Elversford

The fortified village of Elversford has nearly 1,000 people behind its wooden walls and network of flooded ditches. Built on the bank of the river, a shallow moat has been created around the village. The waters are no more than four feet deep, deliberately to tempt any force attacking the village to try its luck wading through. The submerged metal-tipped spears beneath the moat waters would then inflict most unpleasant injuries on those entering. The iron tips have rusted, of course; but that's all the better for inflicting blood poisoning on anyone suffering a wound from a spear. The village has a wooden gatehouse with a drawbridge which is lowered to allow access to Elvers ford from the land.

Elversford is the major trading post for the Adri. Of course, there is little trade now, but a precious trickle of armor, weapons, and a handful of minor magical items makes its way here by one means or another. Mages such as Nukirien can teleport here. A few brave souls from Nyrond, who may have Adri relatives, even risk the Harp River from points west of Innspa or head down the southern spur of the Flinty Hills. These latter visitors are rare, however, simply because of the severe threats such travel poses. Few try these routes, and considerably fewer survive. Only those with magical protections (invisibility 10' radius and the like) come back more than once.

Elversford is well defended by Parren's ranger patrols, and the forest bowmen atop the wooden walls of the village are deadly shots (Dexterity scores of 12+1d6 for the 25 elite bowmen). There are two young mages (3rd and 5th level). At any time, their mentor Nukirien (a 10th-level mage) will be within the village. There are also a handful of priests of Ehlonna and other powers in the village, so that low-level spell defense is strong.

The people of Elversford are forced to forage into the forest for days at a time in search of food, simply because a settlement this size cannot support itself by fishing and livestock keeping. In a 20-mile radius east of the river, there are forester's huts along some of the most-traveled trails which are used by such foragers to rest and sleep. They always leave some food and water behind for those who come after them. Some of these have tiny, hidden chambers below the ground which have been laboriously dug out. A trapdoor, concealed below straw or matting above, gives access. Some foresters sleep in these tiny, lightless chambers, hoping that any raiders who might happen by will open the hut, see no one is there, and just take the food and depart. One or two lives have been saved this way, though the forest orcs have tumbled to the trick by now and know to look for such hidden trapdoors. Anyone caught in the chamber beneath is not necessarily a sitting target, for there are usually cross bows beneath them which can be set to fire at anyone opening the covering when a woodsman is asleep inside. Elversford is the first place to come for characters in search of important Adri NPCs. Parren is usually here, and he knows where others such as Prisstyne, Lisara and Lukan can be found if they are not actually in Elversford when characters visit. Any characters who bring weaponry or similarly prized goods will be very welcome in Elversford—though Parren and the village elders will certainly want to know where any visitors come from and what their business is. Anyone approaching will be detected well before they get to the settlement.