Who Rules: Baroness Danoma Darklash (CN, Human Female, P15) is a strikingly beautiful, pale skinned woman with raven black hair and bright blue eyes. She is a priestess of Leira who delights in fooling people with her illusions. Sadly, she is quite childish and more concerned about her looks and court gossip than she is about ruling. To that end she relies heavily upon her First Advisor and lover, Count Grayson.

Who Really Rules: Count Isstor Grayson (LG, Human Male, I12) is a physical match for Baroness Danoma, being just as beautiful. The entire city knows him as a wise and kindly scholar who dispenses good advice to anyone. In reality, he is Jurikk Bloodblade (CE, Human Male, W24), the head of a small but thriving sect of the Dragon Cult.

Population: 42,000 (70% human, 13% elf, 9% dwarf, 4% halfling, 3% good-aligned lizard-man, 1% mixed).

Major Products: Red wine (especially Mistle-Tor), barges, canoes, wooden furniture, musical instruments, goats, cheese, preserved meats, and a dark ale known as Iron Bottom Brew, and Midnight Mead, which is a dark, almost black color.

Armed Forces: 1,750 infantry of varying types, 250 heavy cavalry, 450 light cavalry-archers, a force of 25 2-man, 2-horse chariots, 250 elite elven archers, and 250 dwarven artillerists/engineers/sappers.

Notable Mages: Arald Ognom (LG, Elf Male, W19) has recently come to Ormvald because he suspects that a sect of the Dragon Cult is operating behind the scenes here. He has managed to root out a few members, and has even tangled with and killed one of the high-ranking lieutenants, but he hasn't been able to make any serious headway. Give him time, though.

Ussk'ssami (CN, Lizard-man Male, W18) used to be Garkel Flametongue of the Dragon Cult until Arald Ognom slew him in combat. He has subsequently been reincarnated into the form of a lizardman. The transition into his new form has left him mentally unstable, and he is being eaten alive with hatred because the cult doesn't believe he is who he says he is. Currently, he is trying to hatch some grand scheme to kill Arald and Isstor/Jurikk at the same time.

Notable Churches: Chaunea, Oghma, Gond, Tempus, Tyr, Shar, Waukeen, and Sune.

Notable Rogues' and Thieves' Guilds: Orurn the Club (NE, Halfling Male, F15) of the Dragon Dagger Guild is a fat, short-tempered, dirty drunkard. He started out as a bandit and when he got tired of sleeping on the ground, he came to town and killed the former guild master with his massive iron-shod club. By brute force and assassins he has been able to maintain his role of power. Over the past 15 years he has grown fat, and every time someone challenges him he's a little bit slower, and his private squad of assassins have been dwindling in number too. Most thieves give him 2-3 years, 5 at the max, before someone takes him down. The power struggle when he is gone is sure to be extremely bloody as Orurn's hoard of treasure is said to be immense, rivaling that of most kings.

Equipment Shops: Full.

Adventurers' Quarters: Fearful of the Harpers, Isstor/Jurikk has convinced the Baroness to forbid adventurers to enter the city while armed. Several inns outside of town cater to adventurers, but there are also a few built right next to the gates that are close enough to the arms storage facilities that are also popular.

Important Characters: Risalda Whitecape (N, Human Female, Monk15) is a member of the Harpers and because of her impressive unarmed combat abilities she was selected for the mission to Ormvald to dig up information on the cult. Her "cover story" is that as a horticulturist/herb and spice seller, of which she is an expert and quite experienced.

Targe Fallst (LN, Human Male, 0-level sage) is a tall, skinny, bespectacled mouse of man who runs one of the best stocked bookstores/book repair shops in Western Rossak. He is also an expert on dragons. However, he hasn't been seen in 8 months because he is living in fear and gone into hiding. His wife runs the store and takes requests and books to him in secret. The reason for his having gone to ground is that he accidentally came across a book with a picture of Jurikk Bloodbane in it. This book also contained information, including the true name, on a dracolich in the area, one that Jurikk helped create. Fearing for his life, he went into hiding. What he doesn't realize is that no one knows that he has uncovered this information.

Important Features in Town: Ormvald is a roughly oval shaped city with impressive walls around all sides except along the river. It rests upon the shore of the Ormvald Flow. All around the city the land is cleared out for several miles until it meets the edge of the Nunwoods. There are some marshy areas to the east where some of the lizardmen live, but most of the land around the city is open farmland. The city itself is divided in two by a canal that has been cut through the city in a crescent shaped arc. Most of the lizard population dwells along the canal or the river. A series of towers run down the center of the river for the length of the town and act as a defensive screen. There is one bridge across the river that goes through the largest of the river towers. Both sections can be easily cast into the river or set afire.

Local Lore: Despite the nearly 60-year long presence of good lizardmen in the city, there is still prejudice against them because of their not-so-good brethren who live further up river. Close proximity to the Nunwood and the Rossak Mountains ensures that life can always get interesting on a moment's notice. Besides the lizardmen, there are gnolls, firenewts, orcs, goblins, and wargs not too far away. The main threat to the town, though, is Blacktalon, a black dragon dracolich who was transformed about 4 years ago. His body is still intact, so only a few people know about his altered state. However, the transformation was quite a shock for Blacktalon, and as such he has become a bit of a recluse. A lot of people see this decrease in activity as a good thing. In truth, he is even more of a threat now.

A couple days northeast of Ormvald lay the ruins of Steelhaft, an ancient dwarven underground city that was decimated about 200 years ago by a series of earthquakes and determined orc assaults. The ruins have never been fully explored so their condition is not known. It is known that orcs still inhabit it. Rumors abound saying that some power was working with the orcs and caused the earthquakes, but it cannot be proven.