Dalton's Camp

Population: 400 year round; another 200 - 400 people will be in the area during seasons when the area is hospitable and work is available.

Government: Dalton's Camp has no government. It is a "gold rush" type town with little law and order. The Mining Consortium holds a great deal of power and manages many of the day-to-day activities of the place. Most people defer to Kharas Fireaxe and his fellows when disputes arise.

Defenses: There are not defenses to speak of. Most of the mining companies and merchants have mercenary warriors and guards to protect their interests, but there is no organized defense for the area. The town proper rests on an easily defendable hill behind a solid wooden palisade.

Inns/Taverns: For such a small town Dalton's Camp has more than its fair share of inns and taverns. Since few people live here year round, there is a lot of demand for temporary living space. There are three inns of moderate size and four different taverns. Some of the places cater to the people that work with specific mining companies. Rivalries among different companies and mercenaries makes for an unsteady peace when the wrong paths cross. As such, most people keep to "their" place in town.

• The Silver Anvil: an inn with reasonable prices and mostly free of vermin (both humanoid and otherwise)
• Dalton's Campsite: a large inn that caters mostly to people working with the Mining Consortium. It is somewhat more expensive than the other places in town, but offers reasonable security and privacy.
• The Blue Bard: a moderately priced inn; the innkeepr at the Blue Bard requires application for residency at his place and turns away undesireables.

• The Well: a lower class water hole. Fights are common in this place. Often rivals will purposely meet each other here to settle differences.
• The Gray Goose: one of the better taverns in Dalton's Camp, owned by the Mining Consortium. All comers are welcome, but violence is quickly put down by the bruising bouncer.
• Mallister's Place: this tavern caters to members of a few different trading companies. However, most are friendly enough with one another and "those other guys" generally stay out.
• The Alehouse: another of the Mining Consortium's places in town. Trading companies that come here generally avoid Mallister's and the rivalry between the groups is quite unfriendly.

Trade: When the mines are operational Dalton's Camp produces a great deal of silver and iron from the hills. Some of the braver miners venture deeper into the mountains where veins of gold and gems can be found.

Supplies: There are three "general stores" in the town. Two are owned by the Mining Consortium and one is an independent outfit. Most of the goods are suitable for miners and merchant caravan guards. Adventurers will find most of their needs met here as well.

Temples: There are no temples in Dalton's Camp. In fact, there are no priests or religious folk of any sort to speak of.

Ford: Town Guide and Recent History

The current year is 292 of the New Age. This date tracks from the Purge and the fall of the Oshland Empire. The events of the preview adventure, the Keep on the Shadowfell, happened seventy-five years ago. In that time a powerful evil force rose in the lands around the old keep and the town of Ford. King Mark Winland II sent a force to deal with the undead forces of Orcus, but he was unable to establish his hold on the lands. The people of Ford, grateful for deliverance from their enemies, had no desire to submit to a new king. Rather than force a fight among civilized people the king in Roth withdrew his troops from the region.

Over the years Ford has withdrawn from the world. What little trade that followed the old road through the town has turned to a minor trickle. Once each season or so an intrepid halfling band may make its way up the river from Berador to Ford, but as there is little to gain in trade with the backward town, these trips have become more scouting expiditions that actual merchanting.

Rumors claim that a cult of Orcus maintains a presence in the area, and that this cult works to isolate Ford from the rest of the world. While there is no hard evidence to support this belief, it persists among many people. It is a fact that some travelers venturing to Ford never return, and that inquiries yield little or no information about the missing people.

Ford

Population: 1,200; mostly human farmers around the outskirts of the town.

Government: Lord Paedrig II, an ancient human who has ruled the town and its environs for over fifty years since his father's death. Lord Paedrig keeps to himself and has little actual control over the events around town. As the place has sunk into a tiny farming community with little contact with other towns and villages his "rule" is not strictly necessary.

Defense: Ford sits atop a hill rising out of the forest and farmland in the area and has a tall stone wall circling the town proper. A tiny contingent of twenty men-at-arms serve as wall guards, police and patrol. They report directly to Lord Paedrig.

Inns/Taverns: Wrafton's Inn is the only public ale house and rooms for rent in the town. The place has been handed down for generations in the Wrafton family. It is a decrepit hole in the wall tavern with a dozen cramped rooms for rent to the rare traveler in town.

Trade: The people of Ford are mostly self-sufficient. What little surplus food they produce is stored in community grainaries. On rare occassions Lord Paedrig will draw some of the surplus for trade with the few merchants that make their way to Ford. He will purchase needed items and occassionally some luxury items for distribution to the people.

Supplies: Supplies are hard to come by in Ford. The handful of craftsmen are kept busy supplying the farmers and Lord Paedrig's guards. Some minor items can be found for trade, but weapons, armor and such are absolutely unavailable. Horses might be purchased from a farmer, but the cost would be extreme.

Temples: A single temple dedicated to Bahamut stands in the center of town. The townsfolk will whisper prayers to other gods in the temple on occassion, but the only organized services are led by an acolyte of Bahamut.

Berador

Berador, a small farming and fishing village, lies at the intersection of the Blue Wash River running north to south and the Old Trade Road running east-west. Inside the wooden palisade surrounding the village proper adventurers can find several shops and craftsmen. Farmsteads and ranches dot the countryside around Berador for several miles in all directions.

Lake Callie, a small, but deep lake, forms in a valley just outside of town to the south, and the Blue Wash tumbles out of it over falls heading south to the River Elba and the town of Port Eben. Berador acts as a center of trade for the many small towns and villages within about one hundred miles as it sits at a convenient crossroads.

Berador produces mainly farm goods including roots, vegetables and some rare fruits as well as cattle and swine. Some locals also work in timber trade from the Greywood nearby.

Berador

Population: 300; another 1200 or so live in the surrounding farmlands and forests. The majority of the inhabitants are human and halfling, with a substantial number of dwarfs in town. Three elf enclaves have forest holds around the village and an eladrin village nestles deep in the Greywood. A smattering of tielfing and dragonborn call the area home.

Government: Berador has no government, per se. Several of the more respected locals make decisions for their own people, and often they will meet en masse to work out any problems that the village must face as one.

Some of the village elders/leaders include: Amil Greyski, Bull Emmett, Caer Branloth, Fenesin Lumiya, Reginald Dampero, Rodrik Vesash, Tamil Rivers, Ulfgar Fireaxe.

Defense: A dragonborn warrior by the name of Jadestar Kaldoran acts as an unoffical sheriff. The Greywood Wardens, who number around five dozen, patrol the Road in both directions for about 100 miles. The elf band called the Foresters keeps watch around the elf holds.

Inns/Taverns: The Maple House, owned and operated by Tamil Rivers, is the only public house in the village. It has a handful of rooms for rent and a large common are for local gatherings.

Trade: This farming community produces an excess of roots, vegetables and some fruits. Fish and timber are also significant exports from Berador. Numerous Traveling Carnivals pass through town each year providing exotic and luxury goods in exchange for farm goods and the crafted goods of the locals

Supplies: The Fireaxe clan of dwarfs provide many locally crafted goods for trade and often have exotic fair on hand as well. The halfling river traders bring in all types of things from far and wide. The local craftsmen have goods for trade as well.

Temples: Temple of the Sun (Pelor); the only temple in town is dedicated to Pelor and the local priest serves the same. The Temple of the Sun is open to all goodly people to worship and celebrate as they see fit.