Carsgarde

"When I was a boy, Carsgarde was busier. Dwarffolk from the mountains still came by now and then, selling trinkets and showing us wondrous toys. But the war changed all that. The walls were stripped. Our temple was demolished. People left town. Now look at this place. It's a ruin, and the only folk guarding our fort are those thrice-cursed bandits."
- Elder Leoric Krane
Carsgarde was indeed much busier once. Founded during the war with the Valmer of the Barrowmere, Carsgarde was intended as a border fortress. But the war progressed much more quickly than anticipated, and Carovin, not Carsgarde, became the principal Holmgardian city of the Barrowmark. Still, the fortified town of Carsgarde puttered along for centuries, becoming a stopping point for travellers heading to Carovin or through the Graahtwood. Produce collected from the numerous homesteads of the valley was gathered here prior to being shipped off, and iron ore from the mountains was exchanged in Carsgarde for food, mead, and burlap.
It was the War of the Three Emperors that proved the deathblow of the town. After Carovin was reclaimed from the Rhudarians, the walls of Carsgarde were stripped to further reinforce the more important city. The church of Tyr was burned and demolished during an angry revolt against the priesthood, and the reprisals drove off much of the remaining villagers. Carsgarde had already lost its reason to be, but these events sped it along its decline. The remaining townsfolk planted fields inside what were once the walls, completing the transformation of the town into a rural village.
In 686 HR, Carsgarde attained some measure of attention when its ruined fort was occupied by bandits hired out by the Cult of Sanguine. After a string of kidnappings, a group of roving Crusaders from the rest of the Empire drove them out, ruthlessly killing their leader Frederick the Bald. The Champions of Carsgarde, as they became known, marched onward to Carovin and played an important role in fighting against the undead Scourge. Later, they escorted the displaced people of Carsgarde away from the valley, and went on to achieve much fame and renown throughout the Empire.

Government

Elder council

Industry & Trade

Burlap manufacture, grain, poor-quality ale, pewter kitchenware, poor-quality agricultural implements

Infrastructure

Imperial highway and muddy roads

Architecture

Thatch huts, crumbling stone walls, decrepit fortress

Founding Date

271HR

Type

Village

Population

1,000, including nearby homesteads