Varnhold
The easternmost city of The Land of the Silver Star, Varnhold was founded as an independent nation by Maegar Varn at the behest of Jamandi Aldori. After a few challenging years making peace with the neighboring Nomen Centaur and many abductions and deaths at the hands of Vordakai, Varnhold made an oath of fealty to The Land of the Silver Star, whose leadership rescued them from the lich.
Early History
Varnhold was established in 4710 by Maegar Varn and the Varling Host in the region known as the Dunsward. After prolonged conflict with the Nomen Centaur to the east, they eventually reached a peaceful resolution. This has hampered their expansion, and they source most of their food by fishing in the rivers of the Tors of Levenies mountain range to the west of the city. Their goals and values have generally been well-aligned with The Silver Star, including a mutual desire to support Rostland in the Brevoy Civil War, and both nations had good working relationships and trade deals.The Nomen Centaur
Maegar Varn was tasked with pacifying the Nomen Centaur as part of securing the land for his nation. Some of the settlers assumed the Centaur to be stupid beasts who could be used as mounts. Maegar Varn himself is well-respected by the Nomen Centaur, as he doesn't condone any racist attitudes or actions by his citizens. It took more than 2 years to reach a peaceful resolution, and as part of it, Varnhold agreed to not have walls on their cities, which the Nomen Centaur believe to signify that things are being hidden. Some of the tensions between the Nomen Centaur and the citizens of Varnhold seem to have lessened after the former provided aid to refugees from Varnhold following the escape from The Valley of the Dead. It was eventually discovered that the tanner of Varnhold had been skinning centaurs for their hides, but he did not survive Vordakai's capture. After discovering this, the tannery was demolished.The Disappearing
In Neth(?) 4712, Willas Gundarson discovered a jade bracelet on the banks of a local river and brought it back home. Maegar Varn reported the discovery to Maestro Pendrod, who came to Varnhold to study it. Pendrod determined that the "bracelet" was a ring made for Vordakai, a ruler of ancient Iobarian Cyclops thousands of years ago. Willas went on a mission to find where the ring came from, winding up in The Valley of the Dead, where he met an unfortunate end in Vordakai's Tomb. Some time later, Vordakai likely teleported the entire population of Varnhold into his tomb. 43 random people, ages 5 to 40, were magically Imprisoned in jars. 30 others were captured and lobotomized so their brains could be consumed for knowledge. In Kuthona 4712, Jamandi Aldori notified The Silver Star that the population of Varnhold was missing and asked for them to investigate it. Most of the Silver Star leadership went to investigate, finding everything seemingly abruptly abandoned. The only signs of life were a pack of Deodans feasting dead boars and Chuul eating Spriggan corpses in a river. There were no traces of magic, save the occasional magical artifact, as if any magical effects from residents had dissipated. The Varnhold food supply appears to have gone bad, heavily infested with Sportlebore.The Spriggan
At some point after the population disappeared, a group of Spriggan entered Varnhold and looted the south side of the town. Some died while looting, and the rest of the Spriggan holed up in the Varnhold town hall with a pack of Giant Wolverine. When approached, the Spriggan attacked, feeling they were defending their new territory. Repeated attempts at diplomacy failed, and several were knocked out in the ensuing fight, though one was killed. Alain Orlovsky also lost control of himself, attacked Kiin and had to be restrained. After many deaths, the Spriggan leader ceased hostilities. The Silver Star said the Spriggan could stay until the original owners returned. A composite longbow was found after the Spriggan were dealt with. Named Skybolt, the longbow originally belonged to the Iobarian Centaur, and was stolen from the Nomen Centaur by the Spriggan. It was returned to the Nomen Centaur, who shared more information about The Valley of the Dead, where they believe some people of Varnhold may have gone.Vordakai's Tomb
The remainder of Varnhold's population was discovered in Vordakai's tomb. While most were safe in jars and could be saved, many were lobotomized. While the bodies were in good enough condition for a Resurrection spell, Pharasma only allowed Maegar Varn's soul to return to his body. His swords and his advisor's book of spells were missing from the bodies as if they had already been looted. The 43 survivors of Varnhold, as well as Maegar Varn himself, were safely extracted from Vordakai's tomb. After informing Aecora Silverfire of the situation and getting permissiont to stop by the camp with refugees, the Constellation and the survivors followed a river north through an unexplored valley. The villagers who were not up for the 3-day trip were mass-teleported there using the Cartograph of Carriage, accompanied by Xamanthe Silverfire and Keraak. Because of the incident with Vordakai, Maegar Varn doesn't feel fit to rule an entire country, and made an offer of fealty to The Land of the Silver Star. He remains the mayor of the town.Buildings
- Town Hall
- Houses x4
- Brewery
- Inn
- Shrine of Erastil
- Shrine of Desna
- Smithy
- Stable
- Trade Shop x4
- Watchtower (stone)
- A mill
Misc
- A fishery and a farm
- Two quarries to the south
Founding Date
4710
Founders
Type
Large town
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Characters in Location