Karuna Keep
Karuna Keep is located near the top of Karuna Keep Mountain, an active volcano with a unique feature. The north side of the mountain is always hot with lava occasionally flowing down its slope. The south side is always a frozen waste with no flora or fauna of any kind.
Karuna Keep was hewn from the side of the mountain over two thousand years ago when Dwarven prospectors found evidence of Starmetal deposits. The financier of the expedition, Lorde Padma Karuna, funded the building of a small mine and supporting settlement on a relatively flat ridge. The first sapients to settle the region were a few dozen Dwarf miners, some smiths of various races neede for making and maintaining mining tools and a trader who set up a trade/supply depot.
Once it was known that there was perhaps an endless supply of Starmetal available in the mine, greater numbers of sapients began to settle the ridge, known then as Karuna's Ridge. Eventually, a small but thriving community developed.
It was known that there were Hobgoblins in the area and they would occasionally raid the community usually taking nothing more than a few tools, some supplies and any meat they could find. For about 500 years, this was accepted as part of life at Karuna's Ridge. Lorde Karuna and his successors would occasionally send troops to the ridge to rout out the nearby hobgoblin encampments thus keeping the raids and loss of materiel to a minimum. This happened fairly regularly until one day the troops sent to the ridge did not return.
A messenger was dispatched from Karuna's Ridge to Lorde Dharma Karuna, the current holder of the mine's deed and descendant of Padma Karuna. Immediately, 100 troops were assembled and sent to investigate the disappearance of his soldiers, led by his son Sangha.
After setting up camp on the ridge, Sangha sent out patrols to scout the area. They were under strict orders not to engage any hobgoblins unless first attacked. This was simply an intelligence-gathering mission. Patrols were sent in eight directions. The patrols sent to the west and southwest never returned. Sangha then sent out his best scouts to gather information about what happened to those patrols. They returned three days later with some chilling information. Over 500 hobgoblins and goblins had gathered and were camped to the southwest.
It seemed that this army was quite well organized. Their leader was smallish (for a hobgoblin), who seemed to be rather intelligent. The small army sent out regular patrols consisting of pairs of hobgoblins leading trained worgs. Sometimes these worgs were ridden by the smaller goblins. They would rout out any spies they came across, killing them and feeding them to the worgs. Not necessarily in that order.
It was also noted by the scouts that more goblins and hobgoblins were slowly arriving with one or two showing up every day.
Sangha sent more scouts to the area to keep an eye on the encampment and dispatched a messenger to his father requesting reinforcements. He then conferred with his officers to develop a battle plan in the event reinforcements did not arrive before the hobgoblins attacked.
The troops immediately set about creating a defensive perimeter around the community. Miners halted their work to assist in the effort. Within days, a stone and wood wall surrounded the small village with several archer towers rising above them. Pits, oil traps and other defenses were added as the troops labored. Within a tenday, what would be known as the first keep was created.
Smiths were tasked with creating new weapons from the starmetal ore that had been stockpiled.
Sangha, aware of the legends of Larena, dared not attack fearing her retribution. Why she protected these vile creatures he never understood. However, it was well established as fact that if goblins, hobgoblins or bugbears were attacked, she would usually come to their aid. If those creatures attacked first, though, she would let things run their course. With this in mind, Sangha developed a two-fold strategy. The first part of his strategy was purely defensive. He would build the best defenses he could and wait for the creatures to attack. Once they did so, he would then take the offensive.
He never got the chance to see whether or not his plan worked. While standing in one of the archer towers one day, surveying the surrounding area with a new device one of his wizards had developed, a spy glass the wizard called it, he was spotted by a random hobgoblin patrol. From the protective cover of the nearby woods, a hobgoblin archer took a shot at Sangha, his arrow piercing through Sangha's neck, killing him several agonizing minutes later.
General Torbith Lanka took command of the army ordering an attack on the hobgoblins the next day counting on the fact that Lorde Sangha Karuna's death would be seen by Larena as a first strike against them. He was correct. Almost half of the hobgoblin army was ultimately destroyed. Unfortunately, the highly organized hobgoblin army with their numbers having risen to almost 800, defeated their attackers. Only 22 of General Lanka’s troops survived to return to the safety of the keep.
The hobgoblin army laid siege to the keep, but the defensive measures built by the troops and dwarves were successful at keeping the attacking force at bay until reinforcements arrived. Over 1000 troops were sent to Karuna’s Ridge. In the end, the troops defeated the hobgoblin force killing the leader. Those who remained scattered.
General Lanka remained at the keep with 500 troops expanding the keep to house his forces and their families. Other artisans and craftsmen were brought in and it was renamed Karuna Keep. A few centuries later, Lorde Huma Karuna granted Karuna Keep independence and the first Tar was elected to govern the now small city.
The main keep is above ground though there are three levels below ground. The first level below ground is the prison and the mortuary where the dead are cremated as there is no room on the ridge for a graveyard. The second level is the miner’s barracks that leads to the mines deep within the mountain. The third level, now flooded, was originally used by mages, clerics and wizards. Exactly what they did down there is unknown though many myths and legends have sprung up over the years around their activities. It was deliberately flooded by the mages when an unknown terrifying monster was loosed after being conjured by a group of experimenting wizards. The type of creature that was created is still unknown. The entrance to that level has been sealed off and it is forbidden under penalty of death to enter that level.
Demographics
The largest percentage of the populace is Dwarves who mostly serve as miners, though some are artisans and smiths. Humans make up the next largest population with Dryads, Elves and Half-elves making up the majority of the remaining population. There is a smattering of other races.
Government
There is a governor of the city, called a Tar, and a city council made up of nobles chosen by the Tar and other representatives. However, the Dwarves are represented with two members on the council, one representing the Dwarven population and one representing the mining operations.
The Tar is elected every six years. However, this is usually seen as a formality by most as, generally speaking, the sitting Tar is almost always re-elected after each term for the remainder of his/her/its life. Though there is always an opponent who challenges the Tar each election cycle, rarely does this sapient win.
The city council consists of seven members. Three are appointed by the Tar, two are chosen by the Dwarves, one is always the town's Dun-cleric and one is a commoner chosen by the population.
Defences
Karuna Keep is surrounded by high stone walls. There are balistas and catapults on the walls.
Industry & Trade
Starmetal weapons and armor are the largest trade items. Starmetal ore is also a large percentage of their trade.
Assets
Starmetal
Guilds and Factions
The miner's guild is the most powerful guild. The mages guild and the interfaith guild also have a lot of influence.
History
Karuna Keep started out as a small mining community called Karuna's Ridge. Over time it has become a bustling city centered around their Starmetal trade.
Geography
Located on a large ridge high up Karuna Keep Mountain, it is surrounded by steep cliffs and mountainsides.
Natural Resources
Starmetal Ore
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