Barony of Baile
Stretching from the southern base of the Blackrock Mountains to include Arlonne and the rich farmlands near and along the mountains and west to the outskirts of the Wytch Bog, the Barony of Baile has endured numerous name and leadership changes over the centuries, but for the better part of three centuries the barony has been in the hands of the Baile family. Baron Duran Baile is deeply dedicated to the safety and well-being of his people, as were his father and grandfather before him, engendering great loyalty but creating difficulties for his rule. The wide-open farmlands and orchards are difficult to defend and easily attacked. Over the past few years, the Baile family has increased what defenses they could and done their best to help the farmers living on open land have sturdy structures to withstand smaller raids.
History and People
The barony was granted to Jorah Baile by the overking of Foere for his loyal service in the battles that won Vast and North Heath their independence. It was not necessarily the choicest grant of land. With North Heath, Vast, and Olduvar now independent of Foere, the barony became The Frontier of the kingdom in the west. And even before the Foerdewaith Wars of Succession, the overkings had difficulty with this area, particularly as a result of continual unrest within the Principality of Olduvar. Time and again in the past, the nobles of Olduvar rebelled against Courghais, which required the intervention of imperial troops who would cross the fields of the barony on their way to Mose. In truth, the overkings preferred that the barony remain unfortified, as they did not want any impediment to taking back the principality when they needed to.
Ten years ago, Olduvar attacked the barony and left behind burned fields and buildings without actually approaching Arlonne. Baron Baile became enraged when the overking attributed the attack to simple raiders and refused to respond or provide helpful compensation and defense. The young baron reduced his tribute to the crown while using some of the money collected to build more secure warehouses for grains and goods in Arlonne, and began to seek ways to better defend his land and people. With pleas for assistance to Courghais ignored, and continued chaos in the Principality of Olduvar, Baron Baile finally turned toward the Iron Kingdom seeking any sort of alliance he could muster to defend his people.
Baron Duran Baile is an enigma to many of the other rulers in the area, as his first duty and thought is actually for the safety of his people. It is this love for his people and desire to protect them that so impressed the dwarves of the Iron Kingdom that they offered him an opportunity to join the Iron Kingdom and granted full clan rights to the barony. This offer allowed him to throw off any allegiance to Foere and provide a steadier more reliable defense for his people. It also provided the Iron Kingdom with rich farmlands to support the miners and craftsmen. And with the might of Dorriden now supporting the barony, Foere was left with few options to punish their former vassal.
Religion
When he was granted these rich lands by the overking, Baron Jorah Baile found mostly burned out ruins and was tasked with rebuilding Arlonne and other smaller settlements nearby. A devout adherent of Belon the Wise, Jorah had several temples built, all of which stand to this day. While Duran Baile follows the dwarven tradition of allowing the presence and worship of other gods, and temples to a few other Foerdewaith gods exist, most of the people of Baile venerate Belon the Wise, whose clerics and temples are the ones most well known in the area.
Trade and Commerce
Rich farmlands and orchards of the barony provide ample harvests of wheat, barley, and other grains as well as a wide variety of fruits and other vegetables. Vineyards along the base of the Blackrock Mountains produce fine wines and brandies that are a sought-out luxury item in many nearby nations. Rich soil and favorable weather patterns allow many of the farms to have multiple harvests in a single year. While it has always had good trade with the dwarves of Iron Hall, the barony’s new position in the kingdom has strengthened that relationship and provided strong trade partners for a variety of other items as well.
Loyalties and Diplomacy
As a relatively new principality of the Iron Kingdom, the barony has somewhat tense relationships with those domains still loyal to the Kingdom of Foere. But those relations are warm compared to those with the Principality of Olduvar, which seems ready at any moment to attack and loot the towns and villages of the barony. For all intents, a cold war that occasionally becomes hot exists between the two nations. Whether the risk of angering the dwarves of Dorriden has changed the calculus in Mose remains unknown.
So far, Foere continues to abide by trade agreements with the Iron Kingdom. As a result, trade goods from the barony have been allowed to pass through with only normal tariffs. Baron Duran Baile is completely loyal to the Iron Kingdom, as they provided him a way to defend his people and help them prosper. In addition, he feels he understands and can trust the dwarves of the Iron Kingdom at their word, a trust he does not hold for leaders of other nearby nations. He has friendly relations with the Kingdom of Vast as well as representatives that have visited him from the City-State of Castorhage.
Government
While feudal in origins, the barony can now be viewed as more of a hereditary monarchy. Baron Baile is firmly in charge of all decisions within the barony and acts now as the equivalent of a clan chieftain, with his position due to be handed down to his eldest child. Duran Baile was raised to have a profound concern for his people and their well-being, and he is raising his children to have the same concerns, while also having them spend significant time with the dwarves to learn their culture and ways as he believes the union with the Iron Kingdom will truly protect his people and allow them to grow and thrive just as the dwarves have done in Iron Hall.
Now that barony is part of the Iron Kingdom, there is a small court in Arlonne with a judge appointed by the senior court of the Iron Kingdom. Other smaller criminal and civil cases are handled by the courts that the barony already had in place before the union with the dwarves.
Military
The wide, rich farmlands of the barony are a blessing and a curse, as there is little in the way of protection for the many farms spread out through the barony, leaving the population subject to attack by creatures or armies that can easily cross the open fields. While a significant population is found in Arlonne, most of the citizens of the barony are spread throughout the region on various farms and groups of farmhouses that could not even be called villages.
The small militia maintained by the baron is now under the leadership and guidance of the Iron Kingdom. While most of the soldiers in the barony are human, the addition of dwarven soldiers and officers has made the militia more tightly organized. Small outposts and towers built throughout Baile are manned with groups of five to 10 soldiers that keep watch for monstrous and military incursions. Officers of the Iron Kingdom reviewed the widespread farms and made plans to provide better protection for the citizenry. In some cases, specific farmhouses were reinforced to provide protection for groups of farmers. In others, small forts were built for farmers to flee to in the event of an attack.
Major Threats
While there has always been the threat of small raiding parties of goblins or giants coming out of the mountains or the Wytch Bog, the predominant threat to the Barony of Baile lies in attack from the Principality of Olduvar or, possibly, the Kingdom of Foere. Increased defenses and the new status as part of the Iron Kingdom make these attacks less likely, but Olduvar has been known to send troops or mercenaries to do nothing more than burn fields and destroy croplands.
Farms of the Genev Gap suffer slightly different dangers as monstrous creatures from Harwood Forest make forays into the rich fields in search of food. The increased number of towers and defenses in the area have helped, but these random encounters are a constant danger to those toiling the rich soil of the Genev Gap.
Region
Barony of Baile
Controlled Territories
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