The Southern Baronies

The Southern Baronies Pintar's Keep Pintarton: Little Eastbrook Faesummer Bridge Barony of Eldon Barony of Greenlake Legends, Lore and other Interesting tidbits:

Pintar's Keep

also known as Barony of Tamar, from the river that flows along its southern border. This land is ruled by Baron Pintar, a hobbyt. He was once an adventurer and settled here shortly after Prince Starbow took Greenvale's throne. He has created a prosperous community of some 5,000 hobbyts and humans. The name Tamar comes from Baron Pintar's late wife - he named the barony after her when he founded it, but no one except himself ever used the name. Pintar's Keep refers to the small, ancient keep that sits in the heart of Pintarton, and serves as the Baron's home.

 

Many small farms dot the river-banks, and even the swampy eastern river-bank is becoming well-settled. The swamps are known as the Great Dismal Swamp overall, but small local areas have their own names. Lake Dismal is located on the border between Pintar's Keep and Eldon Barony. This lake is surrounded by Cypress stands and peat bogs. The water is shallow, deeply stained by the peat, almost tea-colored. Much of it is sent north to Saltmarsh and sold by the barrel for use on ships, as it keeps very well for a long time.

 

Villages in Pintar's Keep range in size from Pintarton at almost 1,000 folk, to Aurasburg, Magepond, Faysummer Bridge, Ostmeadow and Little Eastbrook, all between 300 and 600 in population. The rest of the population is scattered in smaller villages or hamlets, single or extended family farms, and as wandering laborers. About 30% of the population is hobbytlan. Another 5% are a mix of Szathair and half-elves.

 

Pintarton is on the north-west bank of Lake Dismal, on the high road between Saltmarsh and Laigladen. Magepond is at the southern end of the lake. Faesummer Bridge is located just at the edge of the Barony, where the road crosses the River Tamar. Little Eastbrook is located where the road from Eldon Barony and the Saltmarsh road join each other.  Aurasburg and Ostmeadow are further off the main road; Aurasburg is located where the River Tamar forks - this is the western most edge of Pintar's Keep, while Ostmeadow is located deep in the richest farming country in the heart of the barony; it is surrounded by farms and small villages.

 

A strange tale is often told of the tiny friendly Grippli or frog men who dwell in the swamps. It is said that they are powerfully magical and can enchant a man merely by looking at him.

 

The major problems facing the Barony of Pintar's Keep are threefold: bandits who seem to come mostly from Greenvale or the Barony of Eldon, Orcs and Bugbears from the Anhieldfast forest to the east, and the occasional more aggressive monster out of the swamps.

 

While the main revenues for the barony come from crops, sale of peat and peat-water, rare hardwoods and animals, the most lucrative but rarest income is earned by adventurers. This region was extensively settled and farmed during the 3rd Miraborian Imperial Age. The land was dotted with large estates, villages, and even small cities. Most of these ruins have been completely destroyed, looted, the stones re-used and the sites subsequently forgotten. Adventurers who stumble across them or seek them out have, several times, found secret catacombs and unusual subterranean features. There are even tales of vast caverns filled with unusual races of dark-dwellers who hate and fear the sunlit world. But such tales are for bards and storytellers, not taken as literal truth.

 

Pintarton:

The capitol of Pintar's Keep, this town rests on the edge of Lake Dismal, and is actually within the boundaries of the swamp itself. However, many centuries ago, this region was artificially raised up. The town rests on a large stone slab or slabs, which are visible at the lake edge of town where the fishing docks are located. Because of its location and odd foundation, the town has no sewers, and all cellars are carved (typically with magic) directly into the stone. The town's growth outward is also strictly limited by the size of the slab(s). At this time there is still ample growth potential, but as the town's population increases, it will have to grow up and densely, or find some other way to accomodate the soft, wet lands surrounding it.

 

Pintarton is led by a mayor appointed directly by Baron Pintar himself. For the first 20 years of Pintar's existence, Baron Pintar acted as his own mayor, but in recent years, his eldest son Ceddie Pintarson has held the official appointment. There are three aldermen, elected every 3 years in at-large elections, by the townsfolk. Any adult who has lived in the town for at least one year, and can be vouched for by at least one other eligible resident, is eligible to vote.

 

The town has two other sources of leadership; Baron Pintar's appointed Town Guard Captain, Sir Michael of Avonsey, and Father Daegmund of the Temple of Mikol. Mikol is the favored god here, and is worshipped by almost everyone in the Barony. These three authorities work fairly well together, and the town runs quite smoothly. Their main trouble is keeping the roads clear of bandits. The baron has recently hired a troop of 20 mercenaries to do some of this work; ten are stationed in Pintarton with fast horses, and the other ten ride patrol. The units shift duties about every tenday.

 

Total population is 1,000

Humans: 680, Elves: 5, Half-elves: 55, Hobbyts: 225, Szathair: 10, Dwarves: 20

 

Shops and Craftsmen of Pintarton:

Inns/Taverns: 4 (The Wenches' Meadhall; Leaping Hart Inn; The Brass Barrel (inn); The Sage (tavern))

Furnituremaker/woodworker: 8

Blacksmiths: 1

Leatherworkers/Tanners/furriers: 2

Tailor/seamstress/weaver: 3

Grocers: 8

Dairy/cheese Sellers: 3

Baker/Pastrycook: 1

Carpenter/Mason/Builder: 1

Butcher: 1

Jeweler/silversmith: 1

Cobblers: 8

Warehouses: 8

Fishmarket: 1 (Fishmongers: 3)

Meatmarket: 1

Peat Harvesters: 2

 

Clergy members: 20 (Father Daegmund of Mikol and his 8 priests; Father Ezruth of the temple of all gods and his 6 priests, 4 priests housed in small chapels to various gods)

Guardsmen: 10 (Sir Michael's two lieutenants, and the 10 trained warriors who serve as corporals of the guard; there are 30 commoners who also do routine guard duty but are unarmed and are always in the company of a corporal)

Mercenaries: 11 (Captain Odocar, his 2 lieutenants and 4 warriors under each of them, ready to ride out at first sign of danger; they rotate out of town about every 2 weeks, replaced by the other two units. Odocar rides out about every 4th week with one unit.)

Laborers: 100

Beggars: 14

Officials: 6 (Baron Pintar, his seneschal Hrolf Redbeard, Captain of the Guard Sir Michael of Avonsey, the 3 aldermen)

Prostitutes:5 (mostly found at the Meadhall)

Thieves:10

 

Little Eastbrook

This large village or small town has a population of just about 600. Located deep in the Dismal Swamp, it is surprisingly large. It lacks the unusual stone base of Pintarton, and instead has reverted to the more usual use of cedar posts and pylons to support most buildings. A few are actually built up on stilts. Boats are used to navigate between clusters of buildings, but boardwalks also link most buildings within clusters, and a few bridges link the major clusters together. Small poled boats of hide and willow-branches are found everywhere; they are owned by the community and are used by anyone who needs them, within reason.

 

Little Eastbrook is run by a trio of aldermen elected by the townsfolk, similarly to Pintarton; there is no mayor.

 

Most of the people of Little Eastbrook make their living frugally, from the swamp's bounty. They fish, hunt, trap and gather their food. Income comes from selling rare herbs, selling hides, live trapped animals and harvesting cedar.

 

The major problems Little Eastbrook faces are environmental; flooding, swamp fever and lack of easy building spce. They also have trouble with "wild szathair" and other intruders from the swamp.

 

Faesummer Bridge

Faesummer Bridge is a small town or large village of about 350 folk. It is a community divided between local farming and road traffic. It boasts three Inns and a large campgrounds. The Shalani who travel south to Laigladen and Miran often stop here as the last civilized point before they enter the wilderness. Several Knights of St. Romanus are often found here, staying at a local inn and making their services available to travelers. Recently a group of GreenWardens from Greenvale have settled just outside the borders of Pintar's Keep, near Faesummer Bridge.

 

Barony of Eldon

 Smaller and more lightly settled than Pintar's Keep, the Barony of Eldon has a population of about 4,500. Nearly half are concentrated in and around the capitol city of Lewiston. Located in rich, coastal farmland, the town of Lewiston is a farmer's market town. Most of the population are either farmers themselves, or produce goods and services for the farmers. Much of the remaining population has settled near the coast; fishing here is excellent, and along the southeastern shore there are very good oyster and crab beds.  Elanora is naturally the preferred Goddess, but Mikol, Kehret and Sithlar are also popular.

 

Eldon was a priest of Elanora, and so was Lewis. The barony was founded in about 2600, and Eldon vanished in 2612. Lewis was baron until his death a year ago, and his next in command inherited the title of Baron. (The charter of the Barony states that the Baron may select any heir whom he wishes to follow him; it need not be a blood relative, but at least two witnesses must hear the selection). Because the Baron has always been a priest or priestess of Elanora, the Barony sometimes feels like a theocracy, but there is no legal requirement that the Baron be a priest. The current Baroness is Rohesia. She is a human in her mid-30's, unmarried, with a strong organizational ability and firm convictions.

 

The largest dangers the Barony faces are the same bandit problems that Pintar's Keep is dealing with, coastal raids from pirates, and storms from the sea. Four years ago a massive storm destroyed several coastal villages, which have been slow to rebuild - at least partly due to fear of the pirates.

 

Barony of Greenlake

 

Legends, Lore and other Interesting tidbits:

Dragon Bay, which lies just south of the Baronies of Eldon and Tamar, gets its name from an incident which happened late in the history of the 2nd Empire. A sea-dragon (perhaps a true dragon, or perhaps some similarly sized creature) came into the bay and began to stalk the fishermen and boats that commonly were found there. A knight of Mikol, known as Sir Leodegrance (his exact order has long since been forgotten), came into the bay and fought the dragon. What makes this tale remarkable is that Sir Leodegrance supposedly did not weild a sword or lance, but instead rode within a mechanical chariot that was capable of submerging itself beneath the sea, and of moving without use of horse or other beast of burden. This magical chariot boasted a pair of great claws, which Sir Leodegrance weilded from within. Unfortunately, even as he managed to mortally wound the beast called Strickenmore, it was able to crack open the chariot, which sank beneath the waves and was never seen again. Legend claims that the artifact still lies, badly damaged, below the waves. Perhaps someday it will return to life...

 

Horrific tales about Umade, the High Priest of Aragh who sat at Emperor Herudiband's right hand, are common. Many tell of his youth and rise to power. Here in Pintar's Keep, it is sometimes said that a particular set of ruins, now known as "Blackfen Tower", was once a powerful school of wizardry. It is said, usually in whispers, that Umade himself studied there as a youth, before turning to the Temple of Aragh as the one true source of power. It is also said that he came back there, to Blackfen, near the end of his days, and that when he left, he journeyed north, to blasted Kahakor, whence he cast the spell now known as Umade's Doom, which created those Barrens that now encircle the city. It is possible that he came to Blackfen to finish his research, to find that one last key piece of knowledge that allowed him to cast the fateful ritual. But Blackfen Tower is now sealed, still standing but unenterable, inhabited only, it is said, by fell clockwork beings created by its ancient wizardly owners, to guard their knowledge from any who would misuse it.

 

Tales say that during the fall of the 2nd Miraborian Empire, sometime after the death of Herudiband, there was a brief respite in the bitter warfare that swept across this region of Miraboria. Some time around the years 2040 to 2050, a man who has come to be known as Lord Arrick Brighthelm, came to power. He and the small band of knights who followed him carved out a small, peaceful realm, driving off all who would threaten it. For a brief generation, perhaps 30 or 40 years, his peace held. But peace is a fragile thing. An army led by an evil knight of Knight of Akali came marching down on Lord Arrick's people. They prepared to defend themselves, and then, realizing their position was hopeless, fled to their only allies; the insectile race known as "Ittaken". Unfortunately, this was revealed to be a tragic mistake. Lord Arrick's people were welcomed with open arms, then taken prisoner, and sold into slavery. Lord Arrick, discovering the betrayal too late, fought to defend his people, but he was overwhelmed and defeated. In the end, only a few of his most valiant defenders were able to escape, carrying his body away with them. They laid him to rest in a small, secret tomb in the forests somewhere to the west of Aurasburg. Every few years a new rumor breaks that adventurers have found this tomb, and recovered his famed sword Evarbright, and his shield, Starlight. But so far, these rumors have always faded away into obscurity...

 

Bertold Light: on the northernmost stretch of the Barony of Eldon's coast, there sits a perfectly preserved and functional lighthouse. Known as Bertold's Light, it has burned unceasingly for the last thousand years, or so legend has it. The tower cannot be entered, and its light burns day and night. Three stories are told of it by those who dwell nearby: that sometimes a woman's voice can be heard shrieking and crying from the tower's top during a windy night; that sometimes a human-like shape can be seen silhouetted against the light, waving its arms above its head as if in distress; and that once each hundred years the tower light fades for a single night - this is the only time the tower can be entered, but no one who has done so has ever emerged...