Highcastle

Highcastle is the seat of The High Dale and is home to nearly half of the entirety of the dale's population. Once enriched by trade passing through the region between Cormyr and Sembia, Highcastle's population and fortunes declined in the 12th century DR after the construction of The Way of the Manticore, which provided an easier means of travel between the two Kingdoms. Through highs and lows, High Dale and Highcastle have persisted independently as a tiny republic for centuries, surviving through the intermittent trade of wool, copper mining, and the sheer stubbornness of her people. Highcastle's fortunes have recently been on the upswing since the end of the Shade War due to an influx of Cormyran trade.

Demographics

Population

Human 80%
Halfling 6%
Gnome 6%
Dwarf 5%
Other 3%

Wealth

Aristocratic 1%
Wealthy 4%
Middle Class 36%
Laboring 39%
Poor 20%

Government

The Dale Council

The Dale Council serves as The High Dale government and is filled by six elected councilors, each serving a six-year term. Each year, one seat is up for election. A seventh councilor is the High Constable who is elected by the Dale Council yearly to serve as the Council Chairperson. The High Constable also oversees the daily operation and defense of the dale and votes to break ties during voting. The seven councilmembers are:
Tyran Greene a human male, farmer of the lower slopes of the High Dale and an experienced veteran of the Pegasus Archery Company.
Varana Brighthelm a fiery swordswoman, the semi-retired adventurer who still finds reasons to leave the Dale and adventure with her old companions.
Darun Lockmaster a dwarf with a cheerful and intelligent demeanor. He is an armorer and locksmith who crafts the finest locks (and picks) in the Dalelands.
Serena Whitelock a practical and sour-faced half-elf of middle years who owns one of High Dale's larger sheep pastures.
Renoen the Fair a beautiful and charming Highcastle native; she is the only wizard of note in the area.
Eha Moondown Tiridia's elder sister and defacto head of the Moondown family.
The High Constable Irreph Mulmar is a hero and adventurer. Irreph led the Highdalesmen against the Sembians in the Shade War and only recently returned as high constable, acceding to popular demand.

Defences

The High Dale has possibly the most defensible terrain in all of the dalelands with only wagon and sheep tracks for navigation while being sandwiched between the Thunder Peaks and Wyvernfang mountains.

Arrowpoint

Arrowpoint is a fort of earth and wood located on the northern side of Highcastle. It is home to the Pegasus Archery Company and has stood for over 200 years. The Pegasus Archery Company are mercenary horse archers oft used by Cormyr and have an agreement with High Dale which allows them to maintain their headquarters so long as they agree to come to the dale's defense in case of attack; the company is also subject to a geas devised by the Archmage Yandrin Thorl which turns any commander of the company that takes up arms against High Dale to stone. Pegasus Company has 75 mounted archers with light horses and short bows and the world-famous Flying Auxiliary, 20 of the company's greatest archers who do indeed fly into battle mounted upon winged pegasi. The company's current commander is a young woman named Sothinar.

Constables

Highcastle's six constables answer directly to the High Constable and handle both policing and defending the town and the rest of the mountain pass. Each Constable has 10 deputies, part-time lawmen who serve as a retinue for each Constable in lieu of taxes. The Constables equip their deputies with chain shirts, shields, spears, and short swords.

Industry & Trade

No merchant companies operate in the High Dale, but buyers' caravans from Cormyr and Sembia will come in the summer and fall to Highcastle. The local farmers raise sheep and goats and grow potatoes, turnips, and hay. Highcastle is home to a variety of small craftsmen including smiths, wrights, woodcarvers, and leatherworkers. A couple of small general stores cater to locals and the few travelers that pass through.

Frogfoot's Provisions

A general store that can provide basic supplies for locals, merchants, or adventurers.

The Ironhand

A dwarven forge that provides surprisingly high-quality weapons and armor, as well as the best locks and lockpicks in the dalelands. It is operated by master Azan Stonesplitter, armor and weaponsmith, and his partner master Sarun Lockmaster, master locksmith.

The Swordsmith's House

A fine Inn that is closed for the winter months and until the Thunder Way is free of snow and ice. Swordsmith's house is an opulent inn with two floors of guest rooms owned by the Buckenwoot family of halflings. It has itself become somewhat of a vacation destination for the minor nobility of Cormyr and Sembia and charges a premium for a night's stay. Visiting dignitaries are put up in the Swordsmith when they come to see the Dale Council.

The Eagles' Eyrie

Budget lodging for peddlers and farmers, exemplifies the proverb "You get what you pay for."

The Shield and Keep

A noted taphouse with a large and faithful following among the locals.

History

Hurst Amadin was a Cormyran robber baron that was banished for his crimes in 630 DR. He along with some of his men took up residence in The Thunder Way, at the time the only pass connecting Cormyr with Sembia, and survived by extorting trade caravans between the two nations for tributes of six gold pieces per wagon. Amadin built a small fortified keep to command and defend his new fiefdom and ruled over the passage until 648 DR when he was killed during an orcish raid. The town of Highcastle were officially founded by the inhabitants of the region that same year. As the centuries went on the castle the city was named for was reduced to naught but ruins, but the town has remained.

Points of interest

High Castle

High Castle was built by Baron Amadin in the 7th century to extort tributes from traders passing along The Thunder Way. Orcs left the keep a ruin after assaulting it in 648 DR, killing everyone within after using rocks rolled from the mountains above to smash the walls. Nobody has made a successful attempt to occupy the structure since Amadin's death and the site is now only a few stone foundations. Rumors of a fortune of gold and magic items persist hundreds of years after Amadin's downfall though nobody has ever found it, Highdalesmen refer to crazy schemes or strange rumors as "Hunting for the Baron's gold".

Shrine to Tempus

The small shrine is attended by a member of Pegasus Company named Sheyla Windless and can be found inside Arrowpoint.

Chateaux Moondown

This stately country manor is easily the most well-appointed home in all of High Dale. The Moondown family are wood elves and a cadet branch of Cormanthoran nobility that moved into the region around the Time of Troubles. Its second generation has become a part of High Dale society with one member of the clan recently being elected to the Dale Council.

Hidden Vale

A community of about 200 gnomes and halflings who farm and herd in lands about half a day south of Highcastle. The vale is guarded by trained giant spiders that most Highdalesmen have learned to ignore, but are fierce enough to chase away unwanted trespassers by reputation alone.

Copper Gulp

About halfway between Hidden Vale and Highcastle is Copper Gulp; a series of gnomish and dwarven copper delves, both working and abandoned, surround a small mountain lake whose waters have been turned a vivid blue by the presence of the metal. Though beautiful the water of the lake is also poisonous.

The Dancing Place

A sacred place where many gods are known to have manifested; it is also where the modern Harper organization was born in 720 DR. Priests of many faiths watch over the sacred valley and are led by Learned Father Loremaster High Crandan Ethander of Oghma.

Founding Date

648 DR

Type

Town

Population

956

Inhabitant Demonym

Highdalesmen

Purchase Value Limit
800 GP
Value of Assets
38,240 GP