1. Caerlin’s Vineyard:
Few people with elven blood wind up spending much time in Fort Inevitable, but the old vintner Caerlin is an exception. Now over a century old, he wears his years well, as most half-elves do. A former resident of Mosswater, he escaped from the town’s monstrous destruction more than 50 years ago and reestablished himself in Southwood—the best grapegrowing country he could find nearby. Caerlin strongly dislikes the Hellknights, and refuses to use slaves. He does make use of indentured servants, but treats them fairly and pays them well when they complete their terms. His daughter Taeserle currently manages most of the winery’s production.
2. The Stonde Homestead: Giles Stonde was swept up in Lady Commander Drovust’s investigation of Lord Varden’s assassination and hanged by the Hellknights, leaving his wife Ilyana Stonde and their young children without a means of support. Ilyana and her children are scraping by, earning a little money by gathering mushrooms and herbs in the nearby woods, tending a vegetable garden, and keeping a number of chickens and goats.
3. Drurn’s Tannery: The burly half-orc Drurn, a retired sellsword, owns this tannery and the adjoining pasture lands. His work is not especially good, but it’s cheap and convenient for the crafters and tailors in Fort Inevitable. Drurn keeps a dozen slaves in dismal conditions, and is routinely in trouble with the Hellknights for his excessively brutal treatment of them.
4. Naldred’s Farm:
Expansive fields of golden wheat surround the fine stone farmhouse of Naldred Tillman. Naldred is the largest private slave owner in the Hellknights’ domain, with a half-dozen hired overseers keeping watch over almost 30 field slaves, who are housed in a secure barracks building across the lane from Naldred’s home. Naldred’s fields stretch for almost a mile south and east of Fort Inevitable, and this huge farm produces a vast quantity of grain in most years. Blunt and opinionated, Naldred is a staunch supporter of the Hellknights’ rule; in fact, two of his sons are currently training as armigers. He is a hard taskmaster, working his slaves to exhaustion, but he is rarely capricious or cruel for the sake of cruelty.
5. Holworth Dairy:
The green hillside overlooking Misty Lake is home to the Holworths, a large and rambunctious clan of native Southwooders who have lived in this spot for the better part of 2 centuries. The current matriarch of the clan is Nilsa, usually referred to simply as Mother Holworth. She is a stern, sharp-tongued woman halfway through her seventh decade who has outlived two husbands and now has a house full of children, grandchildren, and even a couple of very young great-grandchildren. The Holworths are noted for producing a variety of excellent cheeses, although they’ve had an increasingly hard time paying the Hellknight taxes over the last couple of years.
6. Serragon Ironworks:
Just downhill (and downwind) from the Holworths’ dairy farm is the largest foundry in Fort Inevitable, the Serragon Ironworks. The ironworks’ proprietor is Daldar Serragon, a former nobleman of Galt who fled to the River Kingdoms 20 years ago to escape the gallows. He bought out a local smelter from its previous owner, and expanded the workshop over the years. Daldar is not much of an artisan, but he has the loyalty of an excellent ironmaster, the dwarven smith Hurmarsk Firehammer. Most of the Ironworks’ stokers and cinder haulers are slaves, while the actual metalworkers are employees.
7. Misty Lake:
The original settlement of Southwood was established here because the site combined good farmland with easy access to water. Misty Lake is fed by both a small, unnamed stream that flows out of the southern Echo Wood and springs under the low hill on which Fort Inevitable stands. The lake is deep, reaching 50 feet in its middle. There are rumors that an old lord of Southwood concealed a treasure chest in the lake more than 100 years ago. People have tried various schemes for searching the lake bottom, but no one has found any treasure yet.
8. Kettlefoot Mill:
The well-established halfling miller Anden Kettlefoot is the owner of this large and prosperous mill. Anden is a man of 40, and lives in the attached house with his wife Seela and several small children. He quietly sets aside flour and money to help anyone in need. More than once he has stepped in to save an unfortunate citizen from going into debt and losing everything to the lady commander’s court—a dangerous habit that hasn’t won him many friends among the Hellknights.
9. Mosswater Gate:
Fort Inevitable’s impressive defenses begin with two main gatehouses; the western gatehouse is known as the Mosswater Gate. This gate consists of a large timber door sheathed in iron plate, plus a portcullis on the inner side. Numerous arrow slits overlook both the approach to the gates and the interior passage, which is also covered by murder holes set in its ceiling. The upper floor of the gatehouse serves as extra barracks space and storage for the Hellknight garrison. The Mosswater gate is under the command of Maralictor Kiera Wirt. She leads a detail of five Hellknighs who question everyone entering or leaving town. Maralictor Wirt is a decent person for a Hellknight, and applies a good deal of common sense and compassion as she executes her duties.
10. City Wall:
A strong city wall protects Fort Inevitable. The walls average 30 feet in height and are a little more than 10 feet thick at the base. A battlement at the top faces outward, with an 8-foot-wide walk running the length of the wall. Towers every 100 to 200 feet provide good arcs of fire against approaching attackers, and serve as extra storage for food and arms. The towers also provide extra barracks space when the lady commander needs to house more Hellknights than can easily fit in her own keep, the gatehouses, and the Mardyl Barracks. Hellknight sentries regularly patrol the wall tops and the towers.
11. Gate Market:
Fort Inevitable’s market square, which lies just inside the Mosswater Gate, is quiet, orderly, and very tightly regulated. Local farmers and livestock-keepers apply to the Citadel for licenses to bring their produce, dairy goods, and meat to market on a regular rotation. The townsfolk often meet and gossip in the market square while stocking up on household provisions; “I heard it by the gate” is a local expression for the rumor mill.
Rumors: Current rumors claim that adventurers are in demand by the Goldenfire Order of Thornkeep, strange attacks by new types of undead monsters have High Mother Sarise Dremagne (from area 33) concerned, and Abernard Royst (who lives in area 41) keeps trying to find out more about the Spire—and even claims there’s hidden chambers beneath it.
12. Zoldor’s Masonry:
This large work yard on the south side of the Gate Market is the establishment of the stonemason and builder Zoldor Maril. A bitter, miserly man of 60 years, Zoldor owns eight slaves, who handle much of the drudgework of moving and shaping heavy stones. He sorely resents the Hellknights’ heavy taxes and their insistence on fair dealing, but his work is safe and solid, and many of the buildings in and around town were built under his supervision. Zoldor is not above bribing civilian bureaucrats (though not Hellknights) to delay approval of building plans until he is hired to erect the structure in question.
13. The Juliver Arms:
Large and comfortable by anyone’s standards, the Juliver Arms is the best inn to be found in Fort Inevitable. It’s under the management of a bustling clan of halflings named the Reedbanks, who pride themselves on setting a lavish table. The accommodations are not cheap: the Reedbanks cater to wealthy merchants and adventurers with loose pockets. The clan patriarch is Doliver Reedbank. Doliver doesn’t like the Hellknights at all, but he’s no revolutionary—he sympathizes with the Seven Foxes, but lacks the courage or ability to take up active resistance.
Iliara Starcloak of the Goldenfire Order is renting a room here trying to find out what happenned to the missing spellcasters who had come to study portals, as such the Goldenfire Order is still interested in detailed research about any extraplanar portals the anyone finds.
14. The Red Shield Tavern:
Named for the striking coat of arms hanging in the common room, the Red Shield is a busy taphouse that is especially popular with the Hellknights. On any given evening, a dozen or more of the town’s off-duty garrison guards can be found here, enjoying drafts of bitter or stout. The proprietor is Embra Morsk, a retired adventurer. She is a no-nonsense businesswoman, and fearless when it comes to defending her property. The old shield with its red device once belonged to a noted local hero named Dinwood.
15. Poldmar Stables:
This large livery store, carriage shop, and stable is under the management of Kallon Poldmar, a respected member of the Council of Prosperity. His stable boards visitors’ mounts, buys and sells horses and mules, and carries leather goods such as saddles, saddlebags, and reins. He and his wife, Pola, reside in one of the townhouses just a few doors over.
16. Gertrand Yeldun;
A comfortable townhome on Juliver Way, this house belongs to the human moneychanger Gertrand Yeldun.
17. Mirelinda the Clothier:
The flamboyant Varisian Mirelinda Doumaz owns a workshop that produces all sorts of cotton, linen, wool, and felt cloth. She is a weaver, not a seamstress, and sells cloth by the bolt to merchants throughout the region. She drives more profits by buying the contracts of indentured servants and setting them to work at her looms. She doesn’t hesitate to punish workers who aren’t keeping up with demand. To her customers and neighbors, Mirelinda presents a very different face. She hosts lavish entertainments at her home, and often scandalizes the town with her affairs. There are many dark rumors about where she found the coin she needed to establish herself in Fort Inevitable.
18. North Gate Cemetery:
The grounds of the Temple of Silence are home to the largest cemetery in town. It is well tended, and there have been no problems with undead in living memory.
19. Temple of Silence:
The Temple of Silence has stood here for almost 200 years, founded after a priestess of Pharasma passing through was struck by a powerful vision on this spot. Her fellow Pharasmins raised a small shrine, and by the time the Hellknights seized control of the town, the Temple of Silence was well established as the second most popular church in town. The presiding priest of the Temple of Silence is an Ustalav man named Dimeru Faldindor.
20. The North Gate:
Smaller and less busy than the gates on Juliver Way, the North Gate is intended for foot traffic only. The guard detail here is smaller than at the other gates, consisting of three Hellknights plus a gate-sergeant.
21. Garrison Stable:
The Hellknights maintain a good-sized stable close by the town’s north gate. It can mount and equip 30 riders at one time. Most of the mounts are trained warhorses. The Hellknight in charge of the stable is Hielon Keenlance. A battered and scarred old veteran, Hielon rarely leads patrols in person these days, instead training (and frequently beating or haranguing) younger troops.
22. Nolm Bindery Trading:
in papermaking, bookbinding, inks, and books of all kinds, Falandra’s Bindery is a cluttered and friendly place that is part workshop and part used bookstore. The owner is Falandra Nolm, a woman
still in her twenties. She inherited the store from her father, Presdar Nolm, who was one of the accused conspirators arrested and executed after Lord Varden’s death.
23. The Stalwart Priory:
A small number of monks from the Taldan Order of the Stalwart Fist answered the call of the Mendevian Crusade. Three years ago, a master of the order named Sister Khedra established a small priory in the Crusader Road region to aid and support pilgrims and Stalwart Fist members on their way to Mendev. The Stalwart Priory includes a small shrine dedicated to Irori, living quarters for up to a dozen monks and students, and a large dojo. Sister Khedra maintains a firm policy of non-involvement with politics and civic affairs.
24. Sefurd’s Potions and Reagents:
Located between North Way and the Fountain Square, this is the shop of the apothecary Londor Sefurd. Sefurd is an unpleasant character with an oily, wheedling manner and an unhealthy interest in exotic toxins. He deals in potions, spell components, alchemical mixtures, and, of course, a wide array of poisons. Master Sefurd is disliked by most who know him, and his trade is regarded as suspicious by the Hellknights. Many people wonder why the lady commander hasn’t shut down his business and run him out of town.
25. Rillin’s Armory:
Master armorer Rillin Nadinghad is widely acknowledged as the best crafter of plate armor for a hundred miles around Fort Inevitable. Her workshop and store have stood in Fountain Square for decades. She and her team of armorers—mostly her own grown children, aided by a handful of indentured servants who work the bellows and stoke the furnaces—create and sell most forms of armor with significant metalwork.
26. Braddon’s General Store:
Owned and operated by the affable merchant Thom Braddon, this shop sells provisions, tools, cookware, tack and harness, and a hundred other useful things. Braddon set up shop shortly after Lady Commander Drovust’s witch hunts following Lord Varden’s death. The store’s previous owner was one of the people executed, and Braddon bought the place in a public auction. Some of Fort Inevitable’s populace still harbor resentment toward him for the manner in which he came to own his business.
27. Victory Fountain:
This fountain consists of a stone plinth within a pool, crowned by a statue of the half-elf heroine Tarwynna, leader of the army that crushed the goblin kingdom of Zog. The fountain and its statue date back to before the Mendevian Crusades brought a plague of bandits down on Southwood. The Fountain Square is a common meeting place in town, and notices are tacked up on a message board nearby.
28. Hall of Rectitude:
Cases of criminal and civil justice in Fort Inevitable are heard in this imposing courthouse. The Hall of Rectitude is home to a pair of spacious courtrooms, the offices of the town’s magistrates, and an extensive jail that’s usually quite full of prisoners, most serving short sentences for minor offenses. The officer in charge is Maralictor Tisserle Ilomna, the town’s chief magistrate and overseer of the police functions of the garrison. Lady Commander Drovust retains the power to review Maralictor Ilomna’s rulings and commute or increase sentences as she deems necessary, but for the most part Maralictor Ilomna’s judgments stand—she is a stickler for applying the letter of the law.
29. Mardyl Barracks:
The original stronghold of Southwood, this old stone building served as Lord Commander Varden’s headquarters until the new Commander’s Citadel was completed. It is now used as an auxiliary barracks by the Hellknights. Lady Drovust assigned the Mardyl Barracks to the Order of the Nail, and allows them to use it as their local headquarters. About 20 of Fort Inevitable’s Hellknights count themselves as members of the Order of the Nail, and are under the command of Maralictor Dandru Wolfhelm. The Nail knights muster with the larger Pike contingent when the lady commander calls out the whole garrison, but they do not otherwise share in guard duties. Instead, they vigorously
patrol the roads and byways of the area surrounding Fort Inevitable, following their order’s mandate to suppress banditry. Maralictor Wolfhelm often hires adventurers with letters of warrant to supplement his order’s patrols.
30. The Bailey:
Strictly speaking, a bailey is a courtyard enclosed between walls. However, this open ground in front of the Commander’s Citadel acquired the name years ago when the Hellknights were considering the construction of a much larger keep on this spot, and the name stuck. The wide, green field serves as the Hellknights’ primary practice ground inside Fort Inevitable, and from sunup to sundown one can find garrison soldiers sparring, shooting, or exercising in this area.
31. Chancery:
This building includes a chapel dedicated to gods of law, a good-sized library, arcane workrooms, and the Fort Inevitable offices of the Order of the Gate. This is the domain of Signifer Oritian Hast, a brilliant and articulate man who makes a great show of providing wise counsel to the lady commander on all magical matters. As the most extensive library in Fort Inevitable and a center of magical knowledge, the Chancery serves as something of a Hellknight-sponsored wizards’ guild. The licensing and charter processes are expensive and time-consuming, but a mage with the coin and the patience can become a patron of the Chancery, with special privileges for library access and workroom usage—the Order of the Gate is always on the lookout for potential recruits, after all.
32. Commander’s Citadel:
The single strongest fortification in the Crusader Road region, the Commander’s Citadel is a roomy, octagonal tower more than 90 feet tall. Round turrets at the corners of the main structure provide excellent fields of fire both inside and outside the city wall. The main door opens on the bailey inside the walls, but there is also a small postern (usually locked) that leads outside the city wall to the shore of Misty Lake. The Citadel is home to Lady Commander Audara Drovust, as well as 40 Hellknights of the Order of the Pike and a number of servants. In addition to living quarters, it houses kitchens, a banquet hall, offices for town officials, a small chapel, extensive cellars for food storage, a well, and dungeons for holding prisoners of special interest to the lady commander. The Citadel’s routine business is in the hands of the castellan, a Hellknight named Karn Kerromick, while the lady commander’s personal schedule and appointments are managed by the chamberlain, Erron Nythist. Those who wish to speak to Lady Drovust finds that they’ll need to explain their business to the castellan or the chamberlain first.
33. Temple of the Golden Key:
One of the largest and most ornate buildings in town, the Temple of the Golden Key is dedicated to the worship of Abadar, god of law and commerce. Hellknights under arms do not set foot in the temple without asking permission from the ranking priest present, and the lady commander does not involve herself in ecclesiastical matters. The current leader of the temple is High Mother Sarise Dremagne, who oversees a small staff of three junior acolytes, a handful of servants, and a number of laypeople who serve as deacons and attendants. The temple is routinely packed on days of worship, and a fair number of Hellknights (mostly from the Order of the Nail) are usually in attendance.
34. Goldfoot’s Mercantile:
At the east end of North Way stand two large warehouses, just across the street from a bustling counting-house and workshop. These buildings are the headquarters of the prosperous trading house Goldfoot’s Mercantile, under the proprietorship of Mormuk Goldfoot. The business deals in commodities, buying up large quantities of refined materials such as cured leather, bolts of cloth, metal ingots, furs, spices, and wines, and shipping them to where they’ll command the highest prices. Goldfoot’s employs a dozen clerks and laborers, none of them slaves. Mormuk is a fat, good-natured dwarf, and takes pride in being good company. He dislikes the Hellknights’ regime, but believes that prosperity is the best response to oppression.
35. Juliver Leather Goods:
This store sells armor, clothing, saddles, tack and harness, and other goods made from leather. The proprietor is a competent leatherworker named Salle Ulmander. The rear of the building is the workshop, while the front is the store. Salle supervises two younger brothers and a cousin, teaching them leatherworking as she
manages the business and the household. The Ulmanders are newcomers, having emigrated from Tymon in search of a new place to set up their family trade.
36. The Salamander Company:
The Salamander Company is the largest and most successful mercenary band in the area. The Salamanders march under a black banner featuring the emblem of a scarlet salamander; they number almost 200, scattered all over the River Kingdoms in small bands on different contracts. Currently, around 30 mercenaries are available for hire in Fort Inevitable. The leader of the Salamanders is a battle-tested war-mage named Red Shireena. She is fairly selective about recruits, and usually requires prospective Salamanders to prove their worth by sparring on the training grounds. Salamander Company mercenaries are generally paid 1 to 10 gp per day based on experience and talents, plus whatever they can pick up on the side during their assignments.
37. Tsador’s Arms:
The best weapon shop in Fort Inevitable is Tsador’s Arms, owned and operated by the half-orc weaponsmith Tsador Ironmaker. Tsador is a surly, sour-tempered fellow with a greedy streak a mile wide; he runs his forges with slaves toiling at the bellows and poorly paid apprentice smiths hammering at the hot iron, and barely remembers to feed and clothe the lot of them. Tsador sells a good deal of cheaply made work, but he is actually a talented weaponsmith when motivated by the promise of a big payday. For custom orders (such as masterwork or enchanted blades), he typically charges 20 to 30 percent more than the listed price, but the work is really quite good.
38. The Helmed Lady:
The second taphouse in Fort Inevitable is the Helmed Lady, located between Fountain Square and the North Way. The tavern takes its name from the statue of Tarwynna in the nearby fountain. The proprietor is an aged dwarf named Kagnin Alemaster. Kagnin’s sons are adventurers of note, and she proudly displays mementos of their journeys around the taproom. They are rarely at home, so she employs a sizable staff of serving maids and brewer’s assistants to create her excellent beer. The Helmed Lady is popular with the average citizens, but Hellknights do most of their drinking at the Red Shield.
39. Lord Commander’s Granary:
These four large silos hold a huge reserve of grain. The Hellknights buy up the first quarter of each local farmer’s harvest and set it aside. Unfortunately, the lady commander sets the rates at which the town buys its reserve from the farmers, so the grain-growers don’t make much money on what they sell to the granary. However, in times of plenty they come out ahead, since even if the granary hasn’t been drawn down in a given season, a certain amount of stored grain must be replaced each year.
40. Dilapidated House:
This house has stood vacant for several years. The Hellknights are preparing to take possession of the place and auction it off.
41. Abernard Royst’s House:
A white-haired sage of 55 years, Abernard Royst is one of the most notable adventurers permanently residing in Fort Inevitable. Abernard is a cantankerous fellow who spends most of his time engaged in research and experimentation. He rarely risks life and limb in dungeons anymore, but always has a long list of unusual materials or difficult tasks he’s willing to hire adventuring parties to acquire or perform for him. He often takes in apprentices, and proves to be a much more considerate master than his gruff personality would suggest. Abernard is always careful to observe the laws of Fort Inevitable
42. Juliver Gate:
Identical in construction to the Mosswater Gate (area 9), the Juliver Gate is home to another dozen Hellknight guards, led by an officer name Bolgur. The Juliver Road continues southeast for about 70 miles until it reaches the town of Sezgin in the realm of Lambreth.
43. Town Sewers:
Fort Inevitable’s streets are drained by a well-built sewer system that empties into a small creek on the north side of the city wall. The discharge is covered by a locked grate, but anyone with a little determination can enter the city’s sewers here. The sewer network has several other access points in town, including locked staircases near the Mosswater Gate and the Mardyl Barracks, plus a handful of secret entrances in the cellars of various homes and businesses. In the sewers, vermin such as rats, centipedes, and cockroaches sometimes gather in dangerous numbers. Worse yet, bands of gremlins haunt the disused tunnels, though the lady commander attributes their mischief to “criminals and malcontents.”
Mustafa al-Tali
