Dyrford Village

"Folk here tend to keep to themselves, as they do in most towns this deep in the Dyrwood. They're suspicious of travelers…"

- Harbinger Beodmar

Dyrford is a small frontier village in Baelreach with a small, close-knit populace, located in the Free Palatinate of Dyrwood. It is visited in.

Background
Dyrford was founded in the early days of Aedyran colonization of the Eastern Reach. The settlement was established by small squadron of Imperial guards, dispatched by the fercönyng (emperor) to protect its citizens, after early settlers met resistance from Glanfathan natives. These guards established a central base on a river in the western section of the woods, which would eventually become the city of Dyrford. These guards established a central base on a river in the western section of the woods to protect them and confront the Glanfathans. Although New Dunryd soon became the center of colonization for the Eastern Reach, Dyrford remained the heart of Aedyran military presence. The modern village of Dyrford is not the original settlement, however. A ruined castle is all that remains of the old village. It was a result of collaboration between dwarven and human explorers seeking to bolster the defenses of the frontier town in colonial times. Some time before the War of Defiance, when no one received word from the outpost in several weeks, a search party left New Dunryd to investigate. They found the castle abandoned, with no evidence of its prior defenders apart from several tables of half-finished dinners long since rotten.

The keep was rebuilt and occupied by an Aedyran lady thaynu. In 2668 AI, when the War of Defiance began, she stuck to the side of the Empire. It proved to be a critical mistake: A contingent of Duc Hadret's Knights of the Crucible helped the farmers and colonists in the area turn her keep to rubble. The Dracogen Inn was the first building that sprang up from the ruin, built with some of the same bricks the colonists had pulled from the lady thaynu's castle, they say. Supposedly, the quarterstaff of her chief wizard even got lost in the construction - mortared into a wall or nailed under a floorboard. However, Dyrwoodans are an ornery lot, and the more the Dyrfordans met in the wake of the thaynu's fall, the more they argued. They realized they didn't agree on much beside ousting the old lord. The biggest divide was over the Glanfathans and their nearby ruins. Hadret's knights and their supporters wanted to keep the peace, but a group of misfits with more anarchic leanings that had formed in town wanted to go after the tribes the same way they'd gone after their lord. Soon, the villagers were fighting with each other as much as with the Aedyrans. In the end, memories of the Broken Stone War and the War of Black Trees were fresh enough that the duc's soldiers won the day. Most of the other villagers came around eventually, but some of the core troublemakers left to join the front lines of the War of Defiance, and others found their way into the Guided Compass, the most forward-looking of the Glanfathan tribes.

Eventually, with the end of the war and the arrival of peace, Dyrford settled down. The village is stillperched precariously on the edge of a dangerous frontier, known for a secretive and superstitious populace. They shun Hylspeak in any form, keep rituals and practices unknown to outsiders, and may be involved in illicit activities beyond the reach of local law enforcement. Travelers on their way to Eir Glanfath have been known to vanish after spending a night in Dyrford. This reputation dubs it “Wayfarer’s Bane” in some circles. Consequently, expeditions leaving Defiance Bay seldom tarry there for longer than a few hours.

To make things worse, Dyrford is experiencing rural flight in the wake of Waidwen's Legacy: People are abandoning the frontier and fleeing for the safety of Defiance Bay and other major conurbations, resulting in a major increase in crime. After all, deserted homes attract looters like vinegar does flies.

Points of interest

 * A familiar sight for anyone who enjoyed the beta, Dyrford is a quaint little frontier village. The Dracogen Inn sits in the center of the town, with the apothecary, curriery, grain mill, and armory in surrounding buildings. The Temple of Berath sits over the river, providing spiritual guidance for the people.
 * Hendyna plies her trade outside her home, selling food and medical supplies out of her cart.
 * Be sure to grab Grieving Mother at the other end of town.

Characters

 * Grieving Mother: A cipher without a party… yet.
 * Hendyna: An alchemist who has need of the poultices she sells, herself.
 * Medreth: A man who is looking for someone.
 * Rumbald: A pig farmer without pigs.


 * Dracogen Inn
 * Dengler: One from the folk who has an inn to keep.
 * Lord Harond: A lord who is missing his daughter.
 * Nyfre: A woman who is hiding from someone.
 * Sid: A bard who has many stories to tell.


 * Temple of Berath
 * Harbinger Beodmar: A priest with more wounds than blessings.


 * Trygil's Curriery
 * Trygil: A currier with an intoxicating odor.


 * Winfrith's Arms and Armory
 * Winfrith: A dealer in arms and weapons. And words.


 * Backer NPCs (exterior)
 * Artevin Selwintis
 * Daeadin McLean
 * Hiro
 * Inethal Silivar
 * Reirnu Halxijrei
 * Vasily Raskolnikov

Main quests

 * Through Death's Gate: Convince the local priest to give you the location of the ruins from the Acolyte's vision.

Side quests

 * A Farmer's Plight: A farmer's pigs were stolen by an Ogre, and you need to find him.
 * Blood Legacy: Find Lady Aelys Harond, the daughter of Lord Harond.
 * Dream and Memory: Take care of somebody's lost memories

Tasks

 * Cat and Mouse: Search the village for a female Orlan… and decide about her fate.
 * Nest Egg: Help an alchemist with her cruel restockings.

Plants

 * 1x Berath's Bell (outside of Temple of Berath)
 * 1x Golden Celery (northwest of map)
 * 2x Pilgrim's Crown (southern edge of map)
 * 4x River Reed (along the river)
 * 1x St. Gyran's Horn (east, near Grieving Mother)

Behind the scenes

 * Dyrford was the first location created for, as Obsidian created the vertical slice of the game to establish the desired feel and gameplay. It is the primary location of the Backer Beta.
 * The buildings in Dyrford are vaguely Romanesque with a few Renaissance features, but they are built adjacent to much older, rougher remnants of a castle and bridges from centuries ago.