Carthridge
Abutting Rhynn, the barony of Carthridge extends across the river of Korina’s Tears, encompassing the larger part of the Carthmounts. Taking advantage of both abundant farmland and the famed silver mines scattered throughout the mountains, Carthridge enjoys great wealth and influence. This abundance of food and coin attract wild creatures and bandits, respectively. The people seldom worry, however, as Baron Zachareth’s knights and foot soldiers are some of the best-equipped and most trained in all Terrinoth. While no serious threat has challenged the troops in centuries, Zachareth requires that they drill ceaselessly and maintain a state of constant readiness.
Despite the unnatural threats lurking within the Mistlands, the people of Carthridge continue to farm the fertile soil that extends to the very edges of the shrouded bogs, as they have for centuries untold. Still, life at the doorstep of the Betrayer has taken its toll on these people, who bar their doors at night and mistrust strangers as a matter of course. Those few visitors to these isolated farms and hamlets often wonder if the residents know of some hidden danger or perhaps have their own secrets to hide.
As across Terrinoth, many ancient wonders can be found in the remote parts of Carthridge. The otherwise small and unremarkable Lake Falstar holds a single island at its center, home to the Temple of Four Storms. Seldom visited, this ancient temple is a monument to a long-forgotten religion. On some nights, amid howling winds blinding rain, flashes of lightning reveal mysterious figures assembled on the small island across the water.
Likely owing to Carthridge’s ancient border with the Thirteenth Barony, of all the barons, Zachareth is the only one to speak regularly and emphatically of the threat posed by the Mistlands. While others fail to recognize the threat or choose to downplay its significance, Baron Zachareth agitates for a preemptive invasion of the Mistlands, one he bravely volunteers to lead. So far, the other barons have refused to support such an endeavor. Privately, Barons Xarles and Echard fear that such an action, successful or not, would make a hero of its general, upsetting the balance of power in the council.
Comments