Baltron's Beacon
Baltron's Beacon is a ruined fort in the Hool Marshes, eminating an eerie light visible in the surrounding area. It was formerly inhabited by the exiled mage Baltron of Linth.
Overview
North of the vast meanders of the Javan River, where the Hool Marshes verge upon the dark boughs of the Dreadwood, lies an expanse of swamp some hundred square miles in size. It is thickly overgrown with a mixture of cypress trees, saw grass, and other stranger botanical specimens. The flora grows out of the muck to create mire—difficult passage for any would-be explorers. The region is principally known for the dull green glow that emanates from its center, which can be seen for miles and serves as a local landmark during murky Hool nights. The light’s purported origin attracts marshfolk of all kinds and has been a source of mystery for years since the light first shone forth. The luminescence is reported to intensify as one approaches its source—the upper reaches of the central keep of a small, ruined fort. The structure resembles a ghostly lighthouse, but the few who have seen it and returned consider it an infernal beacon.History
Located on a low hillock, one of the few patches of solid ground in the region, the long-abandoned structure was once a Keoish foothold. It is one of a chain of similar forts constructed more than a century ago to protect the kingdom’s southern border during Keoland’s ill-fated imperial age. The incomplete keep suffered a series of enervating attacks by local tribes of lizardfolk, who inhabited the place after the exhausted Keolanders finally abandoned it. Keoland subsequently decided to establish the kingdom’s southern frontier in the Dreadwood, north of the Hool in the Viscounty of Salinmoor. The lizardfolk did not hold sway for long. A century ago, the diabolical Cult of the Black Flame, led by the charismatic high priest Ohjos (the “Eye of God”), swept in to claim the ruined works and complete construction of the fort. Although denizens of the marsh shunned the place, word of the cult’s increasing outrages soon spread beyond the borders of the Hool. When several youths, including the children of nobility, disappeared from the neighboring Viscounty of Salinmoor, the local lord, Count Arthemene, assembled a small army, even bidding reluctant old King Nyhan IV to contribute a contingent of grizzled Dreadwalkers. The host marched on the cult’s fort, but much to their surprise, they found no evidence of the cult. It had vanished, leaving the keep empty save for the grisly remains of the Keolandish younglings. The keep remained vacant until a mage exiled from Keoland took up residence in the lonely fort. Called Baltron of Linth, the infamous wizard had spent a good deal of his life combing the depths of the Dreadwood looking for the lost magic of the notorious (and extinct) Suel House of Malhel. According to legend, the Malhel came to a cataclysmic end at their own hands after dabbling in long-lost magic in the years following the Great Migrations. Despite longstanding Keoish prohibitions against seeking out the dark heritage of the Malhel, Baltron craved this knowledge and could not be dissuaded from its pursuit. Expelled from the Academy of Wizardry and pressured from Niole Dra for their efforts, Baltron and Leptor (his protégé and a formidable wizard in his own right) originally traveled to this deserted keep together to glean what they could of the forbidden arcane lore. Baltron found many clues and sequestered items of interest that had been abandoned by the Cult of the Black Flame. Baltron was able to continue his research undisturbed in the lonely keep in the Hool Marsh. His research reportedly involved the summoning of a lost elemental power of great might, which he hoped to bend to his will and make his servant. After many years of isolation, Baltron finally succeeded in his summoning, but was unable to control the forces which he unleashed, resulting in a calamitous backfire which destroyed the mage, damaged the keep, and set off the eerie green glow now visible in all directions from the heights of the central tower. The Silent Ones of Niole Dra, guardians of Keoland’s magical secrets, attempted an exploration of the ruins shortly after the explosion, eager to discover Baltron’s fate and whereabouts, but the small party was driven away by certain powerful and evil denizens of the swamp, who flocked to the disturbing beacon. Just recently, Leptor led a party to explore the ruins as part of an expedition sponsored by an organization of adventuring explorers known as the Seekers of the Arcane, who once claimed Baltron as a member. The expedition included the infamous ranger Arcturus of Sayre, known throughout the kingdom for his treachery, along with a rag-tag mercenary retinue. Leptor and his band sought out not only Baltron’s dark knowledge, but the treasure said to have been abandoned by the Cult of the Black Flame, hidden and undiscovered somewhere within the citadel. The party’s fate remains unknown. Some say that Leptor spent many months trying to reclaim the ruins and their secrets amid the omnipresent threat of lizardfolk attack only to disappear one forlorn night, never to be seen since. Some say the Cult of the Black Flame has finally returned.
Type
Ruins
Owning Organization
Comments