Fenugog's Wandering Golems

A gnomish master craftsman named Fenugog Fizzlewire ran a famous workshop in the Mercian city of Atherwell between the years of 585 and 649. Fenugog was also a mage, and his workshop specialized in the construction of golems, specifically stone and iron golems. Fenugog’s creations were very much in demand, and as the decades passed many noble villas, temples and government buildings throughout the region obtained one of his golems as a guardian (or status symbol).    

The golems from the Fizzlewire workshop varied widely in size and appearance, but all had the Fizzlewire symbol of a wavy-lined “F” topped by a star carved into its front, and a number (in dwarven runes) carved into its back. No two golems have ever been known to have the same number carved on them, so it is believed that the numbers are unique to the golems, and carved in the order in which they were created.

In the spring of the year 649, Fenugog died suddenly, presumably of old age. His three adult sons immediately closed up the workshop and headed southwest toward the Inland Sea lands. It is not known where they ended up, as they were not heard from again.

Shortly after the sons moved away, Fenugog’s golems began acting erratically and of their own volition. Their masters were no longer able to reliably control them. A few of them became violent, and needed to be dealt with, but for the most part they just began to wander seemingly at random, stopping wherever they felt like, and remaining motionless for weeks, months or years at a time. These periods of stasis would be broken by bursts of activity. A golem might wander into the middle of a temple, into a shop or house, into a farmer’s field, or simply wander off into the wilderness before deciding to just stop for an indeterminate (and unpredictable) period of time.

For the past 58+ years, the movement of Fenugog’s golems has continued. In Mercia and nearby lands, where the people have become used to this behavior, it has become known simply as "The Wandering".

Fenugog’s workshop was in business for 64 years, and it is believed that they made over 300 golems in that time. At least several dozen of them have been destroyed. At least a hundred are believed to still be in Mercia or the immediately surrounding lands. That leaves a great many unaccounted for, and presumably at large in the land. Occasional sightings have been made as far away as the elven lands of Kyrell, the High Plateau, and the Kalembar Federation. An unconfirmed rumor says that an adventuring company recently destroyed number 237 in the Silverflow Valley north of Varlune.