Carter's Ferry
The Carter family found itself between a rock and a hard place. When hordes of hobgoblins and orcs overran Oxibbul, Jeremiah Carter, his wife Eva, and their six children followed in the frenzied footsteps of countless others toward The Fingers. At some point during their harried journey, their paths diverged, leaving the Carters to go it alone for the rest of their trek. As they approached the riverbank, wild, bloodcurdling screams rose up behind them. Jeremiah, a devout worshipper of Freya, offered a silent petition to his beloved deity while he and Eva cradled their children in their arms in a final act of parental love. The frenetic war cries drew closer. At that moment, a ferry boat suddenly appeared at the edge of the riverbank. The vessel’s pilot calmly beckoned the family to come aboard. With a single sweep from his oar, he pushed the family to safety as a throng of befuddled orcs helplessly watched them escape. The pilot never spoke, and each family member’s description of this person wildly differed. Some swore he was a man, while others stared upon a woman. Eva and her daughter testified they saw an angel’s face; Jeremiah and the others claimed the pilot was an ordinary man.
When the Carters finally joined the others in Elise, their fantastic tale of hope and salvation quickly spread far and wide. A simple stone shrine sculpted into the likeness of an oar now stands at the spot where Jeremiah and his family stood roughly 1,600 years earlier. A small town — better described as a waystation for merchants and caravans traveling along the Frenzied Crossing — also grew up around this locale. The 42 permanent residents of this tiny settlement make a living offering a variety of goods and services to these travelers, including a ferry service across the river. Taverns, inns, general stores, and other shops selling specialized equipment cater to the whims and needs of visitors and adventurers, especially those heading to the ruins of Oxibbul to unearth previously undiscovered treasures. A popular rumor circulating through the bars and common rooms claims that a renegade wizard from faraway Ghue Island spends his days poking around the rubble in Oxibbul searching for an abandoned relic left behind by a wizard from the Gray Tower.
Settlement
Carter’s Ferry, Village of
Type
Village
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