Immilmar
Overlooking the icy waters of Lake Ashane, this city is home to the Iron Lord’s citadel and is the Rashemi capital. Immilmar is one of the few places in Rashemen where foreigners are tolerated, and a number of Nar fur-traders and Theskian merchants are always abroad in the city. Foreign legations to Rashemen come here as well, although the Iron Lord permits few permanent embassies from other lands. Consuls from Aglarond, Impiltur, and Damara maintain homes in Immilmar—representatives of all other lands are dispatched to the city for specific missions and are not encouraged to linger after their business with the Iron Lord is done.
The Iron Lord’s citadel dominates the center of Immilmar, and many stone buildings cluster about the feet of the castle. As one travels away from the citadel, the city’s construction becomes more and more Rashemi, with field stone and rough hewn timber replacing dressed stone and smooth-sawn lumber. Other than the Huhrong’s castle, most of the city’s large buildings are steep-sided lodges built of heavy timbers in the Rashemi style, with a double row of inward-slanting heavy beams sunk into the ground and meeting along a high peak directly overhead.
Built atop the foundations of an ancient Nar keep, the Iron Lord’s castle is a mighty fortress of iron and stone. More than five hundred years ago, the Witches used great magic to raise this stronghold. Grim and forbidding, the citadel is one of the strongest castles in the land, capable of withstanding almost any assault. Its walls are reinforced with spells designed to blunt magical attack and block ethereal and teleporting invaders.
The current Iron Lord is the clever Volas Dyervolk the Bear (CG male human Bbn18), a crafty and strong-willed man who does not shy away from arguing with the Witches when he feels they are wrong. On more than one occasion the Witches have considered his removal, but Volas’s forthrightness and keen insights have won their grudging respect. The Witches awarded Volas his seat on the death of Yvarrg, the previous Iron Lord, who was murdered by a Thayan assassin.
Notable Businesses
Immilmar is known for its leather goods, woodcarvers, and ironworks. The tanneries and smelters are located in the hills north and east of the town, as a long-dead Iron Lord ruled that any enterprise producing fumes or reek must be away from the city’s center. Dozens of woodcarvers and stonecarvers still labor in workshops in the tangled streets around the Iron Lord’s citadel, but for the most part, Immilmar’s heart is a pleasant place of young trees and winding ways. Several inns of note cater to foreigners calling on the Huhrong. Blackstone House is the best of them, a comfortable building stocked with wines and ales from several lands. Varro the Fat (CG male human Ftr8) is the proprietor of the inn.
North of town, amid the cheerless foundries and forges of the Smiths’ Quarter, is the well-worn workshop of the armorer Tholli Ironweaver (NG male human Ftr4/Exp8). Tholli manufactures both swords and mail of masterwork quality, and his blades often sell for two to three times the normal price due to his excellent reputation.
Major Temples
Although it is not really a temple, one of the most sacred sites in the city is the Witches' Hall, a whitewashed longhouse with crossbeams carved in the shape of dragons, hounds, and unicorns. Forbidden to all but the hathrans, this mysterious building, sacred to Mystra, is the meeting place and refuge of the wychlaran of Immilmar. Othlor Fydra Night-Tree (CN female human Clr3/Sor9/Hth5) presides over the local Witches and guards the hall from any desecration.
