Fivespire keep

Fivespire Keep was built over a century ago by a group of human immigrants hoping to restore their royal bloodline after generations of dispossession. The self-styled True King of the Weald, Magnus Wynne, ruled from the castle, though few people outside its walls recognised his authority. The king did little to exert his authority on those that inhabited the surrounding forests and permitted them shelter within his walls in times of crisis. When monsters threatened the gates of his keep King Wynne was always one of the first in line to defend them. Using the power held within his mighty warhammer, Swansong, the king was able to defeat any and all foes. The king and the hammer kept the keep safe for many years until an assassin managed to sneak into his personal chambers, killing Magnus while he slept and stealing the warhammer for his own malign purposes.

Unfortunately in the intervening years the Wynne dynasty died out and their people dispersed, joining other, more successful, settlements. Every now and then a human warrior arrises that claims to be the rightful heir to the Wynne dynasty, seeking fellow adventurers to help them regain Swansong and re-establish the kingdom at Fivespire keep. None of these warriors has been successful thus far.

The Castle

Fivespire keep is named for the five towers that adorn its walls, each reaching high above the treetops to provide a commanding view over the region. The castle's towering spires can easily see as far as Gemfalls Grove to the west, Mosstone to the south, and east to the hills over Redleaf Dale. While the castle's builders prided themselves on being able to identify the movements of potential foes by the swaying of trees as they passed, the knights of the Order of the Silver Hand have no such experience, and as such can only see incoming troops as they emerge from the trees at the base of the castle's motte.

Within the castle walls is a large well to provide water. When the well was dug it hit an unexpected branch of the low roads, sinking into a subterranean pool used as a water source by a variety of underground life. For this reason the well-house is sturdily constructed with a great many murderholes in the roof to allow defenders to rain death on any invaders from below.