Below you will find the draft for White Chalk Hollow. You can view a complete PDF of what I've written or collected for a sourcebook on Daggerdale by clicking the link in my sig. As always, any feedback and corrections to be made would be much appreciated.
White Chalk Hollow
Where a dusty trail turns north off of the Black Road towards Hadreth’s Glen, travelers will find the quiet little town of White Chalk Hollow nestled in a valley that goes by the same name. The folk here keep a wary eye on all who enter their stockade. They keep an even warier eye on those who live right outside their walls.
White Chalk Hollow (Thorp): Conventional; AL N; 40 gp limit; Assets 48 gp; Population 29; Isolated (humans 99%).
Authority Figures: Darlar Melinth, CE male Vaasan human werewolf lord cleric of Malar 11; Nathyn Aldegran, NG male Vaasan human ranger of Mielikki 6/sworn slayer 5.
Citizens: Adp1, Brd1, Com6, Com3, Com2, Com1 (8), Exp4, Exp2, Exp1, fighter 4, fighter 2, fighter 1, Rog3, War4, War2, War1 (2).
Visiting White Chalk Hollow
After passing by field after field of wheat, corn, and oats, travelers find themselves standing before the thorp of White Chalk Hollow. The town itself sits atop a low butte that the citizens of the town have ringed with a five foot rock wall. Gates, flanked by wooden towers, guard the south and north entrances to the village. The homes are built of sod, white stone, lumber, or a combination of the three. There are more than three times the towns population that lives and works at farms throughout the valley.
Visitors looking for a comfortable bed and friendly company won’t find either in this town. Residents expect travelers to do their business, mind their business, and get their business on the road by the next morning.
INN
4. Dusty Road Inn: This quiet, two story inn is owned by the sour, ill-tempered, and cranky Ender (LN male Vaasan human commoner 2). What he lacks in friendliness, he makes up for it in tidiness and culinary ability. Ender inherited ownership of the Dusty Road when his mother passed away some years ago. A traveler can stay the night for three thumbs (cp), get dinner for three thumbs (cp) and a Billy Stoat Beer for six thumbs (cp).
The ground floor is constructed of white stone cut from the valley’s west wall generations ago, with the second story built of pine that has turned black over the years because of coats of sealant and age. Upon entering the inn, visitors discover very low ceilings on the main floor, such that sitting at the bar or at a table is the only way to keep from bumping their heads. The second floor is a large open room with a rack full of rolled wool blankets. Here, visitors sleep on one of the wool blankets laid on the floor with a equally itchy wool blanket to cover up with. There are no private chambers for rent. While it is not the most comfortable, Ender washes the bedding after every use, and it beats sleeping outdoors in the rain or worse.
Brief History
While the valley was being farmed for hundreds of years prior, the town of White Chalk Hollow wasn’t officially established until the construction of the Dusty Road Inn was finished in the Year of Eagle and Falcon (976 DR). It was built at a midpoint for the laborers and soldiers making their way north to Fort Orcskull, and the ready supply of locally grown and raised food made feeding the guests relatively inexpensive. The inn was built upon a low butte that was located in the middle of a large valley known as White Chalk Hollow. The name was coined by House Morn farm hands who used white stone found along the western edge of the valley for construction of many of the valley’s buildings.
For the two decades leading up to the foundation of Fort Orcskull being laid, House Morn struggled to keep their farms in the valley protected from the Shattered Stone Orcs that raided periodically. Fort Orcskull worked as a distraction for the Shattered Stone Orcs, but White Chalk Hollow continued to see sporadic raids by beast-men, hobgoblins, leucrotta, and worse. The farms were almost lost during the last years before the turn of the century. House Morn soldiers were stretched very thin and they were nearly driven bankrupt as the Morns sent what aid they could to the various holds as Daggerfolk battled an increasing number of lycanthropic Malarites taking up residence along the border of Cormanthor and the never-ending stream of wizard would-be conquers and their guardians.
Edvard, of House Morn, used the Sword of the Dales to slowly return peace to the dale. It was during this time that Edvard discovered the cause behind the rise of werewolves in the southern reaches of the dale. House Melinth, which had kept its lycanthropic heritage secret, had started a covert war against the newly risen House Iryth. The Melinths believed that Irythkeep was constructed upon lands held by that belonged to their house. In response to this affront, House Melinth infected a small tribe of orcs north of Irythkeep with lycanthrope, and set them against the Iryth family and their retainers.
Edvard and his hunters were unable to save House Iryth from the designs of House Melinth, but they were able to slay the tribe of infected orcs and track down as slay every last member of House Melinth except one; Olandire they captured. Edvard asked the heir of House Melinth to swear an oath that he and his line will forever serve House Morn and protect the people of Daggerdale. Olandire’s oath was magically sealed and he was sent north to White Chalk Hollow to be raised by Aldegran, a retired captain of House Morn’s soldiers.
Over the past four centuries, House Melinth has grown prosperous again and has effectively protected the Daggerfolk of White Chalk Hollow from all sorts of evil denizens. The residents of the town know those of House Melinth are a cruel and blood thirsty lot, but are unaware of any of that house taking the life of a resident of the valley. Little does anyone know that the magical bindings placed upon the house centuries ago have been unraveling over the past couple decades since they were damaged during the Time of Troubles (1358 DR).
Important Sites
While White Chalk Hollow may not host places like the beautiful Lathander’s Light in Dagger Falls or the famous Schnapps Queen Tavern of Green Orb, the people of White Chalk Hollow do have a few places that they take pride in or are important to their day to day lives.
1. ALDEGRAN’S FARM
The Aldegran family has called White Chalk Hollow home for longer than any other family in the valley. In the early 1000s the family’s founding father, Aldegran, took up management of a farm, just north off the butte from the Dusty Road Inn, when he retired from work as a House Morn soldier. Shortly before his family began work on the farm, Lord Edvard Morn requested that he foster the last member of House Melinth. Aldegran was well aware of the power that ran in the Melinth’s bloodline and sought to raise the teen as best he could. Nothing he did though could take the evil out of the boy and Aldegran was greatly saddened when his daughter and Olandire announced their love for one another. For centuries, the loyal Aldegran family has been a check to the rising power of their relatives in House Melinth. While the werewolves of the Melinth family were oath bound from harming Daggerfolk and magically prevented from spreading the curse by any other means than procreation, that didn’t stop them from covertly subjugating every natural and inflicted lycanthrope in the Tesh Valley. And the Aldegran’s have dedicated their lives to hunting down those who break free from the leaches of House Melinth.
Every Aldegran family member, regardless of gender, serves as one of House Morn’s soldiers before returning home to take up their responsibilities at one of House Morn’s farms. Once they return home, they live the double life of a simple farmer and a hunter of lycanthropes. They often recruit dedicated souls to their cause to serve as farm hands by day and training them to battle lycanthropes by night.
The head of the Aldegran family is Nathyn, an average looking man with long black hair. Dark stubble covers his face, nearly up to his cheekbones. While his eyes often look dark with worry, he is a man who is quick to find humor in most situations. As the House Morn reeve of White Chalk Hollow, Nathyn reports directly to Randal Morn the status of the Morn farms and the threat poised by House Melinth.
2. HOLLOW STOCK YARDS
The northwest part of White Chalk Hollow is fenced off to form the Hollow Stock Yards. Every tenday on ninth-day, the Yards host a sale. While these sales don’t draw the quantity or quality in livestock that the Tethyamarside sales do, it still draws every farmer and rancher within a days ride. Although, any ninth-day can see the sale of any type of livestock, set days will see a majority of a certain kind sold on that day. The first ninth-day of the month sees cattle and oxen being sold; the second is dedicated to pigs, sheep, and goats; the third is set aside for horses, mules, and donkeys; and the fourth sees mostly poultry as well as other types livestock such as rabbits and dogs.
The Yards are managed by Jeflan (LN male Vaasan human commoner 4), who is known by the locals as “Yardboss”. Yardboss is a tall, dark haired man with a quick, calculating mind and a strong, loud voice. He is a trusted individual who fairly settles all business disputes.
3. COMMUNAL BARN
The communal barn is a sturdy structure built entirely of the white stone from the western edge of the valley, roofed with slate. In times of peace, it houses food stores for winter and times of poor harvest. When White Chalk Hollow is attacked, folk of the valley are encouraged to hold up in the barn for protection.
5. SHRINE TO CHAUNTEA
This stone shrine is built of rocks pulled from fields, chiseled to fit perfectly together. The folk of White Chalk Hollow take great pride in their shrine to Chauntea. The shrine always has small baskets filled with various types of grains, that local residents take after leaving some produce behind to replace it. This informal trading system, set up by a cleric of Chauntea long ago, insures that the villagers get some variety in their diets.
While no cleric of Chauntea resides within White Chalk Hollow, a couple of traveling clerics do stop by every now and then and on important holidays and special occasions.
6. SMITHY
Burher (N male Vaasan human expert 2) is the smith of White Chalk Hollow. He is a short, thick man who lacks the imagination to forge anything other than the tools and supplies needed by the local farmers. He is a very hard worker who is rarely seen outside of his shop. He is without a doubt the most untrusting individual in the valley, and will refuse to do any kind of mending for “addle headed adventurers”.
7. MELINTH MANOR
Melinth Manor, partial built into the side of the butte that White Chalk Hallow is built upon, is as much feared as it is respected by the local folk. It is a very large log structure which has more of a hunting lodge look than a lord-mayor’s manor. Antlers, horns, and skulls of every type of animal and some other beasts that call the Tesh Valley home, are tucked underneath the eves of the roof, giving the manor the look of a jagged tooth maw.
Long has House Melinth been collared by the magically binding oath that their ancestor swore to House Morn centuries ago. For the benefit of Daggerdale, their rage has been spent upon orcs, beast-men, and the occasional Zhentarim caravan. Lord Melinth thirsts for control of more than just his house and the lycanthropes his family brings under their control. Fortunately, his daughter Darlara (CE female Vaasan human werewolf lord cleric of Malar 3), does not seem to be bound by the age old oath. His daughter is just becoming a woman and Lord Melinth is not yet sure how to make use of his first born in his grab for power. Darlara, on the other hand, is unsure if she is willing to play as her father’s pawn in whatever schemes his is planning.
8. HARDEGER’S FARM
The Hardeger farm is one of the few farms in White Chalk Hollow that is not owned by House Morn. Hardeger (LN male Vaasan human commoner 3), known more commonly as Hardy, is the second to go by that name. His father, the first Hardeger, took over the abandoned farm and worked the dirt into a very productive piece of land. Hardy is as good as a businessman as he is a farmer and has invested wisely in various operations throughout northern Daggerdale.
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A Detail of White Chalk Hollow
Posted - 15 Feb 2010 : 23:34:44
