Ebolan North Watch

Overview

The Barony of North Watch in Ebola consists of a small walled town, a tower, a couple of villages, and responsibility for the northern third of Ebola.

Considered one of the toughest parts of Ebola to live in, the land is either fertile or defensible but not both. Homesteads are fortified, patrols are vigilant, livestock and crops are guarded.

Wild animals, Goblinoids, Fae, and other monsters raid from the jungles to the north. Deformed and monstrous creatures emerge from the western mountains and poisoned lands beyond. Particularly vicious Wyverns and other reptilian fliers nest in some of the eastern sea cliffs.

But it is the same dangerous creatures that make the land valuable, components from the flora and fauna are valued by alchemists, herbalists, and other magical artificers.

People

Jaime Almeida

Baron of North Watch, Jaime comes from one of the old families of Ebola, his family established the barony in the 7th century (WK) and have held it since.

Tomas Almeida

Cavaleiro di Arroni (Knight of Arroni), captain of the North Watch militia. A cousin and old friend of Baron Jaime, appointed to the position when Jaime became Baron.

Ricardo Lobato

A landless Knight, also known as The Wolf of the North, his very effective ferocity in battle earned enough wealth to retire from mercenary work and purchase his title. Rarely seen in town he prefers to patrol the wilds alone or with a pack of trusted men.

Rodrigo Diaz

Cavaleiro di Addovi, the newest of North Watch's Knights, urbane and charming with cultured manners not normally seen in North Watch. Commonly believed to be a disgraced and exiled noble from somewhere in the Western Kingdom, resettled under a new name thanks to great wealth or connections.

Places

North Watch

The tower has been gradually expanded over the generations and is now a large squat stone tower perched on a ridge above town. The external walls are up to 50' high and 10 to 15' thick, rumoured to be filled with iron sand and anti-magical rock to repel Fae and other magical monsters. Inside is a warren of small, dark inter-connected rooms.

The tower has often served as refuge for the entire town but it has rarely been used for long term accommodation.

Within 50' of the tower is low mana, within the tower there is no mana, the walls can only be affected by the most powerful magic (-20 effective ranks), within the tower feels uncomfortable, wounds heal slowly or not at all, illness sets in easily, weak minds can stray to madness.

The town is small and rough, walls and buildings are sturdy and practical at the expense of beauty. The people are considered surly and unfriendly by most visitors, and they are to strangers. In private and with locals they are warm and friendly and fiercely protective of each other.

Fishing Village

30 miles east of town on the coast, a typical fishing village, no harbour, long shallow sandy beach, small fishing boats are hauled in and out at high tide, the people live by the tide and weather. A long wooden jetty allows smaller ships to tie up at high tide or smaller boats and barges to transfer goods and passengers at any tide.

Cargo is moved to and from town by mule, usually taking up to 2 days each way.

Addovi

The Addovi lands are on the coast north east of town. The main compound is on a headland with excellent views all around, farmsteads are densely packed around the few fertile valleys.

Recently settled (810wk) when Sir Rodrigo bought a few dozen families, retired soldiers and mercenaries to the area. Magic was obviously used in the rapid construction of buildings, sculpting of the land, and preparation of fields.

The people of Addovi keep to themselves and don't head to town often, regarded as too new and untested by the locals to be comfortable there, maybe in another 5 to 10 years...

The manor house like its master is more upmarket than most in the barony, oriented to take advantage of the views and climate, occupied by Sir Rodrigo, 3 personal guards, a steward, a valet, and a scribe.

Arroni

The Arroni lands lie west of town, a large mostly flat area that is excellent for grazing. The herds are mostly wild, protected from other predators as much as possible by the herder-guards.

Almeida

South of town are the fertile and relatively safe lands of the Almeida family, the several fortified manor houses are the ancestral homes of the main branches of the family.

The village at the base of the main valley has a fresh water spring, a large pond, a nice inn, and even a water-driven mill.

Pine Grove

The name Grove is a little premature for the hills area north of town where the Count planted some unusual pine trees with strict orders for them to be left alone.

There is a guild warning for Elves (or any other Fae) heading to the region to give this area a wide berth.