Orlbar

Orlbar was a village on the junction of the Loagrann and Greyflow rivers in the Delimbiyr Vale in the mid-to-late 14th century DR.

Description

It lay on the north bank of the confluence of the Greyflow and Loagrann.

History

In the Year of the Bright Blade, 1347 DR, on a mountaintop deep in the Greypeaks, a cult of Talos summoned the Tempest, a storm elemental, and unleashed it on Orlbar and Llorkh. The Tempest tore apart cottages with its terrific winds and assaulted the land with a barrage of rain. It seemed driven to lay the whole Grayvale to waste before the Green Regent Kalahar Twohands destroyed it.

Orlbar was once known as a simple, sleepy village. But then, in the summer of the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR, a Zhentarim caravan rolled into town and set up a new government, and put an end to the people's freedom. A former lieutenant of Geildarr Ithym of Llorkh, Felishar Ivarzin, became leader of the village.

The construction of a temple to Xvim—said to have been done with the help of devils—dashed the last hope of the people of Orlbar for freedom. They soon revolted against the Zhents' tyrannical rule, and the leadership of Loudwater backed them. Unfortunately, Jesym Rein of Loudwater turned traitor to both the Orlbar rebels and the Loudwater soldiers by revealing their battle plans and their concealed caches of weapons and potions to the Zhentarim. Thanks to her, the Zhentarim and clerics of Iyachtu Xvim brutally crushed the rebellion and Loudwater was forced to sign the Oath of Orlbar, a peace treaty that marked a border between the two states in the years after and ensuring the Zhentarim's control of the village.

During the Gray Migrations of The High Forest orcs in the Year of Wild Magic, 1372 DR, by Eleasias a story was going around the Grayvale that Thelbrimm's Nine had found five families in a homestead east of Orlbar massacred by orcs and their homes destroyed, and that the orcs had taken nothing and done it for kicks. Another version said it was Thelbrimm's Four, that it was only two families killed but also all their animals, including the cats.

In time, Orlbar became a simple shepherding village once again.

Government

Since the Zhentarim takeover, the wizard Felishar Ivarzin reigned in Orlbar. He remained a crony of Mayor Ithym of Llorkh.

Trade

Trade in Orlbar was tightly controlled by the Zhentarim, and those who engaged in unauthorized trade, or even just tried to, would be imprisoned or even disappeared. Those who informed on those who did, meanwhile, were well rewarded.

Circa 1370 DR, the Zhentarim of Orlbar and Llorkh worked to re-establish a portage around Shining Falls, in order to open a route to Sundabar and exploit the northern lands no longer in the shadow of Hellgate Keep. However, the treants of the Heartblood River fork stood in their way.

Inhabitants

Around 1365 DR to 1370 DR, it was a sleepy village supporting about 450 people, mostly shepherds. By 1372 DR, the population had swelled to almost 800.

Living under Zhentarim tyranny and their informants, the people of Orlbar soon became an insular and paranoid people. They were utterly unwilling to talk with their own neighbors, let alone visitors, whom they'd need permission from Ivarzin to speak to.

Description

Orlbar was once an unremarkable and, indeed, boring little village. Volo, in his guidebook, wrote it had "absolutely nothing to recommend it to the traveler". Bara, a High Moor druid, called it "inconsequential and inoffensive". Of course, all this changed after the Zhentarim takeover.

Here, a traveler could get basic food and shelter while on their way to somewhere more interesting. It had a small shrine—more like a warehouse, bare and drafty—that was shared by several faiths and where those who needed a place to sleep could do so on the floor.

Notable Locations

• Fortress of the Eternal Despot: Built by the Zhentarim occupiers, this was a temple to Iyachtu Xvim that was reconsecrated to Bane when he was resurrected in 1372 DR. It was built on a bluff that had a commanding view of the entire village. Though services were held every tenday, it was largely empty except when a Zhentarim caravan came through.
• The Unblinking Eye: The only tavern in Orlbar, it didn't take any boarders and sold watery ale.

Rumors & Legends

According to rumor, the overgrown ruins of Netherese castles and stately homes could be found on the forested mountain slopes to the north. These sometimes drew adventurers.