Rookgaard Academy

The Rookgaard Academy is north of the Rookgaard temple. There you'll find a NPC called Seymour. To him you can say "Hi" and "Mission" and he'll give you a mission, it can be to collect dead rats for him (he compensates you at 2 gp each), or find a present box depending on your level. Also, he can sell you "The key to the adventure". If you just ask "Key" he'll ask you if you want to buy it for 5 gold pieces. If you have the money and say "Yes", he'll give you it. It leads to a room under the academy, where there is a teleport. The teleport leads you to next room, where you can find a troll, a spider, a bug, and a wolf downstairs. These can be released by pulling certain levers.

Rookgaard's beasts vol.1
The rat - I fear we brought this pest with us on the isle and they soon increased in numbers. You might encounter the rats nearly everywhere, though they prefer to live undergound. Mostly harmless, they tend to destroy food supplies and can become dangerous in greater numbers to the bad equiped human. The snake - The poisonous snakes hide in the woods and near the northern swamps. They usually can be found at the shores more often then in the isles centre. They are not too dangerous to a adventurer with some basic equipment. If poisoned it is a wise decision to run straight to the monk who guards the soul vortex, where everyone enters the world of Tibia, and ask for healing. The spider - Similarly dangerous as the rat, the spiders were found by the first explorers of the isle and are native to Rookgard. They live above and beneath ground and tend to live and hunt in packs to increase their danger. The wolf - There are some smaler wolf packs on this isle. Wolves are fast, tough and dangerous. Often they are the hunters and not the hunted on this island. It is a good decision to engage them in combat only with decent equipment and try to fight them only one on one. The troll - Though intelligent in a limited way, the cowardish trolls are not a threat to our small outpost. They are able to create and use some basic equipment and quite tough to lesser weapons and unskilled fighters. Follow the advise to have mastered some basics in shielding, before you challenge even one of them. The bear - bears are hard to beat! Keep that in mind before challenging one. If you are unexperienced and have no good equipment, retreat is the tactic of choice. Best kill them in small hunting parties and use terrain to your advantage.

Rookgaard's beasts vol.2
The orc - The green skinned orc is intelligent and able to use weapons and armor. They are warriors of some power and very dangerous in greater numbers. We are lucky not to have encountered any of the more dangerous orcs like warriors or berserkers on this isle. The poison spider - Roughly only slightly tougher then the ordinary spider it can poison you. Try to avoid such fate since they usually live far from our base and you might not make it to our local monk for healing. The bug - The bug is not that dangerous. More an annoyance then a threat to an adventurer of some experience. It might become a lethal threat to a perfect rookie. With some preparation they should not be worth to bother about. The deer - deers are a fine supply for food and are non-agressive animals and try to flee on sight. It might be difficult to catch them and you might easily enter the territory of a local predator while chasing them. The rotworm - A creature of decay that lives underground like its small cousin, the earthworm. Its toothed maw is a formidable weapon and rotworms have torn more then one adventurer to pieces. A horde of them might kill anyone, so great caution is advised while encountering them. Other beasts - It is certain, that other beast live in the dungeons of our isle. But they are not numerous enough to become recognized yet. If you encounter any unknown beast it is certainly dangerous and a potential lethal enemy. Don't underestimate them. The wasp - fast and deadly to the unexperienced. Their speed makes them dangerous, even more in high numbers

Dungeon Survival Guide
Don't explore the dungeons before you tested your skills in the training cellars of our academy. You will find dungeons somewhere in the wilderness. Don't enter dungeons without equipment. Especially a rope and a shovel will prove valuable. Make sure you have a supply of torches with you, while wandering into the unknown. It's wise to travel the dungeons in groups and not alone. For more help read all the books of the academy before you begin exploring. Traveling in the dungeons will reward the cautious and brave, but punish the reckless.

Tactics handbook
Use train to your advantage. Aviod fighting more then one enemy at once. Be carefull while chasing an enemys, you might get hurt by his allys or other monsters and can't defend yourself, while trageting him. Target only the closest enemy or you'll become confused and might not be able to defend yourself against other attacks. Different enemies require different tactics. Some are better to be fought in an agressive way, encounter others in the defesive way. Choosing between your attackstyles also is depended from your equipment, if you have only little defense, there is likely no point in fighting devensive and the other way round.

The fauna of rookgaard.
One of the native trees of this isle is the rookiepine. This tough tree grows almost everywhere and can withstand the common storms in the harsh winter. Another tree you can find is the dwarfenoak. The smaler cousin of the tibian oak is a fast growing tree and so the most common wood supply on rookgaard as well as on the continent. Only botanist can distiguisch the dwarfenoak from the strang rookguard banannatree. On rookguard there is an oaklike plat which fruits resemble Bannanas in shape and tase that much. noone can make out the difference of the fruits. To all persons without knowledge in botanology the only hint to find a bannanatree is the whiteblossom flower that often seems to live in a kind of symbiosis with the cherry tree. The dragontongue plant is easily spotted by its deep red blossoms and rumored to be an usefull reagent in varrious alchemical potions. The swamplants are that numerous and various that we didn't have a chance for an extensive calssification.

The Knights:
Knights are unparraleled in close combant. They are masters of most weapons and the shield. A skilled knight can inflict enormous damage even with the lesser weapons

The druids:
Druids conectrate on the magics of nature and acquire great healing powers. They also adept in the use of some offensive and protective spells.

The paladins:
Paladins are great archers and also their spears hardly miss their marks. They are able to cast some minor spells of healing and protection.

The sorcerer:
sorcerers are masters of magic. They posses an enormous arsenal of spells of protection and destruction.

The citys of the continent:
Fibula is a small village on an isle southwest of the mainland. Its under the rulership of the Thais monarchy. Its rumored that beneath this isle are caves and dungeons of unknown but certainly ancient origin. On the mainland is the city of Thais, ruled by the wise and just King Tibianus. His explorers found the new soulvortex on this isle and build this base to protect and train the incoming heroes. In the far northwest is the city of Carlin, that is ruled by amazons. The stuborn so called queen refuses to accept the rulership of the Thais monarchy over the whole continent. At the great bay, east of Thais lies a rotten town of criminals. Little is known about it and only the most ruthles people even think about travelling there. The dwarfen town, north of mount sternum, the central tibian mountainmassive, is the home of the tibian dwarfs. If you are looking for smiths of unparraleled skill you should travel there. Farer north, at the northern shores you find the elven city of Ab'Dendriel. There live the elves, masters of nature and masterhunters.

Magic
There are two kinds of spells: rune-spells, and spontaneous spells. Rune-spells are cast on blank runestones and some mana is used up in this proces. This stones can easily be carried around and store the specific spell. It can be used at any time, and only some require further investment of mana. Spontaneous spells are cased in the heartbeat they are needed and take effect instantly. Most of these spells are spells of healing but some of them are agressive and some even have more astonishing effectes, as invisibility, illusionary shapechage etc.

The Soulvortex
Its said that in ancient times, the gods created a great vortex to allow the souls of spirits from 'beyond' enter the realm of Tibia. Through this vortexportal many great heroes were able to manifest themselves on Tibia. In their new bodys they fought againt the forces of destruction. But also agents of destruction and evil entered the world through this portal. More and more the dark forces used the portal to spread over Tibia and to annoy, disrupt and subvert the brave people of the world. Some of the evil spirits remained long enough in this world to wreak even more havoc on the good people of Tibia. Destruction of all that others had built, slaying of new manifested souls as soon as they left the vortex. The gods watched in grief what had become of their great accomplishment. And one day Uman and Banor combined their awesome forces and split the vortex. One strand now aimed to the isle of rookgaard, the other one remained aimed on the temple of Thais. From this day on the newborn heroes awakened on the holy and protected isle of rookgaard and only the stronger and better prepared souls could travel to the continent. Guided by omens an expedition of brave warriors from the thaian order of the knights of noodles traveled the perillious seas the the remote isle of rookgaard and discovered the new soulvortex. Soon this base was built and this fine academy founded. Praise the gods and our King.

My travels.
As the orcs approached I've hidden myself in the bushes near the lake. I did hardly dare to breath as they met only some inches from my nose. I thought my wild beating heart might betray me to this murderous beasts. I overheared the greenskined brutes. 'charach' (or so) one said and the other responded the same way, then they began to chat in their strange language, certainly talking about some gruesome plot against mankind. Talking they wandered away and after they vanished from my view I quickly got up and headed to Thais as fast as I could.

The Awaking of the Gods BOOK ONE
In the beginning there was only the big gaping void. It was omnipresent and nowhere. Into this desert entered Fardos, the creator, and Uman Zathroth, incorporating magic. Nobody knows where they came from or whether they always have existed and just awaked from the deep slumber of the infinity. Fardos fulfilled by the need to create and give birth. He stepped into existence and began immediately with the act of the creation, because he was fully creative power and impatient. His godly powers emerged from him and created, formed. But all his works slipped out of his hands as the void was everywhere. No single work was to last. Everything that he devised dissolved in the void even before it was completed. Uman Zathroth regarded his undertakings thoughtfully, because Uman Zathroth was wise and fullfilled with magic powers and insatiable hunger for knowledge, comprehension and enlightenment. He was a creature similar and nevertheless different to the clear working of the Fardos, because mysteries and secrets were the aspects of his being. Uman and Zathroth were two entities and nevertheless one. Uman was the light, bright aspect of the magic strength. His was the gift to work benign wonders. Zathroth however, his different - dark - side, was corruptive urge, the vain self purpose of magic, destructive and a desecration! This entity, which was two and one nevertheless, observed now the works of his companion in infinity.

The Awaking of the Gods BOOK TWO
For a long time Fardos exhausted his enormous powers in futile activity. Finally he asked his companion for support in his attempts. Uman consented only too readily, but Zathroth, the dark one of the twins, refused himself. Thus Fardos and Uman strived together to attempt the creation - however their laborings were not rewarded with success again. Just like before everything was drained away as soon as they created it, and Zathroth laughed full of contempt. The power however, which Uman and Fardos spent, did seep away in the universe-filling void. Nobody knows whether it was this power that lured another entity to them, whether it aroused this godly being, or whether in a mysterious way it created this entity. In any event, suddenly the enormous entity Tibiasula rose from the void and examined the two other godly beings. Fardos and Uman welcomed Tibiasula as their sister and admired her, because she was the perfect unity of the elements. Zathroth however fumed with silent hate, as he didn't want to share the void with one more entity.

The Great Creation BOOK ONE
Uman in his wisdom recognized the possibilities, which revealed themselves to them here, and he asked Tibiasula join in the circle of the creators and help them with the task of the creation. Tibiasula agreed, because she also was fascinated by the idea of the creation. Uman, whose nature was to win secrets and gain insights, had relized what their error at the preceding attempts had been: Without a fixed pivot point there was no existence possible, and everything had to diffuse away as it was without direction and target. And to remedy that he invented TIME! In order to create the time, the Gods united their powers. Even Zathroth was fascinated by the idea of his other half and contributed a tiny proportion of his strength to the effort. The wise claim that it is to be due to his working that all time strives in the long run to decay and destruction. The powers of the godly bundled themselves to an enormous power greater than any in existence before. It began to crystallize itself in the void to an enormous spiral. Higher and higher it mounted up, became firmness, pivot point, direction and aim of existence! And in such a way the crystal column of time grew upwards and was from then on the unmovable center of creation.

The Great Creation BOOK TWO
But even at the culmination point of the creation Zathroth bundeled all his destructive powers to a weapon and pushed it with all the strength that he could muster into the heart of Tibiasula, whose existence he did not want to endure any more. And as the divinity was weakened by the creation and without suspicion and resistance, the deadly attack penetrated to the core of her being and destroyed her. The elements - fires, water, earth and air - were jerked out of their harmony and landed at the base of the column of time.

The Birth of the Elements BOOK ONE
Schocked Uman and Fardos tried to grab hold of the dispersing being of Tibiasula, but it was about to slip out of their hands like their creations before. They wove a powerful spell, the spell of the creation, in order to bind Tibiasulas essence to the column of time. As Zathroth laughed loudly, in his vain triumph, he did not understand their words, and so the secret of creation and life stayed hidden from him forever. They however wove the fleeting elements to powerful strands. Althought they did not succeed in uniting them again but the individual parts became something new, the first real creation. Thus the living part became Tibia, born from the element earth, Sula became the sea washing around it. Air rose over the creation and layed itself like a protecting blanket over the creation, and the fire seeped under it and began to warm it up. Behold: Each of the separate parts of the god was full of life and divinity! But none of the elements possessed the spirit of the Tibiasula, but they were wild and impetuous, following always the impulses which corresponded to their nature.

The Birth of the Elements BOOK TWO
And Uman and Fardos were chagrined about the dastardly deed or Zathroth. They decided to create from the elements something new, similar to Tibiasula. For a long time they looked for a way of achie this end. Finally Uman found a solution: the birth, which created live from live. One of the Godly had to unite with one of the elements and could thus create a new entity. Thus Fardos and the Fire united, and the Fire bore two children, Fafnar and Suon, the Suns of Tibia. Suon of calm and considerate nature. But Fafnar, its sister, was self-willed and stubborn. She rose vainly over the elements and began to scorch them. Therefore Suon also rose up in order to stop his sister. A wild struggle started and pretty soon it turned out that Suon was the stronger one of the two. So Fafnar fled under Tibia into the parental fire, but Suon wanted his sister to promise him never to scorch the other elements again.

The Birth of the Elements BOOK THREE
Thus he followed the vain sister and sought her it. She however was quick and escaped from him again. She escaped on the other side and again rose over all elements, and began anew, to scorch these. When Suon followed her now, in order to punish her, she didn't let it come not a further test of strength and escaped the brother immediately. He followed the teasing and aggravating sister tirelessly into the embrace of the fire. But Fafnar was a step ahead of him and had already fled again onto the other side over the elements ... and in such a way this continues to go on even today. Uman united himself with the earth, which we know as Tibia. And the earth bore him Crunor, the first tree. Crunor was full of charm and vitality. Also he loved his own shape, but he was wiser than Fafnar and possessed the gift of modesty. Inspires by the creation he bore from itself all the plants, small and large! And they spread out on the body of mother Tibia, like a dress - it was a delight to see.

The Birth of the Elements BOOK FOUR
Fardos connected himself with air, and its child was called Nornur, fate. Nornur envied the brother Crunor because of his shape, as he was hardly more than wind and nebulae, and he asked he brother for assistance in creating a shape for him. But no matter how hard the brothers tried, Nornur couldn't appear to be much more than a shadow of a ghost. Thus Nornur decided to create creatures in order to reveal himself. Thus the spiders came into the world, which are able to web their ghostlike spiderwebs, which copy Nornurs shape, and thus praise and honor him. Also Uman and Sula, the sea, found together, and they conceived Bastesh, the unfathomable one. She was exceedingly beautiful, and the Godly were astonished. But Fafnar, the sun, looked upon all this beauty full of envy! When the newly born Bastesh looked up to her, she attacked her with fiery claws in the face and scratched it dreadfully. Probably Bastesh would not have survived the attack of her sister, had not the other Gods hurriedly come to help and driven away the ravishing Fafnar. Bastesh however was frightened and disfigured. Full of fear she fled into the embrace of her mother Sula. In the depths of the seas the unfathomable one hides herself since that time, and little is known about her and her workings. Only the fact that the sea has been populated since that time by numerous creatures, may tell us that Bastesh seems to create these in the depth. In addition it is said that since that time the water of the seas is salty from the tears, which the disfigured Bastesh sheds out of anguish and pain.

The First Creatures BOOK ONE
Zathroth however was delighted by the destructive potential, which Fafnar showed, and he looked upon her with delight. He flattered her with compliments, and he succeeded in seducing her. Thus they conceived Brog, the fiery raging berserker. Brog possessed only little of his fathers wisdom, and the heat of his mother burned only deep inside of him. There however the fire became more ravaging and more hurting, and the rough titan raged and cried that the elements were shaken. Inexpressible pain troubled him, until the blocheaded Brog compacted his magical powers and hurled a major part of the fire far away from himself. From the fire, which did not want to cool down, however immediately the first dragon, called Garsharak, rose and he bore many further lower dragons in the course of the centuries from his fire and his magic, of the like we know today.

The First Creatures BOOK TWO
Brog however laughed over the dragon, which he had create, because he roamed over Tibia and was a terror to the few other creatures. Brog was fascinated by this created being and its terrible children, although they showed him neither loyalty nor respect. Thus Brog created further life, imitiating his shape, in order to please him, and so the cyclops entered the world. Zathroth however was angered, because he thought the cyclos stupid and awkward. Too little trouble did they spread in the world, because they quarried in Tibia for metals and enjoyed to process it with fire and force. They were too few for his likes, because they hardly grew in numbers. Thus Zathroth reprimanded his blockheaded son and ordered him to create new life. For he himself still could not understand the secret of life. Under his guidance the first trolls, numerous and vexatious, developed but still without the malicious cunning, which Zathroth desired. Next father and son therefore created the orcs. And the orcs turned out just like the dark God wanted them. They flowed over Tibia, spread out and began to devastate it.

The War over the creation BOOK FOUR
The good Gods created and threw race after race into the struggle about the world. All of them were defeated! Almost everyone of the old races, which we know only as the Ancients, was defeated and buried by the sands of the time, because they were on match to the agressive rage and the emontionless intrepidity of their opponents. According to our knowledge, only the delicate elves in their cities deep in the forests and the dwarves in their fortresses deep under the mountains survived the corpse wars, although at some campfires rumors are spread about other races, created by both sides for this unholy war, and of which some individuals are said to still be around. Just as strong and powerful as these peoples were, they were one-sided and of little flexibility. Worse still: Some creatures succumbed to the temptations of Zathroth about power and great knowledge. They switched sides, and rumor has it that the most powerful of the Ancients were hurled out of this world by the good Gods for their betrayal to suffer eternally in the sphere, which was created in order to punish them for their misdeeds, and changed to what nowadays is called the daemons. All their magic, which was probably given to the old peoples in excess, could not make them victorious, and they and their buildings disappeared gradually from the face of Tibia.

The War over the creation BOOK THREE
But on the other hand, many dragons fell due to the onslaught of the enormous hordes of orcs and their allies. Until today none of the old peoples has recovered from the great war. Tibia was completely scattered with the corpses of the great battle, and all life threatened to be suffocated thereby. There the gods decided that Uman should unite with the earth in order to create a godly being, which would take care of the dead. But Zathroth used a deception and appeared to the earth as its other side, Uman, and conceived in his place a being. This was the birth of Urgith, the master of the undead. And immediately the dead ones began to raise themselves on his calling, and they all were his creatures. Like the orcs before them, now the undead covered the body of the mother Tibia, and his children, the rats, were Urgith's messengers and scouts. Then however Uman and Tibia united, as it had been agreed upon, and Toth was born. Toth became the guardian of the dead ones and sent his large worms which began to devour the undead. For a long time the struggle lasted and again no end was to be foreseen.

The War over the creation BOOK TWO
Basteth wanted to come to aid her cousin, but her creatures, large and dreadful as they were simply could not walk ashore. She was only able to send the snakes, but they were too weak, and the orcs too powerfull. Thus she gave them pus from her festering face wounds as dangerous poison. But too bad! Still the bad orcs, equipped with cyclop weapons, were too powerful and too malicious. But when the Orks threatened to cover Tibia almost completely, the dragon came! They had decided that only they themselves were to be the true and absolute rulers of Tibia. They did know no mercy in their rage! With fire and magic they annihilated the orcs, devastated their cities and drove them into the underworld. Even the cyclops, which hurried furiously to the battle, and auxiliary troops from enslaved trolls were no match against the fiery anger of the dragons. Enormous cyclopic cities were laid into ruins, unbelievable forging factories were lost for all eternity, and until today the cyclops are upset about the orcs because of these losses.

The War over the creation BOOK ONE
Uman was distressed by the actions of his dark side, and he asked Fardos to help him with his attempt to separate from his bad side. For a long time they manipulated and pulled on the essence of Uman-Zathroth, but only to detect that this unitity was destined for eternity. But a small part of Uman-Zatroth, a godly fragment separated itself due to this pulling and strugglig, and it assumed the shape of Kirok, which one would call the crazy one. Kirok was from precipitous, scizophrenic nature. On the one hand he was brilliant and creative, on the other hand one he was ludicrous and full of folly. Thus Kirok became the protection patron of the scientists on the one hand, and the jesters and jokers on the other hand. Meanwhile the gruesome children of the dark gods raged more and more savagely, and the devastation of the world continued without cessation. Some of the other gods did not want to witness anymore, how their creation was troubled and subjected by the creatures after the spirit of Zathroth, and some decided to do something about that. Crunor created the wolves in order to protect his forests against the orcs, but these were too numerous! Only in the deepest forests and in wild herds the wolves learned to defeat their bipedal opponents.

The Creation of Humans BOOK ONE
There the Gods created the first human, Banor, the godly warrior! This entity was filled by the godly power and was full of courage and responsibility. After his image and with parts of his body the Gods created him attendants, Humans. Nobody knows, which Gods brought their powers into the recent creation, and some say that Zathroth spoiled also this creation. Yes, some even state that the good Gods created a twin for Banor, which should embody the powers of magic, whose raw form however was stolen by Zathroth, and he had manufactured from it the first daemonic lords to lead his attendants from hell. Whichever it might be, in any case the humans took on the fight against the crowds of the undead and probably against the dragons, orcs and their unholy attendants, too, and Banor was a glorious leader for mankind.

The Creation of Humans BOOK TWO
Thus the age of the wars of the unliving began. The battles were furious and bloody and for along time no side was apparently winning. Uman gave humans the art of magic and instructed them in the magic crafts. But even the sorcerers could not turn the tables. Some of them turned thereupon away from Uman and called Crunor their lord, in order to serve from then on as druids for the forces of the life. Together with the godly world tree Crunor they created many of the creatures, that populate the wilderness today, although a variety of these creatures was extinguished in the wars of that time. Banor however chose the noblest of the mortal ones, Kirana, as its wife, and she bore him Elane, which possessed as much virtue as combat and magical powers. And she became the first of the noble paladins. Until our times the leader of the paladins is in honors to her a woman and assumes the honorary name Elane.

The Creation of Humans BOOK THREE
All this however could not turn the war luck against the dark hordes. Whereever Banor appeared personally to lead the armies of humans, they triumphed, but on the other battlegrounds they were too often crushed by the dark crowds. Thus Banor asked the gods to help him and the gods in their infinite wisdom created the portal of the souls. By means this mystic of gate souls from planes of existence far, far away of Tibia could be called in order to assume the shape of heroes. With these champions as leaders the humans turned the tables in the great war. They alone under all the mortals had the possibility of becoming similar to Banor, uniting power and cunning. Thus the hordes of undead and their terrible leaders were slowly but inexorably overwhelmed.

Tibia's Renewal BOOK ONE
The heroic powers were just about to seal the defeat of the darkness by steel and manapower but the wars had persisted for too a long time. The world was fragile, the boundaries between the worlds cracked by the enormous powers, which had been employed. Already the armies of the older races were readying themselves to recapture from the humans what the old ones regarded as theirs. Already the children of the darkness, hardly troubled by the undead, risen again to new powers, were waiting to spread chaos over the world. Already the dragons sharpened their talons on their rock, in order to rise again into air to devastate the world in a fiery nightmare. Already the victorious armies of humans threw possessive looks on new targets. Already the daemons hammered on the walls of their breakable prison.

Tibia's Renewal BOOK TWO
There the Gods on both sides stopped. They looked down upon the desintegrating world, and they decided an armistice, because they all wanted power over the creation, not its complete destruction. Thus the Gods threw the charm of the new beginning over the world! Only gradually the recovering sections of the old world started to rise from the nebulas of time, awakened the old races and old frights back to life. It is said that the city of Tibia was the first to rise again, barren of almost all life, without all magic, on a tiny island, deserted and almost devoid of life ... and nevertheless full of age-old secrets. And soon afterwards life returned to the world. Also via the portal of souls old and new heroes found their way to Tibia. Gradually larger sections of the old world emerged from the nebulas, further natures and miracles. But the world is still far from its former splendour and size, and we live in times of change. What today is still natural, may as soon as tomorrow be only a legend, what today is still fantasy, may already tomorrow be reality. But hear ye and listen: Bad spirits also arrived and still arrive by the portal in our realm, in order to do mischief in human shape. Thus one has to face many dangers, and often the world appears to be cruel and hostile.

The troll adventure
As we traveled through the dungeon tunnels we came to a big cave. In the light of our torches we saw several eyes glowing in the darknes, then the trolls attacked, silent as usual. We imediately dropped our torches and raised our shields to block the first attack, then we counterattacked. Soon the floor was wet with blood, ours and theirs. They were verry skilled in blocking our blows and I am sure with inferior weapons we would have hacked on this beasts for an eternity.

About orcs
Orcs ARE intelligent. Though some dwarfes mumble about a shared hivemind of the greenskins, there is no evidence for that. Orcs have speech and are capable to learn other humanoids language quite well ... if they want, what almost never is the case. They lack a written language though. Some of the more educated orcs use human letters to write down orcish texts. Its rumored that the orcs we encounter now and then are just barbarians of their own kind and that there is a more 'civilized' orcish culture somewhere. There are some clues that the orcs indeed had a written language, but the modern orcs is unable to read it as we are.

Once upon a time there was a little gnome.
And as all gnomes he was a treacherous, greedy coward (and that's pretty treacherous, greedy and cowardish). One day in the middle of a deep forest the little gnome met a little girl wearing a pretty red cap. As the greedy gnome saw that she was carrying a bag full of finest bread and a flask of wine, he pretended to be starving and begged the little girl for food and water in a way anoying as only gnomes can be (and that's pretty anoying). But the girl was warned of treacherous gnomes by a valiant huntsman she met before and she quickly ran away from the greedy little gnome. The gnome became angry but was afraid to steal from her, because she might have been stronger than him. So he wandered into the woods cursing as only gnomes can curse (and that's pretty ugly). By chance he almost stumbled over a sleeping bard. Quickly figuring out the magical nature of the flute lying near the sleeping bard, he stole it as quickly as only a gnome can do (and that's pretty quick). Using the magic flute he lured a pack of wolves to the little girls grandmas house and let the beasts chase both into the wilderness and laughed wickedly as only gnomes can laugh (and that's pretty wicked). Laughing the gnome gulped the wine and swallowed the bread as fast as only gnomes can (and that's pretty fast). So he lived in the woods and molested squirrels happily ever after.

Advanced hunting tactics
Most monsters are far more dangerous when you're attacked by more of them. Keep in mind that you can defend only one opponent at a time. Use this to your advantage and attack single monsters with help of other heroes. Don't get sourrounded by monsters, that might be your death even if the monsters are not that powerful.

Empty bookcases
These bookcases are empty: The fifth, sixth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, twentieth and twenty-first.