GEOGRAPHY:

     Heavily forested along it's western edges, the Duchy of Mulcrow is a hilly region that covers the northeastern area of the kingdom of Mosgrea.  The elevation increases and the terrain gets hillier the farther east you go, until it meets the Northern reaches of the Hornback Mountains.
     The climate is cool temperate and, being on the rainy side of a mountain range, rather wet.  Summers here are warm and the winters relatively mild, though it snows frequently.  The forests are dense and mossy, being mostly deciduous in the west and growing more coniferous as you move east and the elevation increases.  The duchy is riddled with streams, creeks, rivers, ponds and lakes.  On what little flat land is available, as well as in the lower hills in the western regions, can be found fertile ground for farming.  The southeastern area features the northern edge of a great forest that spans two kingdoms.


HISTORY

     Like many current political entities, the Duchy of Mulcrow was established at the beginning of the Second Age.  When the old Western Theran Empire split up and the kingdom of Mosgrea came into being, the first King divided the new land into four duchies.  Mulcrow thrived almost immediately as much trade between the halves of the continent and even the northern and southern kingdoms passed through its lands.  It bordered the great elven nation to the southeast and relations with them were good for much of the Second Age.  On its eastern edge where the mountains reared up was the hill dwarven fastness of Greymere, at the time a great source of mineral goods and metals.  The surface dwellers of Mulcrow even traded extensively with the mountain dwarves under the Hornbacks.  With the discovery of magic early in that era, many wizards came forth from the great academy at Halifax and settled in Mulcrow.  Enemies from the Underdark were driven deep into the earth and monsters were driven back to the mountains or nearly eradicated.
     When the War of Reason began some 500 years ago things in Mulcrow, as elsewhere, changed drastically.  Most of the region's human population questioned their faith and many fell in with the Agnostics.  The Elves stayed mostly faithful to the gods and closed off relations with men, while the Mountain Dwarves were openly disdainful of the War as a whole and sealed themselves away under the mountains.  Even among men conflict was rife, with the Northmen of Orinnath staunchly opposed to the Agnostic movement.  Eloth and his children were still able to drive a wedge between the kingdoms of Orinnath and Mosgrea, and skirmishes between the two became common.  Open warfare between the kingdoms loomed even as both were beset by armies of monsters.
     While much of Mulcrow was spared any catastrophic damage from the Worldquake, there were consequences for the duchy.  Many large timber structures across the region were lost, most notably the duchy's lumber mills.  The Causeway, a megalithic stone ramp that ran from a hilltop to a pass high in the mountains, was destroyed.  A few of its massive stone supports still stand crookedly today, towering hundreds of feet above the countryside and visible from miles away.  Having been constructed to make travel through the mountains to Halifax faster and easier, a new road has been built since, but takes longer than it did before.  The great Elven nation to the southeast was devastated and several Elven cities were reduced to rubble.  With the Broken Lands at their southern border and an evil energy spreading north, the Elves abandoned their kingdom.  Those elves who survived the Worldquake forsook their homeland and migrated West, settling in other forests and merging with other Elven nations.  The Hill Dwarves of the Greymere region were also devastated.  One of the nearby mountains collapsed in a cataclysmic landslide, killing thousands and closing off almost a dozen mines.  Greymere's mining operations are still a fraction of what they used to be.
     Still, reconstruction was forthcoming and the King made sure the duchy stayed whole, if significantly diminished.  It has been a long slow process and much work remains.  In the last 50 years however, it seems as if progress has halted and in some areas people feel like they are losing ground.  There are whispers of nameless things coming forth from the Broken Lands far to the South.  The former Elven nation on Mulcrow's southeastern border has become a no man's land, with tales of great beasts and worse hiding in the darkened woods.  In the northeast monsters have been encroaching on the Halflings' lands and they are starting to fear for their safety in the Three Hollows.  All across the eastern half of the duchy monster attacks and raids by bandits and highwaymen are becoming far too common.




*Note: smaller villages and hamlets not depicted at this scale


MAP KEY

1) Mulcrow:
    The Duchy's largest population center and location of the Duke's castle, Mulcrow is surrounded by low, rolling hills covered with farms.  Much of the Duchy's grain comes from the lands in this area.  Situated at the crossroads of two major trade routes, The Fenway and the Halifax Highway, Mulcrow became a bustling mid-size city by the end of the Second Age.  Owing to the amount of goods that pass through, and its location near the Kingdom's northern border, the city is well fortified.
     The populace are employed across a wide range of occupations and trades.  While there are few natural resources nearby, outside of lumber and agriculture, the wide array of materials passing through has led to a large merchant and craftsman class and their associated guilds.
     The population, like much of the region, is mostly human, about 75-80 percent.  The demihumans in town are a roughly equal mix of hill dwarves, elves and halflings.
     Of note is the fact that there is a contingent of the King's soldiers garrisoned here.  Their purpose is to keep the Halifax trade route secure, as it is a vital artery connecting the Western half of the continent with the East.  The King's men don't involve themselves with much outside of that, leaving other matters to the Duke's forces.


2) Burnett:
    One of the largest towns in the Duchy, Burnett is a major trade hub.  Goods come off the lake from the Northern Kingdom and pass through on their way from Halifax to the west.  There is also a fair amount of commerce with the elves of the kingdom's central forest, as well as with the neighboring duchy to the west.  Burnett has a large Lakefront district with extensive docks, though they are not as busy as they used to be.
     The town of Burnett, like the others on the Halifax Highway, is home to a good size merchant class.  It has a somewhat more mixed population with about 70% being human.  The demihuman populace is mostly Elvish, though there are small numbers of every race present.


3) Sheffield:
      Located on the southern shore of Lake Altima, Sheffield is a small town with a pretty diverse population.  As a  border town on the edge of the kingdom, there are folks here from many places.  Northmen, halflings and elves form an interesting blend of peoples alongside the normal Mosgrean humans.
      Benefitting from trade, ample farmland, nearby forest and the lakeshore, Sheffield has a strong and diverse economy.  Travellers between kingdoms pass through here regularly and if one is looking for news out of the North, this is the place to get it.


4)  Piedmont:
       A medium sized town surrounded by dense forests, Piedmont is and has always been a logging town.  The town is dominated by it's lumber mill.  All of the Second Age mills were destroyed at the end of that era and this one was commissioned immediatley after.  The Duke at the time wanted to make a statement with it's construction so it was built much bigger and more imposing looking than it needed to be.  Several other mills have been built since then, as Piedmont's lumber was important to the Kingdom's reconstruction.
       Most (80%) of the population is human, with a smattering of halflings and elves.  Most of the town's labor is devoted to the lumber trade, and associated craftsmen, (furniture makers, cartwrights, etc).  It also sees a fair amount of traffic from Fenway Road, on its way to the Halifax Highway.  While there isn't a significant contingent of soldiers stationed here, the town guard is well-apportioned and effective

5) Cooper's Hollow:
      A small town founded by a copper merchant who loved the quaint and rugged location, (and the nearby copper mine), most of this town was destroyed at the end of the age.  It was rebuilt, though with much less splendor, because of it's location near a crossroads, though it's copper mine was sealed off by the Worldquake.  Great efforts have been made to relocate the copper veins, but all have failed.  It's population is small and mostly human, though there are a few elves and a small hill dwarf contingent,  (descended from the former miners).  Nowadays the local economy is mostly based on lumber and  the trade caravans passing through, though there is a small herbalist community as well.


6) Griffondale:
    Located near the geographical center of the Duchy and at the crossroads of its most important internal roads, Griffondale is the cultural heart of the Duchy.  Home to the Kingdom's largest winery and the biggest festivals in the Duchy, the town is known for an abundance of bards, fine spirits and many craftsmen and artisans.  East and South of the town conditions are in decline, but Griffondale seems to be resisting these trends thus far.


7) Wellingford:
    A medium sized town on the Grey River, Wellingford was once a bustling community where goods from all over the duchy and as far as Greymere and Halifax were put on the river to head to the central regions of Mosgrea.  These days, trade being a fraction of what it once was, the town is struggling.  If not for the lumber out of Piedmont and the occasional goods still coming from Halifax, there would be little going on here at all.  Crime is at an all time high, and the Duke seems to be devoting his energies elsewhere.  The docks and warehouses on the riverfront are in disrepair and it seems the only thing that passes through them unmolested are the lumber shipments.   It is likely that the criminal element doesn't want to attract the attention of the King, as a disruption of the flow of lumber would almost certainly do.
    The town's populace is mostly human, with small communities of hill dwarves and halflings.



8) Port Wagner:
    A small town that used to be significantly bigger, Port Wagner's  imporatance has dwindled in the centuries since the West Hornback Road fell into disuse.  During the Second Age it served as a waypoint for traffic splitting off Hornback Road bound for Mulcrow.  These days it's inhabitants are mostly folks just too stubborn to move elsewhere.  There's plenty of game and farm land to support the town, but it has little to offer the region around it.  Over the last three centuries it has slowly gained a reputation for being a town of hard-luck cases, loners and those of generally ill repute.  While not universally the case, there is some truth in this.  The town sits squarely at the bottom of the Duke's list of priorites, and the locals are not optimistic about the town's prospects.
    The town is almost entirely populated by humans, though there is a small community of hill dwarves.




9) Walker's Hill:
       A medium size town built on one of the westernmost foothills of the Hornback Mountains, Walker's Hill began as a watchtower and garrison early in the Second Age.  Not having much in the way of local natural resources, it owes much of its longevity to its strategic importance, serving as a bulwark against both Northern Raiders and encroaching monsters from the northern mountains.  These days it persists mostly as a waypoint on a major trade route.  Most townspeople work in a support capacity for the towns innes and stables.  Of note is a large stone keep in the center town, at the very top of the hill.  Constructed in the Second Age when  the quarry was still viable, it was designed with the assistance of the mountain Dwarves.  Though rather impressive, it has not been fully garrisoned since the end of the last age.
       Walker's Hill has a larger than average demihuman poulation than most of the duchy, at around 40%.  It consists mostly of Hill Dwarves and Halflings, many of whom live on or just off the road that winds around the hill up to the main, walled part of town.



10) Hodgson:
      A small town that is one of the few to have actually grown since the end of the Second Age, Hodgson benefits from a location that is central to much of the travel in the eastern region of the duchy.
      The town was the site of fierce fighting during the War of Reason, when the Duke's forces rallied out of Everwell Keep to face the hordes issuing from under the Hornbacks.  The current mayor is descended from a knight who was one of the heroes of the Battle of Hodgson.  The fact that monster activity is on the rise lately has him nervous and looking to tales from the past for inspiration.
     Hodgson has managed to stave off the growing criminal element that seems to plague the southeastern regions of the duchy.  Though outside the town, in the surrounding hills and forests, bandits and highwaymen have become a bigger issue lately.
     Like many settlements in eastern Mulcrow, Hodgson is home to a sizable hill dwarf community.


11)  Cedar Creek:
     The small town of Cedar Creek  is situated not far from the eastern shore of Cedar Lake, both being named for the abundance of the tree in the nearby hills.  Located on a steep hillside, a small creek tumbles down through the center of town and into the lake.  The town is dominated by the logging industry, and its citizens are very proud of their reputation as tough and hardworking woodsmen.
     Like much of the region, things here are not what they used to be.  Owing to greater demand for Piedmont lumber, (being better suited for the large scale Reconstruction projects), Cedar Creek has seen demand for their namesake product bottom out in the Third Age.  This has led to life in the town becoming almost dismal.  Many are out of work, wages are low and increasing monster activity in the wilds to the South have taken their toll on people's morale.
     The Duke has even stopped maintaining the canals that ran from the lake through Port Wagner and on to Wellingford.    This has meant that now lumber can only be transported during the rainy season, when the Cedar River is high enough to run the barges.



12)  Three Hollows:
      Located in the northeastern corner of the duchy in a fairly remote area, Three Hollows is actually a grouping of three halfling villages; Stone Hollow, Green Hollow and Fog Hollow, as well as their surrounding lands.  Technically an independent region within the duchy, the halflings here are taxed modestly in exchange for the  Duke's protection, but otherwise left to their own devices.  It's an arrangement that suits them just fine.  Stone Hollow is located a couple of miles upstream from Lake Moss and is home to a small quarry.  The stone here is used locally mostly, as the stone coming out of the dwarven quarry some 50 miles to the south is much better quality.  Green Hollow is nestled in a particularly dense part of the forest off the eastern shore of Lake Moss.  The herbs grown here are renowned throughout the duchy and even into Orinnath to the north.  Even druids and elves have been known to come here seeking the herbs out in the hopes of growing them themselves.  Fog Hollow is situated on the southern shore of Lake Moss at the end of the road from Walker's Hill.  The halflings of this village make their living providing food to the other two villages.  There is plenty of fishing on and around the lake, and some actual farmland outside of the village where most of the halflings' grain is grown.



13) Greymere:
       Greymere encompasses a mountainside hill dwarven stronghold, the town outside its gates as well as the lake and it's shore.  During the Second Age there were mines in every mountain that rings the lake.  Silver, copper, tin and an assortment of semi-precious gems were found in abundance here.  The Worldquake destroyed much of the mining complex and only a handful of mines are active today.  The Duke has a treaty with the Hill Dwarves and sends what soldiers he can, but the town has struggled to regain its standing without the wealth generated by the mines.  Despite pleas to their cousins in the mountains, the Mountain Dwarves in the Hornbacks have their own struggles and have been able to provide only limited aid.
      The town proper is situated on the southern shore of the almost perpetually foggy lake.  There are crumbling ruins and abandoned farms dotting the nearby mountainsides.  Reconstruction has been slow, as resources are limited and a lot of younger dwarves move out.  The loss caused by the end of the Second Age is palpable here, as a handful of survivors still live here and most residents' parents lived through the War of Reason. The remaining mines will be tapped out in a few decades, and there is a feeling if something doesn't change soon the town will disappear.

14) Staunton:
     A mid size town on the Western shores of Lake Staunton.  Inhabited mostly by humans with a significant number of Dwarves.  The mountains around the lake are mined heavily for iron.  Similar to Graymere, production is not what it used to be.  The mines themselves are still viable, however attacks by Underdark creatures are nearly constant in recent decades.  While technically under the protection of the Halifax army, it is all that army can do to keep the Highway and the road into Staunton relatively safe.
     To safeguard their town and mines, all Staunton males are required to serve in the militia.  Staunton berserkers are known far and wide to be dauntless and brutal warriors.  The Dwarves under the Hornbacks have a long and close relationship with the men of Staunton, trading gold and silver for Staunton iron.
     Staunton's history reaches all the way back to the First Age, and is one of the oldest settlements in the region.  It has needed to fiercely defend itself for nearly as long.  If not for the near constant attacks and the resources they use up, the town would have likely grown into a magnificent city.  It's people are rugged and proud of their warrior heritage.



A)  Lake Altima:
     One of the largest freshwater lakes West of the Hornback Mountains, Altima forms a portion of the border between the Kingdoms of Mosgrea and Orinnath.  It was formed by glacial melt many thousands of years ago, and there are dozens of islands jutting from the waters.  The settlements on these islands belong to the kingdom of Orinnath, and are home to several hundred hardy Northmen.  Rumors abound regarding some of the tiny islands being haunted or being home to mysterious ruins from bygone eras.

B)  Lake Hintermere:
     Nestled in a section of dense forest known as the Dark Agate Wood, Lake Hintermere is very sparsely populated... for good reason.  Long, long ago in the First Age, a renowned Paladin lived in a castle overlooking the northwest shore of the lake.  In the Great War his castle was laid siege to by the foul forces of Eloth.  With almost his entire force defeated, in desparation he cried out to the gods, begging for the strength to vanquish his foes.  Althea either chose to ignore his pleas, or was too busy elsewhere.  But Nost aswered his call, giving him the gift of unlife, making him undying..  This came at the cost of his soul and after vanquishing his foes he was cursed to an eternity haunting the halls of his castle.
     These days no one knows if he still haunts his ruined castle, but they know something does and both monster and man alike will go nowhere near it.  There are a few tiny villages and hamlets hugging the lake but none within several miles of the castle ruins.

C)  Cedar Lake:
      Located on the southern edge of the duchy, Cedar Lake is a picturesque body of water.  To it's south the great Western Hornback Forest begins, though the locals care little for the tales of abandoned elven cities in the deep regions of that forest.  It is discussed only in hushed tones around pub tables that monster sightings and attacks have risen sharply in recent years south of the lake.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:19, Thu 19 Sept.