Adventure Sites of the Vernal Valley

Crowslode: Located in the Southern face of the Vernal Wall, far north of Floivin Keep, is a walled off mining shaft where a substantial operation was once thriving. In the year 764 I.D., a band of over 40 human and dwarven prospectors were killed by what rumors insist was the poisonous gas vents and various natural deathtraps. Few of the remains were recovered, but those that were seemed to show not only signs of asphyxiation or burns, but other evidence of struggle. Regent Goosearm, the 4th to hold the title in the Province of Floivin, sent a team of seasoned adventurers from across the Empire into the mine to see if it was salvageable. When the team never returned, it was decided that the mine be sealed off. The only individuals to venture here today are foolish prospectors with no sense for self preservation, and an occasional foot patrol from Cedarway, checking on the area.

Dwarf Lords' Rest: The entrance to this vast mountainside tomb in the southeast corner of the Crown Pasture is flanked by a pair of great dwarven statutes, carved nearly a thousand years ago. It's a landmark so impressive that the Eidolorn Empire has ordered the team sealed off since they took over the Valley. Legend has it that the entire lineage of the Gnarlbottom clan, as well as their predecessors, are buried deep within the tomb. While the 'official' word is that the vaults are guarded out of respect and the site's historical value, some speculate that the Last Eidolorn guard has long since plundered the graves of the kings. Of course, such speculations tend to arrive on the lips of the Gnarlbottom's bitter descendants who remain in the Valley today. The only thing for sure is that a patrol of 4-6 Eidolorn soldiers is found camped about the tomb at all hours of the day.

Ettenhead: A crumbling forest keep that was once the entrance to an underground passage that led through the Vernal Wall to an ancient dwarven hold on the other side. The Ettenhead has long since fallen to a savage clan of ogres and other brutes that are led by a crafty, hidden figure known as the Titan of the Glen. Every decade or so, the Last Eidolorn guard have launched a formidable assault on the site, only to be driven back by the dangerous defenses the ogres have in play. Yet, the giant-folk have never launched a retaliation, even on the nearby community of Littlewolf. The situation has long since cast an uneasy shadow on Floivin Keep. Are the ogres and their shadowy master slowly gathering forces through the years, from beyond the Valley, to launch one decisive strike? Or are they worried the Empire will get through? Most dwarves will answer that the old keep had fallen long before their time, and that the ogres have held it for many centuries.

Haunted Horrn: High in the Vernal Wall, towards the West of the Valley, and beyond the sheltered community of Hud Horrn, lies a ruined dwarf stronghold which was razed by predators from the depths of the Underdark, 50 years before the Empire arrived to claim the region. This site is very popular with adventurers, who come far and wide from all the Seven Provinces to test their hand in its dark chambers. Through the years, several of the upper levels of the Horrn have been 'cleared', only to restock themselves as more powerful creatures move up to replace the weaker. It is now considered one of the most dangerous places in the Vale, and the Last Eidolorn keeps a constant vigil that the denizens, which now include a potent warband of bugbears known as the Blooded Lash, do not expand their territory beyond the ruins.

Mimresh: A tower of obsidian and steel, which was once the property of the Gnarlbottom dwarves who used it as a defense against orc invaders from the Fyreklaw barrens beyond. When the Gnarlbottom Clan attempted to stave off the Eidolorn Empire's advance, they drew forces from the tower, leaving it relatively weakened, and it was then that the orcs would strike in vast numbers, under the guidance of then-warlord Fharkkas the Gnawer. Realizing too late their mistake, the Gnarlbottom Clan surrendered to the Empire that they might drive out the orcs and spare the dwarf families a life of harsh slavery. But while able to free the Valley of the Gnawer's invasion force, the foul creatures had successfully captured and defended the tower, now known as the Mimresh, and they hold it to this day, though they serve a new master, Dror Gheel, the Slavemaster of Sothos Karr. The tower is 60' feet of fortified stone and steel, with twisted, barbed coils of mesh that lie strewn about the pass before it, and over 100 orc troops that will defend for fear of failure. At all times, an encampment of at least 20 Imperial soldiers including one Sergeant or higher rank will be found a half mile to the north of the Mimresh, should the brutes decide one day to again attempt a violent expansion.

Sunken Forge: An extremely well fortified crypt that delves deep below the center of Greataxe Island on the waters of Udders Well, the Sunken Forge has stood for as long as the dwarves can remember, in the dawn of their earliest civilization in the Vernal Valley. Only the topmost level of the crypt has been accessed by the Eidolorn Empire, who always maintain a pair of guards on the Island to keep watch over it. But none have been able to bypass the perplexing puzzle that promises entrance to the rest of the Forge, not even some of the greatest thinkers of the Empire or beyond, who are allowed access by appointment with the Regent. Local dwarf descendants often ramble about an extremely powerful artifact housed within the Forge, and a massive store of the finest crafting ore available, mithril, but even they do not know the specifics.