Longknife Marches

Ruler: His Honor, Baron of the Marches and Mayor of Longknife Town, Myron Wegrave
Capital: Longknife Town (pop. 6200)
Population: 25000
Towns and Villages: Askåd (pop. 1200), Fellby (pop. 750), Freehollow (pop. 1550), Rootglen (pop. 1250), Crux (pop. 550), Bend (pop. 1650), Topfield (pop. 920), Birchford (pop. 350), Slosh (pop. 400) and another 10000 spread across farms, ranches, timber camps, and small thorps throughout the area.
Demi-humans: Gnomes, Halflings, some Wood Elves in the Great Forest, and Dwarves in the Skywall mountains.
Humanoids: Many in the hills north of Longknife Town
Resources: Timber, iron, gold, furs, agricultural goods

The area of the Longknife Marches is a frontier land of rolling hills between the North Skywall Mts on the west and the Great Forest on the east. The overall area stretches from Fell Lake to Glimmer Lake, but that is a long definition. Technically, Longknife Marches is part of the Kingdom of Valrorim, and everything between the Fell River and Glimmerun, and the North Great Forest, are "The Longknife Marches of Valrorim", but the will of the King doesn’t stretch this far very strongly. The town of Longknife is about the western edge of civilization, beyond which humans have little dominance.

The lands north of the Rush River - called the North Shire - are wilder and that river forms a border in the Shire, with Longknife Town as the main anchor on it.  The lands south - called the South Shire - from the Rush River to the Glimmer marshes are much bucolic, and they have been heavily cultivated by halflings and other folk over time.

Overall, the old druidic ways are often observed, with the only notable temple in Longknife Town.

Map

Each hex is about 1/4th of the large scale, meaning each hex is 5km across.  From Longknife Town, it is 1 day's travel to Freehollow or Birchford, or 2 days to Crux, Rootglen, or Fellby.  Given the lack of maintained road, it is 3-4 days from Longknife to Askåd.  The blue dotted path is the "river road" (also called the "Glimmerrun Road") for boating and barging goods and trade from Longknife to the rest of the Calardith lands.

Mid-marches

The Mid-marches are the area that includes the Rush Water, Longknife Town, and the Rushwater Monastery

Longknife Town

Longknife Town is the main town and the capital of the Longknife Marches.  See more about Longknife Town here.

Rushwater Lake

Rushwater is a massively deep lake that is a collection point for a LOT of runoff from the North Skywall Mountains, and then is the headwaters for multiple river systems including the Glimmerun, the Great Forest River, and the Fell River passing through Far Borea. Researchers have tried to plumb the depths of the lake, but never had enough line - as far as folk know, the Rushwater is over 200 m deep, but they do not know just how deep, and what may lurk below.

Rushwater Monastery

Between the north shore of the lake and the Skywall mountains perches the Rushwater Monastery.  The monastery was founded by old Master Bai, who was a mysterious practitioner of meditation and exotic fighting styles that is generally unseen in the Calardith region, but is known more as you go west past Silith.  The monastery is a quiet and serene setting that seems only lightly troubled by the trolls and ogres of the Skywall mountains.  Students of all kinds, and often lost souls, find their way to the Monastery to try to find peace.  Many come back out in to the world to learn something more on their way to enlightenment. 

North Shire

The North Shire is characterized by rounded low hills and valleys, fewer trees, but they are typically wild and frequently infiltrated by humanoids from the mountains.  There is rich grazing and potential for agriculture, but the land is often just too dangerous to make that a viable enterprise.

Longknife Hills

To the north of town, between the Fell Tributary and the Gloamwood is a small broken/uplifted country called the Longknife Hills.  These wooded hills are wild and riddled with caves and the goblinoid tribes that raid along the river often lair here. There are many ancient Barakite barrows here as well.  The town militia spends most of its time watching that direction.  The road to Fellby is often dangerous and caravans need protection.

Fellby

Fellby is the "end of the road" before you head out into the open - and haunted - country of the Fell Passage.  While the Longknife Hills are nearby (and often teeming with danger), it is to the north-east that the villagers watch as no good ever comes from the Fell Domain!

Between Longknife and Fellby, about two days travel from each, is the Bast'Inn Inn.  This converted tower inn sees all of the travelers between Longknife and Fellby, which is not many.  Given the dangers of the road, it is a welcome secure respite despite not having any private rooms and all the guests sleep on benches on the second floor.  There are many used but servicable weapons and shields on the walls. See the map here.

Birchford

Birchford is the small village that sits at the only passable fording of the Fell Tributary between the Rush Water and Fell Lake, and thus is the only overland route between Askåd and Longknife Town.  As a result, the town makes some extra money collecting fees to cross the river. (map from Dyson Logos)

South Shire

The South Shire are the homeland of halflings, Forest Gnomes, and other small folk in the Havis Lands. This small, pastoral folk have lived in these vales for as long as any of the “big folk” know. They were gradually revealed as, first, the Barakites separated the Skywall Mts from the Great Forest in their westward expansion, and then, second, as the Havisfolk expanded along the Glimmerun river to settle Longknife. So, the surrounding woods of the Great Forest was parted to reveal these wooded hills, meadows, and pastoral farmland worked by the peaceful Halflings.

South Downs

The South Downs are the rolling, rounded green hill country that characterizes the South Shire.  Unlike the North Shire, there is little incursion and the area is quite agriculturally settled.  There are small thorps and farming settlements dotted all through the area.

Freehollow

Freehollow is a small town nestled in the rolling hills of the South Shire that trades with Longknife. As a result, it is the more “cosmopolitan” of the Two Towns, and an unofficial "capital" of the South Shire. Lightfoot halflings come from Freehollow.  As a cross-roads, many other folk live here as well, and rangers are often seen passing through.

Northwest of Freehollow, two days travel away in the South Shire Hills, was a small halfling thorpe (called Fallmarch) that also had an eccentric halfling wizard that had settled there and built a small tower.  This thorpe and tower were razed in an attack some 80 years back.  Nobody is sure what the motive was, but it was clear that nobody survived.

Between Freehollow and Rootglen, about a days travel from each, is the Woods Edge Inn.  This traveling inn sees a lot of trade traffic between the towns of the South Downs. See the map here.

Rootglen

Rootglen is deep in the South Shire, and therefore is more remote from the world of the “big folk”, making it the more pastoral of the two, covered in wooded dales and farms. Stout halflings and many forest Gnomes come from Rootglen. The folk of Rootglen have many relations with the wood elves of the North Great Forest and the druid covens that find homes around the ancient henge.

Crux

Crux is a small village on the Glimmerrun that is just above where the floodplain of the Glimmerun widens out and creates a marshy region and marks the southern edge of the South Shire.  Crux is a supply point before heading into the marshes.  Crux is also reponsible for maintaining the main dredged channel thru the marshes.  Crux is also sometimes called the southern edge of the South Downs, or the northern-most of the Glimmerun Towns.

Halfway between Crux and Freehollow is the Brick-knuckle Inn.

Glimmerun Towns

South of the South Shire is the Glimmerun Farthing the open country bounded by the Glimmerun River and the North Great Forest.  The Glimmerun Towns are the string of towns that support river travel from the Longknife Shire all the way to Calardith Bay.

Slosh

Slosh is small, damp village roughly mid-way between Bend and Crux.  Being as it is on the west side of the Glimmerun, and operates a ferry, it is often a connection point to the road to Galdurang.  Slosh is built mostly on stilts and people punt from raised building to raised building or use wooden walkways.  There are patches of solid ground, but the town is bigger than the few hummocks.  The ground rises above the water about 300 m from the edge of the village, where the track to meet the Galdurang road starts.  There is a small inn on this solid ground, as well as an inn on stilts by the main channel of the river.  Many of the folk here seem to be relations of the river people.

Bend

At the mid-point between the Glimmermarsh and Glimmerlake on the Glimmerun River is the town of Bend. Bend is a very old frontier town. It gains it’s name from the bend in the Glimmerun River that it sits at, and is a key location for trade moving along the Glimmerun. Across the Dreadmoors, however, is the land of Rakat and it’s goblin city. Near to Bend are the ruins of an old keep originally called Castle Deebo, but now called Deebo’s Folly. Castle Deebo was built by the Havis to defend the upper reaches of the Glimmerun from the monsters of the Galdus, and the goblinkin of Rakat, but fell to an army of trolls lead by a Hag that swarmed from the swamps at Glimmermarsh. Castle Deebo was re-built, but fell again to a horde from Rakat. It has not been rebuilt, and has gathered it’s new name over the years. There are rumors of deep dungeons beneath it, and some have started to see lights in the ruins, suggesting that monsters are moving in, close to Bend.

The relations with Rakat are not great, as one might assume, and Bend maintains it’s walls and watches the other side of the river carefully across the Dreadmoors.

Topfield

Topfield in particular is home to an unsavory element, and is often associated with bandits and ruffians that prey on the travellers along the Glimmerun. While these folk are very skilled in wood craft, they are not always friendly with the elves of the Great Forest due to their hunting and logging.

Other Villages

Askåd

This is a town high in the foothills of the North Skywall mountains, and is close to the giants of Jotenvale.  This town has a number of Goliath living around it.  The Jarl of Askåd has a reputation for wild hospitality, and equally wild raiding of his neighbors.

Fell Domain

The area around the Fell Lake, Fell Manor, and thru the Fell Passage are all collectively referred to as the Fell Domain. The Lord in Fell Manor is a mysterious figure that has been around as long as any in the area can remember, save the elves, who will not speak of the Lord's coming.

Tuath Ring

There is an ancient henge of standing stones in the Great Forest.  This is a holy site to many of the druidic faith, but the elves of the area do not speak of it.  There is a small trail that leads from Rootglen, but it is impossible to follow without a knowledgable guide.

Regemiel (Thornheart)

Regemiel is the Wood Elf enclave in the North Great Forest that is east of the Tuath Ring.  It rumored that these elves are kin to the Dark Elves, and that an entrance to the Dark Elf realm is near to Regemiel.  No non-elf has seen the Deep Thorn Heart, but many travelers have been to the "visitor town" of Silfraen, which is a village built into the trunk of a giant tree. (map from Dyson Logos)