Hillfort Torbold

Hillfort Torbold was one of the southern fortifications of Amn, part of a chain including Hillfort Ishla and Hillfort Keshla.
==Description==
The fort's structures were made of logs sealed with mud batting, and required constant maintenance. In addition to the lodgings for hundreds of troops, Keshla held an armory, a combined blacksmith-stables, a dedicated herbalist, a tailor, two general supply shops, and a large garden that supplied food for the garrison. The well-appointed fort also contained the inn Bruder's Waystop, and a temple of Helm, the Hall of the Guardians.
With the influence of Major Tharundar Olehm, the fort's garrison kept the fort in top condition. The hard-working soldiers kept it clean and well-maintained, and the fort's towers were decorated with proud banners.
==Geography==
Torbold was the middle of the three Hillforts, at the intersection of the South Road and Olehm's Passage in the central Tejarn Hills. It was a common waystop between Amn and Tethyr, and the secret Dark Redoubt lay just south of the road halfway to Hillfort Keshla.
==Defenses==
Like the other Hillforts, Keshla had a more primitive and old-fashioned construction than the more modern Cloud Peaks citadels. The fort crowned a hill and had an outer palisade and oft-flooded ditch ringing it, with the main structure made of tall, thick log walls reinforced with earthworks, as well as some towers and a central keep.
The Hillfort was garrisoned by the Council Army on behalf of Amn's Council of Six. It had a normal complement of 300 soldiers, 15 officers, and the commander. It had enough spare room to host 500 more within its walls. Under the leadership of Major Olehm, the soldiers became extremely well-trained and hardened by battle. Major Olehm ensured that his soldiers survived despite the odds, and so they developed a strong loyalty and devotion towards him, though this dismayed the Council of Six. The Council feared that Major Olehm was building a cult of personality and an army to rebel against Amn, and so limited his reinforcements to the bare minimum of new graduates from the Golden Fortress, rather than the larger force that his war with the Skullgnashers would warrant.
==History==
Torbold was built on the foundations of a long-gone pre-Shoon structure, likely part of the same network as the Nine Sentinels. Despite being an important fort on the southern border, the Council refused to release the funds needed to make Torbold more habitable or defensible, and so the garrison had to deal with an earth and log structure that required constant maintenance.
In the , Major Tharundar Olehm won his assignment to the hillfort, as he sought to reform Amn's defenses personally. At the time the fort had recently come under attack from the Skullgnasher hill giants led by the cunning Chief Fedduk, and the garrison had already fought off seven direct attacks in the first 18 months of battle. Major Olehm set about training the already-hardened troops into an elite force, and had them construct the Olehm Passage south to the Tethir Road in order to build up their strength and improve his ability to manoeuvre in the hills. Despite a lack of support from the Council, Ishla, or Keshla, the Army garrison skirmished and counter-raided the Skullgnashers, turning defeats into stalemates and stalemates into victories. They also scouted out the surrounding hills extensively, giving them a level of expertise with the terrain that matched that of the giants, as well as hunting down and destroying the various caves and lairs the giants had used in the area. The Torbold garrison worked in conjunction with the halfling militia of the Citadel of the Banner Raised Anew, with High Marshal Brenth Stoutshield actively seeking an alliance with Major Olehm.
By 1370 DR, the garrison had almost entirely pushed the Skullgnashers out of the Tejarn Hills, and the giants were largely limited to their bases in the Small Teeth. That year, the city of Riatavin declared independence from Amn and won support from Tethyr, and the Council Army was mobilized to retake it with force. The army assembled under General Labak Craumerdaun in Hillfort Keshla to prepare for the attack on Riatavin, but at the same time the Sothillisian War was launched, with Hillfort Ishla, Gambiton, and Esmeltaran quickly overrun. Messengers from Keshla arrived on Eleasis 12 and summoned a third of the Torbold garrison to join them, but later the same day riders from Esmeltaran arrived and shared the news of the unfolding war. Major Olehm sent this news onwards to catch up with his own troops and those at Keshla, and prepared for the war to come. The report arrived at Keshla two days later, and half of the assembled troops marched with General Craumerdaun west to Torbold, arriving on Eleasis 18, and then on to Esmeltaran. Major Olehm was left in command of the region in order to gather up forces, and proceeded to work alongside the forces of the Citadel of the Banner, and also Logan Coprith of Trademeet. A scout reported on the threat to Murann on Eleasis 20, and Major Olehm set about calling up the forces at Keshla, though many of the officers there were frozen in place and did not respond. Their forces only started moving three days later when their own underofficers threatened a mutiny, and the combined forces finally reached Trademeet on Eleasis 26.
==Appendix==
===Appearances===
===Connections===
===References===
Category:Fortresses
Category:Locations
Category:Locations on the Olehm Passage
Category:Locations on the South Road (Amn)
Category:Locations in the Tejarn Hills
Category:Locations in Meiritin
Category:Locations in Amn
Category:Locations in the Lands of Intrigue
Category:Locations in West Faerûn
Category:Locations in Faerûn
Category:Locations on Toril