Horgenhold
A single massive castle perched atop a sheer cliff overlooking
the Black River where it flows south from Rhul into Llael,
Horgenhold is one of the most important border defenses for
the peoples of Rhul. In fact, it was here that the Rhulfolk held
off the Orgoth invasion when those would-be conquerors
arrived at their doorstep. The Orgoth incurred such
staggering losses during the conflict that they never staged
another attack on Rhul in all the centuries of their occupation
of western Immoren.
Countless cannons along the castle’s walls are trained at all times on both the Black River and the road that snakes alongside it before winding southward to the nearby Llaelese city of Leryn. In times of great need, Horgenhold has another trick up its sleeve: a gate of massive iron bars that can be drawn up from the water to close off the riverway entirely. Besides hosting a regular garrison of Rhulfolk soldiers and ’jacks (Steamjacks), Horgenhold is the headquarters of hundreds of scouts who patrol the southern mountains. Even though most of these scouts consider the castle the closest thing they have to “home,” they spend little of their actual time there, often instead sleeping rough in the wilds of the mountains or patrolling smaller border forts and watchtowers.
Due to Horgenhold’s close proximity to Leryn, the dwarves who live within the castle’s walls have come to know humans—and especially the citizens of that Llaelese city— quite well. In fact, when Leryn fell to Khador in 605 AR, and again when it fell shortly thereafter to the Protectorate of Menoth’s Northern Crusade, Horgenhold accepted many Llaelese refugees, some of whom still live in the castle and its environs to this day.
Countless cannons along the castle’s walls are trained at all times on both the Black River and the road that snakes alongside it before winding southward to the nearby Llaelese city of Leryn. In times of great need, Horgenhold has another trick up its sleeve: a gate of massive iron bars that can be drawn up from the water to close off the riverway entirely. Besides hosting a regular garrison of Rhulfolk soldiers and ’jacks (Steamjacks), Horgenhold is the headquarters of hundreds of scouts who patrol the southern mountains. Even though most of these scouts consider the castle the closest thing they have to “home,” they spend little of their actual time there, often instead sleeping rough in the wilds of the mountains or patrolling smaller border forts and watchtowers.
Due to Horgenhold’s close proximity to Leryn, the dwarves who live within the castle’s walls have come to know humans—and especially the citizens of that Llaelese city— quite well. In fact, when Leryn fell to Khador in 605 AR, and again when it fell shortly thereafter to the Protectorate of Menoth’s Northern Crusade, Horgenhold accepted many Llaelese refugees, some of whom still live in the castle and its environs to this day.
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