EXTRA: A Scout’s Guide to the Barony

By studying the extensive patchwork map of the region that spans the entire end-wall of the Map's End Inn, you can easily visualize the broad features of the barony and its surrounds—refer to the map parchment accompanying this guide. Furthermore, during your stay in Thorneford, you have pieced together various rumors and fragments of information regarding the region. But be warned! Such intelligence is by its very nature incomplete, second-hand, and prone to minor error.

Thorneford

The military and trade heart of the barony; the heavily walled frontier town and castle guard the place where the Ashwater empties into the sea. It stands as the westernmost point of civilization in Caerwyn and is the hub of all commerce, contracts and information in the area.

Ashwater River

Originating in mountains hundreds of miles to the south, the Ashwater is the principal waterway feeding the Mistmere lake, before spilling out of that great freshwater body and finding its way to the sea. With Thorneford sitting on the eastern bank of its mouth, the Ashwater is a clear territorial boundary—settled lands to the east, wild lands to the west. Wide, swift and deep, the Ashwater only freezes over in the very coldest parts of winter.

Stormridge Plains

Rolling for hundreds of miles west of the Ashwater, the Stormridge Plains are a veritable sea of windswept grassland. Much of its length is split by a great shelf of crumbling limestone cliffs, which seem to act as a magnet for storms much of the year. Largely untamed and open, it acts as a natural highway for nomadic herders, wild beasts and those daring to strike out towards the distant western mountains.

Briarback

The dense conifers of the Briarback sit in a natural pocket behind the limestone divide that splits the Stormridge Plains. Often dense and frequently overgrown with briars, blackberries, blackthorn and other similar bushes. This dense, tangled and changeable undergrowth provides excellent cover for outlaws, predators and secrets buried long before the barony was established.

Runebrook Vale

The small, mountain-fed Runebrook river winds its way out of the western mountains, through a low-lying river valley before winding along the northern edge of the Wyrdwood and emptying into the Mistmere, after making its way though the Mismarsh. The rich river, loamy soil of the valley is pocked occasionally with the ruins of failed farmsteads.

Mirewood

This vast coastal swamp borders on the Gulf of Bones along the western coast of Caerwyn. It is a brackish, tide-fed wilderness where fresh water and sea water mingle freely beneath a dense canopy of black mud, twisted roots, shallow pools and winding tidal channels. Most local folk stick strictly to the fringes, although some daring souls are known to make a living deeper within its flooded groves. Some hardy souls ancient crumbling stone ruins upon sandy islets amidst its depths.

Gulf of Bones

This cold, treacherous body of water is lined with jagged, rocky coastlines and connects Thorneford to the rest of the world. Rarely freezing over, the gulf provides shelter from the worst of the winter storms that blow out of the deep north. Its uninviting coast has a long history of grim tales, maritime raiders, hidden coves… and occasional predation from things that come from beneath the sea.

Hollowcrest Flats

This series of broad, flat lowland valleys push into the rugged Hollowcrest Hills from the eastern coast of the Gulf of Bones. In many cases they form natural highways for travellers looking to bypass the craggy heights. However, dead ends, blind canyons and raiding monsters are significant risks. Few navigate these detours without an experienced guide.

Hollowcrest Hills

This series of windswept crags run north from the great southern mountain, along a spine of bedrock that was disrupted aeons ago. Its uppermost parts devoid of all but the hardiest of plant life, the lower slopes are green with lush, dense forest, which spills out to the adjacent plains. Empty of major settlements, its heights are home to ancient mines, crumbling watchtowers and monstrous raiders.

Mistmere Plains

These low-lying, gentle grasslands flank the eastern shore of the great Mistmere. In seasons of especially heavy rainfall of mountain run-off these form a morass of floodplains. When dry they offer easy travel and good graze, yet settlements are few and far between, with flash flooding always posing some risk.

Mistmere

This massive, deep freshwater lake dominates the central landscape of Caerwyn. Fed by three significant rivers, including the mighty Ashwater, it swells seasonally from half a dozen lesser tributaries. Frequently blanketed in mists that last until midday, local legend maintains that its massive volume of water has no bottom. Once host to a number of mighty bastions and towns, today its coasts host only a small number of fishing villages and cabins.

Mistmarsh

This large freshwater swamp occupies the western coast of the Mistmere. Its surface is normally covered in mist, concealing treacherous bogs, stagnant ponds and secretive, scaled denizens.

Wyrdwood

This sprawling and brooding deciduous forest seemingly rises up out of the Mistmere and occupies much of the space between the Mistmere and the southwestern mountains. Varying from impenetrably dense to lightly forested, its greatest consistency is its long history of rumor. It is said that old pacts hold here and non-human powers stir beneath its canopy. Most consider it a place of danger connected directly to the fae realm.