Howling Keep

Resting high above Dorsill, with vine-covered towers and moss-ridden facades, lies Howling Keep. It is the throne of the County of Dorsill, ruled by House de Hue since its foundations were first placed down in 1432.

History

Following the demolition of the former keep, which had stood watch over Dorsill for over a century, ground was broken in 1432. Where the old keep had rested near the river's edge on low floodplains, the new keep was engineered on a low hill, overlooking the river which would be utilized as a moat.
The largest obstacle that workers first had was merely delivering the stone up the hill, which had sheer, rocky cliff faces that were carved out by the Howling River. Workers initially dug out a small road from the exterior of the hill but eventually moved to constucting a full stone roadway to complete the journey to the top of the hill. A project, which delayed the constuction of the keep by two years.
Dorsill's stone proved ineffective for construction early on. It's brittle and crumbly nature made building the walls a nightmare of constant collapses and worker injuries. Eventually, Haralt de Hue, Count of Dorsill, negotiated a deal with the Dwarves of Kaldurac County to the north to help supply stone and tools in exchange for food and lumber. A deal which would forever cement the friendship between these two counties.
Following the arrival of fresh, dwarven-cut stone in 1433, the keep's construction took off quickly. The outer walls and the keep's foundation were completed in just two years and by 1438, the whole keep was finished and construction on new city walls was rapidly underway. People from across the county arrived in droves to the new city and construction was halted by advisors to the Count. The old city, which had been an ever growing shanty town, had never been planned and many saw the constuction of the keep as a way to rebuild the city anew.
From 1438 to 1442, advisors, bureaucrats, engineers, and even the Count himself, argued the design of the new city that would, for the first time in Dorsillian History, rest safely within the walls of the castle. Finally, after four years, the city was designed and many structures were slowly being ground broken within the castle. However, the walls struggled to regain the speed they once had before. As the city construction led to supplies being stolen, misplaced, or simply disappearing due to poor management, the walls which were initially planned to be finished by 1443, slowly grew until their completion in 1445.
The city, however, would grow larger than the advisors even imagined. Having planned for roughly 1,200 people, the city would grow to an astounding 4,800 people. Leaving many to form a shanty town on the roadways leading up to the city, as well as the base of the hill. These areas would eventually be called the Bridge District and the River District, commonly referred to as "Coldwater".

Founding Date

1445

Alternative Names

Keep of the Beastmasters

Type

Castle

Parent Location

City of Howlbeck

Owner

Bernart Howe

Ruling/Owning Rank

Count of Dorsill

Owning Organization

House Howe