Barony Greenlake
The Barony of Greenlake was founded in its current form in about the year 2602, by a half-elven wizard-adventurer named Dmitri, who was a friend of both Pintar and Eldon. It was, until the Time of Umade, the smallest barony on Greenvale's flanks; mainly it consists of the wizard's tower and a couple of small towns that have grown up around it, serving the needs of the wizard, his several apprentices, their families who reside in the town, and the farmers who sell their crops here. A few small villages along the lake also provide fish and other goods. Now, the population of Greenlake is growing, and currently there are around 1,700 folk living in the three major communities of Laketower, Hewe and Briar Glen, with another 15,000 scattered in farmhouses and smaller villages across the Barony. Most are right along the lake, using it as a protection against the dangers of the Anhieldfast Forest, in which it is nestled. Some of these villages are Chetwold (180 pop), Penney (150 pop), Gilhowe (pop 200), Wardel (90 pop), Green Rapids (150), East End (110), Mere Tower (75), Nettlebed (150), and Lifford Tower (95). Velsburg is a tiny village (pop 60) east of Lifford Tower. On the west side of the lake, the villages of Aberdovy (population 225), Hinden (150) and Bridgewater (110) can be found. There is also the Castle Greywhisper, a settlement of Woodsfolk who have promised their loyalty to the March-Baron and are now mining a prosperous coalmine found between the Castle and the village of Penney.
Baron Dmitri is a well-known figure in his community; while he doesn't spend every day in the village, he is seen out and around most days, and watches over everything that happens there. When he and his wife are not in the village, they are probably in their tower keep just outside town. He has no children, but has adopted the niece and nephew of his late wife Rowena and one of them will surely follow him as Marcher.
The town of Greenlake Tower (aka Laketower):
Large Villages:
Hewe: population 400.
Hewe is about 18 miles east of Laketower, and is located on a low rise above the lake.
| Butcher (1) | Furrier (1) | Tanner (2) | Barber (1) | Carpenter (1) | Maidservant (2) |
| Tavern (3) | Harnessmaker (1) | Water carrier (1) | Beerseller (1) | Mercer 1) | Weaver (1) |
| Ragseller (1) | Pastrycook (1) | Shoemaker (4) | Woodseller (1) | Doctor (1) | Tinker (1) |
| Fishmonger (2) |
Hewe has about 150 farmers; almost all the rest are woodsmen and hunters - there are a few fishermen, but the village lacks good access to the lake, being located on a low cliff over the water, and not immediately on shore. A stream cuts through town and a small waterfall ends in the lake. A path leads down to the shore, and there is a small dock where any lake traffic can dock. Hewe also has a Reeve appointed to manage the rents and crop-shares owed the Baron, named Master Roven.
Briar Glen: 436 population. Briar Glen is almost 9 miles east of Hewe.
Briar Glen has one tavern, one beerseller, and a jeweler; the rest of the villagers are fishermen, craftspeople, woodsmen and farmers.
Briar Glen is located directly on the lake, and has a good dock. There is a moderate amount of trade with the village (Mireston) across the lake in Greenvale/Kanass County. There is, in the last few years, also some river traffic up from Mound, a one-time pirate community turned outpost-of-Greenvale. The Reeve of Briar Glen is Mistress Alder. Briar Glen is growing faster than Hewe, due to the proximity of traffic from Greenvale.
There are half-a-dozen small villages, of under 200 people, spread along the lake or a few miles into the forest, and one or two to the south.
Dmitri maintains two watch-towers on his southern border; one is on a river that does not drain into Green Lake, and the other is at the southwestern most tip of the Barony, on the southern tip of Green Lake. Each tower boasts a permanent watch-guard of six trained militiamen, and a small village of 30-50 folk nearby. These militia live in the tower for a year at a time, and are then rotated back to their home villages.
Features of the Barony:
Rapids on the Green Lake: at the mouth of the lake, some 5-6 miles east of Briar Glen, is a fairly substantial chokepoint in the river. Traffic coming up from Mound must leave the river and portage around the rapids for about 3/4 mile. A small village called Green Rapids has been established here, and boasts around 50 inhabitants. The river is interrupted by large boulders and small wooded islands, and breaks into many small channels. Flat bottomed boats and canoes can navigate them, but larger river-boats cannot. This end of Green Lake is often called Briar Lake. The whole area is well-known for dense patches of wild berry-brakes. To the east of the rapids, the river becomes much slower, wider and more placid.
The region where Greenlake is located is just east of a natural fall-line, dividing the eastern coastal plains from the rolling, hilly piedmont further west (which then climbs into the mountains even further west). Laketower thus is located just east of the fall-line, and is in a moderately hilly zone. Green Lake just to the north of Laketower is at its narrowest and deepest, with several rapids and low waterfalls. Only the smallest fishing boats can navigate these rapids; thus the fishermen of Laketower access only a fairly small (about 1 mile) stretch of the lake on a regular basis. Hewe is located on a natural upthrust of old stone, creating a hill and the bluff on which it sits. Briar Glen on the other hand, is located on a wide, easy-to-access, placid region of the lake just above the Green Rapids. From here, there's easy access to the far side of the lake, and regular contact with Greenvale.
Halfway between Hewe and Briar Glen, two sizeable islands break up the lake; there are old ruins located on these islands.
Just to the south of Laketower, along the western finger of Green Lake are more ruins, apparently mostly individual manors or small castles. A larger ruin, perhaps that of a small city, lies almost due south of Laketower, by about 12 miles.
Early history of the Barony:
When Baron Dmitri came to live on Green Lake, he found that Laketower was already inhabited. There had been folk surviving here for the entire time between the fall of the 2nd Empire and Greenvale's resurgence. Mostly, they were hardy human woodsmen, the Woodsfolk, a few elves, and two families of hobbyts. They were not particularly eager to accept Dmitri as their new ruler at first, but in the first three years of his established residence, a trio of wyverns attempted to establish a roost near the lake, and Dmitri was able to drive them away with his fireballs and other powerful spells.
In turn, they told him a tale of how they survived - during the long, slow fall of the 2nd Empire, they simply held their ground, hid from most of the marauding armies, and kept to themselves. Around the year 2200, a knight claiming to be the heir to a local lord, who called himself Ekat Kassem, came to Laketower - although it was not called that then - and settled down. He was, like Dmitri, a wizard. He protected them, and the town flourished. Unfortunately, the town drew the attention of another man, a mercenary named Asar Vergas, who had known Kassem in the past. He was angry with Kassem, and began raiding the town. Eventually, Kassem led a force of the townsfolk out to deal with Asar - and he did. But Kassem died in the process, and was buried in the crypt of a ruined building not far from where he, and many of the town's protectors, fell. Asar and some of his mercenaries were also buried there, as well, but without the honors given to Kassem. To this day, the townsfolk honor Kassem with a yearly ritual, traveling to the ruins and bringing back a torch lit from the eternal flame that burns above Kassem's tomb.
After Kassem's death, Laketower shrank again, nearly vanishing. Then a group of adventurers settled in the region; they and their heirs ruled for nearly 50 years, until a dragon came out of the west and burned their tower to ruins, and took up residence therein. The villagers fled, but not too far. A hundred years later, a knight of St. Justin, passing by the region, slew the red dragon but did not stay. Another 70 years would pass before Baron Dmitri arrived. That was 37 years ago.