Bastion of Clearwater

## History

The Bastion of Clearwater used to be the second-largest settlement in Skyreach Forest, back before The Stain existed. Now, it’s little more than a military outpost used for organizing troops and political meetings within the Clearwater Coalition. Amidst the ruins of the former city are remnants of exquisite stonework, wood-shaping, and old carvings that allow a minor glimpse into the past of what was once a place of culture and artistic expression. What it once was, few can remember; as it stands currently, the Bastion is fighting a losing battle against the encroachment of The Stain, barely held in check by a constant influx of goods and supplies from the nearby inhabitants of the forest, and the tireless efforts of the leader of the Coalition, Commander Elluen Illimvosra. The fort is not a happy place, nor is it a destination for those interested in excitement and thrills. It’s where the criminals, exiles, and dredges of society end up paired with people who have delusional ideals of honor, duty, and privilege, erroneously romanticizing the bravery and sacrifice of those who combat an alien force.

## Geography

Settled on the side of the Anemone River opposite of The Stain, the Bastion of Clearwater has immediate access to running freshwater, though how fresh that water remains depends on how well the coalition manages to defend the area. Within a two-mile radius of the village, all but a small handful of trees have been clear-cut to allow clear lines of sight for the uniquely large siege engines utilized daily by the city’s defenders. Sitting between the two largest hills in the area are the ruins of the former city itself, resembling a destroyed mixture of a dwarven fortress and an elven glade. Resting on the hilltops beside the city are the only trees left standing within the clear-cut area, repurposed into weapons of war; Kütt'Ha’s Skullsmasher, and Snozzberry’s Splinterbow, named after two of the Bastion’s heroes. Both the Skullsmasher and Splinterbow weapons are fixed in place, built from the bones of the gargantuan trees that root upon the hills, and are operated twenty-four hours a day. Titanic booms from the collision of house-sized boulders launched from the Skullsmasher into The Stain echo for miles around the Bastion of Clearwater, a clear sign to many of the forest’s inhabitants that they’ve wandered too close to the center of the Skyreach.

## Inhabitants

The majority of the inhabitants of the Bastion of Clearwater are the warriors of the various allied tribes and villages within the Skyreach forest. Some head there willingly, believing they’re participating in a noble cause; others are conscripted by the more aggressive tribes to be trained to fight, while others yet still are volunteers that chose to become part of the Clearwater Coalition only because their other choice was death or imprisonment as criminals. The only other sane people that would make their way there are those who supply the fort with warm bodies and supplies, shortly before turning the other way around. While the fort does exist as a military installation, there’s no denying that some parts of the former city are still quite livable; some defectors that manage to slip away eke out a living amid the rubble, hoping nobody comes looking for them. To try and flee the city would be a death sentence for any defectors, archers posted atop the battlements required to loose arrows upon any who leave without the sounding of the horn.

## Religion, Magic, Technology & Military

### Religion

Any and all sorts can be found here. Despite the cause behind the founding of the Bastion of Clearwater, the desperate people who end up here tend to pray to anyone willing to listen, including less savory entities such as demons and devils. While technically outlawed, there is little to no enforcement upon worshiping evil deities, so much so that altars erected to evil deities are barely given a second thought.

### Magic

Magic isn’t studied with any exception in the Bastion of Clearwater, and is thought of as more of another tool to keep The Stain at bay. There is a small subsection of the Coalition that specializes in war magic known as the Spear of Clearwater, who accept casters of any type into their ranks of warmages, regardless of alignment or source, though they have a preference for summoners, abjurers, and diviners over other types of magic.

### Technology

While the inhabitants of the Skyreach Forest aren’t well known for their technological innovations, either caring little for technology or knowing little of it, the Skullsmasher and Splinterbow are likely marvels of structural engineering simply due to their sheer size. Knowing nothing of gunpowder or clockwork mechanisms, the engineers of the Bastion of Clearwater make due with what they have on hand; massive trees, an abundance of wood, and a constant influx of people desperate to not be sent to the front lines. Anyone capable of contributing to the Coalition’s goals by creating engines of war are given elevated and coveted positions as engineers; as engineers are rarely found on the other side of the river, the sheer amount of ingenuity that people force out of themselves in the name of self-preservation accounts for the more unusual and creative bits of technology that have appeared within Skyreach.

### Military

The Coalition of Clearwater, when compared to most other military factions, could easily be discounted as little more than an over-large band of brigands, cowards, and bright-eyed fools strung together by a barely functional truce between a few dozen smaller settlements, tribes, and groups with an interest in keeping The Stain at bay. While it may be true that their organization is barely organized, they are nonetheless capable as individuals, especially those who survive their first tour on the other side of the Anemone River. The lack of any sort of standardization, along with the individuality and creativity that’s unintentionally cultivated among the residents results in a lack of traditional or formal tactics, the military of the Clearwater resembles an adventurer’s guild more than anything else.

## Law & Crime

Law within the Bastion of Clearwater is fast and loose. There are very few rules, and even fewer willing to enforce them, but the rules that do exist few are willing to risk breaking in the first place. With many of the inhabitants either criminals who’ve been exiled, or bad apples that come from tribes that never wanted them, it stands to reason that there’s an over-abundance of what would be considered crime in many other settlements. Still, those with the power to command the enlisted (whether forcibly conscripted or not) do wield a heavy hand when it comes to matters of actual import, with more severity and swiftness than is usually expected. Cases are treated on an ad-hoc basis, typically engaged and resolved on the spot. As such, while it may be easy to blame someone and slip away with nobody the wiser, discovery of such treachery among the populace is treated with as much hostility as those who judge criminal actions. Most of the people of the Bastion of Clearwater tend to get to know their neighbors and their co-workers more closely than in other settlements, lending towards a self-regulating community…for the most part. As in any large congregation of desperate people, there are those who would nonetheless risk their lives and the lives of their fellows for a way to improve their own standings.

Rather than standard levels of recognized crime, such as misdemeanors or felonies, the community of the Bastion of Clearwater has levels of enforcement on crime. Below are several examples:

**Rarely Enforced:**

* Petty theft
* Assault
* Disturbing the peace
* Public lewdness
* Worship of evil deities
* Possession of drugs
* Gambling
* Vandalism
* Prostitution

**Sometimes Enforced:**

* Murder
* Bribery of an officer
* Assault of an officer
* Inebriation on duty
* Horseplay on duty
* Destruction of property
* Theft
* Robbery
* General Laziness

**Heavily Enforced:**

* Desertion
* Dereliction of Duty
* Arson
* Tampering with the Skullcrusher
* Tampering with the Splinterbow
* Harboring Stains
* Theft of intellectual property
* Rioting
* Intent to cause bedlam

## People & Places of Interest

### Places

* **Kütt'Ha’s Skullsmasher:** The trebuchet built upon the southern hill is built out of two still living eight-hundred-foot tall trees, both of which serve as the base and pivot point for the rest of the machine. Engineered by the precocious and talented wood carver, Kütt'Ha, and magically enhanced by his tribes’ shamans and druids, this marvel engineering is constantly manned in shifts by no fewer than one-hundred operators at a time. There are spiral staircases carved into the interior of the trees that lead from the base of the hill to the very top, beyond the pivot point of the mechanism, where lookouts are stationed to keep an eye out on all fronts. Outside, there are lifts fashioned from a pulley system that allows a quick transit from the base to the platforms near the pivot, the lifts built to carry heavy loads over long periods of time. At the base is where most of the action happens, however, as payload after payload is rolled into the sling portion of the machine, the counterweight having to be reset after every launch. The work is back-breaking and mind-numbing, and those posted to the Skullsmasher tend to be of hardier stock than those posted elsewhere.

* **Snozzeberry’s Splinterbow**: This massive repeating ballista is constructed out of the single largest tree left standing for miles around the Bastion of Clearwater; standing at nearly twelve-hundred feet in height, this colossal tree was used as the main body of what was to become the more advanced of the two siege engines. Engineered by the eccentric and manic gnomish inventor, Snickle Snozzberry, this marvel of magical prowess and gnomish ingenuity is the more complicated of the pair of towering weapons of war. Staffed at all times in shifts by no fewer than one-hundred operators at a time, this tree has been bent at an angle roughly one sixth of the way along its trunk, with a channel carved deep into its center along the bent portion. There are platforms that run the length of the tree all the way from the bend to the tip, with moving cables that operators can attach their harnesses to for swift travel back and forth along its length. At the base, the ammunition is collected via hooked chains, and raised into a loading chamber with a series of pulleys and winches. While the loading of the Splinterbow requires less arduous physical labor, it is by far a more dangerous position, with the occasional ‘normal sized’ tree coming loose from the loading chains and crushing operators unable to leap to safety. Once the loading chamber is full, it’s positioned further up the channel to be readied to fire while an expended loading chamber is cycled back to the chains for loading. Using a combination of alteration and evocation magics, the moment one of the readied chambers is rolled into the launcher, it is propelled forwards by explosive force, accelerated via chronomancy and graviturgy, sending the ‘splinters’ sailing towards The Stain at incredible speeds.

* **The Barrows:** This is the equivalent of what could pass for criminal districts in many other settlements. It’s rife with fighting pits, opium dens, brothels, and gambling dens where deals are made with literal devils, and the pains and sorrows of living in the Bastion can be sullied for a night or two. Enforcement in this district is nearly non-existent, as many who end up here after their shifts are typically those fresh from the front-lines. Death in the fighting pits is often seen as one of the few acceptable ways to desert the Coalition, as those corpses are still around to be reanimated or recycled for the Coalition’s uses. Winning in the fighting pits are a good way to make a name for one’s self, and if prolific enough, are a good way to pay for continual extended leave; another acceptable way to shirk duty, as the money spent to extend leave for one skilled fighter pays for the acquisition of a dozen more warm bodies. For those who’ve been regarded as having no real use in combat, or for those whose injuries proved to be too severe to continue fighting in any meaningful capacity, they’ve taken up positions as bartenders, drug dealers, prostitutes, buskers, beggars, and card sharks, earning for themselves whatever they can in order to get by. That being the case, smuggling is at an all-time high in the Bastion, providing for those who would otherwise cause trouble for the coalition, an activity that remains relatively un-enforced. Most interesting in the Barrows, however, is the rumor of Redessa the Smuggler; supposedly, she’s a dryad who’s tree was Stained on the other side of the river, giving her a unique ability to move through any tree in Skyreach. Regardless of whether or not the rumors are true, asking around for Redessa is likely to garner some attention.

* **The Roots:** This is where the truly cowardly take off to when they realize there’s nowhere else to go. While the main population of the town is located between the two adjacent hills, there are many, many abandoned buildings that go unnoticed and remain undisturbed even to this day. The original city was much larger than the portion of town that’s in current use, much of which was beneath the soil. In the darkened, winding tunnels and cavernous pockets of open spaces of the roots lay hundreds of finely crafted buildings and articulate monuments from a time long since passed. Eerily quiet, those who’ve traveled the Roots and came back described the strange sensation of crushing isolation, despite traveling with others close by. The Coalition is too busy to care about what might lurk beneath the town proper, or to send troops in to recover deserters, but that won't stop them from paying others willing to dig around.

### People

* **Chief Engineer Kütt'Ha:** Most people expect a human from one of the barbarian tribes that roam the Skyreach Forest when they hear the woodcarver’s name. When a twelve-foot tall troll with scaly-black skin appears, wearing a saw-dust covered apron full of sharp implements, grunting and enunciating words with aggressive emphasis on ‘Kuttin’ shows up instead, people tend to be more than a little surprised. Originally a conscript from the Skull-Smasha tribe sent to the Bastion of Clearwater as a social pariah, the troll has made no shortage of allies and supporters amongst the battle-hardened members of the Bastion since his arrival. Suffering from a curse in his blood, Kütt'Ha’s desire to maim and eat people has been replaced by a desire to maim wood and eat plants. In his shame, he repeatedly volunteered for frontline duty, hoping that the horrors of The Stain would end his life. Instead, as an ironic turn of fate, those who served alongside the shame-filled troll ended up regarding him as a selfless hero figure, always placing himself between his allies and danger. After several repeated failures to get himself killed, he began listening to the words being said about him. Kütt'Ha eventually grew to enjoy the praise of others, and started to develop friendships within the Coalition. An elven woman by the name of Ashao Shem with whom Kütt'Ha had forged a strong friendship was killed on one expedition when Kütt'Ha was busy trying to show off how heroic he was. A deep sense of guilt had befallen the troll, and after the loss of his close friend, he used his prolific wood-carving skills to design a weapon that would represent his anger towards the horror that took his friend from him; The Skullsmasher.

* **Chief Engineer Snickle Snozzberry:** A gnome with an overly-large nose and extremely sharp sense of smell, Snickle was once an alchemist of some renown in his hamlet; able to smell the telltale signs of a poison from a distance beyond sight, his nose was regarded as the treasure of the people in his home. As it turned out, being able to literally smell danger from a mile away was the thing that ended up being what saved his life and the life of his fellow gnomes. Long before his village was swallowed by the horrors of The Stain, he and his people had traveled to the other side of the Anemone River, finding themselves in the middle of a dispute between the leaders of a dozen different peoples. Displaced and distraught, Snickle volunteered to join the Coalition on behalf of his hamlet, and his talents as an alchemist were soon put to use. It’s been decades since that time, and over the many, many long years of his life spent combating The Stain’s encroachment, he’s had to continually adjust his level of creativity to absurd levels, staving off growing evidence of his Bleaching. With inspiration from his rival, the woodcarver, he came up with the utterly insane idea of the Splinterbow; a weapon of such immensity, such incredulousness, that maybe he’d be able to grant a gift to his people that would outlast his Bleaching, should he succumb to it in the near future.

* **Commander Elluen Illimvosra:** Representing the interests of the elves within the forest, it was originally Elluen’s highly controversial idea to clear-cut the trees surrounding the Bastion of Clearwater, and use the former city as a base of operations. As one of the few survivors of the Epicenter of Skyreach, she’s become something of a legend within the Coalition. While some appreciate the endless amount of effort she puts forth into maintaining the delicate threads of balance within the Coalition, others despise her overly strict, abrasive and demanding attitude. Resting for fewer than two hours a day, operating around the clock, she oversees many operations personally, is present at every meeting, and is seen as the de facto leader of the Coalition. Even if she’s hated by many for excessive use of force and for making highly unethical decisions in order to achieve more efficient results, there’s few who won’t show her respect; zealous, proud, and decisive are buzzwords that describe the Commander at a glance, but fail to unravel the truth of her motivations that drive her endlessly towards the goal of securing, and eventually, driving back the enigmatic forces that destroyed everything she once knew. There’s nothing she won’t do, no deed too foul, and no sacrifice too big to be made in order to combat the threat at the heart of Skyreach in her eyes.

* **Redessa the Smuggler:** If you want it, she can get it. If she doesn’t have it, she’ll find someone who does. If it’s hidden, she’ll find it. If it’s guarded, she’ll steal it. Those who’ve hired her say that she’s the best smuggler in the entire forest. She’s fast. Too fast, some say, for her to be able to move around like normal. However she does it, nobody has been able to uncover her method. All that’s known about her is how to get a hold of her, and what she sounds like. Nobody has seen her face, but they’ve heard her voice; a beautiful, languid voice, dripping with the sweetness of a first kiss. In order to acquire her services, all that’s needed is a seed from beyond the Anemone River; any seed will do. Knock on a door, any door, and whisper the words, “Children of thorns are spread by many hands.” She’ll seek you out, find you, and you’ll be able to name your price. The only stipulation, some say, is that she doesn’t transport people. Many have tried to convince her to smuggle them out, only to have been turned away, never to hear from her again.

* **Speartip Beth Grindlewald:** Daughter of the Green Hag, Betty Grindlewald, Beth is the head of the Spear of Clearwater. Despite holding a position of such importance, Beth actively despises her role, and wishes for nothing more than to simply leave the duties of Speartip to one of the other, potentially capable magical candidates, so she can move on with her own life. While her disdain for her position is widely known, as is her connection to Betty Grindlewald, few could dispute her knack for the job. Originally sent to keep an eye on the Coalition’s efforts by her mother after refusing the transformation, Beth’s role in the fort town evolved rather quickly when it was discovered how unerringly talented she was at magic. At first she believed it to be a gift, until she was discovered by Commander Elluen, who immediately put her to use as leader of the war mages, naming her Speartip. The only reason she stays despite her personal desire to abandon her position, is because of the deal she made with her mother. Nobody knows what the terms of the deal were, and nobody in their right mind is willing to ask Beth about it. About the only thing a person might be able to do to truly get on her good side would be to have her released from her position…but to do that would mean going to see Betty Grindlewald, and nobody wants to do that, especially seeing as how the hag has, most unusually, been supporting the Coalition.