Xontarvik
Xontarvik is located upstream from Gonmar Castle along the broad riverbend, a once-flourishing baronial town famed across Aul’Daran for its wines, meads, and fragrant oldwoods harvested from the Eltawin Forest. Though the Serpent Wars left the settlement physically untouched, the plague years hollowed its population, leaving outer rings of homes abandoned and overgrown. Today the town feels stretched thin—cosmopolitan yet quiet, with elves, dwarves, and halflings mixing freely among humans, and even the occasional planar- or dragon-blooded wanderer passing through. Underlying the everyday bustle is a brittle tension: the old baron of House Lonmas is fading, his legitimate sons circling for inheritance, and many of his bastards disappearing under mysterious circumstances. The air carries the scent of sawdust, fermenting wine, and river mist, as watchful eyes follow newcomers along streets lined by shuttered houses and weathered inns.
Key Locations and Services
The Goat’s Trail Inn
A small halfling-run inn on the outskirts of town. The common room is warm but plain, lit by a wide hearth and permeated by the smell of onion stew. The Fortane family runs it with friendly, bustling energy. Rooms are simple but serviceable, meals hearty, and the bread occasionally fresh.
Services: Meals, beds, basic goods level 0–2, Gather Information.
Immerial’s Emporium
A modest but reliable trade house dealing in adventuring scrap, salvage, travel gear, and the odd magical trinket. Immerial is known as a tough but fair negotiator who rarely loses a bargain. She stocks rope, repair kits, spelunking gear, rations, and tools, and buys unusual items from adventurers.
Services: General goods Level 0–3, minor magic level 1, appraisal, buying adventuring scrap.
Urgash Smithery
The air here is thick with smoke and the tang of worked metal. Urgash, a broad-shouldered southern orc, runs the forge with two apprentices: Rath, a prodigy armourer, and Booka, a young trade apprentice. They produce reliable nonmagical weapons and armour; higher-end pieces can be commissioned. The unfinished full plate behind the counter—Rath’s masterpiece—still awaits a buyer.
Services: Repairs, weapons level 0–2, armour level 0–3, special commissions up to level 4+.
Temple of the Dawnbringer
A bright stone temple dedicated to the Dawnbringer. The clergy provide healing, blessings, and limited condition removal. The sanctuary is clean, well-tended, and often filled with early-morning hymns.
Services: Treat Wounds, divine healing level 1–3, remove disease/curse level 1–2.
Hearth Mother’s Hall
A warm wooden hall dedicated to the Hearth Mother, offering shelter, food, child-care, and aid to struggling families. Magics here deal with rest, comfort, cleaning, mending, and guidance.
Services: Guidance, mending, sanctuary, mediation, food and lodging for the needy.
The Old Lonmas Winery
Once the pride of the barony, now fallen into partial disuse. Some vineyards still function, but much of the estate is shuttered. Rumours persist of lights within the abandoned cellars.
Services: None; possible exploration site.
Riverwatch Barracks
A small but active warden-post overseeing river traffic and keeping order within Xontarvik.
Services: Basic martial equipment level 0–1, bounties, local news.
The Shaded Row Market
A small semi-permanent market lane selling produce, woodwork, cheap tools, clothes, and local crafts.
Services: Minor goods level 0–2.
Important NPCs
Baron Alrik Lonmas (Old Baron): Elderly, bedridden, mind clouding. A once-strong ruler now fading.
Baroness Mariselle Lonmas: Cold, Poised with sharp features and a piercing stare.
Darian Lonmas: The barons eldest son; calculating, politically minded, ruthless, wants the title.
Fendrel Lonmas: The barons middle son; vain, charismatic, reckless, known to take advantage of local girls and idolizes his older brother.
Joras Lonmas: Youngest; bookish, anxious, secretly compassionate but cowardly.
Heldrick Fortane: Portly halfling innkeeper; jovial, apron always dirty, loves food and ale.
Janeall Fortane: Flour-dusted matron; warm, motherly, endlessly talkative.
Urgash Gorvun: Huge orc smith, proud, meticulous.
Rath Ironbriar: Dwarven prodigy, focused and intense; his unfinished full plate is his masterpiece.
Syla Emberbright: The Dawnbringer Priestess, gentle, perceptive, protective of her flock.
Ormund Felcar: The Hearth Mother Hallkeeper, kindly elder dwarf, slow but wise.
Cressa Thornvale: The Riverwatch Sergeant, sharp-eyed, disciplined, suspicious of strangers.
Lirien Mosswind: An Elf Herbalist, runs a small herb-stand in the Shaded Row; quiet, peaceful.
Events and Adventure Hooks
- Baronial Succession Tension: Darian, Fendrel, and Joras Lonmas each attempt to sway townsfolk and merchants, creating political undercurrents. GM Note: The old baron’s chief steward vanished a month ago; his ledger is missing.
- Disappearing Bastards: Several illegitimate children of the baron have gone missing; locals whisper they are being “removed” to clear the line of succession. GM Note: Toren Marshwood (carpenter) is being watched by someone connected to the Baroness.
- Old Winery Lights: Tovan Hardreth the Old Winery Caretaker, a nervous man insists he hears muffled sounds at night underground and strange lights from the surrounding fields—likely linked to smugglers or someone using the cellars.
- Eltawin Oldwood Theft: Illegal harvesting of protected oldwood has increased; someone is buying it quietly for unknown purposes.
- Plague Echoes: Abandoned houses in the outer ring have become hiding places for squatters, thieves, or something worse.
A once-prosperous riverside barony town upriver from Gonmar Castle, now half-empty after plague and political uncertainty, yet still bustling with diverse folk, timber trade, and the last echoes of its famed wine-making heritage.
Government: Hereditary barony under House Lonmas; real authority is increasingly split between competing heirs, temple influence, and established trade interests as the old baron’s health fails.
Population: 531 (58% Human, 13% Halfling, 10% Dwarf, 7% Orc-Blooded, 5% Elf-Blooded, 3% Gnome, 2% Goblinoid, 2% Other)
Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Halfling; Draconic and Celestial are occasionally heard among visitors and planar-blooded residents.
Religions: Dawnbringer (primary), Hearth Mother (widespread), with various small household shrines tolerated but largely informal.
Threats: Mounting succession tensions among the Lonmas heirs; disappearances of the baron’s bastards; smugglers exploiting abandoned districts; illegal Eltawin oldwood cutting; unrest brewing in the plague-scarred outer ring.
Other Characteristics:
Cosmopolitan Crossroads: Xontarvik draws travellers, timber workers, and planar-blooded wanderers, fostering a culture of wary tolerance and frequent mixed-ancestry dealings. PCs gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Gather Information about foreign travellers, non-human communities, or extra-local events while in Xontarvik.
Oldwood Trade Hub: Historic rights to harvest and cure Eltawin oldwood make Xontarvik a center for timber merchants, carvers, and smugglers seeking rare lumber and carved goods. Mundane wooden items and tools cost 20% less, and PCs gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Craft checks to work with wood while based here.
In Campaign Notes
Other NPCs met:
Hobric Dane (Carter): Carries goods upriver; gruff but dependable.
Jinna Merril (Fletcher): Makes basic arrows and hunting bows; cheery, practical.
Tovan Hardreth (Old Winery Caretaker): Nervous man who insists he hears noises underground.
Booka Renn: Human boy; learning tradecraft in the smithy.
Kendrick Fortane: Serious, protective son; keeps the peace and handles money.
Janna Fortane: Flirtatious, clingy, friendly; enjoys entertaining travellers.
Jasmine Fortane: Beautiful, quiet, aloof; dreams of a better life beyond the inn.
Jacob Immerial: Bored, typical teenager, distracted, dreaming of Jasmine Fortane instead of working.
Brulgar Stonegleam: A gruff, sharp-eyed dwarf who buys broken gear, old tools, and salvageable scrap with surprising enthusiasm.
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