This article is part of a multi-part series. In the first article, we explored all the locations in the northern part of the Lake Krag region.

This article adds details concerning the locations in the southern part of the region. You can find location details and many adventure hook after the jump.

Poacher’s Swamp

The poachers that gave the name to this muddy area have long left the swamp. Originally a hunting reserve for the Lord of Kragstone, the number of animals with precious pelts or good meat declined gradually, leaving this land to snakes and rodents. Nowadays it is not a hunting reserve anymore, but a place avoided by most because its poisonous creatures, its quicksands and the occasional aggressive beast.

Story hook: the major of Colvodia has been seen by an accidental witness rowing out in the swamp by night, carrying the body of a recently deceased villager in a boat. When he came back just a couple of hours later, the boat was empty. When confronted, the mayor confesses to having made a pact with an evil will-o-wisp that was threatening the village. But the creature’s demands are getting harder to satisfy, and lately took on a very sinister tone.

Colvodia

Tucked between a savage swamp, an unwelcoming forest and the edge of the realm, Colvodia is a frontier town whose villagers, mostly farmers and fishermen, have to rely on each other for protection. The sense of community is strong in Colvodia, and any foreigner is treated with suspect and even hostility.

Story hook: The Shield of St. Horace is fixed to the facade of the town hall and is a revered relic. It is said to protect the town from any evil attempting to creep in. A few night ago, the shield was stolen. The community is in turmoil, but no culprit could be identified, and no new faces have been seen in town since months. It must have been one of the member of the community. To what end? Without any clue and having exhausted all leads, the authorities resort to requesting help from outsiders.

Birchwood

The trees of this sparse woodland are old and grey. Gnarled and mostly hollow, they do not make for good timber nor fire logs. The only production activity that the Birchwood can sustain is wild hog farming, but this is limited to the area on the edge of Colvodia. No one dares venturing deeper in the woods as local legends abounds on the the fairies and wild beasts of Birchwood. The Crimson Tower, a ruined fort in the middle of the woods, is said to be the meeting point of fairies and spirits of the nature.

Story hook: a satyr from the forest has been spotted around one specific farm in more than one occasion. At night, the farmers lose their sleep over the sound of the satyr’s music, creeping closer and closer to the farm. Attempts to discourage the satyr from bothering the farm have so far failed, and no one dares facing the satyr directly for fear of being cursed or worse. One day, a vigorous thunder shakes the forest, and shortly after farmers in the area start to be assaulted by a mysterious beast. It turns out, the satyr fell in love with the farmer’s wife and spent his time serenading and stalking her, instead of attending his duty of nursing the Spirit Force of the Forest. Left unchecked, the Spirit awoke from its slumber and is now wreaking havoc in the woods and in nearby areas.

Dwarven Alps

The Dwarven Alps are not part of the realm. In fact, they were formerly part of the Dwarven Empire. Centuries ago though, the Dwarves decided to retire into the most remote part of their mountain empire, and cut any ties with any other race. Since then, no one has had any contact with dwarves anymore. Never the less, the general consensus is that the dwarves are still out there, somewhere: those who try to cross the former border of the empire disappear as soon as they advance deep enough to lose sight of the border. Only the outer areas neighboring with the human kingdoms are a sort of no man’s land: all former dwarven settlements in the zone are abandoned, and while no human dare to settle there or claim property of the land, there is an increasing number of trespasser hunting for rich abandoned mines and treasures hidden in the dwarven ruins.

Story hook: It seems that not all dwarves retreated centuries ago. An adventurer returned to Kragstone telling of an hidden, secluded valley in the mountain where she found an isolated community of dwarves that, centuries ago, decided to not follow the emperor’s order to retreat inland and remain in their citadel instead. She reports that they share the citadel with an isolated population of humans, and the adventurer was the first foreigner to have a contact with that community in centuries. Some kind of horrific entity now inhabits the lower levels of the citadel and she barely escaped being sacrificed to the creature. Most folks tend to assume she’s just telling a tall tale, but she brought back some dwarven golden coins with an effigy of the monster which, according to an expert, are of authentic dwarven craftsmanship.

Kragstone

Kragstone is the regional center of power. The Lord of Kragstone rules over the entire Lake Krag area, even if his grip on the small peripheral settlements is weak to say the least. Never the less, Kragstone is the center of commerce, justice and executive power. Merchants from other corners of the kingdom come here to buy pelts, liquors, salted fish and, on the black market, ancient dwarven trinkets. Albeit still not a huge town, and a far cry from the metropolis at the heart of the kingdom, for the villagers from the other side of the lake this is as civilized as humanity can get.

Story hook: the Ordeal by Potato is a recreational event organized by the nobility of Kragstone and loved by all citizens. Right after the potato harvest, the noble houses sponsor a contest where different factions (each supported by a different house) battle each other on the street of Kragstone just by throwing potatoes at each other. The population loves the distraction and cherish the opportunity of throwing half-rotten vegetables at some pompous noble. However, this year the adventurer make a shocking discovery: one of the individual taking part in the contest is inserting weighted daggers in the potatoes before throwing them, turning them into concealed deadly weapons. As a few members of a specific house gets seriously injured, the adventurer have a chance to spot the hooded attacker, and a chase through the crowded streets will lead to the discovery that the attacker is a member of a secret organization. They believe that an old prophecy is about to unfold, and want to kill all young members of the house to avoid one of them setting in motion events that will lead to the fall of Kragstone. Is the prophecy accurate?

Iron Mines

The iron mines of Lake Krag are a small complex producing low-quality iron. However, they are the only mine in the area, so they are still exploited even if the proximity to the abandoned dwarven empire and to the lawless hills occupied by bandits make it a dangerous operation to run. The mines are property of the House Pewich of Kragstone and protected by a small group of hired blades. The weekly caravan carrying iron ore back to Kragstone also have to be heavily guarded, so the final price of the iron when reaching Kragstone has to be raised to cover all costs. All in all, House Pewich keeps the mine running more to follow a family tradition rather than for a tangible profit.

Story hook: a wealthy merchant from the South arrived in town with the intention of buying the mine. She is making an offer that is very generous, considering the scarce profit that the mine generates. House Pewich is divided: some don’t want to loose the family tradition, others are happy to get rid of this burden that creates more troubles than profits. One wise Sir Churan Pewich hires some adventurers to investigate whether there is any additional motive behind the merchant’s offer. It turns out, one of the miner discovered a sealed dwarven catacomb at the bottom of the mine shaft and sneaked out some dwarven artifacts to be sold on the black market, under the nose of the mine superintendent. An organization interested in this kind of merchandise traced the origin of the items back to the mine and see a lucrative business opportunity in exploring the catacombs – away from prying eyes – in search of powerful relics.

Fael River Valley

This fertile valley, compared to the other farmlands around Lake Krag, is a quiet and safe area where not that much happens. Away from any dangerous border, infested ruin or lawless land, farmers and villagers living along the river Fael are only concerned with the yield of their crops and the regularity of the precipitations. The Fael provides a stable supply of water to all farms and powers watermills all over the valley.

Story hook: a new religion is on the rise along the farmers. It preaches compassion, virtue, and redistribution of wealth, but after it gained considerable hold, it started to demand hefty donations from all members of the church. Farmers who refuse to pay and want to leave the church find themselves mobbed and sabotaged. The authorities would intervene, if it wasn’t for Lady Adora, a prominent noble woman of Kragstone, who became a devote follower – some would say fanatic – of the church and uses her political power to avoid any external intervention in the matter. What would it take to reveal the true face of the church to the public?

Gortak’s Temple

The town known as Gortak’s Temple spreads around the Scriptorium, a religious citadel run by the monastic order of the Beatritians. The Scriptorium is home to a renown library of thousands of tomes, covering religious, mundane and scientific topics. The order of Beatritians, followers of St. Beatrix, consider themselves as the chosen keepers of knowledge and their mission is to preserve the library through the ages, regardless of wars, calamities, and changes in kings. For this reason, the Scriptorium was build as a military fortification able to withstand many a siege, and is considered an independent entity with no loyalty to any noble family or king. It is closed to the public and not easy to access for anyone outside of the Beatritian order. The town of Gortak’s Temple evolved around the religious citadel as a trading center: both for agricultural products of the surrounding valley, and for everything related to books and knowledge. Sages, bookshops and authorized liaisons to the Scriptorium – which has very strict access rules – are all thriving businesses here.

Story hook: the name Gortak’s Temple predates the construction of the Scriptorium. Who or what Gortak was exactly was lost in time, but the vast temple that gives the name to the town still stands as a religious center serving multiple faiths. The different churches that share the space do not always see eye to eye on many subjects, and the cohabitation is based on a delicate, ever-shifting diplomatic balance. In this context, the town is shocked by the discovery, one cold autumn dawn, of the corpse of a Beatritian monk affixed to the door of the temple by a hundred long daggers piercing his body. Whoever did this, is clearly sending a loud message to the town, the temple and the Scriptorium. The mystery is even greater as monks rarely leave the citadel and the deceased was not supposed to be outside during the night. Due to the delicate balance of powers in town, the town requires some outsider, not involved into the diplomatic schemes of the churches, to investigate. The investigation is made more difficult by the unwillingness of the Scriptorium to collaborate. Eventually, a plot to infiltrate the Scriptorium by a secret cult is unveiled, but how much of the Scriptorium is already under the control of the cult? And what is the cult’s goal?

Wythorp

Wythorp is a village where everybody, one way or another, is employed by one of the noble families owning the town and surrounding pastures. From their manors in Kragstone, the noble families run the operations through some superintendents who are in charge of paying wages, setting the price of the cattle and even settling legal disputes. While not deliberately cruel, the families and the superintendents have the fate of the village in their hand and will do what is necessary to protect their interests – including imprisoning any villager demanding a higher pay or generally trying to change the status quo. As a result, Wythorp is a quiet, slow town where not that much happen – for those are willing to accept the rile of the superintendents. For those who are not, better abandon the town and join the ranks of the bandits in the hills. “Bandits” in the hills live from occasional trade with the Elves, growing some vegetables on the poor land of the hills, and occasionally stealing a goat or a pig from the village when in dire need. They are mostly poor, peaceful men and women who constantly risk imprisonment in various hideouts in the hills, bound by family ties to relatives still living in Wythorp. It is a self-governed small community that does not welcome troublemakers – criminals are not welcome and tend to flock to the area known as Outlaws Camp instead.

Story hook: the bandits have to share the hills with some wild beasts – wolves, bears and the occasional mountain lion. However, recently the number of bandits and farm animals slain by some mysterious beast has grown so much and so quickly, that some bandits decided to go back to the village and face imprisonment rather than suffer an horrible death in the hills. Shortly after, even the Wythorp itself sees the first deaths of cattle and people. Rumors starts to spread that some bandits in the hills have contracted the curse of lycanthropy and werewolves are responsible for the deaths. Those villages who have relatives living as bandits in the hills hope to find some private party willing to look into the matter, before the noble families decide to send soldiers to the hills to exterminate each and every bandit.

Outlaws camp

Only the most ruthless and violent individuals, criminals from all over the region and wanted persons on the run from beyond this area, can survive in the Outlaws Camp. The camp itself is not bound to a specific place, but shifts location every few weeks as a precautionary measure. The outlaws, and their self-proclaimed leader, Ortas the Lord of Nothing, are not afraid of the soldiers of the Lord of Kragstone or of the king’s troops: the location of the camp is too marginal for the interests of the king, and the Lord of Kragstone can not spare the men to battle the outlaws. Furthermore, Ortas keeps the camp floating around the border between the kingdom and the Elven forest, and any side sending military units to hunt the outlaws down will at least cause diplomatic tensions with the other side. The only thing that Ortas fear is retaliation from a powerful private party, such as a rich noble family hiring a mercenary force to punish the outlaws for a kidnapping. For this reason, the outlaws keep a vast network of sentinels and spies to warn them on any incoming threat, and are always ready to pack and leave the camp with just a few hours of warning.

Story hook: The outlaws recently assaulted the ferry between Colvodia and Kragstone, and stole a large coffer from some traveler that entered the kingdom at Eastern Gate and were continuing their journey to the capital. However, the outlaws where unable to open the coffer, protected by powerful magical wards. After secretly paying an hefty sum to a wizardly scholar to inspect the coffer, Ortas discovered that the coffer will only open if brought to certain locations of arcane power. One such locations is the Fountain of Neverending Water, in the central square of Kragstone. Now obsessed with the coffer, and unable to travel himself or to send any of his most trusted henchmen to Kragstone, where they would risk being recognized and arrested, Ortas hires some adventurers. To make sure that the adventurers don’t just open the coffer and keep the content for themselves, Ortas finds a way to blackmail them – perhaps taking an hostage, or poisoning them with a slow-acting poison for which only he has the antidote. Once the coffer is brought to the Fountain, and opened in the middle of the city, the adventurers have to deal with the content – a living wild creature, many time the size of the coffer itself, was magically imprisoned there – and drag it back to Ortas while at the same time avoiding capture from the city guard, alerted by the destruction created by the creature upon release.

Elven Forest

“Elven Forest” is the name that common folks from Lake Krag use for this vast temperate forest. The proper elven name is unpronounceable by humans: Thæçalésonëlasél. The Elven Forest is not within the domain of the human realm, and its edge marks the border of the kingdom. The forest is part of the north-western edge of the Aedian Elven Cantons, again a human denomination that has no resemblance to the proper elven name. The elves of the canton of the Elven Forest are mostly family clans that dwell in the deep forest and are very territorial. Relationship with humans are tense but stable as long as the border is not violated. It is extremely rare for elves to be seen on the human side of the border, and stealthy patrols and sentinels on the elven side are able to swiftly locate and apprehend any trespasser.

Story hook: so little contact is exchanged between elves and humans, that in the human eyes elves are shrouded in a veil of mystery and distrust. Once in a lifetime though, some sort of contact does happen. Æliel, a female elf, fell in love with Malario, a man living in Wythorp, who reciprocates the feeling. Shunned by both cultures for their choice, the two lovers were rejected by their families and communities. Forced to live on their own, they built a small cabin in the hills close to the edge of the forest. Unknown to Æliel, humans can not easily resist the enchantment of the fey creatures as elves do. Malario fell victim of an enchantment by a fallen driad, jealous of their love, who lured him deep into the forest and imprisoned him in the haunted mound under her tree. Æliel is a skilled warrior but she can’t defeat the driad and her cruel minions alone. Since no elf will help her, she is looking for someone that will follow her in battle against the fallen driad, someone brave enough to face elven spirits and the risk of being caught while trespassing. The reward? Ancient elven treasures buried in the mound.