Noble Families and Their Associates:
Duchess Philippa Angdon: Ranking noble of the entire Coldhorn region whose demesne includes Lower Coldhorn and the Coldhorn Pass as well as the northern section of the Verdant Valley including North Embark. Her estate is in the northwest part of the town of Lower Coldhorn. The baronies all answer to her, and she answers to King Hebrine Ossus. the Duchy of Coldhorn lies close by to the Kings' Lands of Kiraly, the capitol, and Philippa is close friends with the King's eldest son and heir, Carmichael Ossus. She is on much less friendly terms with the Duchy of Zauzet to the east, or to the Duke Bartimus Rakkir or his adult children Camilla and Leopold Phillip who control the Duchy.
Lord Vistus Dans: Baron of the Dans estate in the Coldhorn region and executive of the Dans Foundation. Dans is a family closely linked with the arts, particularly musical pursuits, ballet, and theatre, but they are also patrons of fine arts including painting and sculpture. The family also has a spectacular townhouse in the central section of Lower Coldhorn that doubles as a performance hall and an art museum. The Dans family includes some elven and half-elven as well as Aasimar lineages.
Lady Savora Ferecit: Baroness of the Ferecit estates and head of the Ferecit mercantile empire, an import/export trader with many lines of business throughout the empire. Savora is a devotee of the goddess Niphonel, and her focus is on market expansion without exploitation where possible. Nature can be pretty ruthless, however, and she embraces that aspect of her goddess as well. Ferecit has an estate in the Coldhorn marketplace, the lower floor of which is an indoor market space with stalls rented out by local merchants.
Lord Cyprian Machach: Baron of the Machach military stronghold called Coal Vee to the north of Lower Coldhorn and de-facto field marshal of the Duchy's military defenses. The Machach family is known for a certain narcissism and braggadocio, but they are also duty-bound, fiercely patriotic of their homeland and heritage, and unquestioningly loyal to the Duchess, King Ossus, and Emperor Ulyrius IV. They have a small campus of towers and blockhouses on the west side of town.
Lord Orgosh Pracy: A orc and half-orc noble family line synonymous with the arts of the forge and smelter, the Pracy family's riches came from the expansion and management of the iron mines of the Coldhorn mountains and their expertise with blacksmithing. Controlling both the raw material supply and the artisanal conversion of materials into finished products flooded the family coffers to the point that they could afford to buy a letter of Marque from the King. Hundreds of years later, the family still has a more down-to-earth personality than one might expect, and the sons and daughters of the House of Pracy work the forge in the town of Lower Coldhorn. But this is masterwork, not mere corner blacksmithing. And weapons of war are of little use without soldiers to use them, so the Pracy's are second only to the Machach in their martial prowess. Pracy has a large blacksmithing and ceramics complex on the north end of town.
Lady Edwin Zareslich: The grand old Baroness of the Zareslich family, whose wealth for centuries has been assured by the worldwide fame and popularity of their wines and cheeses, from grapes grown and dairy products produced in the heart of the Verdant Valley. They own a complex of cheese, sausage and wine shops and production houses as well as a music shop and a toy store on a block in the north-central part of town, opposite the Ferecit's estate with market square between them, with opulent lodging for the Baroness and her family and coterie of servants on the upper floors.
Guards, Merchants and Notable Citizens:
Severina Dinescu: In the Imperial justice system, Executioners are trained up in the Imperial Torturer's Guild and assigned by the Imperial Office to each Duke or Duchess across the empire. They remain employees of the Emperor, not the Duchy, better ensuring the fair application of Imperial Law everywhere in the Imperium, and giving the Emperor the option of executing the Duke or Duchess should it ever be necessary based on some traitorous or otherwise massive misapplication of their Imperial power. The Master Executioner assigned to the Duchy of Coldhorn is a Tiefling woman named Severina Dinescu, a thin older woman of great accuracy and efficiency when it comes to criminal punishments or beheadings.
Gander Frye: A Minotaur foreman managing logistics for Zareslich holdings in the Verdant Valley, Gander Frye manages the caravans moving the cheeses, wine, and raw materials produced on Zareslich farms through the narrow and unpredictable conditions of the Coldhorn pass. Gruff and no-nonsense, he's happy to hire any able-bodied folk willing and seemingly able to do the work, and pays three times the normal day laborer's wage for it, but will pursue any layabouts or lollygaggers to the fullest. Not only has he fired slackers and cancelled their bonuses, but has prosecuted them for breach of contract as well as theft, which usually leads to a precise and professional beating at the hands of Severina Dinescu, the Imperial Executioner assigned to the Duchy of Coldhorn by the Emperor. Philippa's proxy judges and the Zareslich family members on the court are unlikely to rule in a common laborer's favor without significant evidence supporting their case.
Sheriff Kaulius: Grizzled older half-orc with a spray of tattoos visible on his neckline and shoulders, Kaulius is the chief civilian investigator and peace keeper in Coldhorn, meaning the entire county and not simply the town of Lower Coldhorn proper. A friendly man to citizens and townsfolk, he has less patience with out of towners or the migrant workforce of timber-cutters and caravan-haulers that travel through town seasonally. Nevertheless he's known as a fair man, organized and thorough, and his friendly demeanor is backed by a great deal of Machach steel should things go sub-optimally in a confrontation. He works closely with his Chief Deputy Minchin, a more high strung and less methodical man, as well as a number of other paid peace officers and volunteers.
Chief Deputy Minchin: Spry, fast-talking investigator and deputy of Sheriff Kaulius, helping to keep the peace and protect the innocent in Lower Coldhorn and across the rest of the county. Not as physically imposing as Kaulius, Minchin may be underestimated at first glance as he is a short fellow, and sports gray hair and a gray beard. But he's smart, observant and patient which can add up to a great deal more danger than simply going toe to toe in a fight with someone. At the same time his skills with grappling and restraint are sometimes needed to corral miscreants into the Coldhorn Jail.
Valdos the Mage is evidently a sorcerer and not actually a mage; but this middle-aged gnome is a great purveyor of magical weapons and wondrous items, with a supply second only to the magic shops of Khazigur and Naugor. He also is on the board of the Lower Coldhorn Imperial Bank, which was made necessary as an extension of buying and selling expensive magical items without the necessity of moving wagonloads of physical gold or platinum coins around. Adventurers and buyers from across the north come to his shop, knowing it has wares of interest and that it can afford to buy very rare and even legendary items with a minimum of fuss and no fear of being defrauded. Valdos himself is an exceedingly odd individual, seeming at times more dopey or drugged than wise and mage-like; people chalk this up to his extended exposure to wild magic and other effects.
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