Tamorlan
Bailiff: Sir Hendrik Poúlty
Liege: Sir Shernâth Mirdârne, Constable of Jédes
Támorlan is a prosperous and busy village on the south bank of the Tâmora River, the last settlement in Asólade on the main road running from Jédes to Hútop. It sits next to an ancient stone bridge which, as a consequence of its location, is the site of a royal tollhouse. Támorlan is also home to the Verderers’ Hall and Court.
The bridge, by far the best of those that cross the Tâmora River, dates back to the Codominium and is rumoured to be of Kúzhan construction. It consists of four stone arches between two high stone abutments. Stone parapets, three feet high and one foot thick, run along either side of the span. For most of its length the bridge is only eight feet wide between the parapets, too narrow for two carts or wagons to pass each other. The central pier, however, is larger than the others, and here the bridge widens to fifteen feet.
The tollhouse is manned by a paid royal official, who is assisted by two local yeomen as part of their feudal obligation. Residents of Támorlan and Mówich are exempt from the toll, and all other villages in the hundred can access Jédes market without using the bridge. For outsiders and the miners at Tâsinald, however, avoiding the toll bridge is extremely difficult. The bridge upstream leads only to Mówich, while the two bridges downstream require long detours along narrow trails, doubling or tripling the distance of travelling the main road. At the bridge at Asólade manor, moreover, the hundred bailiff is duty-bound to charge a toll to “visitors”, defined as anyone not resident in the hundred.
A small local market is held in Támorlan once each month on the 24th. Most months there will be a number of itinerant masters in attendance, plus the hideworker from Bôry, the metalsmith from Skáist, the salter from Ándrake, and the woodcrafter from Cálsite
Sir Hendrik Poúlty, Bailiff of Támorlan
Sir Hendrik is the eldest brother of Lady Jenya Mirdarne, wife of the Constable of Jedes, and the son and named heir of the Lord of Bory. He is fit and active, in his early forties, and 5’10” tall. The bailiff of Támorlan is the only member of his clan without the characteristic Poúlty red hair; his once black hair, moustache, and beard are now beginning to grey. Sir Hendrik has three children, two daughters from his first marriage, to Lady Trischa Vaén, and a son from his current wife, Lady Charsi. Sir Hendrik dotes on his young wife and as a consequence he is currently estranged from his eldest daughter, Shelby, who hates her stepmother. Despite the best efforts of Hendrik and Charsi, Shelby made mischief, insulted, and argued with her new stepmother. Sir Hendrik threatened to send Shelby away. When this didn’t work, he carried out the threat and sent her to his neighbours and kinfolk in Calsite.
Lady Charsi Poúlty, Lady of the Manor
The eldest daughter of Sir Mykel Erwyne is an intelligent and sensible young woman, tall, with large teeth, a plain, oval face, and a stunning figure. At 14, Lady Charsi took stock of the eligible noblemen of the hundred and dismissed them all. The following year, she developed a crush on the grieving Sir Hendrik, whose first wife had died that year in childbirth. At 17, she and the softly spoken widower were betrothed, they married a year later. Last year, to Hendrik’s joy and his eldest daughter’s disgust, Charsi provided her husband with a male heir. Charsi has tried to make friends with her eldest step-daughter, but Shelby will have none of it.
Squire Bors Orteyan
Bors is the 14-year-old son and heir of the Lord of Yalen. Wiry and attractive with tousled fair hair, he is sensitive and thoughtful. Bors has a quick wit and a mischievous sense of humour.
Donya Mazerony, Lady-in-Waiting
Donya, 17, is a slender, attractive blonde. Her elder sister, Emyla, is a close friend and confidante of Charsi. When Sir Jarrak Mazerony returned to Mowich from Tashál three years ago, Emyla and Charsi conspired to immediately remove Donya from Mówich. Charsi persuaded her new husband that she needed a lady-in-waiting, and Donya moved to Támorlan.
Dorali and Hendrik Poúlty
Sir Hendrik’s 6-year-old daughter from his first marriage, Dorali is outgoing and happy, fond of singing, dancing, and drawing. Her elder sister tried, and failed, to involve Dorali in her campaign against Lady Charsi.
Hendrik, almost 1, was mewling and demanding as a newborn, but is now a quiet and active baby.
Bonded Clothier £££
Sayndor of Wallarns is a close friend of the bonded clothier at Jédes, who recommended him. “Jules” and “Sand”, as they refer to each other, gossip constantly and outrageously when they are together. Sayndor is a fairly recent arrival to Támorlan. After young Hendrik was born, Sir Hendrik looked to buy a present for his young wife. He learned through Donya that she wanted some new clothes, so Sayndor was hired.
Chamberlain
Gorvan of Tebesty is a tall, cadaverous, grey-bearded, and softly spoken man in his early sixties. He has been chamberlain for thirty years, under three different bailiffs. Gorvan is well-educated, fluent in Hârnic and Emela, and able to read both Lakíse and Sináin. Gorvan holds his current master in high regard, as Sir Hendrik treats him with respect and heeds his advice.
Sir Hendrik employs two light footmen. Garrad and Sathor of Rakath are father and son. Garrad is a former Remken in the Order of the Lady of Paladins. Now in his late fifties, Garrad married Elya, now the manor’s cook, almost twenty-five years ago. When their first child was born, Garrad retired from the order. Garrad and Elya have three surviving children, all sons, of whom the two eldest joined the order. The youngest, Sathor, who cannot speak properly because of his cleft pallet, is of average height but massively built.
Shortbow (Beadle)
Romald of Kyrk is average in appearance, height, and weight. He is a quietly efficient beadle who prefers a warning and negotiation to confrontation, but he is unforgiving if his warnings are ignored. Romald is a commoner of Tarwyn and keeps several ponies and a large sounder of swine in the forests. His two teenage sons look after the beasts.
Shortbow
Cother of Stoyn is a short, sallow-faced man in his mid forties. Another commoner of Tarwyn, Cother keeps a number of ponies, which he breeds and sells through Iriel of Haskew. Cother is a good horseman; Sir Hendrik and Lady Charsi often use him to deliver messages.
Shortbow
Mydel of Stoyn is Cother’s daughter, a slender 20-year-old. Three years ago, she married a local serf named Uther after becoming pregnant with his child. Her clan bought his freedom. A good shot, Mydel persuaded her father to support her in becoming a yeoman. Within a year she had succeeded and she and her husband were granted 30 acres of land. Only two months later Uther ran off. Mydel now hires local youths to assist in running her land, and there are persistent rumours that her men provide her with other services too.
Miller £££
Hastal of Varbyn is a baby-faced man in his early thirties. He stands 5’2” tall and has fine light-brown hair. The unmarried miller is looking for a wife, but has been unable to find a woman who meets his exacting standards. As he won’t consider any woman taller than he is, his options are limited. Hastal employs a journeyman and an apprentice.
The mill is located on the south bank of the river, on the western side of the bridge, opposite the tollhouse. The gates to the area between the mill and the tollhouse are closed at dusk, preventing access over the bridge.
Innkeeper £££
The Crown Posada is one of only three inns in Asólade, the others being at Yeashim and Jedes. There is enough traffic between Jédes and Hútop to ensure the inn turns a profit, but the innkeeper, Balthar of Gorynd, and his wife, Jula, would struggle over the lean winter months were he not a commoner of Tarwyn.
Balthar and Jula have two children under the age of 6, a boy and a girl. Balthar does not employ any permanent staff, nor does he currently have an apprentice. Balthar is brewer, barman, and innkeeper; Jula is cook, barmaid, and chambermaid. During the busy months of late spring, summer and autumn Balthar employs one or two local peasant girls as temporary bar staff.
In addition to the usual ales, Balthar makes a beer from malted wheat. He is the only innkeeper in the hundred not to brew, or sell, the local perry. Balthar sells ale, piniale, wheat beer, and a weak, cloudy, sour cider.
As a commoner, Balthar keeps a large sounder of pigs. The inn menu reflects this. It is rare that anything other than a pork-based dish will be on offer.
Balthars prices for drink, board and lodging are average, except for the days before, during and after St. Bromel’s Fast and the Jédes Horse Fair. During these busy periods Balthar inflates his prices by between 50 and 200 percent.
Reeve
Marrek of Andryn is a lickspittle who agrees with everything Sir Hendrik says. He claims to be a close advisor to the lord, but his fellow villagers know better.
Herder
Arbrogar of Meriel is tall with dark, close-cropped hair, a large nose, and larger ears. He also talks with a lisp. Hard working and competent, he is no fool, though many folk think that he looks like one. Arbograth, not Marrek, is the man to whom the villagers turn if they have a problem. Unlike the reeve, Arbrogar is prepared to tell his lord unwelcome news.
Woodward
Barrath of Fortin is a slight man with brown hair. He keeps a careful watch over Sir Hendrik’s forests. Over the years there have been several incidences of poaching along the southern edge of the demesne lands, which borders with the mine at Tâsinald. The mine is legally held to be within Daynôra Hundred, despite it lying entirely within Asólade (see p80 for details). In the past this has lead to complex legal disputes with the Miners’ Guild.
Priest of Peóni
Hedrin of Harth is in his mid thirties. A short and slender man with thinning mousy brown hair, he is a good physician and herbalist. He often provides herbal remedies to priests from adjacent villages. His sermons tend to be long, rambling, and eccentric.
Liege: Sir Shernâth Mirdârne, Constable of Jédes
Támorlan is a prosperous and busy village on the south bank of the Tâmora River, the last settlement in Asólade on the main road running from Jédes to Hútop. It sits next to an ancient stone bridge which, as a consequence of its location, is the site of a royal tollhouse. Támorlan is also home to the Verderers’ Hall and Court.
The bridge, by far the best of those that cross the Tâmora River, dates back to the Codominium and is rumoured to be of Kúzhan construction. It consists of four stone arches between two high stone abutments. Stone parapets, three feet high and one foot thick, run along either side of the span. For most of its length the bridge is only eight feet wide between the parapets, too narrow for two carts or wagons to pass each other. The central pier, however, is larger than the others, and here the bridge widens to fifteen feet.
The tollhouse is manned by a paid royal official, who is assisted by two local yeomen as part of their feudal obligation. Residents of Támorlan and Mówich are exempt from the toll, and all other villages in the hundred can access Jédes market without using the bridge. For outsiders and the miners at Tâsinald, however, avoiding the toll bridge is extremely difficult. The bridge upstream leads only to Mówich, while the two bridges downstream require long detours along narrow trails, doubling or tripling the distance of travelling the main road. At the bridge at Asólade manor, moreover, the hundred bailiff is duty-bound to charge a toll to “visitors”, defined as anyone not resident in the hundred.
MARKET
A small local market is held in Támorlan once each month on the 24th. Most months there will be a number of itinerant masters in attendance, plus the hideworker from Bôry, the metalsmith from Skáist, the salter from Ándrake, and the woodcrafter from Cálsite
MANOR RESIDENTS
Sir Hendrik Poúlty, Bailiff of Támorlan
Sir Hendrik is the eldest brother of Lady Jenya Mirdarne, wife of the Constable of Jedes, and the son and named heir of the Lord of Bory. He is fit and active, in his early forties, and 5’10” tall. The bailiff of Támorlan is the only member of his clan without the characteristic Poúlty red hair; his once black hair, moustache, and beard are now beginning to grey. Sir Hendrik has three children, two daughters from his first marriage, to Lady Trischa Vaén, and a son from his current wife, Lady Charsi. Sir Hendrik dotes on his young wife and as a consequence he is currently estranged from his eldest daughter, Shelby, who hates her stepmother. Despite the best efforts of Hendrik and Charsi, Shelby made mischief, insulted, and argued with her new stepmother. Sir Hendrik threatened to send Shelby away. When this didn’t work, he carried out the threat and sent her to his neighbours and kinfolk in Calsite.
Lady Charsi Poúlty, Lady of the Manor
The eldest daughter of Sir Mykel Erwyne is an intelligent and sensible young woman, tall, with large teeth, a plain, oval face, and a stunning figure. At 14, Lady Charsi took stock of the eligible noblemen of the hundred and dismissed them all. The following year, she developed a crush on the grieving Sir Hendrik, whose first wife had died that year in childbirth. At 17, she and the softly spoken widower were betrothed, they married a year later. Last year, to Hendrik’s joy and his eldest daughter’s disgust, Charsi provided her husband with a male heir. Charsi has tried to make friends with her eldest step-daughter, but Shelby will have none of it.
Squire Bors Orteyan
Bors is the 14-year-old son and heir of the Lord of Yalen. Wiry and attractive with tousled fair hair, he is sensitive and thoughtful. Bors has a quick wit and a mischievous sense of humour.
Donya Mazerony, Lady-in-Waiting
Donya, 17, is a slender, attractive blonde. Her elder sister, Emyla, is a close friend and confidante of Charsi. When Sir Jarrak Mazerony returned to Mowich from Tashál three years ago, Emyla and Charsi conspired to immediately remove Donya from Mówich. Charsi persuaded her new husband that she needed a lady-in-waiting, and Donya moved to Támorlan.
Dorali and Hendrik Poúlty
Sir Hendrik’s 6-year-old daughter from his first marriage, Dorali is outgoing and happy, fond of singing, dancing, and drawing. Her elder sister tried, and failed, to involve Dorali in her campaign against Lady Charsi.
Hendrik, almost 1, was mewling and demanding as a newborn, but is now a quiet and active baby.
Bonded Clothier £££
Sayndor of Wallarns is a close friend of the bonded clothier at Jédes, who recommended him. “Jules” and “Sand”, as they refer to each other, gossip constantly and outrageously when they are together. Sayndor is a fairly recent arrival to Támorlan. After young Hendrik was born, Sir Hendrik looked to buy a present for his young wife. He learned through Donya that she wanted some new clothes, so Sayndor was hired.
Chamberlain
Gorvan of Tebesty is a tall, cadaverous, grey-bearded, and softly spoken man in his early sixties. He has been chamberlain for thirty years, under three different bailiffs. Gorvan is well-educated, fluent in Hârnic and Emela, and able to read both Lakíse and Sináin. Gorvan holds his current master in high regard, as Sir Hendrik treats him with respect and heeds his advice.
MILITARY
Sir Hendrik employs two light footmen. Garrad and Sathor of Rakath are father and son. Garrad is a former Remken in the Order of the Lady of Paladins. Now in his late fifties, Garrad married Elya, now the manor’s cook, almost twenty-five years ago. When their first child was born, Garrad retired from the order. Garrad and Elya have three surviving children, all sons, of whom the two eldest joined the order. The youngest, Sathor, who cannot speak properly because of his cleft pallet, is of average height but massively built.
VILLAGE RESIDENTS
Shortbow (Beadle)
Romald of Kyrk is average in appearance, height, and weight. He is a quietly efficient beadle who prefers a warning and negotiation to confrontation, but he is unforgiving if his warnings are ignored. Romald is a commoner of Tarwyn and keeps several ponies and a large sounder of swine in the forests. His two teenage sons look after the beasts.
Shortbow
Cother of Stoyn is a short, sallow-faced man in his mid forties. Another commoner of Tarwyn, Cother keeps a number of ponies, which he breeds and sells through Iriel of Haskew. Cother is a good horseman; Sir Hendrik and Lady Charsi often use him to deliver messages.
Shortbow
Mydel of Stoyn is Cother’s daughter, a slender 20-year-old. Three years ago, she married a local serf named Uther after becoming pregnant with his child. Her clan bought his freedom. A good shot, Mydel persuaded her father to support her in becoming a yeoman. Within a year she had succeeded and she and her husband were granted 30 acres of land. Only two months later Uther ran off. Mydel now hires local youths to assist in running her land, and there are persistent rumours that her men provide her with other services too.
Miller £££
Hastal of Varbyn is a baby-faced man in his early thirties. He stands 5’2” tall and has fine light-brown hair. The unmarried miller is looking for a wife, but has been unable to find a woman who meets his exacting standards. As he won’t consider any woman taller than he is, his options are limited. Hastal employs a journeyman and an apprentice.
The mill is located on the south bank of the river, on the western side of the bridge, opposite the tollhouse. The gates to the area between the mill and the tollhouse are closed at dusk, preventing access over the bridge.
Innkeeper £££
The Crown Posada is one of only three inns in Asólade, the others being at Yeashim and Jedes. There is enough traffic between Jédes and Hútop to ensure the inn turns a profit, but the innkeeper, Balthar of Gorynd, and his wife, Jula, would struggle over the lean winter months were he not a commoner of Tarwyn.
Balthar and Jula have two children under the age of 6, a boy and a girl. Balthar does not employ any permanent staff, nor does he currently have an apprentice. Balthar is brewer, barman, and innkeeper; Jula is cook, barmaid, and chambermaid. During the busy months of late spring, summer and autumn Balthar employs one or two local peasant girls as temporary bar staff.
In addition to the usual ales, Balthar makes a beer from malted wheat. He is the only innkeeper in the hundred not to brew, or sell, the local perry. Balthar sells ale, piniale, wheat beer, and a weak, cloudy, sour cider.
As a commoner, Balthar keeps a large sounder of pigs. The inn menu reflects this. It is rare that anything other than a pork-based dish will be on offer.
Balthars prices for drink, board and lodging are average, except for the days before, during and after St. Bromel’s Fast and the Jédes Horse Fair. During these busy periods Balthar inflates his prices by between 50 and 200 percent.
Reeve
Marrek of Andryn is a lickspittle who agrees with everything Sir Hendrik says. He claims to be a close advisor to the lord, but his fellow villagers know better.
Herder
Arbrogar of Meriel is tall with dark, close-cropped hair, a large nose, and larger ears. He also talks with a lisp. Hard working and competent, he is no fool, though many folk think that he looks like one. Arbograth, not Marrek, is the man to whom the villagers turn if they have a problem. Unlike the reeve, Arbrogar is prepared to tell his lord unwelcome news.
Woodward
Barrath of Fortin is a slight man with brown hair. He keeps a careful watch over Sir Hendrik’s forests. Over the years there have been several incidences of poaching along the southern edge of the demesne lands, which borders with the mine at Tâsinald. The mine is legally held to be within Daynôra Hundred, despite it lying entirely within Asólade (see p80 for details). In the past this has lead to complex legal disputes with the Miners’ Guild.
Priest of Peóni
Hedrin of Harth is in his mid thirties. A short and slender man with thinning mousy brown hair, he is a good physician and herbalist. He often provides herbal remedies to priests from adjacent villages. His sermons tend to be long, rambling, and eccentric.
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