Dutchy of Dragonsford

Dutchy of Dragonsford

Founded	702 TA
Size	Minor Kingdom
Fealty	Eastern Reaches
Ruler	Ernest Goodfellow, King of the Eastern Reaches, Duke of Dragonsford
Hex	3012

Dragonsford is the capital of the Duchy of Dragonsford consisting of a small castle on a fortified peninsula of land extending into the Inner Sea. Founded in 702 TA as a military outpost for the expanding Reaches, Dragonsford is still at the edges of civilization.

Built upon the ruins of an already-existing Second Age structure (perhaps dwarven in origin), the original stone Dragonsford Castle was built over a period of four years (766-769 TA) at a cost of 250,000 gold pieces. This consisted of an outer wall surrounding an inner courtyard with four bunkhouses and a wizard's tower. An inner wall surrounded the manor house, attached great keep, and an officer's bunkhouse. The walls of the castle were twenty feet in height and eclipsed only by the manor house and wizard's tower. Significant alterations have been made to the castle since it was built although much of the profile of the original fortification still exists.

Dragonsford is easily defended. There are no beaches or easy landing spots near the castle. Beneath the castle is a large cave which has been enhanced to serve as a berth for a small ship. The castle houses a garrison of approximately 200. Including the following officers:

• Steward of the Royal Household
• Commander of the Garrison
• Captain of the Guard
• Captain of the Archers
• Master Artillerist

The surrounding town exists primarily to support the military presence. The current ruler is Ernest Goodfellow, formerly a Knight of King Gregory the Even-Handed. Besides a monthly caravan from Haggelthorn, occasional merchants, dwarves, gnomes, and outlanders visit Dragonsford. The town has doubled in population from its 883 TA census of 400 with a population nearing 900. Taxes in Dragonsford are 2 silver pieces per adult per month during peacetime.

History

In 833 TA, Harek Bloodaxe overran the Eastern Reaches and captured Dragonsford Castle. Dragonsford Castle was made the capital of Harek's domain and many changes were made to accommodate Bloodaxe's strange tastes. The castle was guarded by white dragons who were given roost in the old wizard's tower. This began a fifty year reign known as Hastur's Dominion. During this time, there were a number of rulers of the Dutchy of Dragonsford - one of a number of minor kingdoms established during this time.

Lord Strudwick ruled the castle from 858 TA until he was deposed in 862 TA by King Erard. Known for his insatiable curiosity for odd artifacts and relics, Strudwick fled with his collection to his stronghold, the Gallery of Wishes, located north of the Land of Bogs and the Little People in late 862 TA. It is rumored that the Gallery was later sacked in 883 TA by an adventuring party at the behest of Captain Horatio Bilgewater, a seaman who had been sold into slavery during Strudwick's reign.

King Erard's reign was short, ending with his death after two years at the hand of his brother and successor, Trafford. Trafford was aided by his wizard Asbar the Merciless. King Trafford ruled from 864 TA until he was slain by the current ruler, Ernest Goodfellow, in 884 TA during the Taking of Dragonsford. During this attack, Harek was driven to Teufeldorf - along with his brother Atli who had been driven to Dragonsford from the Shadowkeep during the Siege of the Shadowkeep the previous year. The capture of Dragonsford Castle proved to be a turning point in The Hastur Rebellions.

The current ruler is Ernest Goodfellow, King of the Eastern Reaches and Duke of Dragonsford. Since Goodfellow's rule began, the castle has been subjected to many raids, the last of which occurred during the Invasion of the Tang Empire in 905 TA.

Map of Dragonsford

Legend: The Dragon of Dragonsford

Dragonsford is named for a large golden dragon that legend tells lived in the vast cave network found in the rocky coastal cliffs. The dragon was rumored to have stolen innumerable piles of treasure from the dwarves, giants, and gnomes of the area. The dragon buried his treasure in the tunnels sealing them for protection near Dragonsford. As the tale goes, the Balinshold dwarves became so tired of the constant attacks on their homeland that they would do anything to free themselves of the dragon. All of their attempts to kill the dragon failed, managing to make the dragon only angrier. Finally, the great dwarven smith, Waldemar Lifehammerer, traveled to the land of the gnomes. There, the smith met with a great gnome magician, Llyn, and constructed a magical statue. The statue was taken by Waldemar back to the Balinshold across the Inner Sea. When the dragon heard of the statue, he lusted after it. The dwarves allowed the dragon to steal the statue. However, the flight back across the Inner Sea to his tunnels was a long one for the dragon and the statue grew larger and larger and heavier and heavier as time went on. The dragon began to falter in his flight, but his greed was so great that he went onward. Finally, the statue became so large and so heavy that the dragon could fly no further. The dragon and the statue crashed into the sea and neither were ever seen again. This tale prompted early adventurers to settle in Dragonsford to look for the tunnels. Some gold was found, but rooms of treasure still lie hidden in the tunnels somewhere near the town.

Nearby Places of Interest

Free Thought

In 863 TA, a small caravan arrived in the town of Dragonsford. The caravan consisted of six large sleeping wagons and twenty men. The men proclaimed themselves the Guild of Thinkers, a small band of intellectuals, that were tired of living under the oppressive rule of the feudal lords. In a final effort to be free of that tyranny, they planned to establish a small keep in Haggelthorn Forest. To that end, they had traveled the length of the Eastern Reaches, Dragonsford being their last stop before entering the forest. The men, led by a fat merchant named Bezel Greencloak, a self-proclaimed mathematician, interviewed several of the town's residents. After declaring Dragonsford, "Free of any intellectual masters," the caravan took off down the road and into the forest.

The small village of Free Thought, consisted of a number of small wooden huts surrounding a small stone meeting hall. The hall was the primary focus of the communities intellectual prowess. In fact, Bezel boasted once while in Dragonsford buying supplies, "We have discovered a way to guard all of our valuable belongings in the town hall by using mathematics." Three years into the grand experiment, Bezel and company were destroyed by a large tribe of spiders. It seems that mathematicians don't always make good woodsmen. And so the village of Free Thought stood for years: empty. And at the center of the village, the Hall of Numbers, its secret intact, waited for some lucky adventurer to discover its secret.

In 883 TA, an adventuring party from Dragonsford ventured into the hall - claiming to have solved its riddles and looted its treasure.

Gnarled Hill

This hillock lies several miles south of Dragonsford. It is gently sloping with a total height of about 50 feet. A deep creek runs along the western side of the hill. On top of the hill is a tangled mass of ancient brambles. A single entrance under the hill has been exposed by a recent earthquake which caused a small slide of rocks to uncover a natural tunnel. The entrace to the tunnel is completely filled by a massive bramble bush, which sways eerily in the wind. In October 883 TA, an earthquake opened up the entrance to an underground lair of ioun dragons. The Gnarled Hill was explored by an adventuring party shortly thereafter.

Goblin Fork

The town of Goblin Fork is a meager village. It is a collection of a dozen buildings in a circle around a large gnarled oak tree. The tree, when viewed from the south, has an appearance vaguely like that of a goblin. Even to this day, directions are often given to travel along the road until you get "to the goblin in the road". The town boasts no outstanding establishments except for Fennel's armory and the Goblin Fork Tavern.

A ferry north of the village provides transport for those wishing to cross the River White to the north.

Outside of Goblin Fork lies a barren outcropping of rock known as the Priest's Altar. This large block of stone is bordered on the west by a swampy morass of lush, deadly green vegetation. To the east lies the dark trees of Haggelthorn Forest. A single road winds from the village of Goblin Fork west through some fertile farms to the Priest's Altar. The legends behind this stone are dim memories for the surrounding country folk. In the times of old when druids and rangers wandered this land fulfilling their secret purposes, there were tales of strange lights being seen over the rock at the time of lunar importance. However, there have been no signs of strange happenings at the Priest's Altar since 830 TA, and life in the village of Goblin Fork has been quiet for the most part. Long a forbidden place to the town's children, the Priests Altar has been the subject of many a young man's dare.

In June 883 TA, the town's blacksmith, Fennel by name, woke to find his young son, Aron, missing. Things quickly came to light, and Fennel learned that his son and several companions snuck out that night to play a game of Find the Ogre. Aron was chosen the ogre and hid himself somewhere on the Priest's Altar. After several hours of searching, the other children assumed Aron, playing one of his innumerable practical jokes, was sleeping comfortably at home. The group disbanded, and nothing had been heard from Aron since. It was the next night that strange lights were seen above the Priest's Altar, a poor portent for Aron, indeed. An adventuring party undertook the mission to find Aron, discovering a secret cult under the Priest's Altar which was subsequently infiltrated and destroyed.