XP: 500
As the bards tell it:
Eli Margrimm is not remembered by history but his works are. As governor of Ladora, he built the road that runs the length of the province. It finally united the disparate people of the land and allowed commerce to gain a foothold in what had once been a backwater territory. As arterial roads connected to the main vein, Ladora's people prospered. But none more so than Eli.
Eli was not a cruel man. He was generous to a fault and he lived well. He believed he was well-liked and, for the most part, he was correct. However, his great wealth attracted a group of murderers and thieves. Confronted in his manor on the coast, they stabbed the governor and cast his body into the sea. As his life ended, fate plucked him from the path to the afterlife.
A curse fell upon Ladora. The man who proudly built the road that connected people would travel upon it once more in a black spectral carriage. Those unfortunate enough to be in Eli's path would have their souls taken, dragged to the black manor that overlooks the sea. Once home, Eli's spirit seemed to return to rest.
The soulless husks became undead after time and rampage across the land until one of the powerful regents dispatched paladins to bring order back to the land. And the tale of Eli would be forgotten, until it happened again and again...Every hundred years, so the story went, the Black Carriage would travel the land collecting souls and the short-lived memories of people turned the grim story into a fairy tale.
A modern age:
As time has passed, the yoke of feudalism has been lifted from the populace. No longer bound to serve a king or queen, people served their own interests and learned new ways to live their lives. Merchants were as esteemed as royalty, a hardworking farmer treated better than the few remaining landed knights. Nobility was for show and a person could rise beyond their station with hard work, creativity and ingenuity.
Monsters are a rare sighting, living in the relative, secluded peace of the forests of Ladora. Thus, the life of a wandering adventurer is an anomaly and met with hearty amounts of skepticism. A peacekeeper who can manage a rowdy drunk is more valued than a stranger waving a sword around for gold and glory. Brigands still manage to make life harder for the common folk, but they do not have as much free reign as they used to.
Though the worship of Sarenrae and Shelyn enjoys a widespread acceptance, other religions have had a harder time maintaining a presence in the land. Some whispered prayers to Abadar and Erastil can be heard. The evil gods have been forgotten, except by isolated cultists. There are no grand temples, no ostentatious church moderating people's faith. Personal choice is valued and atheism is tolerated.
Rosewood's Villagers
