talking, grabbing his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. Further attempts have been made to establish communication, but they have been unsuccessful.

Upon reception of the news of the attack, two lightly armored squads of our quicker soldiers were dispatched, in an attempt to get early control of the situation. Even at their top speed, it took them around 30 minutes to arrive at the city. Squad one successfully put up a defensive line around the Northern entrance of the city, in an attempt to curtail any escaping aggressors and send refugees to the proper locations. Squad two never arrived. Searches have been ongoing, but no traces of equipment, bodies, or have been found in the weeks since their disappearance. The only hint at their fate is the large amount of human blood found about half a league off their planned route. They are to be categorized as missing in action, likely killed.

Squad one reported one group of survivors leaving the Northern gates. They had several wounded, including a small group of city guards of Rivish. The captain on duty spoke to the guard captain present with the group, a Daman Forester. He revealed that, at the start of the evening, a group of unknown stone constructs attacked the city, confirming what the messenger had told us. He elaborated on the situation present in the city in greater detail. He was instructed, by the head of the guard in Rivish, to escort a group of runners to the western gate, before shutting it. Upon doing so, he was to wait there, securing the gate, and letting out any refugees that made their way to him. He also detailed of another squad of guards that were supposed to be at the Northern gate. While the gate was found open, the guards were not present at squad one's arrival, nor could they be located in the city.

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Captain Forester revealed that, of the guards assigned to him, he dispatched almost all of their number to escort survivors back to the gate. Only about half their number returned, heavily injured, with around two dozen people in tow. It should be noted that the city of Rivesh used to be an independent territory, and that its western gate was reinforced to prevent attacks from the Empire, making it heavier and harder to operate than the others present in the city. The construct that was had attacked the group previously showed up, and Forester proceeded to engage in battle for it. He sustained several severe injuries, including two broken ribs, a broken leg, bruising, a concussion, and several lacerations. He will be out of service for at least 4 months. Davinda Wallace arrived and dispatched the golem. They then lead the group to the northern gate. On their way, the group was attacked by three constructs. Davinda was slain by the constructs, but not before dispatching two and heavily damaging a third, which the group was able to harry and decommission. The loss of Davinda Wallace puts the province down a notable power, in a time of brewing war with our neighbors.

The group, after defeating the final construct, made it to the northern gate, where they were sent to the city of Arges.

Squad one continued to hold the exit after the departure of the first group of refugees. Nobody else emerged from it, however. After another 50 minutes, the main bulk of the soldiers arrived. They entered the city through the North gate, where they observed large amount of damage to the city.

They scouted for survivors, sending off individual groups to search. It took approximately 30 minutes from entry into the city to encounter one of the stone creations.

They resemble a tripodal stone golem, with three to six limbs, each capable of moving in many directions and projecting great force. Some are equipped with stone dart launchers. They have a center core that glows pale blue. They’re generally above the height of a man. The constructor of the golems is unknown, and they are of a previously unseen design. They are designated highly dangerous, as it takes a group of soldiers to take one out without excessive risk.

The two found remaining in the city were destroyed. There were 3 injuries amongst the soldiers responsible for clearing Rivish, and no deaths.

A lone survivor was found holed up in a building, surrounded by corpses. The remains of a construct were found nearby. He identified himself as Tom.

Overall, there were 8 destroyed constructs accounted for. However, the amount of damage done to the city suggests that there are several more unaccounted for.

Additionally, the amount of corpses present in the city in significantly less than the amount of people tallied to live in the city during the last census. The only people reported to have survived are the two groups previously mentioned. Although there are undoubtedly others, they have avoided detection and are likely extremely small in number. Nearby settlements report receiving no refugees. This seems to be connected to the increasingly frequent disappearances in the last several years. This does represent a large escalation, however, as generally only farmers and their families would disappear (with the exception of the time a village vanished a year ago).

I am requesting additional soldiers to combat the threat and will be instituting a draft of the surrounding city.

Report End.