Barony of Loravatha

Bloodhome

(Small Town, 950)

The town of Bloodhome, situated at the end of a sharp sided gorge around and above the Redrun Falls is the largest and most concentrated human settlement within Loravatha. Built upon an old dwarven surface fortress, Maegrun's Hold or the "Bloody Keep", has never been successfully breached in a siege or assault and has housed the armories and wealth of House Loravatha for almost 800 years. The town itself is built mostly of stone, and the iron foundries are in almost constant use, blasting smoke and ash into the air day and night.

Crumbling Stair

The Crumbling Stair is all that remains of the once grand magical academy of Taeros. Located deep in the heart of the Forlorn Hills, the aptly named ruin is a length of weathered, green-veined white marble that rises unheralded out of uneven turf to reach six or so steps into the empty air. Its other end descends into a dark hole. Beyond the magically supported length of stair, little remains on the surface other than hummocks of rough earth and unusual growths of plants and vines. Explorers and adventurers report all manner of unusual creatures near and beneath the Crumbling Stair, and the place has earned a fell reputation for dangerous magic and monsters.

Moon Tower of Elembar

This shimmering apparition appears only on nights of the full moon on the edge of the Forlorn Hills, overlooking the plains called the "Dragonfields" of old. Seeming to be a solid, crystalline spire of glistening silver, the Moon Tower appears to have no windows or doors. Rumors and legends about the true nature of the tower abound, but if any have discovered a way inside, they have not seen fit to share.

Torsultok

Torstultok, or the Hall of Grand Hunts, is a temple-fortress of Haela Brightaxe. The place is well known among the Stout Folk of the North for the all-dwarf and mixed-race adventuring companies its inhabitants sponsor to reclaim long-lost dwarven relics from orc held halls.

Torstultok lies within a sprawling complex of tunnels and grand halls beneath the eastern end of the Watchers of the North — the line of tors that marks the northern edge of the Forlorn Hills.

Torstultok was known as Firehammer Hold before the Fallen Kingdom fell, and much treasure is still ascribed to the latter name in the tales of the North. Those same legends claim that the dwarves of Firehammer Hold perished in a plague shortly after the founding of the Kingdom of Man, but in fact the dwarves’ numbers had dwindled over time, and the leaders of the hold planted false evidence of a deadly plague to increase the security of the dwarves who remained.

An unexpected consequence of this action was the arrival in subsequent centuries of treasure-hungry adventurers seeking long-lost hoards of dwarven gold. To assuage the anger of such would-be plunderers, the dwarves hired them to seek out other dwarven holds that they knew to be occupied by orcs. From this tradition evolved the hold’s current role as a clearinghouse for battle-loving dwarves and adventurers of other races who sought glory amidst the ruins of long-fallen dwarven kingdoms. In recent times, Haela’s clergy have even begun to lure adventurers to the temple deliberately with ancient-looking, incomplete maps and other enticing items. Such a map may be found on the walls of a not-so-secret hidden room in the Singing Sprite—a slate-shingled, many-gabled stone inn located in the bowl at the centre of the three hills upon which the village of Secomber is built.

Uluvin

(Hamlet, 30)

Most traders dealing with Delimbiyr Vale avoid Uluvin, instead using the Delimbiyr Route west from Secomber, meeting up with the High Road south of Zundbridge. It's a dusty, spartan place with few trees, thirsty throats, a bad tavern, and a surprisingly pleasant and clean inn. Uluvin's a sleepy place where peddlers sell trinkets and folk turn out to chat with travelers to hear the news.