Mittelmarch

DUNLAND

A small city made of stone mined from the mountains it sits next to sat forlorn and abandoned for centuries. The occasional troll or orc it’s only inhabitant.

Eventually the mist deposited some goodly folks nearby. One of these newcomers was a peasant named Brogas. He quickly recognized the need to inhabit and rebuild the city. It was the perfect place to defend himself and the other newcomers from the dangers of this new world.
They quickly cleaned out the wells and repaired the walls. The nearby quarry also suppled all the stone needed to fix the buildings and roofs. As the folks of this new city worked more and more people were deposited by the mist to their location. Brogas turned out to be a natural leader, and soon everyone was looking to him for guidance.

Hunters scoured the area and located ample supplies of meat and local edible vegetation to get the folks through till the fields around the city could be worked and a steady supply of vegetables and livestock could be built up. During these trips they found a gated wall guarding a pass in the mountains. Eventually everyone started calling their home Gatereach.

One day a pair of wagons rolled into town with Anvil, Thistle and their two children, who were adopted elves. Apparently they had chosen to travel to this world to escape the prejudices of theirs and had brought several items with them to set up house keeping. Anvil knew of an ore mine nearby that he used to forge tools and weapons.

Little by little, more people appeared from the mist. Soon the mist was depositing people regularly and the populations slowly started to increase.
The citizens of Gatereach prospered. Very seldom were they bothered by monsters and when they were it was small groups and easily killed or driven away. Eventually the people discovered other cities in this new land and quickly set up trade routes and alliances.

Eventually the number of people in Gatereach exceeded the capacity of the city. A peaceful river valley on the opposite side of the mountains were known to the folks of the city and it was decided to build a new settlement there. Soon the town of Gladden Fields was erected. This was as much a strategic move as anything else. It gave the people control of both sides of the mountain pass and the quickest way to Mittelmarch and the other settlements to the East.

Soon the citizens realized they needed a name for the new kingdom they had carved from the wilderness and the name Dunland was chosen. Brogas had been knighted by the folks for his tireless efforts in getting the kingdom built and the populace voted him in as their leader and king.

During this time a new leader emerged from the local monsters as well. Banith is a half orc of superior cunning and ferocity. in the mountains north of Gatereach he raised an army of orcs, goblins, trolls and giants. When he found out about the new town being built he saw a chance for mayhem. he marched upon it before the walls were complete and laid siege to it.

The call for aid went out and our friends and allies answered. Troops from Dragonspire arrived with Sir Istvan leading them, soldiers from Mittelmarch lead by Zaron of the Dragoons came next, Our friends from the Too Fuu Shogunate arrived, Solders from Aethenue arrived, and our allies from Ameth came through the mist to aid us led by Sir Elindiel, and with the force from Gatereach combined to drive Banith from the area and scatter or kill most of his troops.

Dunland has enjoyed a peaceful existence for awhile afterwards but Banith survived and rebuilt his army. He now is much more careful in his engagements and uses much more guile in his attacks against the good folks of Dunland.

After the increased problems with Banith and his followers Anvil decided to form the military unit the Defenders of Dunland to unite the soldiers of the area. These brave souls travel the lands fighting against the forces of evil and helping the militia of Dunland to organize and fight against threats close to home.

Recently a Skaven known as Vermin left our lands after being employed by the Defenders as a scout and spy. It is rumored he has returned through the mist to his homeland. Even if the rumors about him taking the Chu’ku’tal’s colors and spreading Banith’s influence are true, his aid in training the people in Dunland in the art of war will always be remembered.

Dunland also had a new outpost destroyed before it could fully reach it’s potential. Maybe Banith’s people got it or maybe it was to close to the Mines of Morath in Dragonspire. Whatever the reason we lost contact with those folks and scouts sent came back with stories of burnt ruins forestalled any new attempts to settle that area.

Several citizens are looking to expand into the west and the more open country of Dunland. Perhaps farther from the mountains they will thrive and grow in numbers.

Currently Dunland faces two threats from the North. The Jovian’s luckily enough have not seemed to notice us yet. The other threat is more direct and immediate. Banith seems to be building his numbers at an alarming rate. He has even sent troops to help overrun the Northern Steppes. After tracking the group to that area Dunland sent many a brave warrior to aid our allies, alas to no avail and the evil beast beat the goodly folks in many a battle.

At this rate we fear that Banith’s numbers and allies will soon be able to overrun the goodly folk of Dunland.

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Food and Climate

Gatereach has the harsher climate since the winds hit the mountains directly and rain is released by clouds trapped by the peaks. It is cooler since the sun is only hitting that side in the morning and afternoon. The citizens rely heavily on root crops and cabbages along with other cool weather crops. Hardy Highland cattle are grazed in the meadows and pastures of the mountains along with sheep used for their wool. Many times in the winter months the farmers move the herds to the lower elevations and a small group of soldiers are always assigned to the herds to help protect them from roving monsters.

Gatereach is only 3 miles from the river and an ancient stone paved road leads to the waters edge. Unfortunetly the road has several switch backs in it to make the grade safe for wagons and adds nearly 2 miles to the trip as it winds up the mountains. A small settlement was built here and consist of fishermen and a ferry. A dock has been built and warehouses are there for storing the incoming and outgoing goods from other lands. A small keep is garrisoned here to protect the goods and ferry.

An ancient stone paved path winds through the mountains and leads to the town of Gladden Fields. The path is only wide enough to allow a large cart to travel in most places but does open up in a few areas. Both ends of the path end in a walled and gated pass.

Gladden Fields has by far the nicer climate. Not only is it lower in elevation, the mountains block the worst of the storms and the sun warms the slopes from noon till sunset. Livestock raised here can be less hardy and fruit trees and grapes grow nicely on the southern facing slopes. Lower down a few scattered grain fields can be seen here and there. Gladden fields has the benefit of being situated by the river but still close to the overland trail through the mountains. Again a dock and ferry are at the river but the town is close enough that the warehouses are inside the town walls.

Both towns have active mines that are used to extract several ores from the mountains and one active salt mine on Gladden Fields side. Both towns also have active stone quarries and occasionally marble is even brought down from the mountains.

The towns barter heavily with each other for foodstuffs and fibers. Most exports consist of metals and salt. More exotic foods and woods are imported heavily.

There are several breeds of horses raised in Dunland. The three most notable are the short shaggy stout mountain ponies that have remarkable endurance and sure footedness for traveling in the highlands. The extremely large draft horses used at the mines and quarries to move massive amounts of materials. the final breed is more along the lines of a quarter horse used for general riding and message carrying.

Small barges are currently used to transport goods on the river but a ship with sails is in the process of construction. With the path through the mountains becoming more and more dangerous to use even with an armed escort it is feared that it may have to be abandoned as a route in all but the most direst of circumstances. A plan to clear the area around the path is not feasible at the moment due to the increased demands on the military due to the Jovian threat. It is felt that one or two sailing vessels would expedite travel between the towns.