Sholos
Formerly a way-station between the core of Agbith and the Baratre valley, Sholos was a quiet village on the foothills of the Children of Aktar, notable only for the attached fort and cliffside lift enabling travelers to take a shortcut to the Thaner Roads up above. Abandoned in 443 when the Dragonthralls of Inkrimane swept across the mountains, Sholos has since degraded to a ruin. Intermittently controlled either by dragonthralls or crusader forces, neither have sought to repopulate the village or repair the Liftmaster's fort.
Since the august of 511, Sholos has been held by the exile company Ikdanat. Used as a military base and largely supplied from the valley, the soldiers have made camp in the ruins, while the captain Melkam Wedu has taken over the old Liftmaster's fort.
History
Founded around a Thaner lift, the first structure build in Sholos was the liftmaster's fort, a small crenellated outpost intended to house the official in charge of the lift and control access. The stele in the central square of the old hamlet records this in the year 289. Though not the only way down the mountain, Sholos does control an important passage, and the lift above is also situated near a hidden Shaftway entrance.
As the Agbithans rarely faced a threat from the valley, Sholos remained a quiet place, overshadowed by nearby Harhoun. Inhabited by lift workers, some farmers, and the occasional passing merchant, nothing much happened in Sholos and the liftmaster's fort was kept in defendable condition mostly out of a sense of obligation.
In 443, Sholos was abandoned to the dragon. Easier to defend against an attack coming from the valley than from the mountains, the meager force left there was not up to the task of repelling Inkrimane. In the decades since, the waxing and waning of crusader fortunes has determined who controls Sholos, as the crusaders have always first taken Sholos before attempting to venture further up the mountains. The dragonthralls for their part, have at times claimed the liftmaster's fort, but have not properly defended or maintained it.
Most recently, the Ikdanat exile company has staged a solo assault on Sholos, and has driven the dragonthralls of the Pillar of Horns from the area. The Ikdanat have camped for the winter, and have begun repairs on the lift up further into the mountains in preparation for their future excursions. They have also pulled back up the village stele, and recorded in it that the Ikdanat have captured the village and the fort, and Melkam Wedu now rules the surrounding land.
Points of interest
A Thaner road passes through the middle of the hamlet, well maintained in its heyday. The counterweight lift sits beside the liftmaster's fort, against the cliffside. Partially ruined, a small chantry stands in the central square. The old warehouse and homes of the former inhabitants have been refashioned into barracks, and the tents of soldiers litter the area.
Somewhere in the nearby woods, hermits and hunters are said to still lurk, having avoided both the dragon and the Thaner order seeking to re-establish itself in the area. As the area is a frequent battleground, even the most stubborn of Thaner farmers have stayed away.
Oh I like this, reclaiming old forts is hard but awesome!
Too low they build who build beneath the stars - Edward Young