Castle Leydford

= Castle Leydford =
Located in the east of Arilaand stands Castle Leydford and its surrounding village. Appointed to be ruled by Lord Gavus by his father, King Aleus Harwin as a safe location for the lordling to hone his skills in stewardship and ruling. Gavus would not undertake this task alone however and would have Advisor Fallgrith appointed to him to assist in his education.
The Castle itself backs up against a mountain range making it ideal for defense. Inside the walls lie the lords hall where Lord Gavus once held his courts. Close by stood the guards barracks, church and scribery with the kitchen below it. Behind the church stood the Surgery, Apothecary and Tailor on their respected floors of the building. In the castle's main courtyard stood many of the local workshops including a blacksmith, leather tannery, cobbler, brewery and even a bath house by the castles final days. 
Outside the protective walls of the castle once stood a quiet village which housed many of the worker population for Leydford. By day the villagers would work the farms or fish in the river running along the outskirts of the small town. By night they would spend their hard earnt copper at The Holly Carver Inn. In the months leading up to the castles eventual demise the Iron Wolves also constructed a headquarters to base their mercenaries out of. 
= Historical Events =
== The Siege of Leydford ==
The end of the castle and its village was not sudden, rather over several weeks. With the empires advance into Arilaand and the kingdom's failure to halt it at the boarder only one thing was left for Leydford: a siege. Thanks to the foresight and directions of Lord Godefray a palisade wall was constructed using the surrounding forest as lumber and a watch tower was erected on a high point in the village proper to allow lines of sight over the defending wall. 
Though the empire would take time to reach the castle in force they employed a tactic in an attempt to soften up Leydford before they arrived. Packs of Servants of Ash scaled both the palisade and castle walls attacking the defenders inside. Their goal was to target the command staff and on several occasions even made it to the throne room itself in an attempt on Lord Gavus' life. This was only prevented by the quick reactions of the Leydford militia, City guards and royal guards not to mention the leadership of Captain Rallert and Captain Amelia. However, these victorious defenses would be hollow at the core as each night more and more people capable of defending the castle would prey to the masked Servants of Ash.
When the empire did arrive however it was to the sound of thousands of footsteps. Their first move was neutralizing the ruins of Stowerling Keep which at the time was the home of a large group of bandits with ties to the Dread Knives. With the assistance of Leydford's militia the keep was recaptured if only for a short amount of time it bought some breathing room to those in command of the castle. 
Several probing attacks fell upon the palisade walls in the days to come, most of which were repelled by Leydfords defenders though with heavy casualties. Some breaches in the palisade wall allowed Imperial Cataphracts to run rampant through the village and it was at this time Inquisitor Viktor revealed himself as one of the leaders of the attacking army. A massed attack by the defenders allowed for the inner palisade to once again be temporarily cleared. This short relief allowed the defenders to catch their breath and a small infiltration mission was conducted where two Drow, Seravith and Kyler managed to steal several attack plans of the Imperial army which aided in the defense somewhat. This also allowed time for the owner of the local inn, Nikolas Hollycarver to lead an effort in constructing several ballista atop the castle walls which would prove to be instrumental in the defense of Leydford. 
Eventually the Empires overwhelming force allowed them to contest the castle walls itself. In-between cannon and trebuchet bombardments armored knights took to the walls using ladders. Though the defenders fought bravely but bravery only lasts for so long. Defeat was imminent. It was then that war horns were heard in the distance and shouts of King Aelus' arrival could be heard. The king had arrived to save his son. This attack on the Imperials flank allowed breathing room for the defenders to either tighten up their defenses or mysteriously flee to safety....
File:Castle Leydford Day.png|Leydford by day
File:Castle Leydford Throne.png|Leydford's throne room
File:Castle Leydford Blacksmiths.png|Leydford's blacksmith
Category:Fractured Thrones Locations