Kelrow

Type: Logging Settlement

Region: Southeastern Timberlands

Description:
Tucked deep within the forest south of Summervale, Kelrow is a working-class logging town known more for its timber than its hospitality. Though not politically significant, it plays a quiet but crucial role in supplying lumber to Summervale, Skyfire Fort, Silver Peak Mine and several other areas. The town is functional, muddy, and tight-knit, where wagons are always full and boots are always wet. Hornsby and Rachel traveled here for a family wedding, a trip that inadvertently left the tavern unsupervised and set off a chain of events back home.

Novel Insight:
While never directly visited in the novel, Kelrow adds realism to the world. An unmarked forester’s trail connects it to Skyfire Fort, explaining lumber shipments and giving players or readers a subtle anchor point in the southeastern region of the map.

Marn’s Cross

Type: Monastic Settlement

Region: Midwestern Frontier

Description:
Built around a towering stone cathedral older than any other structure in the area, Marn’s Cross is a quiet monastery town where time seems to move slower and penance lasts longer. Monks and pilgrims travel here from across the region to seek redemption, bury secrets, or simply disappear. The cathedral’s bells toll with somber regularity, and the town itself remains humble: stone homes, quiet lanterns, and cobbled paths leading nowhere in particular. Though rarely spoken of, the people of Marn’s Cross carry a quiet dignity and more than a few scars.

Novel Insight:
Marn’s Cross is never directly visited in the story, but it is mentioned by Kelton, who was returning from the area when he encountered the party. Its presence adds religious weight to the midwestern region and hints at remnants of the old Paladin Crusades, perhaps even relics sealed away beneath its cathedral.

Fort Hollowspire

Type: Cold-Weather Military Outpost

Region: Northeastern Frontier

Description:
Fort Hollowspire is one of the oldest surviving strongholds in the northern frontier, its stone foundations laid around the same time as the cathedral in Marn’s Cross. Built to endure rather than inspire, it rises like a frost-covered scar from the flatlands two days east of Ice Ridge Keep. Snow clings to its walls year-round, and icicles dangle from its battlements like fangs. Its spire, narrow and hollow, gave the place its name after the bell was removed and melted down over two centuries ago, recast into weapons during the early campaigns of Sir Cormac Cindral, the founding knight of Cindral’s Reach.”

Though still technically active, Hollowspire operates with a skeleton garrison, providing support to towns like Duskhaven, Glimvale, and Stillmere in extreme conditions. Soldiers rotated here often speak of hearing movement in the sealed lower halls... but the orders never change: hold the line.

Novel Insight:
Fort Hollowspire is mentioned only once in the novel, referenced in an undelivered letter found in Duskhaven’s ruined magistrate office. Its age places it in the same architectural era as the cathedral in Marn’s Cross, suggesting both were constructed during a time of heightened spiritual and military expansion, perhaps in response to threats no longer spoken of.

Keep’s Junction

Type: Roadside Camp Junction

Region: Northern Pass Roads

Description:
Keep’s Junction isn’t a town, it’s a necessity. Located at a three-way split in the northern roads, this rough-hewn clearing marks the point where travelers must choose: head east toward Ice Ridge Keep, veer west to Cindral’s Reach, or follow the southern path toward the outer villages.

There are no buildings here, just worn trails, the remains of old fire pits, and a weathered trail marker stone. Caravans, scouts, and messengers often rest here before braving the harsher roads ahead. Some say the wind through the trees carries echoes of old orders and horses long buried beneath the dirt.

Novel Insight:
Visited a few times during their travels, Keep’s Junction sits at a crucial crossroads between Ice Ridge Keep and Cindral’s Reach. It represents the unspoken grind of travel in the north—long, lonely, and full of decisions made under gray skies.

Crossroads

Type: Major Trail Junction & Campsite

Region: Central Wilderness

Description:
The Crossroads marks the central convergence of four major trade and patrol routes, north to Glimvale and the Ice Ridge Keep, east to Stillmere and Duskhaven, south to Skyfire Fort and Kelrow, and west to Marn’s Cross and the edge of civilization. It’s a crucial rest stop for travelers and caravans alike, complete with a cleared campsite, log benches, and a small stone bridge crossing the nearby stream. Though uninhabited, it sees constant use by messengers, scouts, and merchants navigating the region’s wild roads.

Novel Insight:
The party has camped here multiple times across their journey, most notably during their early travels with Kelton en route to Ice Ridge Keep. The nearby stream and firepit serve as subtle waypoints throughout the story, quietly tying chapters together with a sense of lived-in geography.

Aldric’s Cabin

Type: One-Room Hermit’s Cabin / Healer’s Refuge

Region: West of Stillmere, Outer Ridge

Description:
Tucked against the misty western ridge beyond Stillmere, Aldric’s Cabin is a squat one-room dwelling made of dark logs and moss-covered shingles. A wide front porch allows space for travelers to rest, but few are rarely welcome. A lone chopping stump sits out front, with firewood stacked against the chimney like a barricade against the cold. The place radiates self-reliance, caution, and a hard-earned peace. Inside, its owner keeps only what he needs and nothing more.

Novel Insight:
Though rarely visited, Aldric’s Cabin becomes a critical waypoint during the group's journey. Tucked away from the road and nearly forgotten by the world, it serves as a place of healing, quiet revelation, and cautious alliances. What unfolds here changes the group’s path and deepens their understanding of the darkness creeping across the land.

Western Ruins

Type: Forgotten Ritual Site

Region: Eastern Edge of Summervale Woodlands

Description:
Deep in the woods west of Summervale lie the remnants of an ancient stone site, overgrown, half-buried, and almost entirely forgotten. Crumbling arches, vine-wrapped monoliths, and collapsed walls form a ring around a clearing once used for purposes no one in town will name. Many believe the ruins are just folktales, but some, like Elder Rynn and Mara Wren know better. The land remembers what happened there. And so does the Blight.

Novel Insight:
These ruins appear briefly in Chapter 2, just before the party encounters their first Blightborn creature. In Chapter 3, Elder Rynn confirms the ruins are real and hints that they may be tied to the Verdant Order’s past and Mara’s reasons for walking away from it. What happened here is unknown. But it left a wound on the world… and the roots still bleed.

Silver Peak Mine

Type: Mining Outpost

Region: Southern Hills near Skyfire Fort

Description:
Nestled in the southern hills below Skyfire Fort, Silver Peak Mine was once a vital source of raw silver for the northern mint. The outpost includes ore storage, supply shacks, bunkhouses, and a small stable, just enough to support the miners and guards stationed there. Trains of ore carts once traveled weekly along the ridge roads, bringing coin-metal and resources back to civilization.

Novel Insight:
First seen in Chapter 5, Silver Peak marks the beginning of a shift in tone. What was once a place of routine labor and backwoods industry becomes something much darker by the time the party arrives. Though the mine is operational when shown on the map, its future is far less certain.

Cindral’s Reach

Type: Regional Capital & Fortress City

Region: Northern Mountains

Description:
Cindral’s Reach stands as the northern stronghold of the eastern frontier—a towering walled city cradled between the mountains and fortified by stone, tradition, and ambition. Known for its cathedral-like architecture and heavy military presence, the Reach serves as both a trade hub and political seat for the surrounding forts and towns.

Lore Insight:
The city is named after Sir Cormac Cindral, a foreign knight who led the original campaigns to tame the wilds nearly two centuries ago. While records of his true origin are debated, the standard he raised became the symbol of unity across the region’s defenses. His name lives on, not as a hero or tyrant, but as a cornerstone of everything that came after.

Symbolism:
Cindral’s Reach flies two banners: the city’s civic crest, featuring a silver coin between twin black towers and the regional military standard, a golden knight’s helm above crossed swords and a radiant sunburst. The former marks wealth and bureaucracy. The latter signals allegiance to the Reach’s martial legacy and is worn only by scouts, fort officers, and soldiers sworn to the outer command.

Skyfire Fort

Type: Frontier Military Outpost

Region: Southern Wild Borderlands

Description:
Skyfire Fort is a rugged frontier garrison perched atop a wooded hill, surrounded by sharpened timber walls and twin log watchtowers that overlook the wilds to the East and West. Its layout is simple but functional, a central yard ringed by key buildings including a garrison hall, tavern, healer's hut, mess hall, barracks, stable, smithy, and storehouse. The grounds are dusty in spring, frozen in winter, and always echoing with the sounds of steel, boots, and distant storms. This is not a place for comfort. It is a place for preparation.

The fort is currently commanded by Captain Veylan Abara, a seasoned and battle-scarred tactician known for running tight operations on limited resources. Skyfire’s remote location and exposed position make it a natural staging post for missions deeper into the wilderness, or for those looking to vanish into it.

Novel Insight:
Skyfire Fort serves as the party’s first major waypoint beyond Summervale, marking a shift from village survival to larger responsibilities. The companions spend time here recovering, resupplying, and receiving their first formal contract from the regional military. While the fort appears functional on the surface, there are quiet tensions beneath its weathered planks and some watchful eyes that see more than they let on.

Trivia:
The insignia of Skyfire’s local militia bears the same knight’s helm, sunburst, and crossed swords seen in all forts under the authority of Cindral’s Reach. These banners help distinguish trained regional soldiers from townsfolk or travelers posing as scouts. While some locals think the fort's name was meant to intimidate enemies, others suspect it refers to the number of times lightning has struck the towers during storm season.

Ice Ridge Keep

Type: Abandoned Fortress Stronghold

Region: Northern Highland Ridges

Description:
Ice Ridge Keep towers above the northern highlands, carved directly into the cliffs of an ancient ridge once considered the edge of civilization. The fortress, long abandoned, is partially sunken into frostbitten stone and shrouded in silence. Its outer battlements remain intact but weathered by years of punishing storms. Most entrances have collapsed or frozen over, save for a hidden lower access trail that winds around the sheer cliff face to a buried sublevel gate.

The keep was once a critical part of the eastern campaign networks. A power hub if you will, rumored at one time to house command posts, relic caches, and defensive infrastructure tied to the early regional expansion under Sir Cormac Cindral’s legacy. Why it was sealed, and who gave the order, has been buried in redacted records and half-truths. The Keep now serves as a grim reminder of what happens when things are left unchecked.

Novel Insight:
Ice Ridge Keep becomes the emotional and narrative centerpiece of the novel’s second act. When the party enters, they find more than just crumbling walls and broken history, they uncover the first real proof that something ancient has reawakened beneath the surface. The keep is more than just a ruin. It’s a doorway. And what waits inside has been patient for long enough.

Duskhaven

Type: Mountain Trade Town

Region: North Eastern Foothills

Description:
Nestled between a cold lake and the towering cliffs of the north eastern range, Duskhaven serves as a rugged trade stop and remote population hub in the upper valleys. Though not as refined as Stillmere or as friendly as Summervale, the town carries a reputation for self-reliance and quiet perseverance. Two wide thoroughfares split the settlement: the main road skirting the lakefront and leading east toward the old chapel and a path that leads past that to the graveyard nestled in a box canyon at the end of the road.

Homes and businesses cluster tight along the lakeside, where fishermen, traders, and travelers often gather near the central well. Further up the slope, farmland and livestock pens support the town's isolated economy. Duskhaven’s position as the last settlement before the cliffs makes it a waypoint for smugglers, pilgrims, and the occasional stranger seeking to disappear. The fog rolls in often here. And it never leaves quickly.

Novel Insight:
Duskhaven appears in the second act of the novel and marks a turning point in both tone and narrative scale. While the town initially seems functional, cold, but alive. It quickly becomes a symbol of what's at stake. The trail beyond the chapel leads not just to the graveyard… but to the past. What happens here reshapes everything the party thought they knew.

Glimvale

Type: Remote Hillside Supply Town

Region: 15 miles south across the valley from Ice Ridge Keep

Description:
Perched near the slope where the highlands begin to break westward, Glimvale stands as a practical waypoint town, small, sturdy, and accustomed to cold wind. Unlike more picturesque settlements, it was built for function: trade, rest, and last-minute resupply for those bound for Ice Ridge Keep. Its buildings are modest but well-constructed, its square centered around a large stone well surrounded by shops, an inn, and a few fading banners from better seasons. Though the surrounding ridge looms with frost, sunlight still finds its way between clouds on occasion, reminding visitors that even here, winter doesn’t win every day.

Novel Insight:
Glimvale is first mentioned in the second act of the novel and plays a quiet but pivotal role in the party’s journey north. Though not as well-known as Summervale or Stillmere, its location near the Ice Ridge border gives it unexpected significance. Beneath the surface, both literally and figuratively, Glimvale holds ties to old wars, forgotten relics, and the unfinished business of prior generations. What seems like just another cold supply town becomes something far more important… when the silence begins to break.

Stillmere

Type: Trade Town and Regional Waypoint

Region: Northern Foothills and Lower Passes

Description:
Nestled at the base of the northern ridge where trade roads converge, Stillmere is a structured, longstanding town with quiet authority. Its buildings are clean and symmetrical, built of timber and stone with little ornamentation. Traders, messengers, and scouts pass through daily, most stopping at the town’s well-managed inns, supply posts, or militia house for a warm meal and regional updates. Though not a capital, Stillmere functions like one in temperament: organized, guarded, and efficient.

Novel Insight:
Stillmere plays a recurring role in the party’s journey, particularly as a waypoint between locations like Duskhaven and Skyfire Fort. Stillmere is one of the larger towsn with over 450 people, while most other villages have less then 200. The militia house becomes a center of regrouping and recovery, while the chapel and graveyard hint at deeper ties to the region’s past. Readers familiar with the town’s structure will recognize how its rigid order contrasts the growing unrest beyond its walls.