THIS WILL BE REORGANIZED, LIKELY AS MANY NEW ARTICLES.
Locations
Brick and Mortar Inn
Run by Cole, Lorenzo, Rose, Cloe, Nina, and Moira Winters The Brick and Mortar was one of the oldest buildings Verdant Vale, having been founded by Lorenzo Winter's grandfather ten years after the Fall. It was famous for its welcoming atmosphere, and small discounts offered to caravan guards and Gravehunters under the table. Samson "the Strongarm" kept a room here, though he primarily did odd jobs for passing caravans.
Orrin's Carpentry and Caravan Repair
A small business that was run by Orrin and Renae Crawford and their teenaged sons Xander and Leon. In addition to providing repairs to the carts and carriages belonging to the many caravans that passed through Verdant Vale, Orrin built furniture for the hamlet's inhabitants, and occasionally to sell to merchant caravans moving south. Tragically, most of the Crawford family died in the initial attack, leaving Xander alone in the world. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Finnick's Forge
The local forge, run by Finnick the reclusive
Highland Dwarf smith. Though outwardly friendly, Finnick would always dodge questions about his heritage or background. He assured everyone that Finnick was his real name though, and was a tremendous boon to the village through his extensive experience as a blacksmith, weaponsmith, armorsmith, and jeweler. The forge, like the tavern, was known to offer small, unofficial discounts to caravan guards and gravehunters to maintain their equipment. Cole Winters was apprenticed here, typically arriving first thing in the morning and departing in the late afternoon to work at the Brick and Mortar. Finnick was killed during the evacuation of Verdant Vale, holding his forge off against a swarm of Unfallen. His greatsword was recovered by Cole Winters shortly after, and remains in his possession.
Great Harvest Bakery
A rather large bakery, located right next to the Brick and Mortar. Unlike the other businesses, Great Harvest was the third most recent addition to the hamlet, having only been in operation for around 17 years at the time of the evacuation. It was established by Francis and Mira Goodberry, Verdite food merchants who opted to settle down a few years after their first daughter was born. The Goodberries were close friends of the Winters from Lorenzo and Rose's days as merchants, the four having caravaned with one another on several occasions in the past.
Great Harvest was known to provide everything from hearty, dense loaves of bread with seeds and fruit designed to travel long distances to soft breadrolls served in the Brick and Mortar tavern, though they made a concerted effort not to challenge Rose's meat pies. Shortly before the fall of Verdant Vale, the Goodberry family consisted of Francis, Mira, and their children Ansen, Clover, Sage, and Rose. The attack left Mira and Ansen dead, with Francis, Clover, Sage, and Rose turning off towards Graystone instead of following the remaining citizens to Seawatch. Their current whereabouts are unknown.
Leonard's General Goods
The local general store, stocking the bare necessities for most caravans and Gravehunters. Ran by Leonard Black and his two sons Rixian and Tandem. Leonard was a particularly shrewd Verdite man, and though he earned the trust of most of the hamlet's inhabitants, was frequently accused of selling stolen goods out of his store. His two sons by his estranged wife Catherine were known troublemakers and were occasionally caught picking particularly heavy caravaneer pockets and bartering information they overheard by sneaking nearby. Leonard was one of the first casualties in the destruction of Verdant Vale, his shop being located on the western side of town, just off the main road. Following the death of their father, Rixian and Tandem entered a Gravehunter pact with Samson "The Strongarm" to form the Verdantfall Pact.
Cecie's Tailor
The most recent addition to Verdant Vale at the time of its destruction. Cecie's Tailor was run by Cecie Bennet, an eccentric woman who found the location of Verdant Vale well suited to receiving exports of cheap, but nonetheless interesting textiles bound towards Ravenspeak. She primarily made and repaired clothing for a modest price, and eventually taking in a drifter boy named Rory as an apprentice. After the fall of Verdant Vale, she and Rory fled towards Seawatch though increased tensions between Rory and Rixian Black prompted him to leave before their arrival in Seawatch.
Factions
Verdant Vale Guard
Consisted of three steel Warforged going by the names of "Benjen" "Rusty" and "Copper". Though outwardly eerie and distant to most, the trio of steel warforged patrolled the outskirts of the village, remaining vigilant against encroaching blight and stray Unfallen. According to local legend, the three were the original caravan guards of Peter Greenwood, the caravaneer who founded Verdant Vale. Shortly after the Fall, the three were offered warforged bodies in exchange for their services in defending Peter's pet project in perpetuity, operating out of a small watchtower due east of the hamlet proper. It is unknown if some magic was used to bind the three guards to the area, but they have continued to serve throughout the generations. Unfortunately, all three members of the guard went missing hours before the fall of the town, leaving most of its denizens to assume they were overwhelmed by the encroaching horde.
Families
The Greenwood Family
Stewards of Verdant Vale, the Greenwood family lived in a small townhouse across the street from the Brick and Mortar, serving as the oldest building in the entire hamlet. The Greenwoods traced their lineage to Peter "The Quick" Greenwood, a wandering merchant, and adventurer who established Verdant Vale as his own pet project shortly after the Fall. Since then, the Greenwood family has served as the landlords of Verdant Vale, while also establishing connections with merchant caravans and commissioning the construction and maintenance of certain public works, such as the watchtower or roads leading in and out of the hamlet. At the fall of the hamlet, the Greenwoods consisted of Noel Greenwood, his wife Allison Greenwood, and their children Kyra and Markus Greenwood. Noel was a good friend of Lorenzo Winters growing up, and the two men remained steadfast friends throughout the years. Markus Greenwood was a worthy successor to his family name and was set to marry Molly Winters come MidGrowth, but was tragically killed alongside his father and mother during the destruction of Verdant Vale. Kyra Greenwood narrowly survived the onslaught through the activation of her latent magical ability, clearing a path through a pack of unfallen to escape her home, though not unscathed. She continued to travel with most of the Verdant Vale refugees until eventually arriving in Seawatch and joining the Blightbane Pact under the tutelage of Ria the Wild.
Travis Family
A moderately sized family that ran one of the two farmsteads to the east of Verdant Vale. The Travis Family emerged from the fall of the hamlet relatively unscathed, having been located further east of the carnage. Jacob Travis fled with his wife Ingrid and his sons Corey, Kenneth, and Wren. Corey's wife, Aofie was six months pregnant at the time of the attack and narrowly escaped to the city of marble with her husband's family. The Travis farm primarily grew fruit and kept dairy cattle and chickens, exporting fresh cheese, fruit, and butter.
Becker Family
The smaller of the two farming families, located to the northeast of Verdant Vale. Like the Travis Family, the Beckers were left relatively unscathed during the initial attack. The Becker Farmstead primarily supplied oats, wheat, barley, hops, and maintained the apiaries on both their land and the Travis Family Farmstead. It was worked by Victor Becker, his wife Kiana Becker, and their two children, Charles and Grigori Becker.
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