Skull Crag

Skull Crag was a human hamlet in The Storm Horns to the northwest of Cormyr. It was a mining community with a population of 270 around 1372 DR. The settlement was overshadowed by a large rock that had been made into a shrine to Kelemvor.

Description

Skull Crag was a squalid hamlet that reeked of manure and other fetid odors. The notable aroma was cleared only when mountain winds blew across Skull Crag. A crooked sign by the Skull Crag's gateway displayed the village's name and its population underneath. Sometimes, the numbers were crudely crossed off and "corrected" by vandals.

The town had several unique features, including passages and buildings cut directly out of The Storm Horns. One of such passages provided an additional connection to the Skull Crag Keep and and a direct tunnel from it to the town gates. The keep itself loomed over the town ominously.

Defenses

Skull Crag was under the protection of the Skull Crag Keep's Roadwarden Guard and its leader – the Roadwarden. The Roadwarden troops were tasked with guarding The High Road on which the town stood, ensuring trade caravans' safe passage.

History

By the 1360s DR, Skull Crag's protector, the Roadwarden Arelin Starbrow and hr son Vidruand were great heroes in the eyes of the hamlet's inhabitants. Locals liked to share old stories of the duo's heroics with Skull Crag's guests over a cup of hot tea.

Some of such guests was a group of adventurers who were paid to escort a caravan to the town of Skull Crag. After the adventurers counted the reward of coin and a ring of projection, they headed to the The Thirsty Traveler tavern to slake their thirst. Soon after, the group was heading out of the town, continuing on their own was as they were greeted by blasting horns. A lone rider was galloping towards the town's gates with a body thrown across the saddle. The man was Sir Dutiocs the Chief of the local trade route protectors – the Roadwarden Guard from the Skull Crag Keep. He was being pursued by a gang of monsters – minotaurs, ogres, and several hill giants. Th adventurers aided the rider and slew the monsters. Only then they realized that the dead body was none other than the Roadwarden. Arelin Starbrow was killed in a monster attack.

The monster attack was just a harbinger and a horde soon besieged the mountain road leading towards Skull Crag and collapsed the town's underground passages. Sir Dutiocs invite the adventurers to the Skull Crag Keep, knowing that the Roadwarden Guard would need help against the horde and to recover the Arms of the Roadwarden.