Post by DM on May 2, 2006 15:47:53 GMT -5
The Village of Hommlet - Hommlet as it is commonly called - is situated in the central part of the Flanaess, that portion of eastern Oerik Continent which is known and “civilized”. The village (actually a small town, tough local parlance distinguishes it with the term “village”) is located some 10 or so leagues southeast of the town of Verbobonc, on the fringe of the territory controlled by its noble Lord, the Viscount of Verbobonc. It is at a crossroads. To the north is the mighty Velverdyva River, along whose south bank runs the Lowroad. Many days’ travel to the east, on the shores of the Lake of Unknown Depths (Nyr Dyv) is the great walled city of Dyvers, the village of Sobanwych about halfway along that route. Below that to the southeast and east are miles and miles of forest, the Gnarley, beyond which is the Wild Coast, Woolly Bay, and the Sea of Geamat. The road south forks a league or so beyond the little community, one meandering off towards the Wild Coast, the other rolling through the lower Kron Hills to the village of Ostverk and then eventually turning southwards again into the elven Kingdom of Celene. The western route leads into the very heart of the gnomish highlands, passing through Greenway Valley about a day’s travel distant and going onwards to the Lortmil Mountains far beyond.
Hommlet grew from a farm or two, a rest house, and a smithy. The roads brought a sufficient number of travelers and merchant wagons to attract tradesmen and artisans to serve those passing through. The rest house became a thriving inn, a wheel and wainwright settled in the thorp, and more farmers and herdsmen followed, for grain was needed for the passing animals, and meat was in demand for the innfolk. Prosperity was great, for the lord of the district was mild and taxed but little. Trade was good, and the land was untroubled by war or outlaws or ravaging beasts. The area was too free, too beautiful, too bountiful, at least in the eyes of some. Whether the evil came west from Dyvers as is claimed by one faction, or crept up out of the forestlands bordering the Wild Coast as others assert, come it did. At first it was only a few thieves and an odd group of bandits molesting the merchant caravans. Then came small bands of humanoids - kobolds or goblins - raiding the flocks and herds. Local militia and foresters of the Waldgraf of Ostverk apparently checked, but not stopped, the spread of outlawry and evil.
A collection of hovels and their slovely inhabitants formed the nucleus for the troubles which were to increase. A wicked cleric established a small chapel at this point. The folk of Hommlet tended to ignore Nulb, even though it was but six miles distant. The out-of-the-way position was ideal for the fell purposes planned for this settlement, as was its position on a small river flowing into the Velverdyva. The thickets and marshes around Nulb became the lair and hiding place for bandits, brigands, and all sorts of evil men and monsters alike. The chapel grew into a stone temple as its faithful brought in their ill-gotten tithes. Good folk were robbed, pillaged, enslaved, or worse. In but three years a grim and foreboding fortress surrounded the evil place, and swarms of creatures worshipped and worked their wickedness there. The servants of the Temple of Elemental Evil made Hommlet and the lands for leagues around a mockery of freedom and beauty. Commerce ceased, crops withered, pestilence was abroad. As their power increased, the Temple clerics built a small keep, known as the moathouse, not far from Hommlet. From this base, they planned to launch raids and secure their fortunes in the west. Fortunately for Hommlet, those who commanded the Temple were not overly concerned with the village but with more powerful strongholds to the north. When their corruption spread, it drew the attention of armies the Temple was not yet prepared to deal with.
A great battle was fought to the east, and when villagers saw streams of ochre-robed men and humanoids fleeing south and west through their community, there was great rejoicing, for they knew that the murderous oppressors had been defeated and driven from the field in panic and rout.
So great was the slaughter, so complete the victory of good, that the walled stronghold of the Temple of Elemental Evil fell within a fortnight, despite the aid of a terrible demon. The place was ruined and sealed against a further return of such abominations by powerful blessings and magic. Life quickly returned to a semblance of what it had been before the rise of the Temple, and in the decade since, the village and surrounding countryside have in fact become more rich and prosperous than ever before. A monstrous troll which plagued the place for a time was hunted down by a body of passing adventurers. With its ashes, these fellows returned a goodly fortune as well, leaving a portion with the villagers to repay them for their losses before going elsewhere to seek their fortunes. Other adventurers, knowing of the evil that had once resided in the area, came to seek out similar caches, and not a few did locate remote lairs and find wealth - just as some never returned at all. After some five years, adventurers stopped coming to the area, as it seemed that no monsters were left to slay, no evil existed here to be stamped out. For four years thereafter, this seemed true, but then bandits began to ride the roads again - not frequently, but to some effect. This seemed all too familiar somehow to the good folk of Hommlet, so they send word to the Viscount that wicked forces might still lurk thereabouts.
This time, however, the inhabitants of Hommlet chose to get involved. A young man named Elmo and his brother Otis worked with Canoness Y’dey of the Church of St. Cuthbert to spy on the Temple’s activities. They helped small bands of adventurers overcome the evil cleric in the moathouse and the more powerful foes in the temple - not the least of which was a demon lord who was eventually banished back into the Abyss. This time, the dungeons beneath the temple were collapsed, and it appeared that the place was finally overcome.
In the years that followed, the town prospered as never before. With the Temple and Hommlet on the lips of many throughout the countryside, the former hamlet grew into a village and eventually a small town. Two men involved with the fall of the original Temple, Rufus and Burne, settled in Hommlet and built a keep. They were granted the town and the lands around it to protect and nurture. More churches sprang up to serve the needs of the growing population, and some are even talking now of building a wall around the town.
Today, Hommlet is a town with a population of just under one thousand. Only twelve years ago, it was a hamlet of around one hundred people, although even most folk referred to it as a village. Above all, Hommlet is a peaceful, contented place. Its people are well fed, safe, and happy with their lot. However, they are wary, for their happiness has been threatened more than once in the past. The people, particularly those who have lived in town a long time, watch with interest the comings and goings of suspicious strangers, and they keep an eye on the old moathouse and Temple that were sites of not one, but two malevolent insurgencies over the years.
Hommlet grew from a farm or two, a rest house, and a smithy. The roads brought a sufficient number of travelers and merchant wagons to attract tradesmen and artisans to serve those passing through. The rest house became a thriving inn, a wheel and wainwright settled in the thorp, and more farmers and herdsmen followed, for grain was needed for the passing animals, and meat was in demand for the innfolk. Prosperity was great, for the lord of the district was mild and taxed but little. Trade was good, and the land was untroubled by war or outlaws or ravaging beasts. The area was too free, too beautiful, too bountiful, at least in the eyes of some. Whether the evil came west from Dyvers as is claimed by one faction, or crept up out of the forestlands bordering the Wild Coast as others assert, come it did. At first it was only a few thieves and an odd group of bandits molesting the merchant caravans. Then came small bands of humanoids - kobolds or goblins - raiding the flocks and herds. Local militia and foresters of the Waldgraf of Ostverk apparently checked, but not stopped, the spread of outlawry and evil.
A collection of hovels and their slovely inhabitants formed the nucleus for the troubles which were to increase. A wicked cleric established a small chapel at this point. The folk of Hommlet tended to ignore Nulb, even though it was but six miles distant. The out-of-the-way position was ideal for the fell purposes planned for this settlement, as was its position on a small river flowing into the Velverdyva. The thickets and marshes around Nulb became the lair and hiding place for bandits, brigands, and all sorts of evil men and monsters alike. The chapel grew into a stone temple as its faithful brought in their ill-gotten tithes. Good folk were robbed, pillaged, enslaved, or worse. In but three years a grim and foreboding fortress surrounded the evil place, and swarms of creatures worshipped and worked their wickedness there. The servants of the Temple of Elemental Evil made Hommlet and the lands for leagues around a mockery of freedom and beauty. Commerce ceased, crops withered, pestilence was abroad. As their power increased, the Temple clerics built a small keep, known as the moathouse, not far from Hommlet. From this base, they planned to launch raids and secure their fortunes in the west. Fortunately for Hommlet, those who commanded the Temple were not overly concerned with the village but with more powerful strongholds to the north. When their corruption spread, it drew the attention of armies the Temple was not yet prepared to deal with.
A great battle was fought to the east, and when villagers saw streams of ochre-robed men and humanoids fleeing south and west through their community, there was great rejoicing, for they knew that the murderous oppressors had been defeated and driven from the field in panic and rout.
So great was the slaughter, so complete the victory of good, that the walled stronghold of the Temple of Elemental Evil fell within a fortnight, despite the aid of a terrible demon. The place was ruined and sealed against a further return of such abominations by powerful blessings and magic. Life quickly returned to a semblance of what it had been before the rise of the Temple, and in the decade since, the village and surrounding countryside have in fact become more rich and prosperous than ever before. A monstrous troll which plagued the place for a time was hunted down by a body of passing adventurers. With its ashes, these fellows returned a goodly fortune as well, leaving a portion with the villagers to repay them for their losses before going elsewhere to seek their fortunes. Other adventurers, knowing of the evil that had once resided in the area, came to seek out similar caches, and not a few did locate remote lairs and find wealth - just as some never returned at all. After some five years, adventurers stopped coming to the area, as it seemed that no monsters were left to slay, no evil existed here to be stamped out. For four years thereafter, this seemed true, but then bandits began to ride the roads again - not frequently, but to some effect. This seemed all too familiar somehow to the good folk of Hommlet, so they send word to the Viscount that wicked forces might still lurk thereabouts.
This time, however, the inhabitants of Hommlet chose to get involved. A young man named Elmo and his brother Otis worked with Canoness Y’dey of the Church of St. Cuthbert to spy on the Temple’s activities. They helped small bands of adventurers overcome the evil cleric in the moathouse and the more powerful foes in the temple - not the least of which was a demon lord who was eventually banished back into the Abyss. This time, the dungeons beneath the temple were collapsed, and it appeared that the place was finally overcome.
In the years that followed, the town prospered as never before. With the Temple and Hommlet on the lips of many throughout the countryside, the former hamlet grew into a village and eventually a small town. Two men involved with the fall of the original Temple, Rufus and Burne, settled in Hommlet and built a keep. They were granted the town and the lands around it to protect and nurture. More churches sprang up to serve the needs of the growing population, and some are even talking now of building a wall around the town.
Today, Hommlet is a town with a population of just under one thousand. Only twelve years ago, it was a hamlet of around one hundred people, although even most folk referred to it as a village. Above all, Hommlet is a peaceful, contented place. Its people are well fed, safe, and happy with their lot. However, they are wary, for their happiness has been threatened more than once in the past. The people, particularly those who have lived in town a long time, watch with interest the comings and goings of suspicious strangers, and they keep an eye on the old moathouse and Temple that were sites of not one, but two malevolent insurgencies over the years.