Endhome
The Crossroads City
The Free City of Endhome stands proud at the crossroads of the world. It is a city where adventurers, merchants, and scoundrels from all walks of life and all nations intermingle. It is a city where wondrous inventions are dreamt and great tales of glory begin—for it is the boiling cauldron in which Torar’s most potent minds, its largest personalities, and its most inflatedegos are mixed together.
Yet no more than a century ago, the people of Endhome lacked the freedom they enjoy today. In those days, they toiled and suffered to fill the coffers of House Stross, their feudal rulers. Everything changed when the people took up arms against the plutocrats of House Stross and threw off the shackles of tyranny. In the intervening decades, the few remaining aristocratic houses have fallen away, their hereditary lines replaced by merchants and elected officials. While the local aristocracy raged against the Revolt, the surrounding nations believed an independent Endhome might prove a useful pawn in their political machinations. A city‑state without a lord, they figured, would be too weak to prove noisome. They agreed that so long as Endhome remained neutral in the affairs of its “betters,” its neighbors would allow it to live on sufferance.
The people of Endhome had other plans. Ignored by its haughty neighbors, the Free City rose like a phoenix from the ashes of the Revolt. The flames of freedom heated its forges, and Endhome's citizens transformed their city into a hotbed of innovation. Guided by the Free City Council, new social and political structures were born. Aided by the hand of Rava the Gear Goddess, new machines of steam and brass were forged.
In a short nine decades, the citizens of Endhome have transformed the sleepy fiefdom the city had become after its destruction during the Culling into a city-state with the power to affect change all across Torar once again.
Government
Endhome's government is a many-layered nightmare to visitors seeking to bend it to their own purposes, but familiar enough to locals who know just how to get things done. For the most part, it serves the master merchants with security and safety for trade, the common people with justice and fair dealings in the markets, and the poor with work as conscripts or ditchdiggers.
The Free City Council replaced the Stross-era Praetorian Council after the Revolt. Once composed of hand-picked noble allies of House Stross, the Praetorian Council generally deferred to their lord’s wishes in running the city and spent most of their time scheming and plotting against one another. They pilfered money from the city to fund their own projects and interests, ruinously taxed the city’s bourgeoisie, restricted trade with tariffs on goods entering the city and exit fees on goods leaving the city, and used the Watch as their personal enforcers to settle vendettas, illegally detain or imprison citizens, and seize private property. This flagrant corruption laid the groundwork for the violence that destroyed the old aristocracy.
After the Great Revolt, the rebels imprisoned or executed any Praetorian Council members they caught. The Revolt’s leaders created the Free City Council to administer the city as the Praetorian Council should have done. Its standing Consul members were citizens who helped lead the Revolt and who held strong interests in the city: mostly guildmasters, priests, and even kobolds. The Council is charged with ensuring the welfare of the city and its citizens, protecting Endhome from all threats to its freedom, and maintaining the flow and profitability of commerce within the Free City.
The sitting Consuls choose the Lord Mayor from among their peers to serve a 10-year term, though most have held the position for life. The Lord Mayor oversees the administration of justice by appointing all Endhome'ss judges, establishing and provisioning the army, appointing all knight-commanders of the Citadel, and commanding the Free City’s militant orders—except the paladins of the Order of the Undying Sun. The Order predates the city’s independence, and this chapter only serves on the condition that their commander answer to no one “not of noble blood.” In practice, the Order of the Undying Sun acts as an independent military force.
Generally descendants of the Great Revolt’s leaders, the 12 Consuls serve for life or until they receive a “silent office” (a retirement sinecure). Sitting Consuls fill any vacancies from among the city’s most prominent civic leaders, typically guildmasters, merchants, or powerful members of the priesthood—but once in a while, the Consuls choose an adventurous individual seeking a quieter life.
By tradition, the Free City Council always includes the Guildmaster of the Arcane Collegium and the Kobold King of Kings. During the Revolt, the leaders gave the city’s Watch commander a lifetime council seat but secretly decided that, unlike the deal they struck with the kobolds and the Arcane Collegium, this “seat for life” would only extend to that individual. Upon his death, the Council did not give the position to his successor but added a second seat for a cleric of Rava. To this day, this “betrayal” remains a point of contention between the Council and the Watch. The Watch’s current captain, Horvart Edelstein, is bent on regaining his “rightful seat” on the Council.
A secret council known as the Praetors serves as the Lord Mayor’s inner cabinet and her eyes, ears, and hands throughout the city. The Praetors are the core of Endhome’s secret police network, indirectly controlling the city’s internal and external spies, jailers, and tax collectors. The number of Praetors never exceeds five, and Consuls sometimes also serve as Praetors. The identity of the Praetors typically remains secret. Many have suspected, but none have ever proven, strong ties between the Order of Pegasus Knights and the Praetors. Any citizen may denounce another citizen by a charge given to the Blue House (the seat of the secret police, just outside the Citadel).
Defences
Endhome's military might consists of the Free Army, the Pegasus Knights, and the Endhome Hussars. The Free City can also count on assistance from the Order of the Undying Sun.
The Free Army
The bright red banner with a golden gear of the Free City’s army flies high from the Citadel walls, and rarely does it march against a foe in anger. But Endhome is ever in the minds of those who might demand tribute, bluster with outrageous threats, or even seek to compel the city’s submission and fealty. Thus the Free City retains a standing army, though a small one for its size, and cultivates good relationships with some neighbors and some prominent mercenary companies.Elite Forces
The city rarely commands more than 10,000 troops in the city itself, and half those come from a levy of the citizens to man the walls when its professional soldiers go raiding. The Free City prefers its warforged company as its heavy infantry, and its Arcane Collegium mages are second only to Sendrellar's own mages. The city’s true elites are the Order of Pegasus Knights (primarily scouts, despite their name) and the Endhome Hussars, a set of ridiculously brave (some say foolhardy) cavalry. The Endhome Knights ride their mounts to scout the forests and open plains; the hussars patrol roads, hills, and woods in their green jackets and gold braid. The hussar’s colorful plumage hides hard steel, and they burn border villages when needed. The hussars are also inordinately fond of dueling.Footmen
Infantry is the queen of the battlefield, and Endhome has been blessed in this regard. Its citizens willingly volunteer when needed, and its kobold and dwarven folk make excellent skirmishers and crossbow troops, respectively. The city is also notorious for its skill in conducting night raids. The city of Endhome's main strength has always come from the willingness of her people to fight. Their wealth and skill make them formidable, and her neighbors approach battles with the city warily. Most find it easier by far to strike a deal with Endhome than to overcome her army.The Watch
The City Watch is composed of human warriors, clockwork watchmen, and several warforged. Most members of the Watch are looking out for the city’s best interest, but there are a few who seek to use the position for their own gain. Horvart Edelstein is the current Captain of the Watch. About 2600 individuals serve as watchmen in the 10 main districts, with most patrolling the Merchant and Market Districts in teams of three or more. Each team reports to a sergeant, who in turn reports to a lieutenant. The watchmen carry tipstaffs to more easily arrest individuals without seriously harming them. The Watch’s headquarters, the Redrock Bailey, is located in Upper Endhome.Industry & Trade
The commerce of a trade city sounds glamorous and exotic; silks and spices, mithral and magic, relics and lore all change hands between locals, visitors, and sharp-eyed wanderers. Everything seems sweeter when minstrels sing about it—largely because they go easy on the sweat and donkey dung. But the Crown Square merchants have a saying: “There’s no such thing as easy money.”
The traders and stevedores make their coin because someone has to actually move all the iron, wheat, silver, ale, wool, and timber sold in Endhome. The traders take a (sometimes literal) whip to kobolds or humans who load and unload the city’s barges, oxcarts, mule trains, and hay wagons. Once the trip begins, the costs rise: time, toil, fodder, and travel itself all drain money. All too often, blood is a price of doing business—someone has to defend the cargo against bold robbers, ravaging ogres, or grasping petty lordlings who close their bridges and demand a toll.
Still they come, more and more, and Endhome welcomes each shipment. The Free City spurns no opportunity to gain every copper. Many merchants prize the most uneventful and short routes, often to Cronstadt or Hammerfell. Specialists—rare and spectacular—can command far greater fees and profits. The Templeforge airships down from the Ironcrags, the Flying Cities of Sikkim, charging the air with their alluring spice, even the Shadow Road of the scáthesidhe, connecting the Free City to the courts of the Shadow, can return many times an investment’s cost to a bold and careful merchant. Everyone wants something and everything wants someone—meaning that there is always money to be made if you can bring the right goods to the right market.
Certainly, pulling an oar is easier than marching up a mountain, but the “easy money” of floating on a barge downriver to Srevresta or the Duchy of Perun’s Daughter is not so easy that guards are tripping over one another volunteering for it. The river gods are fickle, especially in spring, and a pack of river trolls can capsize a barge no matter how heavily laden. Worse, the songs of the lorelei can distract a pilot, and hill‑giant bandits can sink a cargo with a few well‑placed boulders and loot the wreck. And, of course, if the cargo doesn’t go through, the guards don’t get paid.
A successful run south creates still more work when going back upriver. Guards are expected to pull at the oars. Forests crowd the riverbank for long miles, hiding bandits and worse. And the river itself is often filled with snags, shifting sandbars, and other bargemen whose cargo may have been stolen. Some bargemen turn to banditry, pretending friendship before revealing piracy. Say what you want about the stink of a mule train, at least you won’t drown in your armor.
Infrastructure
The Crossroads City encompasses ten main districts, each briefly described below and more thoroughly discussed in their own articles.
The Cartways
Originally kobold mining and drainage tunnels, Endhome's vintners and greengrocers later expanded and used these underground passageways for storing wine and perishables. Noble revelers used them to travel back and forth to the Stross-sponsored Winter Festival in the underground cavern called Winter Hall. Eventually, the city’s nobles claimed the Cartways as their private highways, using them for everything from business to sexual rendezvous. After the Great Revolt, the victors saw the tunnels as symbols of the rich and sealed them for good. Entrances to the Cartways still exist, however, and Endhome’s smugglers, gangs, and undesirable residents frequently conduct business or lair therein. Travelers in the Cartways have encountered ghouls, devils, demons, otyughs, and various cults, including a cult of Marena. The Free City’s Watch officially prohibits exploration in the Cartways. Anyone entering them does so at their own risk.Citadel District
Located in the northern part of the city, this section contains the walled Citadel and its highly skilled Pegasus Knights, who protect Endhome's uppermost river entrances. The King’s Head tavern and the White Rose tavern both reside in this district. The former caters to average soldiers, while paladins and priests of Khors and Perun patronize the latter.Collegium District
As its name suggests, this district’s greatest feature is Endhome’s famous Arcane Collegium. Lada’s Temple of the Celestial Dawn is its other great landmark. Scholars, scribes, mages, students, and alchemists frequent this district and often gather at the Hedgehog tavern or peruse the shelves at the Book Fetish.Dock District
Also called the Gullet—and one of the busiest areas of the Free City—the Docks along the Argent River are the center of the city’s trade, just slightly eclipsing the Great Northern Road. Its wharves, alleys, and thoroughfares see traffic from merchants, bargemen, and stevedores at all hours. Its taverns, gambling dens, and bordellos stand beside warehouses, dry docks, and other industries of the water trade. Brawls are common, and the Watch tends to patrol the area heavily to ensure the smooth continuation of commerce.Gear District
The city’s mountainfolk dominate this district, which houses many trade guilds, like the Geargrinder’s Guild, Foundryman’s Guild, and Steamworker’s Union. The area is awash in tin, iron, and brass creations, and the sound of dwarves striking anvils carries throughout the streets. Many warforged frequent this district.Kobold Ghetto
Endhome's hard-working kobolds reside in this section of the city. Their many kings hold sway in this small realm, and any Bigs or Too Talls entering the Ghetto have to submit to the kobold border authority, paying taxes on declared goods and often bribes just to gain admittance. The Ghetto’s streets are narrow, crowded, and often trapped. Non-kobolds are walking targets for pickpockets and gangs.Lower Endhome [Ashmill]
Ashmill is home to the Free City’s poor and unskilled working classes, though a few merchants, like the Kappa family, have purchased large chunks of space here near the Moon Temple and the shrine to St. Charon. Lower Endhome also houses the Wheatsheaf tavern, a favored drinking hole for smugglers and rogues. Merchants selling foodstuffs, livestock, and spices do brisk business in this district.Temple District
Temples to the Free City’s five main deities—Lada (her largest temple in Endhome), Perun, Rava, Volund, and Porevit and Yarila (the Green Gods)—comprise the extent of this district. A small shrine to Holda is the newest in the district. The structures surrounding the temples house their staff or store goods and livestock to support the clerics.Market District [Vineyard District]
Merchants selling carpets, cloth, leather, wine, weapons, alchemical powders, poisons, goods from other lands, and even otherworldly goods hawk their wares from tiny stalls in this district. Most anything can be found for sale here.Merchant District
Weavers, cobblers, coopers, carpenters, jewelers, armorers, and other skilled workers have shops lining this district. Some of their wares are sold in the Market District, supplementing their income, but these craftsmen generally work to order and keep quite busy. Many merchants reside in the upper levels of their shops, though the wealthier ones have residences in Upper Endhome.Upper Endhome
The Free City’s government centers, including the Council Hall, City Archives, the Redrock Bailey (jail), and the Civic Courthouse, cluster in this district. The opulent, painted-brick houses of the city’s richest and oldest families stand in the Crown Square portion of the district, where the great Old Stross Clock tolls the hours.Guilds and Factions
Each of Endhome's dozens of guilds forms its own world, filled with princes and paupers, and each organization is powerful in its narrow sphere. Most important for the city, the guilds make things, from the mundane weapons and armor of the Fraternal Order of Arms and Armory to the magical potions and scrolls of the Arcane Collegium (technically a guild as well as a teaching institution). From the lowest-ranking apprentice to the most powerful Consul, the guilds define the rhythm of daily life—brewing beer, making clockwork devices, mining, weaving, and plotting against their rivals in the other great trade cities from Siwal to Trollheim.
Endhome's eight most powerful or influential guilds are the Bargeman’s Fellowship at the Docks, the Geargrinder’s Guild and the Steamworker’s Union in the Gear District; the Vigilant Brotherhood of the Scribes and the Chartered Brotherhood of Alchemists in the Collegium District; the Brewer’s Sisterhood in the Market District; the Spyglass and Cartographer’s Guild in Lower Endhome; and the Honorable Order of Weavers in the Citadel District. Information on each can be found in its associated district.
The primary guilds in Endhome are: Ancient and Honorable Order of Jewelers, the Bargeman's Fellowship, the Brewer's Sisterhood (also known as Kettle and Mash), Free Fellowship of the Arcane Collegium, Carpenter's Brotherhood, Chartered Brotherhood of Alchemists, Cooper's Union, Foundryman's Guild, Fraternal Order of Arms and Armory, Geargrinder's Guild, Glassblower's Guild, Honorable Order of Tanners and Leatherworkers, Honorable Order of Weavers, Lanternmakers and Tinker's Guild, Limner's Guild, Miner's Brotherhood, Ragpicker's Guild, Ropemaker's Guild, Shipwrights and Chandler's Guild, Solderers and Brazier's Guild, Spyglass and Cartographer's Guild, Steamworker's Union, Stevedore's Brotherhood, Stonemason's Guild, the Vigilant Brotherhood of Scribes, the Vintner's Guild, and the Wainwright's Guild.
History
In the time before the Culling, Endhome had become a major trade hub known across the surface of Torar, but had also grown corrupted from assaults against its soul by the vile Vesak and his shadow legion. This made it a prime target for the Enemy's Great Old One servants during His war, and it was wiped off the face of the world. The stain of Vesak's shadow remained on the lands, however after a time fey creatures began to move into the region and laid claim to it as nature removed the last traces of civilization in the region until no two bricks remained atop one another.
And there is where new Endhome's story begins.
Early Days: The Fey, the Curse, and the Kobolds
(23000 - 20900 A.E.)
For thousands of years, the fey ruled the peninsula and the surrounding area, including the lands upon which now sit the city of Endhome and Castle Shadowcrag. In the year 21500 A.E., on the advice of an evil advisor named Chorvodni, the Holly King and his fey followers sacrificed a young fey woman with a sword of light and planted a black oak on Rosehaven Hill. Chorvodni—a shadow lammasu who served Sarastra, the goddess of night, magic, and shadow—led the Holly King to believe this magical sacrifice would trick the goddess and allow him to steal much of her power. Instead, the Heartwood Pact, as the ritual became known, forever cursed the fey to the Shadowfell, where Sarastra forced them all into servitude. Their pact also linked the hilltop, and the castle that would later rise upon it, to the Shadow Plane. The Pact ultimately granted the fey great power, and they became the goddess’s willing servants. However, their time on the Shadowfell transformed them into a twisted version of their former selves called scáthesidhe, the shadow fey. Over time, their hearts grew bitter, and they longed to regain all they had left behind. But they could not act directly against the curse, which they had sworn to honor in the Heartwood Pact. About 600 years after Sarastra stole the fey from the land (and 200 years before the Stross family came to rule Endhome), a tribe of kobolds began mining the abandoned lands. Under King Brandorek’s orders, the kobolds built Brandor’s Keep, a simple square fortification, on the fey’s beloved Rosehaven Hill. The structure remains intact as a part of Castle Shadowcrag. Eventually, Sarastra allowed the fey to occasionally return to the place where they had struck their bad bargain. When the fey discovered the kobolds had usurped “their” lands, the Moonlight King and his followers drove the kobolds off the hill in a rage. The kobolds, under the leadership of a kobold wielding the fey’s sword of light, resisted from the shelter of their mines. But the fey worked carefully to destroy the kobolds who had trespassed on “their” black oak.The Fey and the Stross Family
(20900 - 20690 A.E.)
The fey formed a hidden alliance with an ambitious human merchant family named Stross, and through Adrastus Stross, the fey saw the kobolds enslaved and the sword of light broken. Lord Stross brought in 20 shadow mastiffs, more than 20 grim dwarves, and a column of 200 human soldiers. He called out for Brandorek, the kobold king, and the king surrendered, offering his oath of fealty. The dwarves sundered the magical sword. The Goddess of Night, realizing the black oak now bound the land as well as the fey, commanded the fey to defend the site. No one should have a chance to destroy the black oak. Indeed, Sarastra commanded the fey to bring the site over the planar boundary. When they failed to do so with sorcery, the fey decided to manipulate one of the Stross children. They sought to tempt a Stross scion to swear allegiance to them, to swear fealty to their King upon reaching adulthood, and eventually to grant the castle to the fey upon death. They never quite succeeded, but they did come close. In the Black Oak Bailey, site of their great black oak, the fey struck this bargain with the Stross. In exchange for their eldest daughter and eldest son fostering in the courts of the shadow fey, the Stross gained access to shadow magic and the right to rule the Rosehaven lands, upon which the Stross's built a small walled city named Endhome, after legends of a grand metropolis that once existed in the same region. The eldest of the Stross patriarchs entered the realm of shadow near his death, and some believe he lives there still, his soul forfeit for the power the fey gave his descendants. The Shadowfell still seeps through the dark oak and tempts those near it into darkness. Merely living near the bailey does not trigger the curse. The victims must also ask for help from the Goddess of Night and Magic—and for many long decades, the Stross remained loyal to the Sun God Khors. Over time, the fey turned them more and more toward Sarastra, convincing each generation to go a little further into shadow, but the Stross were canny bastards. While the Stross did offer some worship to the goddess, they never fully embraced her. Instead, they used the scáthesidhe’s wish to corrupt them to manipulate the fey. The family taught its sons and daughters the secrets of power over the shadow fey. And, indeed, their teachings kept the fey at their command until the Great Revolt of 20090 A.E. brought down the family.The Stross Family’s Rule
(20690 - 20091 A.E.)
The Stross ruled in the city and province of Endhome for nearly 600 years, marrying well, fighting off invasion from the Magocracies to the west, and holding their own against the advances of Morgau & Doresh to the north. They did it the old-fashioned way, with fistfuls of silver and a ruthless cruelty that scattered their enemies. The Stross family’s wealth flowed from river trade and deep silver mines. Their peasants worked hard, their enslaved kobold miners pulled ore from the earth day and night, and their soldiers kept the northern Morgau undead at bay. But over time, the costs of defense and the nobility’s luxurious upkeep grew very steep. The knights and landowners took more and more, and one day, the merchants, artisans, and peasants decided to stop paying. It took only a small spark. The Stross guards dragged Halsen Hrovitz, a boy of ten, from the city’s streets for denouncing the Stross as “leeches” and screaming that he did not want to die in their mines. Ordinary Endhomers blocked the guards’ path. News of the incident raced through the city, and citizens flocked to the boy. A mob grew. The people initially threw insults at the guards holding Halsen. As their numbers and courage grew, however, their pent-up anger manifested in thrown cobblestones. They pelted the guards relentlessly and freed the boy, who lived but suffered a terrible injury to his leg that never healed. The hard-pressed guards fought to return to the prison. Hussar reinforcements arrived and rode into the mob, trampling a half-dozen people. A silversmith named Abelard and a journeyman wizard named Marcenzo reformed the crowd and gave it direction and goals. Within hours, they led the citizens to seize the city barracks, but soldiers from Castle Stross continued to march in, as did the troops from the gatehouses on the river, the Great Southern Road, and the Griffon Gate. The battle was far from over when the sun set on the first day. The mob looted the Stross barracks and armory throughout the night and passed out weapons to a thousand willing hands.The Great Revolt
(20091 A.E.)
By mid-morning the next day, Abelard and the wizard Marcenzo led the rebels to accomplish the impossible: they chased all the hostile guards and soldiers out of the city. Clever maneuvering during the night allowed them to surprise the Stross men just before dawn at a half-dozen different places, and the guards never recovered from the shock. The soldiers regrouped near the Oros Bridge, however. The citizens and a few adventurers gathered in Crown Square to plan and prepare for the counterattack. The city folk swore that the revolt must not falter nor end until they had cast off House Stross completely. All day the rebellious citizens gathered their forces. A huge mob threatened the commandery of the Order of the Undying Sun, staunch supporters of the Stross family who supposedly held a king’s ransom in gold. The threats were a ruse, however, to keep the knights from supporting the city guards who yet remained loyal. In the meantime, Abelard and Marcenzo proclaimed Endhome the Free City and struck a bargain with the majority of the remaining guards: in exchange for supporting the rebellion, their captain would have a lifetime seat on the new Free City Council that would govern Endhome. With the bargain struck, word went out to sack Stross warehouses, counting houses, their city palace on Crown Square, and even their ships and barges. The rebels released prisoners and arrested nobles and tax collectors. The mob ruled the city while the Watch stood aside, powerless to resist. Meanwhile, the aristocracy’s forces fled to plot their revenge. They had lost the battle for the city, but the war was far from over. The knights of the Order of the Undying Sun gave their word not to return to Endhome, and so were set free. They marched out to the sound of hisses and cries of, “Traitors to the people!” One month later, the aristocratic army returned. Nobles and knights of the Undying Sun sent from other commanderies rode warhorses, while footmen and other allies—including mercenary crossbowmen—followed on foot or on lighter horses. With the group also came powerful shadow fey called the Four Deaths. The Stross allies seized the Oros Bridge, dividing the castle from the city and cutting off a main trade route. They stopped barge traffic on the River Argent and slowly pushed back the Free City’s patrols.The Battle of Oros Bridge
(20090 A.E.)
On a rainy, late spring day, almost 7,000 rebels met Lord Kranos Stross and his 1,400 retainers and 2,200 allies at the Battle of Oros Bridge. The revolutionaries’ numbers and bravery overcame their shortage of training and proper arms and armor. Peasant archers, kobold miners, stout mercenary pikemen hired by merchant interests, and the wizardry of Marcenzo formed the backbone of the Free City’s Army. A few dwarves had worked tirelessly to make spears, shields, and armor for hundreds of the most experienced warriors, but more than half of Endhome’s army carried little more than knives and hate. The Watch, now firmly committed to the revolt, formed the remainder of the force, with the priests of Yarila the Harvest Goddess and Volund the Forge God providing support. The Free City Army’s anger gave them courage against their better-trained foes. The first morning, the Free City Army attempted to use that rage and courage to retake the bridge. The nobles held against repeated attempts to drive them off by magic and numbers, however. Confident in their superior skill and equipment, the Stross alliance counterattacked around noon. Cavalry poured over the bridge, shattered the front ranks, and overran the Free City Army’s supply area. Almost as soon as they reached the reserves line, though, they fell into a clever trap. A field of holes and mud prepared by miners ensnared the advancing horses. Kobolds, artisans, and peasants dragged almost 50 knights down into mud and death. Both sides retreated in good order. The second day was clear and sunny enough to see the muddy mess of the previous day’s struggle. The battle continued into late afternoon with only skirmishes, feints, and small probing attacks while the Stross forces waited for the ground to dry sufficiently for another cavalry charge. That delay undid them, however. The wizard Marcenzo had taken his best men across the river during the night to join a large contingent of kobold reinforcements freed from the Stross silver mines and moving fast over the drying river bank. Suddenly flanked, the Stross line at the bridge collapsed, and the mercenaries took flight, leaving the cavalry to struggle alone. In two days of bloody ruin, the peasants and kobolds took hundreds of noble prisoners and finally ended the reign of the Stross family. Kobold archers, owl-flying raiders, and other deadly night fighters prevented the remaining army from retreating to Strossheim, the Stross family’s castle. The stragglers instead retreated northeast, seeking shelter in the lands of Orclund.The Castle Falls
(20090 A.E.)
That night, the mob stormed Strossheim, forced the gate, and sacked the castle. They freed prisoners from the dungeons, tore down tapestries, and carted off food and gold. By dawn, more than 40 bodies hung from the battlements, arranged from youngest to eldest. The Stross supporters fled to neighboring states, sought refuge downriver, or simply changed sides. After the looting ceased, the castle briefly served as the Free City Army’s headquarters. One Stross child, Evander Stross, survived the massacre, though no one realized it. The quiet child was playing amidst the castle’s shadows, as he usually did, when the mob struck. In the midst of the clash, he pledged his soul to the forces of shadow, and the shadows enfolded him into their protection. The looting of the upper halls and the death of the inhabitants turned the castle into a place haunted by new ghosts. Fortunately, the fires started in the Great Hall failed to catch (or were suppressed by summoned water elementals). Many looters sought to find the “hoard of silver” the Stross family vaults contained, though they never did. Some claimed demons had guarded it, others vanished in the search, and some were driven mad by the terrors they saw below the hill. The army sealed up the entrances to the kobold’s silver mines for a few months, until the kobolds offered to work the mines in exchange for a fair share of the silver and a permanent position on the City Council. The city gratefully accepted over the objections of those who still saw kobolds as nothing more than slaves.After the Revolt
(20085 A.E.)
Five years later, the Free City Army abandoned the castle as the rising number of missing or dead sentries became unacceptable. The rumors of the castle’s haunting date to that time. The dwarves of Clan Grimbold stayed, however, and remain there still. Certain wizards and cultists visit them on occasion to purchase things best not discussed. Likewise, fighters seeking weapons of starmetal or pure shadow, or weapons aligned with the heavens, often make their way here and pay high prices for goods not available anywhere else. The kobold silver miners worked the castle’s mines for more than 30 years. When the deep mines suffered a series of devastating collapses and explosions, even the kobolds abandoned them as haunted, or at least unlucky. The mines recently reopened with the help of clockwork pumps and new techniques for bracing the old tunnels.The Present Day
20000 A.E.
The Endhome Revolt is 90 years past; only a few dwarves and warforged remember it firsthand. The brash, rich city found its footing as an independent mercantile state. The sons and daughters of the Revolt’s leaders became the city’s Consuls and Lord Mayor and formed the Free City Council, a ruling body elected by the human, dwarven, and kobold citizens of Endhome. The kobold slaves of ages past were freed from their shackles, and after centuries of prejudice, kobolds finally began to rise to positions of power in Endhome. The citizens of Endhome have largely cast aside the gods and traditions of the Stross Dynasty and now honor Rava the Gear Goddess as well as some older deities. All faiths are welcome in Endhome, though most of its people have no love for Sarastra, the Goddess of Night and Magic. Only a handful of Sarastrans live in the city, most of them shadow fey, whom the other citizens of Endhome have yet to accept. Even the appearance of the Winter’s Kiss—the shadow fey embassy—within the city has done little to ease the tension between Endhome’s older citizens and their new neighbors. Despite years of expeditions, the dangers of Castle Shadowcrag—the haunted ruins of old Strossheim—still weigh heavily upon the minds of the Free City Council.
Alternative Name(s)
The Crossroads City
Type
Metropolis
Population
1,600,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Endhomer; Endhavian
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Comments