Borderlands

Introduction:

The central territory running between the Kingdom of Lhota and Krakonoch is a stretch of land known as the Borderlands. It is a neutral territory currently overseen by Ginneraught the Red Dragon in an effort to push further into the beast-lands. Walking the dividing line between these two kingdoms shows little difference geographically. Stretching from the coast of Downtown to the fishing villages of the Elven Kingdom is a series of broken fences, cobblestone markers, and defensive bunkers. On any given day, these bunkers can be alit with the torches of war, as fifty to one hundred men can be poised ready to retaliate against the hoards of evil charging up from the south. These bunkers are made of cobblestone and clay, a merger of fire resistant sunken homes with several tiers that provide ground and hill cover. Typically, wood and iron are used to fortify the doorways, and on occasion, you'll find deep tunnels that form trenches to either side. The Royal Military runs patrols from one bunker to another, trading places with the currently occupying regiment, keeping the borderlands as a highly active grounds that protects most of the northern Kingdom from invasion.

The borderlands, though under the protection of Lhota, act as their own major territory. Hewn throughout it's landscape are smaller towns that act as major command posts that send and receive information to the rest of the kingdom. the current "capital" of the borderlands is a fortress named Tessa's Hold, owned and operated by the mercenary Champions Guild member 'Smoke Skin' Tessa Roen. As you approach the town, you find it is currently under siege by a hostile invading force of Undead Ogres. The field around the hexagonal fortress is alive with combat; men of all caliber have engaged the enemy in the hundreds. As the combat dies down, the soldiers band together to clean up the blood soaked battlefield, bringing in anything of worth into the town. The large gates remain open until sundown, and as you enter following the soldiers, you notice the cobblestone watchtower sitting in the center. At it's top stands a tan half-elf dressed in dark red armor that look like a coat of dragon scales. She barks orders down to the soldiers, who walk back into the watch-tower, if not for the occasional few being dragged back. The town looks like any other from the inside: multiple tiers of houses dipping down into the center, with smaller shops and a bar where the warriors are seen filing into after sundown. The town has a problem with keeping non fighting citizens, as the threat of battle keeps the mercantile guild from striving further than the Borderlands.

Further west, hidden inside the forests is a small village of druids and clerics called Grey-Thorn. The town is built into and around a small labyrinth of trees that make a protective and confusing barrier against goblin threats; the current leader is a gnome named Ariston Duramen. Coming upon the town is a stroke of luck, as the trees create the perfect blend of camouflage and defense. You eventually find one of the few hidden entrances leading to a massive grove of twisting branches, forning paths under your feet. Beneath the branches is the labyrinth where you see several homes are nesting at the dead-ends, shops sitting between the cross-roads. Staring up through the canopy of leaves, the sunbeams streaming through the branches provide a dazzling warmth to the town. At the far end of town is a massive concave tree, bowed and hollow, where the path walks towards lazily. You enter the tree and step into a deep wooded sanctuary, with clerics sitting around candlelit tables, and Ariston sharpening his blades on his throne. The studded pale gnome is wearing a vest suit made of chainmail, and a small feathered alpine cap of black. He greets you into his domain warmly by offering to duel for the throne. Whether he's joking or not, it's probably not wise to challenge a gnome in his enchanted territory.

Further north is a small industrial town of William's Arch, hosted by Legate "Crank" Ig-Parok, a half-orc businessman. William's Arch is the further from the battle, but sitting on a giant arch of stone allows scouts to plan their travel effectively. Coming out of Andul, William's Arch is the first town you'll come across towards Krakonoch. The arch itself towers over a small settlement underneath it, with houses made of wood and stone. Armor and weapon smiths would travel here to work for the kingdom under contract, paid for their time producing armor and weapons to send to the various bunkers and fortresses towards the battle. Carriages and horse drawn caravan travel along the mudded dirt road underneath the arch, and soldiers consider this the safest "war town" in the borderlands. At the top of the arch is a cobblestone wall lined with archers, torches, and iron bars on windows. Most civilians won't see the inside of the Arx castle, as that is typically reserved for prisoners or generals looking to rest away from the skirmishes. One political leader himself sits at the base of Arx, where a thick cobblestone pillar was built into the side of the stone pass; Ig-Parok goes over transfer papers for warriors coming and going through the pass. He wears a slick white business suit that's just loose enough to hide his natural musculature, and has shoulder-length greying hair; on his suit is a blue diamond insignia denoting he is or was Fislaurel's apprentice. When you pass by his office, he waves you inside and offers you some cake, but seems to busy to eat any himself. You leave after several minutes of silence pass, as he furiously bites on his pencil, staring at a budget paper.

The broken cobblestone walls and wooden fences are constantly being rebuilt by monks passing through on their way from town to town during training. The locale monasteries see to their reconstruction as part of a meditative experience, while roaming cleric groups attempt to find and revitalize the dead lost during the night. This group of devotees are associated with the Verdency Guild, a subchapter called L&S(Lotus and Sarabande), a free movement that nonviolently opposes the war through the caretaking of the Borderlands.