The Dragons Bane

That part of the world in the north known as the Stone Mountains is home to Crossroads Castle and the town of CrossRoads Castle. So named because it sits at the crossroad of the east-west Road of the North and the North Road from Solaris that leads to the Stone Mountains.

Lord Muldoon is the master of the castle, along with his wife of some years, Lady Sheela. Lord Muldoon is a respected and honored man of considerable fighting ability, but he is best known for his magical abilities, considered among the best in the area. Lady Sheela, not to be underscored, is considered to be closer to the Mother Tree God, Shilo, than anyone in the north.

They, along with some four squadrons of 100 men each, keep a tenacious hold on what is currently the northernmost outpost of Man. As such, the castle is very self-sufficient, containing guilds, stores, storage areas, and living areas; basically all the things found in a rich and prosperous town, castle, and Lord.

The land for miles around the castle, as expected, is farmed during the warm summer months. Typical of anywhere that far north, the sun shines for almost twenty hours each day at summer’s peak. This extended sunshine is responsible for the exceptional size of the produce, which is therefore highly prized in the cities and towns of the south.

The castle is very strong and its tenants are a hardy lot. They have to be to survive the cold winters and the attacks by various monsters and creatures. Snow giants often attack in the dead of winter. And the dragon cult has been known to raid the farms during the summer, usually at harvest time.

The kingdom of man is known as Tholianna. Its capital is Solar, a sprawling city located on the northern end of the Sea of Deagar where the Great River of the North flows into the Bay of Solar. It is said that the Sea of Deagar goes all the way around the world, but this has never been confirmed. And nothing is known of what may lay south of the equator; none who have sailed there have ever returned. Solar, being a port city, has a bustling economy focused primarily around its shipping industry. A large number of ships come and go every day bearing all sorts of trade goods from other cities along the coast.

The ships also travel north on the great river as far as the Town of Three Forks. From here north the river is too treacherous for ships or boats, but the two main tributaries, the East River and the West River, are capable of being navigated by the smaller riverboats. Thus Three Forks is a large and prosperous town. There is also a large amount of trade throughout the Kingdom in the form of caravans that visit many of the inland towns that comprise the kingdom.

A great distance to the east of Solar, on the other side of the Mountains of Mondor, lays the Great Forest that is home to the Elven Kingdom of Elvatar. The Mountains of Mondor, an impassable mountain range that runs from the Sea of Deagar almost all the way to the Stone Mountains, have historically isolated the Elves, at least until the ships of Tholianna discovered them some 400 years previously.

The Elves, for the most part, prefer to keep to themselves, seldom venturing outside the Great Forest. Their art is highly prized by man and is considered to be the most beautiful in the known world. And they, in turn, highly covet several of man’s farm produce that cannot grow in their forest kingdom. The Great Forest extends as far to the east as man’s travels by ship have taken him. No man has ever gone further and returned. Thus the Elven city of Enar, along the coast, is as far East as the ships of men currently travel. Enar was created by the Elves for the express purpose of trading with man. It is also the furthest that any man, except for a precious select few, has ever traveled within the Great Forest. The forest, having a life of its own, generally rejects men by turning them back from whence they came, if they are lucky.

To the west of Tholianna lie the Mountains of Mist, so-called because the volcanic activity that heats the mountains also causes a mist to perpetually surround them. These mountains are the home of the dwarves. Their under-the-mountain cities are said to be extensive, and it is said they have harnessed the power of the mountains for their forges. The dwarves are great workers of metal and make the best weapons and armor known in the land.

Little is known of these cities because the dwarves do not trust outsiders and their small stature makes travel in their cities difficult. Thus only a few men have ever been allowed in their mountain strongholds. Those dwarves that have traveled among men were generally close-lipped about their home, but have been known upon occasion, usually accompanied by a substantial amount of drink, to speak of the wonders that supposedly exist in their cities under the mountains. All trade between the dwarves and Tholianna goes through the town of Dugar, located along the shore just east of the Mountains of Mist. This town is the only place where dwarves and humans can be found in equal abundance.

The various mountain ranges hide many secrets. One such secret is the ruins of Myth Dranor. Myth Dranor was once a thriving town larger than CrossRoads, with a castle that was many times the size of CrossRoads Castle. A long time ago Myth Dranor was the northernmost extent of man’s reach. It has been abandoned for several generations of man, destroyed by an evil dragon and his army of dragonmen warriors. It is located due north of CrossRoads where the River of the North has its headwaters. And while it now lies in ruins, its extensive underground labyrinth is home to many creatures of the dark. It is said that many secret ways exist into the dungeons under it and many are the monsters that call them home.

Thus the Ruins of Myth Dranor are a lure for adventurers from everywhere in the known world. And CrossRoads Castle, being the closest settlement, is where these adventurers generally congregate, when not adventuring. This has forced Lord Muldoon to set some rules for these adventurers in an effort to control them and make some money off them. Due to the extreme weather of the winters, travel to the ruins is generally restricted to late spring through early fall.

These adventurers come and go with the caravans and are generally from the south. A significant amount of trade occurs at the castle, beginning in the late spring, through the summer, and into the fall. These caravans come seldom during the wintry months, due to the snow blocked passes to the East and the West, but once every other month a caravan makes the difficult journey from the South. The late spring and early summer caravans often bear young adventurers out to make a name for themselves. Four such young fools is where our story begins.