Fastness Places
Back to the Fastness of Girwyllan
Some places within the Fastness. They often have people of interest attached to them. Within the Fastness are short cuts which are known to many creatures and people alike.
Amber village
Amber Village is at the northern end of the Fastness.
Buzzard Rock
A Fortress that the Harpies held until early 807. It is reached by way of the short cuts.
Lookout point
From these hills you are able to see most of western Carzala.
One Hand Cliffs
To the south of the Fastness of Girwyllan there is a cliff to the west of a hill with a river running through it. Carved into the cliffs the words in common that can just be made out are 'Ore Hand'. The words have faded with time and they once said One Hand'. From the top of the cliff if you cut your hand off and throw it to the bottom then you will gain in manual dexterity. If you cut both hands off and throw them to the bottom you will be ambidextrous. It is also true that if you take the bones from the hands of the cliffs and make them into a amulet of protection you will be 'invisible' to that person's magic. The Green Water Goblins hide in the forest below and look after the cliffs. They also make the amulets.
The Standing Stones
In the center of the Fastness are the Standing Stones. Under the seven stones are the seven spirits of the most important Dwarves that built the Fastness for Girwyllan.
- People inside the stones rest faster than outside.
- At the equinox and solstice the Standing Stones can take people to far off lands.
- It is said that if someone has a Petit Mort cast over them then they are able to travel to the lands of the dead and return.
- The stones can not be looked into with magic of any type.
The Fairy Folk north east of the Standing Stones
There is a Kingdom of little people that lives in the swamp to the north east of the Standing Stones. Large people are not liked here. They deal with the Brownies and they in turn trade with humans. They will sell information directly for items of interest - but not metal items. The Fairy folk know of healing secrets and powers.
The princess of the Fairy is an 'invited guest' of the harpies. The Kingdom has not taken sides in the affairs of the outside world.
The Swamp to the north of Amber Village.
Kathrine the Witch, the otters and the magic leeches. An old and ugly human witch lives in the center of the swamp which is part of Swithan's Roughlands. She is kind and is good-natured towards all who bring her fresh food from outside her swamp. She is a specialist in Leech magics and keeps a large sack of the many different types at her cave. She has the skin of a large bear and can sometimes be found in this form. The main entry to the swamp and her cave is by using a path of stepping stones set into the water. She has three friends - two otters that come and help her, and a water Nixie called Clementine. Catherine often has trouble with the Lizard men that come into the swamp from the coast.
The Trapdoor Spiders
The area that the trapdoor spiders live and hunt in is south west of the Standing Stones and due west of the old Dwarven city. They are very fast. So fast in fact that most of the time when a group of people walk into their area and the spiders grab one of the people the others don't even see the spider grab the person. More often than note all they see is that one of their number is gone. The spiders are about human size and mostly legs and fangs. The live in holes in the ground and have a network of fine spider silk line leading out from their holes. When someone trips on a line by just touching it the spider strikes and then is gone in just the blink of an eye. Once the have their victim in the hole, they poison them with a powerful paralyse. A dose 1D10 +8 to AG per pulse. Once the victim is at racial minimum they are unable to move. They victim will then be slowly eaten over four days. The live in an area of about % a mile. There is only about 30 large hunting spiders and well over 200 holes for them to come out of. The holes have tunnels connecting each of them.
The Dark Wood Spiders
A large web of people-eating man-sized spiders that live in the iron trees (that aren't able to burn) and lie in wait for people coming into the small valley from the area where the undead Hydra lives. The forest is dark with a large number of heavy webs in the trees from which the spiders are able to drop onto people below. There are about 20 large spiders living in the forest most of which have a poisonous bite, which will paralyses most people. No one has reported what is at the center of the webs.
The Black Tower and the fifth floor
This old ruin is largely only a run-down tower and is made of jet black stone that always seems to be wet to the touch. The tower is set in a glade of elm trees with little undergrowth around the base. The front door was once made of elm but has long been destroyed. The tower has only four floors with an old stone staircase leading up to each floor and coming out on the roof. The tower is windswept with large holes in the western wall on all levels. Under a clear night sky before, during and after the full moon, there is a secret fifth floor. On this floor you are able to raise people that have died in the Fastness of Girwyllan within the last lunar cycle.
The Cliffs of Change
East of the River Hill are the Cliffs of Change. If you stay awake over the night of the full moon and see the dawn and you have a limestone totem in your hands, there is a good chance that you will become a Shapechanger of the type of totem you are holding, otherwise you will become one of the many limestone statues at the base of the cliffs.
The Shapechangers
North of the dead forest and before the top edge of the cliffs, is a area known as the Grasslands. The area on the outside is a couple of miles across (maybe), but in the inside is about 25 miles across. The grass stands about 20 feet high, and is thick like bamboo. Within the Grasslands roam the Shapechangers. There are a few hundred of them, mostly tigers. They have a small camp where outsiders are taken. As a group they know very little of the outsides. They are stone aged and by character standards backwards.
It is also home to Matthew and the main location of the Elemental places of power.
The River Island Tombs
On a small single island south of the River Hill on the east side of the Tiana River is a very old stone temple and tombs. They have been plundered long ago. There are short cuts that lead away from here.
Grave Yard
On the southern side of the small lake within the Fastness is a Graveyard. It is said to have a Gorgon living in it. It is obviously maintained by someone with gardening skills. There are some very nice fruit trees outside the Grave Yard walls.
The Dead Forest
A large forest that is made up of Pine, Yew, Elm and Oak trees. The ground and trees are covered in a black moss. It seems nothing lives in the area. It is a Necromantic place of power.
