Riftcrag and the Leering Keeps

Once the home of the leaders of the Reyhu bandits, Riftcrag has been occupied by Iuz's forces in a heavy-handed manner unlike Stoink or Rookroost. Humanoid soldiers prowl the streets, stomping up and down the Martial Square of the inner walled keep district, and only some 2,500 humans-remain. The workshops of the town district known simply as “The Smithy” are undermanned now and smelting of the ores from the silver mines is slow. Still, Riftcrag is an almost impenetrable fortress with its double-walled design, both sets of walls bristling with towers, ballistae and catapults. The inner town walls are nearly twelve feet thick and the greatest attention was always given to defensive detail, from murder holes to archery slits. As the home of the only precious metal mines in the country, that was essential.

Cranzer fumes at his problems here. The productivity of the mines has been reduced for several reasons, including lack of skilled labor and the maraudings of the Rift bandits are an eternal problem. Trying to organize defenses with the forces of Sheerwatch in the Shield Lands is virtually impossible, and warbands in the Rift have suffered severe casualties from time to time. Cranzer commands but a handful of fiends among his troops and his half-dozen mid-level mages cannot often be spared for patrols or skirmishes, being needed to secure the mines. Riftcrag’s defensive role is secured, but trying to conquer the Rift bandits and avoid their attacks on supply trains is very difficult. Much effort has to be expended on patrolling known exit routes from the Rift Canyon, and with a canyon length of nearly 200 miles and incompetents stationed to the south, commanded from Balmund, this is a thankless task.

Using ogres from the Rift as enforced labor, Cranzer has built the Leering Keeps along the northern canyon margins. They are so named for the exceptionally ugly gargoyles and other grotesque creatures built into them as ornamentation. The most important is the wood/stone hybrid Splinter Keep, which also houses garrisons which maraud into the Tangles.