Having reconnoitered the area, our crew decides to return to town to see if they can dig up some information on their newly discovered sites. They hit the local taverns and learn that the Croaking Castle of the Miraculous Toad (Hex 300.298) was a derelict stronghold that has existed for hundreds of years. It gained its moniker due to the herds of ice toads that inhabit the keep's moat and always seem to protect the castle master, regardless of who it might be.
Recently, Kophyn Mizzar, a human female warrior of local renown, has taken possession of the castle and started taxing the nearby villages for "protection donations", ostensibly to rebuild the castle and secure the surrounding areas. She has attracted a group of followers and utterly destroyed four sizable warbands of orc marauders, and the peasantry has gone along with the taxation imposed by their new "lady"...for now.
The Croaking Castle and its eternal batrachian watchers seem to have likewise accepted the new mistress. Several local tradesmen have left Valthrun to join her stronghold staff directly and rumor has it that Kophyn has begun excavations in the nearby ruins (Hex 299.298). No one knows for certain what she's doing, and numerous wild tales are swapped in drunken confidences by the tavern hearths throughout the city.
Lord Jirex, overt master of Valthrun, has remained silent on the latest developments and most assume he is indifferent to Kophyn's machinations don't impact the flow of trade to the Obsidian Portal. If she wants to practice her swordplay on the orcs and squeeze the peasants a bit, who cares? As long as she knows her place and doesn't develop delusions above her station, all benefit.
Less is known about the small keep to the east of the Croaking Castle (Hex 302.298). The master of the keep is Belgos Trith, a very famous human male fighter who had great success against the savage barbarian horsemen far to the west and has seemingly retired to this keep to enjoy some well earned rest. He has patrolled the surrounding areas for years and rescued countless caravans from various monsters and bandits on the North Road. He collects reasonable road tax for his services and rumor has it that he secretly made a mutually beneficial agreement with certain hidden hands to ensure trade, and the fat merchants that accompany it, flow uninterrupted to Eternal Valthrun. Whether or not these rumors are true remains to be seen.
Of course, the true masters of Valtrun, Kirenos the Thief and the Night Hag Bilious Yarena, do not care at all what happens with these petty lordlings. So long as the trade flows and these delusional upstarts do not interfere in the affairs of their betters, they are of no interest...for now.
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