Author: chatdemon

(Used with permission. Do not repost or resdistribute without express consent of the author.)

Province Name: Westgate, Barony of

Ruler: Margho Vishan, Baroness of Westgate

Government: Hereditary Barony, controlled by the house Brothaigh (minor Oeridian nobles
heavily intermarried with the local Flan population) since the Baronies charter
in 499.

Capital: Millen

Population:
Humans (F,O,s) 26,650
Elves 3,368
Gnomes 821
Halflings 2,298
Dwarves 1,660
Half-Elves 402
Half-Orcs 213

Languages:
The local dialect of Keolandish is heavily marked with words and phrases from Flan, Old Oeridian and the language of the Wood Elves, given the relatively high influence of those peoples in the Barony.

Religions:
Beory, Aerdrie Faenya, Ehlonna, Obad-Hai, Solonor Thelandira, Atroa, Sotillon, Telchur, Wenta, Berei, Lydia, Mayaheine, Kord

Alignments: NG, N, LN, CG

Towns: (population appears in italics next to the town name)
Archer's Bluff 197
Founded about 100 years ago as a line of defense against the Lizardfolk raids plaguing the County of Eor, Archer's Bluff is a quiet, sleepy village of woodsmen, fowlers and hunters nestled amoung the trees overlooking the King's highway as it winds its way south along the banks of the Javan. It was here that the Baronies archers stood their ground against the vicious Lizardfolk, securing what became the border between the new Barony and the besieged County. The village is notable for two reasons; first being its exceptional yearly bounty of wild game fowl, carefully hunted in the fringes of the Dreadwood with the blessings (and oversight) of the local Elves, rangers and druids. Second, the village is now the site of a school of bowmanship endorsed by the King himself (who is, after all, a native of the area, hailing from nearby Grayhill). The Arrowsong school now attracts aspiring archers from all ends o the Sheldomar valley, and is reputed to be one of the finest schools of its type anywhere in the Flanaess. Read more about Archer's Bluff here.

Brokenoak 261
Brokenoak is a small village standing in an ancient glade in the forest. Local legends say that this was the ancestral home of the Brokenoak Grugach tribe, who were all but slaughtered by the Malhel Suloise clan as they looted and defiled the woods before dissapearing. The village now serves as a base of operations for many of the Elves and rangers of the area who have taken it as their sacred duty to keep the curious and foolhardy away from the mysterious ruins two or three days walk to the southeast. The population given considers all who call this tiny village home, but travelers to Brokenoak can expect to find only ¼ to 1/3 of the listed number actually in the village at any given time.

Copperhead 639
Copperhead is a good sized mining town located in the northeast corner of the Barony in the Good Hills. As the name suggests, the main export here is copper, that is shipped to Cryllor to be minted into the kingdom's Sparrows, as copper coins are known in Keoland. The majority of the Baronies Gnomes, Dwarves and Half-Orcs are found in and around this town, since the influence of the Elves ot the Baronies woodlands is at its lowest here. It is worth noting that through a longstanding agreement between Baroness Margho and Count Ignas of Cryllor, no copper is sent to Millen. All trade in metals and gems is routed through Cryllor city, and in exchange, most woodcraft in the area is centered in the various towns of Westgate. The deal is heavily slanted in Cryllor's favor, but the Baroness and her advisors are eager to strengthen their alliance with Manz because they see him as a valuable ally in the political battles sure to come between them and Viscount Richart of Nume Eor. Also, the folk of Westgate barony view Cryllor as a dirty, corrupt city filled with smoky forges and thieves lured by the branch of the royal mint located there, where coins are stamped and tradebars forged to be shipped to the treasury in Niole Dra, so they gladly accept the arrangement and focus mainly on their farming and woodcraft, leaving the precious metal trade to their more cosmopolitan northern neighbors.

Dancingleaf 773
This is the oldest town in the Barony, settled first around -500 CY by a group of Suloise immigrants devoted to the goddess Lydia. The friendly and peaceful Lydians adapted quickly to life among the Flan and Elven locals, and were eventually accepted as neighbors. The small stone chapel the Lydians constructed here still stands, and most of the Baronies bards and minstrels call this town home. In addition, the festivals held in honor of each of the four seasons (and their respective gods) are held here, and many of the Baronies folk travel to Dancingleaf for the weeklong celebrations.
On a more boring note, according to the agreements with the local Elves and rangers, all lumber logged in the Dreadwood in this area must pass through Dancingleaf for inspection and taxation before being shipped to Millen or Cryllor for sale.
The town is always lively, even well into the nights, and is known throughout the area as a fun loving, rowdy town of simple things; cheerful song, strong mead, and down to earth woodsfolk. .
Located here is a 2 century old establishment called Goldenflame Brewery and Chandlery. A sprawling estate similar in appearances to a early 19th century plantation (in the southern USA) is surrounded by a low but stout wall of fieldstone, now covered most of the year in ivy. The breweries mead is famous throughout western Keoland, Sterich and the Yeomanry, and the proprietress, an Elven woman named Amrythyn Goldenflame, is said to be a skilled sorceress whose candles can provide more than mere light and warmth if the price is right.
Amrythyn's field of beehives has also attracted a dozen or so minor worshippers of Bralm (druids and clerics, level 1-3) who have established a small shrine and help with tending the hives and keeping tresspassers out.The bees themselves are a source of some pride in the town, haveing been "recruited" by a local druid to thwart a band of goblins raiding out of the woods about a decade ago.

Millen 1,892

Millen is a small but bustling city located on the banks of the Javan as it turns south from Longspear and charges into the Hool Marsh to the south. The rapid flow of the river has given rise to a number of mills driven by sturdy waterwheels that dot the landscape on the river's banks not only in the city itself, but stretching almost a mile to the north and south as well. Logs brought in from Dancing Leaf are cut into timbers which are shipped either south to Westkeep and Monmurg for shipbuilding, or more often recently, north to Istivin, Flen and other towns ravaged by the wars for rebuilding purposes..
The National Academy of Wizardry keeps a small but well appointed guildhouse here, overseen by a fairly young (for his position) mage named Coln Marbury (LN Human (Suel/Oerid) male, Aris 4, Wiz 6). Coln is embittered at being sent to what he considers a backwater village of simpleminded commoners, and spends most of his time trying to get into the good graces of Baroness Margho and her advisors, in hopes of breaking into the social scene in Cryllor. Other national guilds are represented as well, and it is rumored that both the Silent Order and the Dreadwalkers have established safehouses here for their agents.
The Baroness' estate is a huge, rambling expanse of farmland and light woods just to the east of town, and it is here, in the old but well kept mansion that most of the business of the barony is conducted.
Millen, it should be pointed out, has only minimal capacity for the large ships that ply the riverway, having only 3 large wharves where lumber is loaded onto ships, as well as a handful of smaller docks where ferries and fishing boats may be found. Most trading ships not in the lumber industry usually pass this city by, heading north to Longspear and Cryllor, or south to Westkeep and Monmurg.

Allies:

Cryllor County,
Baroness Margho has long been at least a grudging ally of Count Ignas, fully supporting his motions to annex the Little Hills, since she believes such a change in the borders would alleviate much of the poaching and illegal logging by the Yeomen. After some initial distrust, Margho has accepted the authority of Lady Regent Lora Manz during her father's sickness in light of recent actions taking by Lora to put down bandits along the King's Highway in the two provinces. Margho has pledged her support in such matters and is prepared to recognize further calls for general muster from Cryllor.

Barony of Grayhill,
Grayhill and Westgate have long been allies and kinsmen, sharing the same bond with the woodlands and woodsfolk. Also, Margho isn't stupid, and realizes that having Kimbertos on the Lion Throne and Lord Mage Lashton at his side means that she needs to grant Baron Markos and his faction in Grayhill a bit more leeway in conducting local politics. (In other words, Margho isn't above kissing Kimbertos' kid brother's ass to further the affairs of the Grayhill and Westgate area.)

Dreadwood Protectorate,
The people of Westgate are stalwart about observing the treaties and agreements made with their woodland neighbors, and Margho is no exception. The people of the Barony have a centuries old alliance with the Elves and other inhabitants of the woods, especially visible during the incidents of Yeoman poaching and logging in recent years.

Good Hills Union
Accustomed to dealing with the serious and almost somber Elves and woodsmen of the southern half of her Barony, Margho finds it a bit difficult to relate to the Gnomes and Halflings of the Good Hills to the north. For this reason she has adopted an informal policy of deferring to Count Manz (of Cryllor) in matters of local politics with the Union. Since the Union prefers to deal more with Countess Allita of Flen, there is little interaction with them anyway. The miners around Copperhead are careful to respect the territorial rights of their northern neighbors though, to avoid giving the Gnomes any reason to want to push them out of the hills.

Rivals / Enemies:

Yeomanry :
Poaching and illegal logging by the Yeomen have been a problem in the Barony for centuries. The problem seems to have escalated since the wars and Count Manz of Cryllor's seizure of Yeoman lands west of the Javan, with logging and poaching raids across the border growing more common and more daring. Baroness Margho has been petitioning the Court of the Land for more military support to discourage the Yeomen, but with little response so far. Margho is also a visible and vocal supporter of Count Manz's interests in the Little Hills, and has pledged any support her Barony can offer in such matters if Manz will honor her rights in regard to poaching and logging in the woodlands.

Nume-Eor :
Until the Viscounty to the south fell to Lizardfolk raids in the last decade of the 5th century CY, the Barony of Westgate was a nominal subject of the Count of Eor, created to sooth the strong Flan population of the area by granting them a figurehead leader from their peers. When the raiding became more severe, the Barony was in the hands of the Brothaigh house of Oeridian nobles, who had craftily married into the influential Flan families of the area to increase their power in local politics. Donnart Vishan, the Baron at the time of Eor's fall took credit for a series of skirmishes and raids that kept the road open to the village of Archer's Bluff in the southern fringe of his holdings, as well orchestrating a clever sweep of the river by skiffs carrying sturdy and experienced crossbowmen in conjuction with allied Yeoman spearmen that ensured the Lizardfolk would not be able to interrupt trade along the Javan. In return for this, the Crown and a unanimous (excepting the Count of Eor, of course) ratification by the Court of the Land granted Westgate full status as a royal Barony, free of Eor's oversight.
Baroness Margho is suspicious of her newly reinstated Nume-Eor neighbors, fearing attempts by Viscount Richart to reclaim what he feels are his rightful lands. Tensions have escalated recently with the establishment of the village of Haven in Nume-Eor as a refuge for the nation's Half-Orc population. Westgate's people share much of their heritage with their Elven peers, and a centuries old prejudice toward Orcs is difficult to overcome, especially in light of the bitter wars with the savage humanoids of the Crystalmists and Jotens still fresh in everyone's memory. Margho has kept formal complaint limited to emotional pleas to the Court of the Land, but rumors of rowdy brawls and drunken Half-Orc blowhards, resting during their trip south to Haven, being tossed into the Owl Stream outside Archer's Bluff's tavern are making their way through the Barony.

NPCs of Note:

Baroness Margho Vishan
(NG Human (Flan) Female Comm3/Aris8)
Margho inherited her title from her husband Lucias Vishan, a minor noble of the Brothaigh house who ascended the seat of the Barony upon the death of his father. Baron Lucias was killed early in the Wars when a band of Ogres fell upon Millen. The ogres were repelled with little material damage to the town, but nearly 50 men, including the Baron, died in the fighting. Margho has been well loved by her people since taking power nearly 6 years ago, and has developed advantageous relations with Count Ignas and Baron Markos of Cryllor and Greyhill, respectively. Margho was born a peasant in a small farming hamlet near the southern town of Archer's Bluff, and thusly has a connection to the people that few of the rulers of the Barony have had in recent years. She has one son, 9 year old Scilus, who she is careful to keep by her side at all official functions, as well as the seasonal festivals in Dancingleaf, in hopes that the people of Westgate will grow to love and be loyal to him as they are to her.

Amrythyn Goldenflame
(LN Elf (Wood) Female Sor7/Cand4)
Amrythyn is middle aged for an elf, at 384 years old, she has overseen the Goldenflame Brewery and Chandlery for most of her adult life. Having a lifelong fascination with honey bees (She is a devotee of the goddess Bralm), she abandoned a forgettable adventuring career to purchase a small Dancingleaf village beekeeping business in 402 CY. Wisely consulting with some of the local Halfling community (who form the bulk of her staff, which numbers around 40), she soon developed recipes for mead and honeyed ale that far surpassed the profits the former owners had carved out peddling only honey. The mead, ale, honeyed candies and of course honey produced by the Goldenflame establishment have since become famous throughout the western Keoish provinces, as well as the Yeomanry and Sterich, and have made Amrythyn and her staff quite rich.
As is typical for an elf, Amrythyn eventually grew bored with tinkering with mead and candy recipes and left most of the Brewery details to her loyal Halfling employees to oversee, focusing her attention on another product of her beloved bees, wax. She has since become an experienced and innovative practitioner of arcane chandlery (as she calls it, she's a Candle Caster to most people). Many of the nobles and idle rich of Millen, Cryllor and even Longspear have begun to take great interest in her enchanted candles, which fetch outrageous prices (around 100 gp per level of the spell within, far more than the going rate for such items, but her reputation as Dancingleaf's "Bee Lady" for almost 200 years warrants her inflated prices, which many folk gladly pay. It is important to play Amrythyn up as being far more skilled than she actually is to convey her reputation among the people of western Keoland. PCs, though they may not be able to afford her items, shouldn't automatically realize that she is all hype. Feel free to let them blow 200 gp on one of the Bee Ladies special "charisma enhancing votive candles" only to find out later that it is enchanted with a simple Alter Self spell.
Amrythyn is quiet and somewhat reclusive, finding herself growing disconnected from the pulse of the lives of the short lived Humans and Halflings of her adopted hometown (she is originally from Enstad). She does enjoy strolling the streets of town each morning though, usually with a pouch full of honeyed candies which she passes out to all the young children she meets playing in the streets. It is rumored, and fairly obviously true, that she is seeking a lifemate and having dreams of motherhood, though she blushingly denies this and buries herself in her work.