The Pomarj encompasses the whole mountainous peninsula and is surrounded on three sides by water. Its Northern border is the Sea of Gearnat, the Gearnat Strait forms its eastern border while the Southern border is the Azure Sea. The long arm of land extends all the way to the western border formed by the Jewel River, although the Empire often invades the lands west of the river up until the foothills of the central hills of the Principality of Ulek. The Suss Forest is a peculiar addition to the Pomarj Empire and is an evil all on its own. During the Greyhawk wars, the Orcish Empire swept north to include most of what was once referred to as the Wild Coast. The boundaries of the Pomarj along the Woolly Bay continue north to the outskirts of the city of Safeton, where a contentious border is generally acknowledged with the domain of Greyhawk.
History
Prior to the great migrations a millennium ago, the Pomarj was largely a desolate place inhabited by primitive Flan tribes who worshiped powers of earth and sky. Its poor soil and fell reputation caused it to be avoided by all but the most desperate of these newcomers, and it was eventually settled by small numbers of Suel who were unwelcome elsewhere and had no choice but to contend with the harsh terrain and its inhabitants. They called these heights the Suenha, until they learned from the Flan their original name: the Drachensgrabs, literally the Tomb of the Dragon. Along the coast of the peninsula and north to the mouth of the Selintan, small communities formed away from the birth and expansions of vast kingdoms across the Flanaess.
The Barons
It was not until the late third century CY, when Keoland inaugurated its imperialistic phase, that there was renewed interest in the region. The Pomarj and its hills were long suspected by the dwarves of Ulek as having great mineral wealth just waiting to be claimed and exploited. In 295 CY, an alliance between the prince of Ulek and King Tavish I of Keoland produced an invasion force that crossed the Jewel River and conquered and subjugated the region within a few short years. The land was carved up into a dozen small baronies and awarded to favoured families of the crown to be ruled as sub fiefs under the protection of the prince of Ulek. These barons became extremely wealthy from the mineral riches extracted from the mines over the next few decades. In 305 CY, Highport was constructed atop the foundations of a smaller town in order to exploit this wealth with the rest of the world.
Independent states
More than a century and a half later, the power of the Keoish Throne waned after years of conflict. The barons of the Pomarj had no voice in the Royal Council at Niole Dra, instead they were subjects of the prince of Ulek. The latter withdrew from the kingdom to gain palatinate status from Keoland in 461 CY, and the barons of the Pomarj broke with the prince of Havenhill two years later to declare their own independence. They took the city of Highport as their capital and ejected the dwarven garrisons to begin ruling their petty states largely independently, even from each other.
A few decades later, conflict broke out in the Lortmils between the elves, dwarves, and men of the region and the orcs and goblins. This was the beginning of the Hateful Wars, and the prince of Ulek appealed to the former baronies of the Pomarj to join the alliance for the strength derived from mutual defense and greater numbers. The Pomarj lords met in Highport the following year to discuss their response, but they saw little reason to involve themselves in what they considered an internal conflict between essentially nonhumans. Further, they feared being reabsorbed into the Principality of Ulek, distrusting the motives of the prince and so turned their backs on the alliance.
The birth of the Empire
With the defeat of the orc and goblin armies at the hands of the hosts of Ulek and Celene at the end of the war in 510 CY, the inevitable came to pass. With nowhere else left to retreat, the angry and beaten survivors fell back in the only direction not fortified against them. In 513 CY, these ravaged and vengeful armies emerged from the Suss and descended upon Highport in a frenzy of destruction. The city was quickly sacked and burned; much of its population was put to the sword. Within mere months, the orcs had driven out the local lords and taken over most of the former baronies of the Pomarj.
So began the quick decline into decadence that has continued almost to the present day. The orcs and goblins carved up the realm into small territories ruled by individual tribes and chieftains. Human bandits and privateers still frequented the major cities and towns, but the countryside became unsafe to travel.
Anarchy persisted for decades until the mid 560s, when a group arose to seize control of large swaths of the Pomarj and put it under central authority. Calling themselves the Slave Lords, these humans brokered deals with the orc chieftains and began fostering an illicit trade in flesh. However, in 579 CY, the dominion of these lords crumbled. Reports indicated that a volcanic eruption in the mountains destroyed their hidden fastness.
In the early 580s, a new leader emerged to unite the tribes, a rabble-rousing half-orc named Turrosh Mak. During the Greyhawk Wars, he inspired the orc tribes of the Pomarj to reclaim their “birthright” in the Lortmils. He shouted to all: “forge an empire where none has stood” This precipitated a successful invasion of the Wild Coast and the Principality of Ulek; nearly half of those two realms were annexed by Turrosh Mak. States as far away as Furyondy and Urnst are concerned over the rising strength of this new leader, who took the last five years to consolidate his holdings.
War between the Pomarj and the dwarves of Ulek has continued unabated to the present, and some of the land west of the Jewel was recaptured in a major battle in 586 CY. Turrosh Mak now works to build an orc-and-human pirate navy with which to extend his power across the sea, at least until he has the power to overcome the elven kingdom of Celene.
The Eastern Pomarj region
The eastern part of the Pomarj includes the entire peninsula from the eastern foothills onward. The coastland is mostly flat, and the shore alternates between long expanses of beaches and cliffsides riddled with caves. It is rumoured that dangerous sea creatures make their home near that coastline and are perhaps, except for the Sahuagin, allies to the Orcish Empire. Long tales are told that sailors that die here are turned into undead making the coastline even more horrific than it already was.
The roads that connect the occupied villages, the humanoid camps, and the city of Blue are hard-packed dirt at best. Any significant traffic (especially cargo) is normally taken by sea to Highport or Stoneheim before being transported overland. Nearly a third of the settlements on the coast have some sort of pier or boat yard, even if only a small one.
Sea of Gearnat
The Sea of Gearnat is a long, curved bay whose two ends have separate names: Woolly Bay on the west, and Relmor Bay on the east. Superb navigational charts exist for the whole area. The Gearnat was once known as the Sea of Yar, after a famed Suel explorer who proved to be an enemy of Aerdy expansion, hence the name change to honour the head of a Rauxes navigation school when the Great Kingdom came to rule here.
The Gearnat is lashed by storms during the spring and autumn, and ships cross then at considerable risk. The Straits of Gearnat, between the Pomarj and Onnwal Peninsulas, are open to shipping despite pirates from the Orcish Empire and hostile Scarlet Brotherhood ships from Scant, which enforce the collection of a much-hated toll for safe passage. Numerous warships from Greyhawk, Safeton, Hardby, Nyrond, Irongate, Ahlissa, and other states patrol this region.
Blue (pop. 6,300)
The peninsula’s second largest settlement, is an anchorage on the eastern tip of the Pomarj. It has a different character, having been an open port and home to pirates and smugglers for centuries. Turrosh Mak has strong alliances with the largely human mercenaries there, paying them well to harry the shipping lanes between the Azure Sea and the Sea of Gearnat, which makes them a bane to the city fathers of Irongate and Gryrax. The presence of the Scarlet Brotherhood and their vessels has also been noted here.
Unlike Highport, which fought valiantly to protect itself against the humanoid hordes, almost everyone in Blue with any military or combat skill fled to the seas when the orcs attacked, leaving the weak, the old, the defenceless, and children to hold back an army. The city surrendered almost instantly, and the surprised attackers found themselves in charge of a large population of humans, which they promptly enslaved, putting any who resisted to the sword. The humanoids fought over the spoils of the city and ate its stockpiles of food while the humans got used to their new status. When food supplies began running low, the orcs turned to the human population for their next meal.
Fortunately, some of the smarter slaves were able to convince the orcs that many of the slaves were fishermen by trade, or at least had a familiarity with boats, and could do more than just menial labour for their masters. The orc leaders saw the brilliance of this plan and began sending groups of human fishermen out into the strait of Gearnat to collect fish. Each ship was garrisoned with well-armed orcs in case the slaves were of a mind to mutiny or escape. In addition to fishing, the orcs hunted the farm animals that had gone wild since the invasion and began trading with some of the more amiable tribes.
As the years passed, the older humans died off or were killed by the orcs when they became useless. The human children raised in this environment gained an appreciation of strength giving the right to rule and violence as an accepted means to solve conflicts. In short, they may have been human by birth, but they were being raised as orcs. Many turned traitor to their own kind and embraced their orcish neighbours, earning superior jobs as most collaborators with oppressors do. Some of these humans even earned their freedom due to exceptional service or in honour-battles with champions of other orc tribes. These humans (and other evil-minded folk that migrated to the city) became a significant part of the population. Meanwhile, a generation of half-orcs was being born, some of them slaves, some of them free, further mixing the population of the city. Two generations after the fall of the city, it was inhabited by a mixture of races and social classes with blurred boundaries; entirely evil, but functional and united against any opposition.
This state continued until the rise of Turrosh Mak. The half-orc champion won over the leaders of the city with praise, gifts, and promises of glory in the new era of the Orcish Empire. Within a few weeks, the entire city had begun a transformation from a home of fishermen and pirates to a fortified base of operations for piracy, trade, slaving, and naval warfare. Large earthworks were built around the city walls and squat defensive mounds built upon them.
In addition to the threats from other nations, Blue seems to be a choice target for sahuagin attacks. Even more so than the rest of the eastern coast of the Pomarj, the city suffers regular attacks from the sea devils, occurring at least once a season in great numbers for the past two years. This attention has warranted the building of a defensive wall along the docks; 20 feet high and steeply canted, it has numerous holes that allow boiling or burning oil to be poured from its top surface and out the side through numerous smaller openings, creating an inferno of death against any invaders from the sea. The Dock Wall (as it is called) has large gates made of bronzewood and covered in a thick grease that is difficult to burn, which allows the incendiary attacks to be used without risking a breach in security. The gates are usually left open but can be held shut with iron bars.
Slaves in Blue are normally branded or tattooed with the rune meaning "thrall" on the forehead or right hand. Those rare slaves who earn their freedom have the "opposition" rune branded or tattooed over it. Most of the fisherfolk of the city are still slaves, but only nominally so. As in Highport, crime here is punished by imprisonment, enslavement, or execution, although recently floggings have become popular, with bets being made on the number of lashes a criminal can take before crying out in pain. However, most of the acts considered crimes in a civilized city go unnoticed here. Only theft and attacks that result in death or great bodily harm result in the intervention of the law. As such, all free people in town are proficient with some weapon, and most slaves are allowed to carry knives to defend themselves against anyone but their owners.
Blue is ruled by a council of three, appointed by the Slavelords for life. Their main duty is to see that the trade goods are not hindered, rogue pirates are dealt with, and crime is kept to a minimum. Currently the council is an even mix of an orc, a human, and a half-orc, all very loyal to the Slavelords and very rich even before they got their current positions.
The Northern Pomarj region
The northern Pomarj includes the plains to the north of the Drachensgrab Hills and the Suss Forest. The centre of civilization in the northern Pomarj is the city of Highport; many of the other villages scattered about the landscape have been razed by humanoids and now are only occasionally used by nomadic tribes as places to camp. The land is fairly fertile and has a large population of deer. The deer population has risen since the human farmlands have once again become overgrown. The locals are well supplied with meat. The northern Pomarj has many small coves or beaches that are favoured as stopping points for the more independent pirates of Woolly Bay. These pirates make sure to identify themselves and pay a toll to local humanoid tribes, so they aren't attacked as invaders. The road leading from Highport into the Drachensgrabs is paved with bricks-built with slave labor.
Suss Forest
Where the Welkwood approaches the Jewel River near city of Courwood, the forest becomes the Suss. The Suss is a dark and dreary wood filled with thorn trees, brambles, briars, and thickets. Its massive trees are black with age, seeming to menace those who pass under their boughs. The western end of the forest, where the wood grows near the foothills of the Lortmil Mountains, is open and clean, but east of the Jewel River it is a foreboding place. Many nonhumans, mostly orcs and goblins tied to their brethren in the Pomarj, lair in this part of the Suss, along with gibberlings, ettercaps, and stranger creatures. Legends place a lost city of Old Suloise in this forest, but few dare to confirm these rumours due to the dangers of the wood.
Highport (pop. 15,000)
Highport, on the northern coast, was once a minor jewel of the barons of the Pomarj, the centre of a bustling shipping and trade industry. Here, from lands all around the Sea of Gearnat, ships carried their goods, and the market squares were filled with foreign merchants.
But that was before the dark wave of destruction swelled out of the hills. Highport was too rich a target to be ignored by the murderous bands of humanoids and although it resisted the assaults on several occasions, the loss of life became too great, the gates were sundered, and the walls breached. Highport burned.
So why is the city not only still standing but the former capital is still the largest city in the Pomarj? The wisest of the humanoid chiefs had spoken in the council: “There is no victory without spoils of war. Our deeds will turn to dust, and none shall fear our presence.” Thus, the humanoids to this day occupy Highport as a place to trade with menfolk. Although portions of the city are still in ruin, a legacy of their great conquest, the markets and shipyards that once made it an important commercial centre have been restored. Strangely enough, humanity still seem to outnumber other groups in Highport. That is not because of the persistence of the original settlers, for they have been slaughtered to a man. No, it is because thousands of evil men, with evil reputations, have flocked to the port city and freely mingle with Half-humans and humanoids.
Highport is now ruled by a coalition of tribes, split by mercantile and mercenary factions and their blood feuds. This council reports indirectly to Turrosh Mak. The city may have a council, the laws are simple, and justice is nowhere to be seen. A strong sword arm is quickly turned into a judge, jury, and executioner, a dark alley an execution ground. It is correctly rumoured that press gangs roam the broad streets at night, seeking those foolish enough to wander around unprotected. What else lurks the streets during the long hours of night?
Still, the lure of trade and profit draws men here. But it is a much different trade from what it once was – it is an evil trade dealing heavily in misery and hardship. Many slaves pass through this port to stand on the block in its markets. Many come to buy.
The Central Pomarj region
The central part of the Pomarj is the Drachensgrab Hills. Built long ago by slow volcanic action, they are covered in rich topsoil that supports a thriving ecology of plant- and meat-eaters. Surrounded on all sides by bays, the hilly center of the Pomarj has frequent rains (strong on the fringes but gentle toward the interior), and as a result the place is covered in small streams and lakes, with a few lakes that are little more than standing water over a layer of thick mud. The irregular configuration of the hills (there are many regions in the interior of the hills that are flat or completely surrounded by higher ground) means that most of these lakes are permanent, although few are larger than a mile across. The permanent ones have their own populations of fish, aquatic plants, and so forth, and a few even have a resident monster, usually a prehistoric reptile or two. One lake in the northwest portion has recently been staked out by a young adult amethyst dragon, Mafristex, who has persuaded or driven away intelligent or hostile creatures but has otherwise remained detached from the turmoil of the region.
The Drachensgrabs are moderately rich in gold and electrum, as well as gemstones of low value but high quality (particularly moonstones). Occasional earthquakes beset the place, although few are large enough to cause any major damage. The hills are said to be the seat of some terrible curse, with legends claiming that one or more powerful beings will arise in anger if their resting place is ever disturbed.
At the center of the Drachensgrabs are three larger mountains that jut violently upward, towering over the nearby hills. The largest is Drachenkopf. To the west (and much more famous in song and tale) is Mount Flamenblut, the once-sleeping volcano that destroyed the city of Suderham. South of this is the small smoking mountain called Drach Aloos. The smallest is Hakentos, which stands in the shadow of Drachenkopf and is considered a taboo place by the human tribes that worship the Earth Dragon, although the reason for this belief has been lost in antiquity.
As stated before, the Drachensgrabs are bisected by a brick road leading from Highport past Kalen Lekos to Stoneheim. Lesser trails lead off to smaller farms and mines, but the main road sees the most traffic and is patrolled regularly. In the steeper portions of the hills are frequent turnoffs to allow rests in between climbs, which has saved many overworked beasts of burden from collapsing from exhaustion.
Suderham
Hidden within the Drachensgrab Mountains is a dormant volcano. The valley within that crater has a magnificent blue lake in its centre and in the middle of that lake rises the ancient volcanic peak - Mount Flamenblutt.
It is rumoured that at its base is a town, perhaps even a city. Words are whispered, the name Suderham can be heard in the darkest corner in the Pomarj, the city of the Slave Lords some would claim. The entrance to this valley virtually impossible to find and steep the path will be, its hidden guards will tolerate no trespassers. I dare not talk more of this place lest spies are listening.
Drachensgrab Hills
Dominating the Pomarj Peninsula, these hills are infamous for being both rich in mineral wealth and teeming with monsters that stalk its slopes and terrorize the humans dwelling along the coasts. Formerly called the Suenha Hills by the Suel, the Drachensgrabs were once in the eastern-most extents of Keoland before the Ulek states rebelled. The Pomarj (“Poor March”) rebelled against the Principality of Ulek in turn, but was eventually overrun by nonhumans almost a century ago. The imposing hills are crowned by small mountains in their central fastness, including an active volcano. Legends warn that powerful beings will awaken in anger if their resting places beneath these mounts are disturbed.
The Twisted Forest (Greyhawk adventures p96)
The Drachensgrabs have always been a peculiar land, an anomaly among the more settled regions of the Flanaess. Legends persist that some powerful being sleeps there, and that some unclean air is about certain of the hills. Rumours aside, there is at least one sleeping and dangerous power in these superficially pleasant lands: the ‘‘Twisted Forest.”
The Twisted Forest is no forest at all, but rather a collection of Stony Pillars; these Pitted grey shapes have as much the aspect of humanoid shapes as of trees. They are scattered over the hillside meadows like so many leafless olives, but it would be difficult to mistake them for vegetation. They range in size from that of a very small goblin to that of a very large ogre, but their twisted upper extensions are as suggestive of upraised arms as of branches. They have overall an unwholesome and unnerving aspect. One has the feeling of being watched. The Patterns on the trunks are suggestive of tormented faces, and it is notable that despite their great age they do not bear the abundant mosses, lichens, and birds’ nests that the local outcroppings of native rock display in such abundance.
An examination of the ground between the “trees,” which is rich in flowers, shows a surprising number of bones and many weathered remains of weapons and equipment. One might at first suppose these to be the relics of a battle, but they are of varying ages. Some old enough to have crumbled entirely and be evident only as strains in the soil, while others are much more recent. Where they have not been disarrayed by scavengers the bones and equipment are still whole. The source of this carnage is not any danger in the hills round about, but the forest itself. Those who touch the stone shapes often die, or go mad.
The goblins of the Pomarj are now well aware of the dangers of the Twisted Forest. Early during their influx a large company of goblins scouting for new lands ascertained from the local herdsmen that the Forest might contain treasures somehow locked within the stone shapes. Precisely what occurred on the day they entered the Forest is not known, but it seems to have been something beyond even the traditional danger (of which the goblins and their allies might have been aware had they not in their eagerness to push onward hastily slaughtered their informants). Later observers have since examined this field of stone shapes, and it seems that there are rather more of them than implied in earlier accounts. There is moreover something which was surely not present in past centuries - a contorted river of stone among the pillars, more than thirty feet long, tapered at either end. Unfortunately, it is not possible to compare past and present eyewitness accounts directly, as former natives of the region are now dead or dispersed.
The Twisted Forest would be entirely mysterious were it not for records of the Keoish Court at Niole Dra. An ancient and much recopied manuscript there purports to be a history of the Suel peoples immediately after the last disaster of the Suelite empire, penned by one Uhas of Neheli. In this history is the tale of a particularly wicked band of Suloise who fled with all their treasures eastward along the northern coast of the Azure Sea, seeking a new land in which to build a powerful new nation. They were as learned and powerful as they were cruel, and met with success in all their evil ventures, until at last they slaughtered a band of innocent Flan tribesmen in a particularly vile manner in the Suenha Hills. By so doing they brought on themselves a most terrible curse from certain of the Flannish gods the tribe had worshiped: that neither they nor any of their kind should leave the valley in which the massacre occurred, and that they should be monuments to their own wicked behaviour, “pillars of tortured stone for all the world to see.” This would seem to be a clear reference to the Twisted Forest, and it is commonly accepted among historians that the Suenha Hills were the Drachensgrab as known to early Suel colonists. The malevolent effect of the stone figures themselves remains to be explained, since it would surely not have been a part of the original curse, but perhaps the powerful Suel mages contrived somehow to see that their malice would continue to wound the world, at least within a limited area. As additional evidence that the stone figures are former Suelites, the flowers peculiar to the Twisted Forest are of types seen only in the far western parts of the Sea of Dust.
(Notes to the DM can be found in the Greyhawk adventures)
The Southern Pomarj region
This region comprises all the land due south of the Drachensgrab Mountains. As one travels south and west along the coast from Blue, the softer rock of that region turns hard and the landscape more rugged. The foothills of the Drachensgrabs become visible from the rocky beaches of the south shore, and palisade forts and small walled towns replace the numerous caves. Despite the sturdiness of the underlying ground, the topsoil is enriched by volcanic ash. Short grass and scrub plants cover almost everything, making the southern Pomarj a haven for herbivores of all types and the creatures that prey upon them. Some of the streams that run from the hills are rich enough that a prospector could make a living panning for gold, and many pit mines in the lowlands are profitable, as well as the many true mines in the hillsides.
Occasional serpentine creatures are seen offshore, but the southern coast faces fewer monstrous threats from the sea than the eastern one, with Sahuagin attacks being very rare and drowned ones almost unheard of. The navies of Keoland and the Principality of Ulek are a greater threat, but neither nation is willing to commit to a war at sea unless they could get aid and land support from other nations.
The trails and roads among the forts and towns are kept clear, and all the major ones are well patrolled and made of hard-packed earth. The road north from Stoneheim is bricked and connects to many lesser mining roads. This road is frequently patrolled, with mercenary groups and slave caravans being the two most common types of travellers. Shelters at intervals of a day's march hug the road, and they have developed into small towns that cater to the travellers and the nearby miners.
Stoneheim (pop. 5,700)
The capital of the Pomarj is the city of Stoneheim, a thick-walled citadel that sits in the shadows of the southern face of the peaks of the Drachensgrab mountains. This squat, affluent place was once the centre of the mining operation inaugurated by the Keoish throne three centuries ago and was built largely by dwarven hands from Ulek.
It is now held firmly by the orcs and their leader Turrosh Mak. It has only two primary purposes: the training and deployment of troops to the provinces of the empire and as a headquarters for the continued exploitation of the mineral resources of the hills. Gold is still brought out of these mines in abundance, and it is the primary means of supporting the orcs.
The capital city of the Pomarj is a small but well-built city that suffered little at the hands of the humanoids. Following the Hateful Wars, the humanoids attacked the cities of the Pomarj and found Stoneheim to be a rich target, full of gold from its mines and led by people grown fat and lazy on their wealth, relying on mercenary bands to guard them. Upon seeing the armies of orcs pouring over the horizon, most of the mercenaries wisely fled, with a few turning on their employers and seizing the most portable riches before following suit. The orcs crashed into the city, killing those who stayed and causing the rest to scatter into the hills. Amazed at the amount of gold in the city but under pressure from other tribes behind them, the orcs picked up whatever loot they could, spent the night in the city, and left the next day to pillage the nearby towns and villages.
As the survivors trickled back into the city, several of the more powerful mercenary bands returned to Stoneheim and seized power, proclaiming themselves the new lords of the city. The citizens were too weak and scared to resist and agreed to the rulership of the mercenaries in the hope that the lure of wealth would convince them to stay and protect the city. In a way, it did. The mercenaries closed the city to outsiders and trained all able-bodied people in the use of simple weapons such as the crossbow, spear, and sling, then set them to guard the walls whenever a threat approached.
When another small army of orcs came near, the new lords called over the wall to the orc leaders, proposing an arrangement: The city would give them some gold, and the orcs would leave. This agreement would save lives- mainly orc lives, as the city walls would delay any attackers. The leader of this tribe, a cunning half-orc named Narth, agreed to the offer, took the money, and left. That same tribe later suffered severe losses from unexpected resistance at one of the mining towns in the Drachensgrab Hills and was forced to retreat past Stoneheim again. This time it was Narth who called out to the city, offering some of their gold back in exchange for food and other supplies. Seeing little harm in aiding the haggard army, the lords agreed. At nearly the same time, the leaders of the two groups came upon the idea of an alliance: The humans were too isolated in the middle of a land now occupied by orcs, and the orcs were weakened from the attacks and in need of a base of operations. Within three days they had agreed to a peace treaty, paying the orcs a small yearly wage and allowing them to live outside Stoneheim' s walls in exchange for diverting other tribes away from the city. Over time the arrangement became less formal, and people began to cross into each other's turf to barter and socialize. The town has become fairly well mixed between humans, orcs, and half-breeds. It is for this reason that Turrosh Mak chose this place as the capital of his new empire, for he saw this as the best place for him to coordinate his orc armies and his human mercenaries.
The mercenary lords are still in power here, but are subservient to Turrosh Mak, When he entered the city at the head of his troops and told of his plan to conquer the Wild Coast, claiming Stoneheim as his capital, the lords laughed at this usurper to their power. Angered by their disrespect, the Despot-to-be told the lords that one of them would die that night by his own hand. He then left and camped his troops outside the city. When he arrived at the citadel with the severed head of the senior lord, the others quickly swore allegiance to him, saving their lives and their jobs. Now Stoneheim is a centre of mercenary activity - military mercenaries, not Slavers or pirates - as well as a source of gold to pay the marching armies and other military groups. Turrosh Mak usually spends no more than a few days a month in Stoneheim, taking up residence with whatever city lord he feels needs to be brought in line at that time. While he is there, he monitors the amount of gold being produced, the status of mercenary bands entering and training in the city, and relations between the southern tribes. Of particular interest to him is the citadel itself, the lower levels of which have been sealed off by magical protections since the invasion of humanoids from the Lortmils. The mercenary lords have proven unable to breach them, and Markessa has had little time and not a great amount of interest in investigating the citadel's sealed dungeons, despite rumours of treasure and magic that are said to lie there. Even an expedition by Baron Rourk Splinterstone of Ulek failed to gain entry to the dungeons, although it did succeed in killing a surprising number of orcs and human mercenaries before retreating to the safety of the Ulek state. The road leading north, the Brick Road, is frequently patrolled by mercenaries and troops from Stoneheim. The road to the south, the Sea Road, splits after a few miles into several smaller roads that lead to various fishing villages and small ports on the coast of the Azure Sea. An older road goes west to link several forts and towns in that part of the Pomarj, eventually connecting to Havenhill in the Principality of Ulek, although the last hundred miles or so has become less defined since the conquest of the land west of the Jewel River.
The Western Pomarj region
This area was originally just the piece of land defined by the edges of the Suss Forest, the Jewel River, and the Drachensgrab Hills and the small territory southwest of the hills and east of the Jewel. Most people consider the western Pomarj to be all the land south of the Suss from the western part of the Drachensgrabs to the eastern edge of the Lortmils, which includes the conquered portion of the Principality of Ulek. The former Ulek land was once plentiful farmland, but has become wild and overgrown since it was taken over by the humanoids. The dwarven prince Olinstaad of the Principality has built a chain of citadels extending northward from the city of Havenhill in an effort to prevent any more losses to the Orcish Empire, and the attitude of his people is one of hatred toward the humanoids and a desire to take revenge on the despoilers. The Suss Forest is a favourite place of the humanoids (especially many of the small tribes of kobolds, orcs, and gnolls), making it even more dangerous than its northern reaches.
Like the other flat parts of the Pomarj, the place is dotted with remnants of villages, with occasional settlements of humanoids. The former croplands of Ulek became a place of grazing for larger herbivores such as deer, as well as smaller sorts such as rabbits and mice. A large population of feral cats has developed from this abundant food source. Local humanoids don't care what sort of animals they catch, and some of the weaker tribes get by on mouse stew and other strange fare.
The Jewel river
The Jewel rises in the Lortmil Mountains south of the Kron Hills and flows through the nations of Celene, the County of Ulek, and the Pomarj to empty in the Azure Sea. It once formed the western border of the Principality of Ulek until both banks were captured by the forces of Turrosh Mak in 584 CY. It is navigable as far north as the Drachensgrab Hills, and some fear that pirates from the Orcish Empire use it. Gold and gemstones are still found below its swift-moving waters.
Comments