Places of Interest

Hammerfist Holds
The dwarves in the Wyvernwatch mountains southeast of Brindol have a number of mining communities. None have more than a few hundred people working and living there, but the various mines are quick to come to each other’s aid. In total there are probably 2500 people in these villages, almost entirely dwarves. This is the area’s only source of raw stone and metal ore.

Marth Forest
This dense wood is northeast of Brindol. The Tiri Kitor call this forest home. These Elves & Eladrin are known to number over 1000, but no one can say for sure how many of them there are. These elusive people are known for their giant owl mounts and superior archery skills. This is the last place you want to go for wood or furs. The Tiri Kitor trade with others in nearby towns, but few outsiders are welcomed into their forest.

Southwood
This light forest stretches from Dauth to Prosser, south of Brindol. It’s been heavily hunted and thinned out. The greatest danger here is usually bandits in hiding. Occasionally, rumors spread about ghosts in the woods, but it’s usually proven to be bandit tricks and traps to scare off good folk. There was actually a ghost in the woods some 40 years ago that killed a number of people. Bandits or ghosts, most people travel through the woods during the day and in large groups.

The Witchwood
This forest lies west of Brindol, bordered on three sides by mountains or swamp. It is the largest forest in the area. Most wood and hunting goods come from this area. The Tiri Kitor have a presence here, but don’t protect it nearly as well as the Marth Forest. Most of this woodland is still wild, and home to all manner of beasts. Roads and humanoid trails generally skirt the edges of the forest.

Drellin’s Ferry
This small town is THE river crossing for the Dawn Way (main east-west highway in the region). There was a stone, dwarven bridge here hundreds of years ago, but it was destroyed. The stone pillars are still visible in the river, but little remains of the bridge. A hundred feet downstream is the ferry crossing. A large barge floats here, attached to ropes and pulleys on both sides of the river. The river is 30 feet deep here, and the ferry is the only way to get wagons, livestock and such across.

Dennovar
The only other city of any significance in the region, Dennovar lies 100 miles east of Brindol on the Dawn Way. It too has an outer defensive wall of stone. Population 11,000. Dennovar has it’s share of farm land, but it also sits on a huge lake, Lake Ern. So, seafood and water related products are common trade goods from Dennovar. Dennovar hasn’t been attacked by anything significant in hundreds of years. In fact, several of the gates are in poor working order. They’re open 24-7. A merchant council is the governing body.

Rhest
Once a prosperous city and center of the kingdom of Rhestilor, Rhest is now a half-drowned ruin slowly sinking into the Blackfens (swamp). At it’s peak, the surrounding lands were well tended fields with levies, irrigation systems, and were clear for miles. Centuries of erosion and lack of attention have turned the farmlands into swamp. Rice and soybean fields are now overgrown with twisted trees, poisonous vines, and are crawling with snakes, crocodiles, and worse. Civilized people abandoned the place long ago. The only intelligent beings there now are lizard folk, if you consider them intelligent.

Jarmaan Keep (in Brindol)
Jarmaan Keep predates the nation of Rhestilor. It was built on the remains of an ancient dwarven keep over 500 hundred years ago. During the reign of Rhestilor, the village around the keep grew into a town, then a city. When that great nation fell apart, the commanding officer, Kerden Jarmaan, claimed the keep as his own. It’s been in the Jarmaan family ever since.

Brindol

Brindol is a small city in the heart of Elsir Vale. One of the largest settlements in the vale, Brindol is a prosperous farming community and caravan stopover located along the Dawn Way (road) on the south bank of the Elsir River. Orchards of apple and pear trees follow the river's winding shores, while broad grain fields and farmlands surround the town for miles in all directions. Brindol is the home of Lord Aaron Jarmaath. His small keep and the city walls are the only fortifications of note this side of Dennovar (city 100 miles to east).

Population: 6,700; another 1,000 live within a five-mile radius of the town itself. The people of Brindol are mostly humans (69% human, 10% Half-Elf, 6% Dwarf, 5% Halfling, 5% Tiefling, 4% Elf, 1% Dragonborn). The town’s population swells by several hundred whenever some connected halfling clans known as “the river people” are in town.

Government: The city has a council of 13, two-thirds of whom are hereditary landlords and the remainder of whom are guildmasters from the city’s important trade guilds. Lord Jarmaath is the public face of the council.

Defense: Lord Warden Harrik Orenna is the political head of the Lion Guard, though many view Captain Kerden Paln as the actual leader. The Lion Guards have about 200 soldiers under arms at all times, with about one-quarter on duty at any given time. In times of crisis, the Lord Warden has access to another 200 well-equipped but poorly trained soldiers by calling up the militia. Additionally, many of the local lords and merchant houses have their own security guards.
The city is surrounded on three sides by a stone wall 20 feet tall & 10 feet thick, and the river guards the north side. There's one gate each in the east, west and south walls, and gates at each of the twin bridges in the north.

Inns: Chatrenn and Sons; The Red Door; Avandrian Hostel; The Silk and Spoon; Pantashi Inn.

Taverns: Ilya’s Cardhouse; The Marooned Schooner; Cleftie’s; Brindol Gentleman’s Club; the Blue Parrot; the Antler and Thistle.

Major Guilds: Prospectors; Blacksmiths and Smelters;
Teamsters and Farriers; Weavers; River Bargemen (halfling controlled).

Supplies: Alchemy by Adronsius; Gavriel Arms and Smithy; Staghunter Outfitters; Alpenglow Trading House.

Temples: Temple of Erathis; College of Ioun; Shrine of the Sun (Pelor); Moondust Temple (Sehanine); Shrine of Bahamut (no permanent clergy); Shrine of the Open Door (Avandra).

Elsir Vale

Overview

Elsir Vale is a thinly populated human frontier. The vale stretches almost 250 miles east to west and averages about 70 miles north to south. Several small mountain ranges and dense forests form the vale's borders.

Climate

Elsir Vale lies in the subtropical latitudes. Summers are hot and dry (although punctuated by the occasional intense thunderstorm), and winters are warm and rainy. Large stretches of the area are quite arid, and the vale is flanked by the vast savannahs stretching for mile after dusty mile. The forests that stretch across most of the vale's northern reaches are stifling and sweltering hot in the summertime, with not a breath of wind to relieve the oppressive heat.

It is currently mid-summer in the vale. Days are hot (85° to 110° F) and nights warm (60° to 85° F). This is the dry season, so rainfall is infrequent - but when it comes down, it really comes down. Thunderstorms and tornadoes are common.

Terrain

Though the borders of the vale are mostly hills, mountains and forests, the heart of the vale is grassy plains for the most part. Every town in the vale is surrounded by numerous farms. Beyond the civilized areas are vast rolling plains with infrequent hillocks and copses of trees.