Hamlet of Haggelthorn
 | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 663 TA |
| Size | Minor Kingdom |
| Fealty | Independent |
| Ruler | Lord Elias Haggelthorn |
| Hex | 3114 |
The Hamlet of Haggelthorn is the second oldest human settlement in the Eastern Reaches. It maintains a neutral political stance, although Haggelthorn supports the current rule in the Eastern Reaches. It has no standing army. Haggelthorn is a banking and trading center for the area dealing in a vast variety of goods and services.
Sixty fighting men serve under Lord Elias Haggelthorn. These men keep the forests around the hamlet safe for travel. About once each month the Haggelthorns send out two merchant caravans loaded with goods. One travels to Dragonsford and the other to Dwarrowdelf. These trade for the supplies needed by Elias Haggelthorn and make a sizable profit for the merchants involved.
The name of Haggelthorn has been attached to the forest for hundreds of years, and just about every traveler in the area knows of the unusual exploits of this strange merchant family. Although one of the smallest minor kingdoms in the Eastern Reaches, Haggelthorn is one of the wealthiest.
History of Hagglethorn
In the mid-seventh century TA, the Haggelthorns were one of the wealthiest families in Teufeldorf having made their fortune as merchants. However, the eldest of the Haggelthorn sons, Ichabod, decided to expand the family business into dealing with objects of art, magic, and the occult. He longed to travel to far away lands to find strange treasures. An odd little man, nobody was surprised when Ichabod announced that he was moving to the Eastern Reaches to start up his business. However, everybody was surprised when he ordered the family mansion, Haggelthorn Hall, to be moved stone by stone with him. Needless to say, Ichabod took many servants, workers, and craftsmen with him. It took over three years to complete the move, and transplant Ichabod's family home to the coast of the Inner Sea. Many of the people who traveled with the eccentric merchant stayed in the Eastern Reaches.
The original mansion, Haggelthorn Hall, was located on the top of a hill overlooking the port. When every stone in the Hall was "spirited" away in 666 TA, a new wooden structure was built on its foundation by the sole surviving member of the family, Henrick Haggelthorn. The structure still stands today. It serves as the town hall, lighthouse, and barracks in addition to housing the Haggelthorn family.
Legend: The Spriting of Haggelthorn Hall
He was a strange little man that Ichabod Haggelthorn. Never said much to anybody. Just stayed to himself and played with those shrunken heads and things. Called it studying the occult he did. Everyone knew he was a bit crazy, but with his money they listened to him anyway. Well the story begins about a year after Haggelthorn Hall was built. It was a foggy autumn night sometime in late October when it happened. My great-great-great grandfather had just finished his rounds (being a night sentry, you know). The woods were crawlin with evil things back then. But, my great-great-great grandfather hadn't seen nothing except a lone yellow light coming down from Haggelthorn Hall. He reported to the captain and was on his way to bed when the fog started gettin' real thick just like the town had passed into a cloud. The lights in Haggelthorn Hall were all out, but he could see the outline of the building as it lifted into the air. It was just floating there on top of the fog. Suddenly, there was a loud creak as if the gates of hell were opening up and the Hall began to move down the hill and into the forest. Well, my great-great-great grandfather ran to tell the captain what was happenin', but the captain told him to stop drinkin' on the job and to get to bed. When the sun rose the next morning and the fog was burned away, Haggelthorn Hall was gone. Only Henrick Haggelthorn was left. Said he was away on some late night business - to a brothel if you ask me. I'll tell you what happened, those spirits that Ichabod was dealin' with they's the ones that came and spirited the Hall away. Well, Henrick's great-great-great grandson, Elias, is runnin' the business now. Calls himself a lord he does and still deals in those shrunken heads and things. Probably will get himself into trouble too. A real high and mighty type he is. But those boys of his ain't too bad. Well, that's the story of the Spiriting of Haggelthorn Hall. Just as it happened. Honest. The story has been passed down from father to son for generations in my family. We knows it first hand.