Grunhugel

One of Karnstein County's six baronies, **Grunhugel** is the realm of Baroness Dietlinde Muller von Karnstein.

Grunhugel is likely most notable for said Baroness, as she is one of the multiverse's rare oddities; a good Vampire that is *genuinely* beloved by her subjects.

## Culture and Society

Darmstadt comprises one of Karnstein County's seven baronies and is the realm of Baroness Dietlinde Muller von Karnstein. The barony is most famous in Blutwald, and even in some parts beyond, for its baroness who is genuinely beloved by her subjects for her kindness and compassionate rule.

Due to the policies, and genuine concern, of the Baroness, Grunhugel is in many ways the most functional, although certainly not the most wealthy or populous, realm in Blutwald. The peasants still must fear the untamed wilderness about their villages, but can generally rest sure in the knowledge that so long as they remain within their settlements they and their property are safe from the predations of monsters. Indeed, even the harvest in Grunhugel is less painful than elsewhere in the kingdom, for each year, during the harvest, the Baroness sends her skeleton servitors to aid the local farmers in their efforts.

### **Blood Tax**

The Blood Tax in Grunhugel operates somewhat differently than in the other baronies of Karnstein County. Those offered up to the Baroness are not drained unto death or otherwise slain and, indeed, are quite well cared for. These individuals, collected in larger number but less frequently than the other baronies, live with the Baroness in her castle and are cared for. The Baroness feeds on them often, but rotates her sources often enough that while she is quite well fed, she is never in danger of doing serious harm to her targets. When the new taxes are collected, the old 'offerings' are returned to their families and homes.

### **The Hunt**

Unsurprisingly, Grunhugel has the most restricted form of the Hunt practiced in Karnstein County. The Baroness does not permit general hunting of her subjects, and only - as per the decree of the Countess and Queen - is it legal for Werewolves to prey upon the commoners during the night of a full moon.

## Geography

True to name, Grunhugel consists primarily of wooded hills and mountains.

### **Erdeblut Mountains**

The pine-coated **Erdeblut Mountains** are among the tallest mountains in the Siegreich, and are infamously geologically active. Quakes and landslides are common, and subsurface magma chambers and tubes riddle the mountains and provide them with their name.

### **Kurbishugel**

Home to a long abandoned Cuthbertine church, haunted **Kurbishugel** is so named for the pumpkins which grow great in both size and quantity about it.

### **Marmorhugel**

The steeply sloping hill of **Marmorhugel** is dotted with ancient and mysterious ruins of unknown origin. Although largely covered in grass, the hill is largely comprised of marble, although in many places there are muddy pits of quicksand.

### **Pilzwald**

Famous for its truffles, the forest of **Pilzwald** is home to a variety of exotic mushrooms, some of which grow to prodigious size.

### **Stromburg**

The town of **Stromburg** is the largest Human settlement of Grunhugel and both the barony's capital and the seat of its baroness.