Dilwych, Barony, Keoland

Governed by Lord High Baron Draconis Eternal, Malweig

The small barony of Dilwych, sandwiched between the vast Duchy of Dorlin and the northwestern marches, is ruled by a lord considered eccentric even by Neheli standards. The barony is avoided by the major roads of the kingdom and is therefore eschewed by most travelers. However, Dilwych was once a part of the greater Duchy of Dorlin, seceding from the latter in the last century over a petty squabble now long since forgotten save by the Barons of Dilwych, who have trumpeted their independence ever since. Its seat of government, the ostentatiously named Castle Draconis Imperious, sits on a low hillock near the center of the barony, mere miles from the village of Dilwych (pop. 504). This quiet hamlet is the epicenter of an anemic agrarian economy that lumbers to sustain itself amidst the prosperity of its neighbors. There is little evidence of true ambition in Dilwych and trade that was brisk in centuries past has slowed to a trickle. Perhaps this neglectful attitude extends from its ruler, the self-described Lord High Baron Draconis Eternal, Malweig (CN male human Ftr8/Brd7), who spends more time expanding and decorating his jumble of a palace, with its angled walls and leaning towers, than seeing to the welfare of his citizenry.

The obscure Lord Malweig has presided over the barony for a couple of decades, though he has only officially assumed its leadership in the last dozen years. It is a widely whispered scandal that the baron had his late father embalmed, perfumed, and propped up on the throne of the barony for years following his actual death. This forced visiting heralds and other guests of the baron to hail the ghastly cadaver and osculate its signet with tightly pursed lips. Only a rare visit by the new Duke of Dorlin in 578 CY put an end to the practice. An appalled Cedrian ordered the bishop of Dilwych to bury the dead baron in the dark of night for the sake of decency. The baron’s son has been the titular lord of Dilwych ever since.

Malweig, who traveled the length and breadth of the Flanaess in his youth, now spends much of his time festooned in Baklunish silks, wandering his halls and play-ing his servants against each other in a mockery of the politics at the royal court. He is always on the lookout for strangers or seemingly important visitors to his province, inviting them to his castle for a celebratory banquet and regaling the guests with tales of his supposed exploits (the baron styles himself a former explorer). Malweig entreats them to give an account of themselves, hoping to extract wondrous tales of adventure. To those who are considered worthy are given his so-called “letters of marque.” These colorful documents enlist the bearers to missions or adventures on behalf of the Lord High Baron Draconis Eternal. While most of these quests are inscrutable or absurd tasks, a small number over the years have actually resulted in the unearthing of great treasures or the solution of profound mysteries. Lord Malweig is considered mad, though generally harmless, by his peers (even for a Neheli, whisper the margraves on his western borders). He no longer attends council in Niole Dra and is entreated by few of his fellow lords. Instead he sends his High Herald, one Thaddeus Piliq (CN human male Brd4), a high-pitched and haughty buffoon who spends more time entertaining young pages in his apartments in Niole Dra than he does engaged in the politics of the capital.

Capital: Dilwych

Areas of Interest: Draconis Imperious