Red Caps

Excerpt from that most renowned tome, Bestiary of the Blue Wood, or, Magical Beasts of our past and present as they live by Allister Summers

From farmers to fief lords, everyone has had a run in with Red Caps it would seem, the aggressive goblin-folk who wear red caps and inflict great harm onto those foolish enough to trespass in the ancient ruins they call home. I’ve heard a wide range of legends and tall tales about their habits, origins, and diets, most incorrect. Here I shall lay out what I have pieced together over years of study and encounters.

Firstly, I must address the obvious, the Red Cap’s red cap. The prevailing lore states that their caps are red from soaking them in the blood of their victims. Obviously, this is false. If it were true, we’d all be calling them the ‘Brown Caps’ (as anyone who's seen conflict or scraped their knee can tell you). I’ll hear no more of this

Red Caps are within the family of goblin-folk along with kobolds, hobgoblins and brownies. As such, they are short in stature, reaching at most four feet in height. Pointed ears, talons on hand and knobby fangs are common. They have an intelligence of sort, a form of communication that is nigh impossible to decern. They’re defensive in nature but show little mercy if provoked. I don’t believe them to be evil, but rather they are duty bound to conflict in a war that has never ended.

Studying a solitary Red Cap won’t gleam very much into their habits or disposition. They’ll mostly just hang around whatever ruins they call home, staring out various windows and occasionally catch a rat for supper. However, I had the pleasure of observing a group of 3 Red Caps bunked up together in a watchtower along the Harroway Mountains. Studying them as a group painted a much fuller picture of where they come from and what they believe themselves to be doing.

For the purposes of my study I named them Spear, Arrow, and Paunch. Almost immediately it became clear that Red Caps adhere to a martial hierarchy. Paunch was undoubtedly the commander, calling Spear and Arrow to the Tower’s courtyard for daily mustering and drills. After, they would be given daily duties. Spear would patrol the walls and arrow would roam the grounds scouting and hunting. Paunch would simply pace his quarters, as if pondering tactical decisions. Day after day, the same routine.

Now, this may not seem like much on its own but taken within the context of other sightings and movements I have a hypothesis. All these creatures are soldiers of the same army, the Red Cap Army. Ian Hawkthorne and Anne Kettle, those renown archeologists, write of battlefield excavations in the north, those containing strange arms and armor. Some of these are described as befitting small creatures, fingerless gauntlets and skulls contains fangs.

I purpose that these Red Caps, the ones spread across the land and tucked away in crumbling ruins, are what remains of this ancient army. In the days of legend, before humans settled The Capital, banners were raised by the goblin folk, Red Caps were sewn to show allegiance and they met with some unknown foe on the tundra fields of Aud Kyrn. Tragedy befell the goblins and, leaderless, they were scattered across the land to rally where they can.

One day, perhaps, another will arise and these lost soldiers will gather beneath a new banner to reclaim their ancient homelands. As a true academic, this is something I would very much like to see.