Witch's Gate

Amidst the bare, rolling hills of the Company Highlands stands a stark, towering monolith. An archway of ancient, ivy-covered stone that stands nearly ten stories tall - dwarfing the clutch of wooden buildings clustered beneath it that make up the town of Witch’s Gate.
Many legends surround the origins of the Gate - that it was once a part of a great castle that vanished overnight, or that chosen individuals can walk through the archway to other realms beyond. Regardless of the truth of its past, the Gate has become a symbol of the Elven Diaspora, as those who are exiled from the Valedori Empire for practicing Arcane Magic must pass through it on their journey to Viridesce.
On the horizon beyond the town is a glimmer of the deep teal and jade trees that mark the beginning of the Opalwood Verge which holds the city of Viridesce. Witch’s Gate is the last stop on the road before the mysterious forest, and with that come strange and monstrous creatures that at times attack the surrounding farmland - leading the town to rely on Devilblood Companies or Bloodhunters for safety.

WHY PEOPLE COME HERE

Witch’s Gate is often seen by most travelers as a stop along the long Sellsword Road. Most who come here are headed somewhere else, whether that is along the North-South route between Port Illenora and the Accorsa Crossroads or, in more rare cases, to the East and into the Opalwood Verge for Viridesce. This means that the popular taverns of the roadside town are filled with guides and guards for hire - and while most cater to safeguarding merchants across the Company Highlands, there are even a few Half-Elf guides and mysterious warriors capable of walking the Witch’s Path through the Opalwood.
Because of the host of travelers and sellswords that linger on the Gate Road, the town has built up a wealth of taverns and inns that are renowned in the Southmark. While some have earned their reputation through good food, like the honeybread from the Twinned Yew Tavern - places like the Ivy Gargoyle Inn and the Mulled Minstrel Tavern have made their mark with unmatched local wines from the nearby family vineyards of the South Vinter’s Guild.
A few travelers still come to the town just to see the Gate itself. This is often newer travelers or those who have come to the Southmark for the first time, though there are times when scholars from Port Illenora come to investigate it for the dozenth time as it perks a new mind or a new question with its curiosity.

PEOPLE WHO ARE FROM HERE

While many would suspect the people who live so close to the dangers of the Opalwood Verge or who live in the shadow of a strange ancient gate to be superstitious or antagonistic of Arcane Magic and those who use it - especially with a name like ‘Witch’s Gate’. However the opposite couldn’t be more true. Over the past hundred years, the people of this town bore witness to the Elven Diaspora and the effects of the Arcane Exclusion Act, and to this day see desperate and persecuted Wizards and Sorcerers pass through their town, bound for Viridesce. This has not only led to the higher share of Half-Elf residents of the town, but also a people who are more understanding and sympathetic to the Diaspora.
In fact, most of the superstition and stories around the Gate and the Opalwood Verge are well-told and perpetrated by the locals as good stories to be told by a tavern Bard or over mugs of spiced wine. When pressed on them, most who live here don’t buy into superstition much, as they are perhaps more familiar with Arcane Magic than any settlement in the Valedori Empire, outside of Viridesce.
Those who don’t work at the many taverns and inns find themselves working in the service of either the Highland Harvest Association or the South Vinter’s Guild at many of the vineyards and crop farms sprawled out over the hills of the Company Highlands around the outskirts of town.

by Adobo Wang

Parent Region: The Southmark
Ruling Nation: Valedori Empire
Local Ruler: Contessa Thaleia Dirce
Demographics: Heavy Half-Elf and Devilblood
Points of Interest: Opalwood Verge
Districts: Tavern Street, Gateshadow, Vineyard Valley