Inside the Kern Valley Towers

Fortune's Keep is a Tower in the Kern Valley near to where the River Calix runs into the Summer Meadows.  South lies the Fairelund Forest, a small separate wood exists closer to the tower called Starbound Wood in which there is a natural cross shaped clearing called “Starbound cross”.  To the North lies the Valley of Kings and the Aldonar tombs. To the East lie the Summer Meadows and eventually the Dragur Forest and to the West the Great Mountains that encircle Orin Rakatha. The Tower was previously held by the Shendai and uninhabited since then until the Valley peoples moved in when attaining a second tower. The White Retreat is a days walk to the Southwest (lying on the border of Fairelund Forest) and Wolfhold is a days walk Northwest (lying close to Valgrind Pass). To the Northeast lies a tower once held by the Catacombs of Asherai sheltered behind the Starkadh mountains.

The Fallow Hills surround the Tower and the tower itself is nestled in a small Valley between the Hills known as Fastwind, Brightside, Redback, Weathertop and Cloudblade where a tributary of the River Calix runs. A number of "Ways", old well established paths that have existed since time immemorial, lead you away from the Tower in a number of directions. The Ranger's Trail is a main path that runs past the Tower running North all the way to Maegnor Swamp and South skirting the Fairelund Forest before heading towards Mount Grimm. It is on these Ways that Waystations are dotted every half a day to days walk and are the main paths used by all the peoples of Orin Rakatha to travel the lands.

Cresting one of the hills surrounding the Tower you get a panoramic view of the Tower itself and surrounding the Tower are a number of outbuildings including the Barracks, Temple, Schools of Magic and the Academy of Alchemy. These are very familiar to the adventurers of Fortune's Keep as this is where they spend most of their working time, when not on patrol although there are few sleeping quarters as everyone lives in the Tower itself. The Fortune's Keep Inn is the most prominent building next to the Tower where the visitors to the Tower stay.

In the Tower proper there are the Halls and the Sectors. The Halls is the Physical building in which the doors to the various Sectors are found. 

Fortunes Keep is governed by 13 Lords, 12 Sector Lords and the Castellan, Lazarus Steel, who speak with the voice of the Adventurers, in recognition of the sacrifice and danger they face on behalf of the peoples of the Valleys. 

The Halls

The Halls is the Physical building in which the doors to the various sectors are found. There is a Master of the Halls (called the Seneschal) with a small staff of Caretakers including the Gatekeeper and the Master of the Keys. Most Adventurers have only a passing acquaintance with these men. There are many doors to the 12 Sectors and a limited amount of living space which is mainly filled with the Caretakers. The Lords of Fortunes Keep have agreed that in order to exclude competition and strife between them that they will all pledge their Status to the Seneschal who will not be allowed to leave the Tower except at the Time of Reckoning. In return the Seneschal has pledged to seek no power of any but his small team of Caretakers.

The Sectors

Each Sector has around 500 inhabitants although some are larger, some smaller and consists of a small collection of buildings next to the entrance and as variety of fertile farmland. Each Sector Lord has need of men at arms, scouts, mages for magical advice and priests to see to the spiritual needs of the inhabitants. Each Sector is slightly different and although all have farmers and craftsmen etc these tend to be in different types. Some details on the Sectors is below.

The Hospital

The Hospital is the only sector you are likely to see members of other Towers in.

The Hospital cares for the poor, sick & injured within its main treatment rooms for usual injuries, it also has a number of quarantine stations to contain any unknown diseases, laboratories for the investigation of illnesses and diseases, and also houses the Mortuary of Fortunes Keep. In the immediate vicinity of the Hospital are a number of Physik gardens, where healing herbs are grown

There are several Gardens of Convalescence where patients with various disorders are taken for a little peace, and for those recovering from serious illness as well as an Asylum for those who have lost their sanity.

Treatment in the Hospital is for free although people who are successfully cured are asked to make a donation or perhaps perform a small service on behalf of the Hospital. Members of the Hospital attend the Training camps teaching all new recruits the art of Discerning Wounds (Basic Diagnosis) and Binding Wounds (Basic First Aid)

The Forge

The Forge is an area of the tower that gathers together many of the artificers of Fortune’s Keep – the people who make swords, armour, shields & tools sure but also Tanners, Glassblowers, Coopers, Magic Item Smiths etc. The Forge also includes “The Kitchens” which is a large force of cooks and serving staff that include the Slaughterhouse & Butchery, which deals with all the livestock in the Sector, and is where much of the Leather comes from, the Mills & the Bakery, the Brewery etc. and whose members include the traveling Cooks who bring good Fortune’s Keep cooking to the grateful adventurers in the field.

Also nicknamed “Sulphur Town”, or “The Smoke” many that live within the Forge Sector are dirty (from all the soot in the air) and who go masked (to prevent “the smoke cough”) and tend to carry small perfumed posies against the stink, many wear leather and some find the outside very cold when compared to living close to the furnaces. Fiercely independent and proud the people of the Forge are vital to keep the Tower functioning and know it.

The Master of the Anvil leads the various crafters, the Master of the Furnace leads the various Fire mages who keep the furnaces going and the Master Bellows attempts to move the air through the Sector to alleviate the worst of the smoke.

In the Forge is the Valleys Armoury which provides generic fitting armour for all New Recruits, if they wish it, and also makes all the weapons and shields used by the Tower.

The Valley Archive

Every book, every scroll, every note written by anyone in the Valley makes its way here. The Librarians are tasked to make a copy of every written word encountered by the Valley people and also to keep copies of all the books owned by the Valley peoples.

The Sector includes a few buildings around the library itself which include the Scriptorium (where many Librarians faithfully make their copies) a Paper Mill and a Dye works. The Archive’s gardens are used to grown many plants (and animals) used to create the various papers, dyes and inks used in creating books and scrolls. All the Candles used in Fortunes Keep come from here.

Darkhome

Housing many of those who have come from Wolfhold, including the majority of the Drow, Darkhome is ruled by Dreadlord Araikis. Darkhome produce “night blooms” (i.e. mushrooms & other exotic plants that flower in the dark) and its inhabitants must perform a very strict blackout during night time (they are allowed lights but lights are not allowed to show outside).

Aether Town

In the Sector surrounding Aether Town large "Mana Accumulators" are dotted around the countryside and these spark & crackle with Magic. The very air feels thick and alive. Sometimes from those, Sparks Sprites are born - of a variety of colours. Also present are many waterwheels, aqueducts and other more outlandish devices and the locals are encouraged to use ingenuity & inventiveness in their everyday tasks

In Aether Town itself there are many inventors, machinists and purveyors of novelty devices.

The 6 Boroughs

A sector of lakes, rivers and canals the Six Boroughs are 5 islands connected by bridge or boat. Each Island has a Taranor Noble & also the Bridges together are taken as a separate Borough.

The ancient Taranor divisions are - Pillar of Light, Edge of Darkness, The Encircling Earth, Plentiful Waters, The Etched island and The Thousand Bridges. Each Noble House is built on a bridge with a tower each end of the bridge and small buildings each side. Traversing the many waterways are “Tramontin” a guild of boatmen. Taranor are artisans creating beautiful works of art and music.

Sector 7

This Sector is sparsely populated. The Sector appears to be controlled by the Valley Lizardmen. This Sector has a long and colourful history and adventurers are advised to consult the archives if they wish to know more about this Sector. Currently no adventurers live in this Sector as it was until recently secured however on Vortex Scale was killed and it is thought that it may open to the general population soon.

The Marketplace

The Marketplace is where everything is for sale. It makes all the various outputs of the other Sectors available intra-tower. As Towers abide by the Law (All Towers shall have autonomous resources to remain viable & Neither Towers nor their yield shall be used to succour those without Tower) Inter-Tower trading is limited. For example individual Dai-Fah-Dyne can make a living selling potions etc. but there’s no big money in moving goods from tower to tower. Within the Marketplace are “Brokers” who deal on behalf of the other Sectors. A number of merchants rule the Sector but they are a secretive bunch desirous of anonymity.

The apartments here are the most sumptuous of any Sector but cost a pretty penny.

The Temple of 4 Winds

The 4 Winds were tools of the Mystics that through misuse became unbalanced and corrupt. Via a long series of events the adventurers of Fortunes keep rebalanced the Winds and promised to create a Temple to perform the necessary rites and ceremonies to keep the 4 Winds in balance. A Sector previously dedicated to farming has been allocated to the new Temple and volunteers are being sought to help create the necessary priesthood. The Lord of this Sector changes according to which Wind is in ascendancy which is dependent upon the seasons. The 4 Winds are North (Ice) called Boreas, South (Fire) called Sirocco, East (Blood) called Lavanter and West (Dark) called Coromel.

The Warrens

A Sector comprising much rougher land which also holds a complex maze of caves and is home to the many of Fortunes Keep goblinoid's, as the Sector is ruled by the Goblin King. His subjects are divided into tribal holdings living in fortified palisades and caves as they did on Murandir. Although the goblinoids are more hunter gatherer than agrarian many of the tribes do keep flocks of sheep or herds of cattle for which there is plenty of pastureland.

The Citadel

Modelled on the old White retreat on Murandir, the Citadel is a large fort surrounded by neatly parceled out farmlands. The fort itself houses the Knightly Orders of Fortunes Keep as well as a Chapel of contemplation. The Citadel has a standing force of militia and generally has a militaristic feel.

The Menagerie

This is a Sector that has been turned into something of a zoo. There are botanical and zoological gardens here where Vetzlar breeds various animals and plants. It provides many of the ingredients needed by the Academy of Alchemy to make potions and items.

The Adventurers of this Sector are expected to return with specimens from their travels. There is a vast laboratory and several buildings known only by the number on the door. Vetzlar employs a number of Goblinoids to do his bidding. In addition, the Warlugs and remaining Ash-Gnazi are known to make their home in this Sector. There are a number of old men who work for Vetzlar who are generally dressed in stained leather and appear to be blind & he also has an army of children who he has acquired via debts that their parents have owed to him, these are termed Tithe-Children– only these trusted servants (the old blind men and the tithe-children) are allowed into some of the numbered buildings. Those that have been privileged to visit Vetzlar’s quarters report that he has a great number of jars of specimens including a room of pickled stillborns (well its assumed they’re stillborn) of many different species.

The Training Camps

The Barracks, Temple, Schools of Magic & Academy of Alchemy training camps are outside the Tower and looked after by Lazarus Steel - there is also a larger area outside the Tower in the general vicinity of groves and outlying watch posts that are looked after by Arbor who along with the Masters of the Training Camps reports to Lazarus Steel.

The Training Camps are continuing to provide all training necessary for the Adventurers of the Kingdom of Valleys, despite the Guilds being in disarray, due to the devastation caused by the fall of both the White Retreat and Wolfhold. The Camps themselves are not really organisations being merely the collection of buildings that the adventurers go to to study and train. Adventurers pledge their oath of fealty to their Sector Lord and a number of tutors are made available to continue to teach the skills once taught by the Guilds. Adventurers can choose to live in any Sector and pledge their allegiance to any of the Sector Lords regardless of race or class – it is just as possible to be a human Fire Mage living in the Citadel as it is for an Elven Warrior to live in the Warrens if they so wish.

The Lords

The Lords govern the Valley and ensure that all the people are protected and have their needs met. In return the people render their labour and pay their respects to the lords. 

The Adventurers

The Adventurers are the standing army of the Tower who due to the nature of Orin Rakatha are used to perform all the tasks outside the Tower that are deemed necessary by the Lords of Fortunes Keep. All player characters are Adventurers who should choose which Sector they wish to live in and which Lord they wish to give their Oath of Fealty to.