Westruun
The city of Westruun is the centre of Tal'Dorei, a crossroads of culture along the Silvercut Roadway that welcomes adventurers, traders and vagabonds of all kinds. Despite its name, Westruun is more east than west, and was in fact named after Palest Westruun, the trader and philosopher who founded the city. Though Westruun suffered greatly beneath the iron talons of the Chroma Conclave, the dragons' destruction and the razing of the Herd of Storms has allowed the city to reclaim its place of importance as an economic and political power within Tal'Dorei.
Government
Westruun is ruled by Margrave Brenta Zimmerset. A margrave is a military official appointed by the Council of Tal'Dorei and is a position held for life, or until the council deems them unfit to govern. Westruun’s standing margrave has executive power over the region’s military forces and holds power to establish and dissolve trading guilds, the lifeblood of Westruun.
Since Margrave Zimmerset is a military leader, Westruun is technically under martial law, as are all Tal'Dorei cities ruled by a Margrave. This form of government is a relic of the totalitarian rule of King Warren Drassig, and some of Westruun's citizens chafe under their absolute rule. Any thoughts of dissent against the previous margrave, however, were snuffed out when the Chroma Conclave attacked. The black dragon Umbrasyl made short work of the Shields and shattered the Margrave's rule before retreating to Gatshadow, leaving Westruun open for invasion by Kevdak's goliath herd. Umbrasil and Kevdak were both slain by Grog Strongjaw and Vox Machina, freeing Westruun from tyranny.
In the peace that followed the fall of the Conclave, the newly-appointed Margrave Zimmerset made plans to return Westruun to its former glory. Some idealistic young students and traders take umbrage with this proposal - when was Westruun last "glorious" under a Margrave's rule? Word of Emon's new, elected council has reached them along the trade roads, and word of revolution brews in Westruun. Secret meetings have begun occurring in smoky corners of the Puddlemuck Tavern and in study chambers of the Westhall Academy.
A well-rooted faction of the Clasp has controlled and efficiently run their shadowy trades for decades rught under the Shields' noses. Their network of fences runs from coast to coast, Stilben to Emon, and they are known to deal with humanoids, orcs and gnolls alike if it means a profit. Their hideout is secreted away behind the storefront of the Wayward Pony, a poluar inn owned entirely by Clasp agents.
Defences
The city’s Margrave commands a standing military of about 800 trained soldiers known as the Shields of the Plain, or simply “Shields.” Despite Westruun’s importance, its military is often spread too thin to properly mount an offensive against the guerrilla Ravagers.
Geography
Miles of farmland and fields surround Westruun’s towering walls—except to the west, where the city is bordered by the Bramblewood and dwarfed by the mist-shrouded peak of Gatshadow. The city’s interior is divided into six wards.
The Scholar Ward: Westruun’s northwestern ward, and is home to the Cobalt Reserve, Tal’Dorei’s largest library and repository of information. This vast archive is defended and maintained by a live-in monastery of Ioun -worshipping monks known as the Cobalt Soul. Across the way lies the comparably small College of the Savvy, a school for the arts founded by the renowned bard and champion of intuition referred to only as the White Duke. Beyond the Reserve, the Scholar Ward also holds Tal’Dorei’s newest (and the Dividing Plains’ only) general university, the Westhall Academy.
The Temple Ward: A small, southern ward where all people are afforded free worship within various sanctuaries. Though the most important gods of the Dividing Plains are Erathis, Melora and Bahamut - and they certainly have the Temple Ward’s largest shrines - the residents of the Temple Ward welcome all faiths. Westruun’s smallest temple is the Ruiner’s “Empty Socket,” maintained by the handful of orcs in Westruun, and its largest is Erathis the Lawbearer’s “First Bastion,” an opulent temple supported by a steady influx of gold from the local government.
The Opal Ward: The centre of the city and the heart of its law and governance. The ward has no residential housing, but is home to Margrave’s Keep, the Hall of Reason, and the public square. Margrave’s Keep, a squat mansion that houses the Margrave, is buttressed against military barracks and housing for Margrave Zimmerset and her family. The Hall of Reason is a beautiful courthouse in High Elven style, and bears a marble statue of Bahamut, God of Justice, before its steps. The public square is a forum for public gatherings and bears a fountain depicting Palest Westruun, the founder of the city, atop an onyx horse.
The Residential Ward: This fills the northeastern section of Westruun, and is the city’s most densely-populated (some would say overpopulated) ward, housing over two-thirds of its population. There are no major locations in this ward, though countless petty criminals make their homes here, and the Shields are stretched too thin to properly deal with them. Unlike in the Temple Ward, free expression of religion is frowned upon here, even within the privacy of one’s own home. Though Erathis, Melora and Bahamut are all benevolent deities, many of their Westruunian followers are not particularly tolerant of other faiths.
The Market Ward: Westruun’s southwestern ward and contains the majority of the city’s businesses, trade stands, and production warehouses. It is currently in fashion for store owners to live in a second storey above their shops, though less scrupulous businessfolk have turned their residences into gambling dens, black markets, and illegal brothels. The most significant building in this ward is the World Market, a marble-walled auction house where hundreds of vendors hawk rare and unusual items from across Tal’Dorei. It is also the home of the Pennerton Exchequer, one of four locations in Tal'Dorei licenced to mint currency, and the only one privately owned.
The Underwalk Ward: The city’s newest ward, an extension of the residential sprawl built from repurposed sections of the sewer system. The Underwalk was initially built during the invasion of the Chroma Conclave in hopes of keeping the populace hidden, but has now been largely abandoned except for those either too poor to return even to the Residential Ward, or by those humans and monsters who would prefer to go unseen. Every day, new and unsettling rumours of many-headed monstrosities prowling the Underwalk’s shadowed roads spread to the surface, keeping even Westruun’s bravest mercenaries from exploring the den of sorrow and evil beneath the city. The most well-known entrance to this subterranean labyrinth is a single inauspicious manhole in the Opal Ward, topped with a metal cover emblazoned with the crest of Westruun.
Landmarks
The Survivors’ Legacy:
The names of all those in Westruun who survived the reign of Kevdak and Umbrasyl are carved on a wall in the first chamber of the Underwalk. This memorial was created by Percival de Rolo when the people of Westruun first hid here from the wrath of the Chroma Conclave after Umbrasyl’s death, but it has been expanded in the years since, now including the names of all who perished in the struggle as well. The Survivors’ Legacy is a symbol of hope, warding away the sorrow and evil of the Underwalk beneath, and to this day common folk make trips here to honor their lost loved ones. Some of the more generous folk give aid to the home-less living here as well, and some more adventurous travellers make prayers to Pelor and The Raven Queen here before delving into the Underwalk’s deeper reaches.
Yuminor Observatory:
Westruun is a fairly flat city, and one tower on the edge of the Scholar Ward looms high above the nearby Westhall Academy. It looks forever skyward, the arcanists inside constantly charting the movements of heavens. A quasi-religious order of diviners and astromancers named the Scions of Yuminor study here, supported by the Academy’s headmistress Estella Ladimar, herself a blood descendant of the heroic wizard Atz Yuminor. The observatory is open to all, and the diviners here will gladly give a star reading for 10 gp, once per day. The Scions of Yuminor are so affable, how could anything sinister be lurking behind their star charts and telescopes?
The Black King:
Palest Westruun was not a king, but his new statue in the Opal Ward is often called the Black King, a subtle jab at the city’s previous “Black King,” the tyrannical dragon Umbrasyl. The High Priest of Erathis blessed both the Black King and Westruun itself when the statue was unveiled on a recent anniversary of Westruun’s reclamation, saying “May the Lawbearer grant us all strength of spirit when chaos next threatens our peaceful civilization. When that time comes, may the Black King unsheath his sword to rally our people and lead Westruun to victory.” When the safety of all of Westruun is threatened, it is claimed the Black King will animate and defend its people.
Type
City
Population
26,205 (65% Human, 10% Gnome, 7% Tiefling, 5% Half-Orc, 1% Gnoll, 12% Other)
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