House Montgomery

**Last Member**
 **Former Seat**
 **Former Lands**
 **Founder**

**House Montgomery** is a now-extinct house that once ruled the County of Wanduke. Count Richard Montgomery was the last member of this once great house. Ismond Laldere, a bastard of House Montgomery, now rules Wanduke under the recently elevated House Laldere.

## Origins

An age of prosperity blessed the Kingdom of Stormwind following the civil war which shook the realm to its core. King Samson Wrynn had a son whom he named Thomas II in honor of his late brother. Gold was discovered on the coast of Westfall, which prompted a rush of fortune-hunters. One young fortune seeker named Khaleed Gomrii landed in the Westridgean harbor-town of Bridgeport. Instead of following the mass of workers headed for Westfall, Khaleed instead struck for the mines southeast of Clairmont. Originating from across the eastern sea, he was initially regarded with suspicion due to his foreign appearance. However, through hard work and loyalty to the local lord, Khaleed was able to open its own mine outside of a shire known as Danestown. The mine proved profitable and Khaleed was elevated by merit to council Count Reginald Dane, ruler of Danestown and the surrounding countryside.

By fate or by chance, Khaleed accompanied Count Reginald on a hunt with Duke Frederick. During the hunt, a pack of black-furred boars charged upon the hunting party, knocking down the Duke’s guards and grievously wounding Count Reginald. Duke Frederick was thrown to the ground and his sword arm taken hold of by a savagely mawed boar. Deftly avoiding a similar fate, Khaleed took up his spear and ran the boar through its heart – freeing the Duke as the Ducal Guard drove off the rest of the pack. For saving him from certain death, Duke Frederick elevated Khaleed to the title of Baron and appointed him a generous manor in the heartland of Count Reginald’s demesne. His house sigil was made a black boar in remembrance of the event. Count Reginald, disfigured by the boar’s attack, took great resentment to Khaleed’s appointment, infuriated at the notion of a foreign commoner being brought into peerage. Not long after Lord Khaleed’s appointment, the Gomrii mine collapsed under mysterious circumstances – killing dozens of miners. Count Reginald blamed Lord Khaleed for the incident, shaming him publically and forcing him to pay the families of those lost in recompense. Bled dry of his former wealth, Lord Khaleed elected to join the Ducal Guard in service to Duke Frederick.

Fortune and prosperity often breed contempt and jealousy in one’s neighbors; a fact that King Samson knew and shrewdly monitored. After establishing a number of royal mines on the coast of Westfall, King Samson directed the plumbed wealth to be spent on refurbishing the Royal Army and cementing its loyalty to the House of Wrynn. King Samson instructed Prince Thomas II in the ways of war and diplomacy, fearing the worst as feudal conflict in the northern kingdoms threatened to spread to the south.

By the time of King Samson’s passing, he had well prepared the realm for war. The major trade routes throughout the kingdom were paved with flagstones and fortifications were constructed along the kingdom’s borders. After the coronation of King Thomas II, his father’s fears were made manifest. The kingdoms of the north, strapped for funding for their feudal wars, could not resist the lure of the riches that lined the Westfallian coast. Privateers, raiders, and pirates became a constant threat to the sovereignty of Stormwind, the royal mines on the Gold Coast facing attacks on a weekly basis. King Thomas II commissioned the construction of a stronger Royal Navy to combat these threats from abroad.

When conventional raiding failed, some took to indirect means to steal the kingdom’s wealth. In Westridge, Count Reginald’s miners struck a rich vein of arcane crystals beneath the southern mountains of his demesne. Rather than reporting the find to the Duke, the unscrupulous lord instead elected to keep the crystal vein secret; selling them off to smugglers and reaping the profits for himself. Buyers from Dalaran and Strom paid the Count handsomely for the crystals. Mindful that any public show of wealth might alert the Duke, Count Reginald hid the riches he procured in the mines themselves. Great treasure rooms were carved out of the mines as their deeper tunnels were filled to bursting with gold. Gripped by greed, Count Reginald would spend hours admiring his wealth within the mines. One of the miners secretly drew a map of the arcane crystal mines and gave it to his wife – instructing her to seek help elsewhere should he mysteriously disappear.

It was not long before a band of smugglers was caught with arcane crystals bound for Strom. After their source was pried from the smugglers, Duke Frederick demanded explanation from Count Reginald, who denied all accusations while paying his personal guard to collapse the tunnels leading into the arcane crystal mines – trapping the miners inside. The Ducal investigators were oblivious to the deed as Count Reginald gave them a tour of his mines. His guardsmen were paid well to maintain their lord’s innocence, leading the Ducal investigators to leave empty-handed. Weeks passed. The families of the miners trapped in the crystal mines grew suspicious after representatives of Count Reginald gave conflicting stories regarding the miners’ fate. The map-drawer’s wife sought out Lord Khaleed in desperation and plead for him to bring Count Reginald to justice. After being shown the map of the mines, Lord Khaleed agreed – alerting the Duke and rallying the Ducal Guard. Driven mad with greed, Count Reginald ordered his personal guard to join him in digging out and defending his riches – threatening execution for any who did not assist. Upon Lord Khaleed and the Ducal Guard’s arrival in Danestown, Count Reginald’s guard barricaded themselves within the crystal mine. Forming a perimeter around the mine entrance, Lord Khaleed called for Count Reginald’s surrender.

Deep within the mine, Count Reginald and his guard broke through the collapsed tunnel. Expecting to find only corpses, Count Reginald rushed to find his great treasure room, his guard calling out and urging caution. Count Reginald lit his way with only his torch. As he rounded a corner, he was greeted by several blue-glowing lights. The trapped miners went mad after exhausting their rations and lantern oil, clinging to arcane crystals for sustenance. Some had gone as far as to embed them in their skin. Reduced to slavering husks, the arcane crystal miners set upon Count Reginald and his guard. His screams of terror and agony echoed through the mine as he was devoured by the miners. Giving way to reason, Count Reginald’s remaining guards surrendered to Lord Khaleed. Together with the Ducal Guard, Lord Khaleed stormed the mines and cleared them of the arcane crazed miners, securing the treasure rooms and what remained of Count Reginald himself.

For bringing order to Danestown, Duke Frederick appointed Lord Khaleed to the title of Count – granting him Count Reginald’s estate. Count Khaleed elected to move the capital of the demesne to his own Baronial Keep, Ferrum. He would take the Duke’s daughter’s hand in marriage, cementing ties between the House of Montclair and the House of Gomrii. The descendants of Count Khaleed would rename their house to Montgomery in honor of this noble bond.

## Decline and Extinction

Count Richard Montgomery was born the third of six in the year 27 P.C. Along with his sister Chava Montgomery, he was part of the eldest of two pairs of twins born to his parents. Less than a decade into his life, his father and older brothers were slain during the Gurubashi War. Nonetheless, he became the appointed ruler of the County of Wanduke while most of the true governance was handled by Sir Armand Durant of the Barony of Rockhold. Motivated by Sir Armand, Richard had already been knighted by the outbreak of the First War and fought among the Westridge Cavaliers; known for both his brawn and his stubbornness, he earned the epithet ‘the Thick’ during this time. Although he fought tirelessly under the command of Albert Montclair, and later Maxen Montclair until the conclusion of the Second War, he retired from the military to focus on his obligations as a feudal lord. Almost from the moment of his exit of the military lifestyle, he became known as a man of great appetites for many pleasures which saw him outgrow his armor within a matter of years. Nonetheless, he was generally well-respected by both his people and the courts of the Duchy of Westridge for his service and efficient, if unimpressive, leadership.

The final years of the reign of **House Montgomery** were marked with stagnant success. The region maintained its status as an important military power and its trade was continually stimulated by the demand for raw materials, weapons and armor for the war effort. However, in 36 LC, the comital reign of Lord Richard Rosseau Montgomery was abruptly ended. The count fell ill with a fever that grew steadily worse; by the end of a fortnight, Richard has passed into the afterlife. Although it was well-known that the lord was an unhealthy and indulgent man, the severity of the sickness and its failure to spread to any of his servants was taken as a suspicious sign by some of the Westridge court. While most accepted the reports that his death was a simple tragedy, there were yet a number who found his death coming at a time when his only living relative, a bastard of the house of Montgomery, Ismond Laldere, was gaining in power and popularity within the region.

Despite the concerns of some, Ismond was appointed as Count of Wanduke by the Lord of Westridge and the assent of the crown with little time for mourning or investigation. What little effort was put toward determining if there had been foul play involved in the death of Lord Richard fell to the wayside as the newly appointed count began to make sweeping changes throughout the region. Although the economy flourished under the new regime, further demands were made of the people in regard to the martial capabilities of the region including seasonal and rotational military training for the commoners and the enforcement of the rule of law came through steeper penalties than the already notorious region already had implemented.