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Nanberry Crypt
Posted on April 8, 2025 in Steel-Realms
Nanberry Crypt was built by Nanberry Vongleur, about 50 years after the Riverdan was settled. The graves of the earliest family were dug up and the remains put in sarcophagi in the new crypt. There is a continued reverence for the founders of the family dynasty, and the upper crypt itself at one time was the pride of the family – a great amount of expensive artwork and stonecraft went into it when the family coffers were full.
Entrance to the Crypt
The crypt was once shown to important guests and visitors, but now only the entry to it is accessible to outsiders. This is the only part of the crypt still maintained.
Circular Spiral Stairs
The stairwell spirals down into darkness. The stairs are broken and slippery, and there is no railing. The water wear coming from a few cracks above it over the years has cracked the floor masonry and made the steps treacherous. The area is cleaned regularly, and the paint is touched up – though it is obviously a touch up. The stairwell has highly detailed relief engravings going all the way down into darkness. The reliefs are of ancient sites of the Fallen east, scenes of the family traveling to the west, and settling the area. It details fights against the Orrish, against Pine Tribesmen, as well as against remnants of bands of the Sea Kings and Bronzefolk. On the ceiling above, looking down the stairs is a vision of beaty and fury – a human depicted with hazy wings and a spear; You can only assume this is the oft-spoken about image of Nanberry Vongleur – who commissioned and had the crypt created ages ago. Though once spectacularly breathtaking, the relief and imagery has lost some of its sharpness. The stairs in the floor are covered with a massive bolted black metal grate. You can tell that the living venture down into the family crypt rarely.
Encounters in the Locale
Automatic @ Crypt Entrance
Very Hard Difficulty check on Perception (modified by sight) REVEALS:
On closer look, the figure of Nanberry herself is a marvel. You notice that her sparkling eyes and topaz stones exquistely crafted. Her lips seem flush with blood, and her features are sharp and angular… she has perhaps a hint of faerie blood in her. Your eyes are drawn to the same color glint another similar colored gem, barely visible and covered by her flowing robes that barely expose her breast… a soul gem?
Hard Difficulty check on Perception (modified by sight) REVEALS:
On closer look, the spear itself, though painted over, is a real weapon.
This is actually a Bronzefolk Toprag weapon!
Bottom Landing
The stairs circle until they spill out into a wet, rough chamber. The cobblestones are broken, water runs over them and into a hallway out one side. Another wider hallway leads away perpendicular to that.
Preparatory Alcove to the Chapel
Entry Hallway to the Crypt
Ceremony Chamber
Alcove of the Defender
Alcove of Vengeance
Family Frescoes and Masks
Chapel and Altar
Prayer Alcove
Family Records Chamber
Nanberry’s Sarcophagus Room
There is a soul gem here, its light still glowing (as long as it remains in the crypt).
Servants Burial
The Under-Crypts
This is the actual resting place of the remains and ashes of the family members.
Spiremount Inn
Posted on April 8, 2025 in Steel-Realms
The Spiremount Inn is known for miles in every direction for the celebration on festival days and the trade that flows in from the County of Faer to the south and east. It is a large structure with an adjacent caravanserai.
History of Dovender Valley and The Dog Fort
Posted on April 8, 2025 in Steel-Realms
The History of Dovender Valley and The Dog Fort.
Chronicle of Dovender Valley & The Dog Fort
Knowledge is broken down by ease of discovery/availability; Any attempt to know more than what's Pervasive will require a reference, source, knowledge, check, or access to someone who can get or provide either of these.
Pervasive Knowledge / Very Easy Difficulty
Information Sources: Mundane Reference | Associated Phenomenology Only | Specific Lore
Dovender Valley in the Hawktail Hills where the Riverdans of Tufflim and Pelmon meet – on the Tufflim side. Although situated technically in Tufflim, the road that leads here winds through some of Pelmons hilly territory. It is long abandoned, and the only thing that people still remember is that the rare visitor (archeological exploration or River Rover) often experiences strange smells and temperature fluctuations.Spakaya was one of the Picket Keeps of the Heartlands, for monitoring Orrish incursions deep into the lands of light in the Riverdans of Grand Duchy of Dunstrand. It overlooks a valley in the Hawktail Hills where the Riverdans of Tufflim and Pelmon meet. Its name comes from its association with a kennel of wolf-dogs that were said to be able to ferret out and track Orrish unerringly for leagues in every direction. Like many of its kind, it was abandoned hundreds of years ago.
The Dog Fort Breaches: The “Dog Fort Breaches” were what originally caused the fort’s construction. After beating back the forces of dark dwellers and collapsing them several times, the fort was built to guard against further incursions. Dogs were trained to smell the Orrish, and the day patrols of the breach sites would be alerted as the Orrish were trying to tunnel up again by their foul smell before they breached at night.
Common Knowledge / Easy Difficulty
The Dog Fort Breaches:The fort was built to monitor and provider first response to the two main breaches that had repeatedly disgorged Orrish for raiding in all directions. In addition to the breach holes themselves, there were several smaller tunnels and camps used consistently by raiders. Both breaches were repeatedly collapsed and filled, but the Orrish just kept coming, waiting years in between raids, even decades as the wariness eroded the will to maintain the many picket forts because of their cost, despite their usefulness as an early warning system. The dogs bred to smell them even underground got better and better, and the losses suffered increased dramatically.
Uncommon Knowledge / Average Difficulty
The fort was on a small outcrop of a tiny valley basic about 500’ elevation, itself overlooking the Dovender Valley.
A History of Violence: Several times in CY 8040 – CY 8800 many attempts were made by Orrish to come through. In CY 8802 the raiders – led by a full company or Orks – finally brought a large enough force to battle and overwhelm the local druids and forces of The Dog Fort. The inhabitants were slaughtered to the last defender, taking down a troll before their last gasp. Thousands of Orrish took 2 days, but it was enough to get the word out. Massive clouds of flies burst from the maggots infesting the corpses of the slain defenders, sheltering the Orrish from the sun. At the same time, another large force was assaulting The Watch Vault of Kunlay near White Lake on The Maithen Plateau.
After butchering many settlements nearby on The Maithen Plateau, the remaining druids of the Hawktail Hills were able to disperse the flies to weaken the horde and a combined host of Riverdan soldiers, a platoon of the earl’s archers and mercenaries hired by the Earl of Bar-Innis and knights of County Faer swept through the entire Maithen Plateau area and butchered them, sparing none.
Scarce Knowledge / Hard Difficulty
The Assault of the Darkling Split-Eye: The few that survived were harried back to the breach point to warn their brethren. Their leader was still alive, and had taken refuge in the remains of the fort – although sacked, its thick stone walls and magics of the darkling made it difficult to crack. Rather than a siege or attack risking more lives or giving time for relief to come, the druids decided to drown and collapsed the fort and both breaches in CY 8803. They flooded them using the spring above the Dog Fort – causing it to pour forth a thousand fold its normal flow; it caused the Dog Fort to be covered with eroded soil and become useless – scouring everything out of it in a torrent of water, rocks and soil. It was too much work to rebuild, and in CY 8953 after decades of no Orrish digging, it was abandoned.
Rare Knowledge / Very Hard Difficulty
The Standard of the Severed Head: The forces in CY 8802 were led by a darkling whose name translates to “split eye”. Said to be an evil magus and devotee of the Unholy Trio, his attendants were a contingent of minor demons that bore aloft and protected his standard. His standard bore a blood soaked variation of the Broken Eye clan of Orrish. The standard had a head atop of it, impaled, which continued to scream and snarl in agony, never dying. From this, it is said he was able to conjure the shroud of flies from the bodies of the fallen.
Pieces of the standard, but not the head, were found after the battle.
Places, Locales, and Features of Glowarin (Riverdan)
Posted on April 8, 2025 in Steel-Realms
There are many Places, Locales and Features of Tuflim that cover the notable territorial and geographical areas of the Riverdan. Most were built for much larger populations, though now settlements are small and have ruins or areas left uninhabited. There are ruins to explore, though most have been so many times before and little remains in the way of “plunder” or loot that is not dangerously precarious or buried.
Common Experience
Characters coming of age in/from this locale will shape their perspective to the primary experience of Cultural Experience of the Riverdans.
Places, Locales and Features of Belmain (Riverdan)
Posted on April 8, 2025 in Steel-Realms
The Places, Locales and Features of Belmain cover the notable territorial and geographical areas of the Riverdan.
Common Experience
Characters coming of age in/from this locale will shape their perspective to the primary experience of Cultural Experience of the Riverdans.