Towns and Villages

Outside of High Reaches, Torica, and New Halmor, human settlements are few and far between. However in the past four decades, they have begun to sprout up across the continent after the events of The Sundering, as some have come to prefer the wild frontier, where anything they achieve is created by their own hands.

Sparsely-populated, these hamlets, villages, and towns require constant vigilance, both to obtain enough food to survive, and against roving bands of bandits, monsters, and worse. Living out in the middle of nowhere is not for the faint-hearted, but by working together, many of these small settlements have survived, and a few of them, even thrive.

Below are but a few of these small towns and villages that travelers might come across:

Willow's Hollow

One of the oldest standing human settlements outside of Torica or High Reaches, Willow's Hollow was founded by those who were unable to secure employment within High Reaches, and did not feel comfortable among the Lakoi of Torica. Much of the population was made up of Halmorian poor, with little job skills, and very scarce resources. For much of its early days Willow's Hollow was a rough place to live, disenfranchised, and forced to scrounge together enough food to feed the inhabitants, it attracted the worst sort of leadership, and bred a hard group of people. Its only saving grace being its location, a remote ravine, not often traveled and easy to defend. With High Reaches such a rich and obvious target, the people of Willow's Hollow lived outside the purview of most of Eramere's coming and goings.

Willow's Hollow was the first to come under the protection of what has become known as the Croulous, or Crimson Crusade. It began when a woman of middle age, some say fitting the description of a notorious bandit, came to the town, declaring it under her protection. Few took such a boast seriously until an entire Karr raiding party, a rare but dangerous sight, was slaughtered in the night before they reached the outer farms. Several less impressive incidents, as well as a few altercations with some of the rougher elements of Willow's Hollow, began to give people hope that times were changing for Willow's Hollow. Those hopes were truly realized when the war hero Bertrand Croulous arrived with a small but well trained group of men, to act as a legitimate guard and militia force. Willow's Hollow is now a small but relatively wealthy town, one of the few whose population remains predominately human, of Halmorian descent. The Crimson Crusade remains based out of Willow's Hollow to this day, bringing a good amount of trade to the region.

Pilgrim's Rest

Located along the River Ardena, Pilgrim's Rest was founded shortly after the end of the last war with the Blackspear. The spot was chosen because of an ancient shrine to Lilianthe, which was found during a scouting mission during the war. The shrine is rumored to have powerful healing properties, and has become a popular spot for members of the Lilianthe's faithful to come and visit.

The town itself is small boasting a population of just over a hundred or so villagers and farmers, who use the river to irrigate their farms. The village has a single tavern named The Anchor, which is often filled to capacity with outside visitors during the spring.

Devon's Reach

Devon's Reach is technically the oldest surviving human settlement on Eramere. Founded nearly as soon as immigrants were allowed to come over from the mainland, Devon's Reach became the haven for those who found themselves at contest with imperial law. Devon's Reach is located at the base of the Frostbeard Mountains, just east of where the Blackspear nation ends. That being said, the small town has had quite a number of run-ins with the Blackspear, being subjugated by them during each of the Horde Wars.

Three Oaks

Three Oaks was a small settlement a few days out from High Reaches. All adults were killed when the town froze over during a very warm spring. Magic was found to be the cause.

Greenvale

Greenvale has stubbornly remained despite all odds, and is known for its tough, resilient, and independent villagers. Regularly beset by raids of karr, bandits, and more over the past two decades, every resident that has survived knows how to defend their house with whatever might be handy nearby. Rumours speak to it's founding members being old jaded adventurers that refused to die, and so far they've lived up to the tale.

Alestra

No one knows how Alestra got it's name. This small town on the Ardena boasts a population of both humans and Chorav, and is becoming well known as a source of topaz and amethyst, as well as the best place to find very well made baskets.

Tims

The small mining town of Tims is located at the edge of the northern Silentfire Mountains. Supplying nearby towns with iron, rumours often crop up of rarer veins found nearby. Tims' tavern The Rusty Nail sees quite a few prospectors each spring, though most go home empty handed.

Amber Bay

Tucked at the south end of the Almalthean Coast, this walled town has managed to stay clear of the kobolds and manifestations nearby perhaps by sheer luck. Only three years old, Amber Bay is currently out of sights of the otherwise frequent pirate traffic in the area, but likely not for much longer. In the meantime they have set up a regular trade network with Torica selling pearls and oysters.

Old Pine

Without a single pine tree in the village, most will say it must have been named from someone named Pine. Founded over sixty years ago, none can prove otherwise. Old Pine sits perched a few miles west of the bridge to Daggershard Isle, and is generally quite happy to be left alone.

Brightforge

This small village was rebuilt after a terrible disaster, with the aid of a few people but most notable an orc name Jokund. Brightforge is now known for it's small but dedicated ore refinery.