Elmshire Castle

Elmshire Castle is an ancient Lenadian fortress nestled behind the town of Elmshire in Eastern Stromgarde. After Stromgarde invaded Lenadia in the year 550 BP, lordship moved from the castle to the town and the castle became abandoned. It sat this way until Ehlonna 28, 274 AP when **Salem Solstice** and **Zagato Unrhymed** cleansed it of an evil presence and rescued the Lady of Elmshire, **Trista Rayner**, from a shadow demon's possession. **Lord Lambert Rayner**, recognizing Zagato's noble status, granted him the deed to Elmshire Castle as a thank you for his group's effort in rescuing his wife and removing the evil presence from the castle.

After the deaths of Zagato and Salem on Aureon 54, 274 AP; Lambert Rayner bestowed the deed to Elmshire Castle to local noble **Lord Adon Savorius**. Swift staff changes soon occurred, causing **some of the castle staff** to literally walk off the job in disgust while some even went as far as to leave the town of Elmshire entirely. Only a handful of the staff appointed by Zagato Unrhymed remain employed by Adon Savorius. Those who chose to leave have largely been replaced.

## Castle Locations

### Exterior

**Garden:** A garden that was constructed by Ned Cobbleton to allow various herbs and plants to grow for alchemical experiments.

**Stable:** A recent construction outside of the castle's entrance where staff/visitor horses are kept. The castle stablemaster, Ruth Wedgewood, also works here.

### First Floor

**Ballroom:** A room once used for great balls. It is used regularly by Lord Savorius to hold dances and formal gatherings.

**Chapel:** A small chapel off the courtyard that Gabrielle Prost oversaw the construction of. It contains a main room with four pews and an altar, three general prayer rooms, and a back room for private rituals (ie. scrying). It is currently in mild disrepair after the hasty departure of Gabrielle from the castle.

**Courtyard:** The open garden area within the center of Elmshire Castle. A teleportation ring that is attuned to the castle teleports him here, often resulting in whichever servant is nearby experiencing a mild heart attack.

**Great Hall:** A massive hall in the castle's north end. Lord Savorius uses this hall for large-scale feasts and celebrations.

**Kitchen:** The kitchen on the castle's east side. This is where the servants prepare meals for the castle staff.

**Laundry Room:** A room along the southern wall where servants clean staff clothes and castle bed sheets.

**Library:** Located in the southwest corner of the castle, the library is where staff go to relax in peace or conduct research.

**Master Quarters:** The quarters of Adon Savorius.

**Smithy:** A makeshift workshop for former castle blacksmith Jebediah Driskel. Originally an office, a chimney and vents were constructed on the outer wall facing the courtyard to allow proper ventilation in the smithy. It is currently not in use and has been locked since Jebediah was relieved of his duties.

**Steward's Office:** The office of the castle steward. It is located near the north hall.

**Worker Quarters:** The sleeping quarters were castle guards and servants may rest. It is located in the south hall near the library.

### Second Floor

**Crawl Spaces:** An expansive network of crawl spaces that connect to no rooms in particular. Believed to be a product of poor design, though they could be converted into hallways if the need for more room would ever arise

**Treasury:** A large room containing various ledgers and a vault where the castle's finances are stored.

### Basement

**Dungeon:** The dungeon where prisoners are stored. There are three cells within the dungeon.

### Towers

**Guard Tower:** A tower in the southeast corner of the castle that the guards use to better survey the castle grounds.

**Mage Tower:** A mage tower that one can gain entry to from the library. It contains living quarters, a workshop, and a storage room.

**Northeast Tower:** A currently unused tower in the castle.

**Northwest Tower:** A currently unused tower in the castle.

## Castle Staff

**Administration & Clerical**
Elmshire Castle's clerical staff oversees the general day to day running of the castle. They generally delegate tasks to other members of the staff that serve below them or serve as administrators of various parts of the castle.

**Kaylin Sunfall:** Current steward of Elmshire Castle. She is the official replacement of the former steward who had been exiled. Kaylin is regarded as a shrewd but thorough steward, with previous associates commending her on her terrific work ethic.

**Israe Fyrestane:** The current public liasion between Elmshire Castle and the town of Elmshire and its nearby port of Rayner Landing. As the assistant to the castle steward, Israe's job entails administrating the general castle infrastructure and managing supplies being brought into Elmshire Castle from Elmshire and Rayner Landing. It is her duty to integrate a structure of trade that includes Elmshire Castle between the other two parties.

**Guard Roster**
Elmshire Castle's guard staff is responsible for the safety of the castle and those who serve within in. They regularly guard the castle entrance, patrol its halls, and keep an eye on the castle grounds.

**Sarno Salton:** Head guard of Elmshire Castle. Prior to being hired for this position, he served as Lord Adon Savorius' personal bodyguard. His weapon of choice is the greatsword.

**Roshan Darvish:** A former member of the Elite Guard in the desert kingdom of Kaspia. Left the kingdom to pursue a better life for his family. His weapon of choice is the quarterstaff.

**Elsa Spruceheart:** A High Elven ranger who is supposedly indebted to Lord Adon Savorius, though few seem to know why. Her weapon of choice is the longbow.

**Servant Roster**
Elmshire Castle's servant staff is responsible for the cleaning of the castle, feeding of the staff, and upkeep of castle grounds. Despite typically deemed the lowest of the staff members, they are by far
the hardest working.

**Greta Uldridge:** A member of Elmshire Castle's servant roster. She specializes in groundskeeping. After Lord Savorius inherited the castle, Greta made a good first impression (ie. sucking up to him), prompting him to promote her to head servant.

**Holga Brownbottom:** Appointed by Lord Adon Savorius to serve as the principal cleaner in charge of upkeep for Elmshire Castle, duties previously held by Piper Hanes before her departure.

**Lydia Sindholm:** Originally appointed by Zagato to serve as the castle's head servant. She specializes in cooking and farming. After Zagato's demise, new Lord of Elmshire Castle Adon Savorius demoted her upon favouring Greta Uldridge over Lydia. Though outraged by the demotion at first, Lydia chose to remain at Elmshire Castle even though the demotion had a significant impact on her emotional health.

**Maintenance & Upkeep Staff**
Elmshire Castle's worker roster is comprised of individuals who look after castle infrastructure, oversee construction and repair jobs, and produce tools and supplies to assist the rest of the castle staff.

**Ned Cobbleton:** Head builder, carpenter, and foreman of all construction on the castle grounds.

**Ruth Wedgewood:** Hired to serve as Elmshire Castle's horse breeder, rancher, stablemaster.

## Former Staff Members

**Milton Bedford:** Elmshire's retired steward who Lord Lambert Rayner appointed to serve as the Steward of Elmshire Castle. After it was discovered that he was helping Ethan Hale and providing him with information on the party's actions, he was exiled from Elmshire.

**Armon Drago:** Former head guard of Elmshire Castle. Prior to being hired for this position, he served as a senior guard within the town of Elmshire itself. His weapon of choice is the crossbow. After Lord Savorius inherited the castle, Armon was dismissed and replaced the deceased Anice Heathcliff as the new 2nd guard captain of Elmshire. Despite enjoying his new role, Armon is usually visibly depressed due to the conditions of Gabrielle Prost's departure from Elmshire.

**Jebediah Driskel:** A hardworking but brain-damaged smith brought in from Westmarch to serve as Elmshire Castle's blacksmith. After Lord Savorius inherited the castle, he developed a strong disdain for the brain-damaged man. Jebediah was released from the castle and told to return home to Westmarch, effectively shutting down the Elmshire Castle forge in the process.

**Piper Hanes:** A former member of Elmshire Castle's servant roster. She specialized in cleaning and expressed a strong desire to learn how to read. After the deaths of Salem and Zagato, she threw a fit at Lord Savirous firing/removing her former employer's staff and stepped down as a servant of the castle. She left with Eldar Tharaxian to pursue other opportunities.

**Anice Heathcliff:** Elmshire's 2nd guard captain who swore to serve Elmshire Castle provided she received an opportunity to avenge her father's death. After going to the Underdark with Salem and Zagato, she was devoured by a rust maw.

**Valyn Kilgor:** A former member of Elmshire Castle's guard roster. Prior to being hired for this position, he was a scout. His weapon of choice is the longbow. After Lord Savorius inherited the castle, Valyn confided in Armon Drago that he did not trust Lord Savorius before simply leaving Elmshire.

**Erin Luxford:** A former member of Elmshire Castle's guard roster. Prior to being hired for this position, she was a mercenary. Her weapon of choice is the longsword. After Lord Savorius inherited the castle, Erin took up the position of personal guard for Lord Lambert Rayner.

**Gabrielle Prost:** A wandering Jourdainian priestess who is also a skilled archer. She oversaw the creation of the castle's chapel and served as its caretaker. She was temporarily appointed to the role of steward after Milton Bedford was exiled. After Lord Savorius inherited Elmshire Castle, Gabrielle chose to part ways with Armon Drago without warning, citing that she couldn't stay in one place for long before leaving Elmshire.

**Eldar Tharaxian:** Dragonborn historian who served as Elmshire Castle's librarian and scholar. His knowledge was regularly sought by Salem and Zagato. He abandoned his position as castle librarian in support of his friend Piper Hanes, who he chose to leave Elmshire with.