Carrion Hill
"Walk, if you will, the claustrophobic alleys of the Tangle, the middenstone vats of the Filth, and the cobbled white roads at the summit of an ancient hill. Know that this is but the latest of cities to crown this summit, a monument to the filth and grime and waste of civilization. The city was built upon the battlefields of history past, for many have sought to control this key feature, this lonely hill in a sea of mud and mire. Only its name has remained constant through the ages- Carrion Hill..."Carrion Hill city in eastern Ustalav that is a strange place, resting atop an unnatural and unsettling mound. It is said to rest upon the remains of many cities and that the hill is riddled with tunnels and hidden chambers.
General
In a Letter to Professor Crowl, Professor Petros Lorrimor wrote that Carrion Hill was a very strong nexus of ley line energy and is thereby susceptible to disruption by the presence of an Outer God or a Great Old One. The town has been the site of a string of recent murders . The city is run by Mayor Vanton Heggry and protected by the city guard called the “Crow Men at Arms”, commonly called just the “Crows”. The original Fellowship had previously met Heggry at Professor Lorrimor’s funeral. Almost as soon as entering the city, the Fellowship was commissioned into the Crows. The buildings of the city are known to be predominated constructed with a purplish-hued brick call middenstone, which is produced from the carcasses of the ever present carrion roaches. A cult calling itself the Keepers of the Oldest was recently discovered to reside in Carrion Hill. It summoned a strange, powerful, invisible creature called a Spawn of Yog-Sothoth that they lost control of. The creature began attacking the town looking for the cultists, but the Fellowship of the Sun was able to bind the creature to the Star Moit, but not before it had killed four of the original five Keepers. A copy of the Pnakotic Manuscript was found in one of the city’s multitudes of underground chambers.Residents of Note
- Keeper Glem Baskerwhel - member of Keepers of the Oldest
- Codrian and Tamas - city guardsmen, members of the Crows
- Keeper Dr. Waldur Crove - warden of the Crove Asylum, member of the Keepers of the Oldest
- Mayor Vanton Heggry - Mayor of Carrion Hill, the original Fellowship met him at Lorrimor's funeral
- Keeper Hyve - member of the Keepers of the Oldest
- Keepers of the Oldest - cult of the Outer God Yog-Sothoth
- Keeper Sulm Marshan - merchant, recently moved from the town of Illmarsh, member of the Keepers of the Oldest
- Zord Mumply - drunk and local tour guide
- Keeper Rupman Myre - main producer of middenstone, member of the Keepers of the Oldest
- Mr. Shortstone - butler to Mayor Heggery
- Mr. Tarrig - witness to the first attack by the unknown creature
- Yareesh - intelligent ghoul that lives within the Catacombs, current owner of the Pnakotic Manuscript
Places of Note
- The Catacombs - a complex and uncharted series of multi-architectural tunnels and chambers constructed through the ages exists below the city
- Crove Asylum - a criminal insane asylum run by Dr. (Keeper) Crove
- Crown Manor - home of Mayor Heggry
- Slipper Market - an area of small shops, site of the first creature attack
- The Tangles - a neighborhood of twisting alleyways and tight streets, location of the Slipper Market
Demographics
82% human, 5% halfling, 4% half-orc, 4% gnome, 3% dwarf, 2% other
Government
Mayor
Districts
The city is split into three districts. The Crown atop the hill, the Tangle on the hill's slopes and the Filth. The Crown is the home of Carrion Hill's nobility and most of the government and public buildings. The cobbled streets are broad and bleached white. The buildings are large and made of stone and timber. The Tangle is the most crowded part of the city. It is a thick tangle of buildings and maze-like alleyways where most of the shops and residences can be found. The Filth is the lowest part of the city, a series of natural or artificial islands, where the poor and desperate dwell. The Filth is also home to the vital but dirty industries like tanners, gong farmers, street cleaners, the fisheries, and the dirty middenstone vats.
Guilds and Factions
History
Varisians first settled Carrion Hill in 2397 AR; prior to this, Carrion Hill was a holy site for the local Kellid tribes.
Geography
Carrion Hill rises over the swampy southern banks of Kingfisher River. It is the only solid ground in the swampland known as the Wrythefor a distance of nearly 20 miles to the east or west.
Natural Resources
The ley line energies are very strong here, possibly a focal point for whatever is diverting their energy to the west.
Maps
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Carrion Hill
Featured In
Chapter 12 - "The Carrion Hill Horror"
Chapter 12 - "The Carrion Hill Horror"
Type
City
Population
9,200
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Related Reports (Primary)
- Session 128 - "Follow the Middenbrick Road"
- Session 129 - "The Carrion Hill Horror"
- Session 130 - "The Sunless Grove"
- Session 133 - "The Sudden Siege of Crove Asylum - Part 2"
- Session 134 - "The Sudden Siege of Crove Asylum - Part 3"
- Session 135 - "The Sudden Siege of Crove Asylum - Concluded"
- Session 138 - "An End to the Spawn of Horror" & "The Worthy Soul"
- Session 139 - "Truth and Consequences"
- Sessions 131 & 132 - "An Uneasy Truce" & "The Sudden Siege of Crove Asylum - Part 1"
- Sessions 136 & 137 - "A Reunion" & "Hunting the Keepers"