1459

## **Stonehearth builds *Hilcross Keep* outside Baldur’s Gate**

### **The long shadow of the Shadovar**

The city of Baldur’s Gate was a target and the most recent threat was literally hiding in the shadows. Even the Flaming Fist found evidence of Shadovar teams reconnoitering. The returned Netherese were an overwhelming foe for a city-state and the possibility of invasion had some factions working out the most efficient way to pre-surrender.

While Baldurians, particularly the patriars, were used to being targeted for their money, it didn’t take much to figure out the strategic draw for the Netherese (especially that far out on the Sword Coast). It was Stonehearth. Their product and their know-how were exactly the kind of high-magic, high-capacity target that drew a culture named after the Nether Scrolls.

No steel had crossed, no spells fired, but one bloc of patriars had already assigned House Stonehearth blame for the future invasion. This was usually within a minute of spending the tax Stonehearth paid into the city coffers.

By late 1458, it had come to blows between the Dukes, the patriars and the courtiers of the city. Stonehearth counted among the patriars rather than the dukes, but the political calculus behind that equation was well known and highly suspect.

### **Marshaling the Military**

Could the 1,700 soldier Flaming Fist defend against the Shadovar? Unequivocally, *no*. The odds didn't improve much when adding the ~1,000 of the Upper City's "Watch," who were little more than the rich district's security lackeys.

Could Stonehearth defend against the Shadovar? Without a doubt, *yes*. What had started as security right there in that city had blossomed into a frighteningly efficient military that had proven itself against endless waves of trolls, organized *armies* of the undead and beyond. But when it came to defending *the Gate*, would they?

The House would defend their own, and their allies, but there were agreements limiting Stonehearth jurisdiction and influence within the walls. If the patriars wanted Stonehearth protection, they were going to have to make concessions.

### **Blindingly Obvious Realizations**

Allowing Stonehearth to take the gloves off was a massive risk. House Stonehearth was a noble presence in both Tethyr and Cormyr, and the Cormyrean nobility had the same concerns: *the rest of the baronage saw a rising House that could check the rest of their combined power*. Oligarchy required a careful equilibrium: it was critical that none of the nobility rose to the level of true royalty...

For as wealthy as Baldur’s Gate was, that economic capacity rarely leaked out of its loop of self-gratification. Even when magically-enhanced, supply-side economics didn't work in an oligarchy, and the patriars were the worst-case proof of that. Ultimately, the patriars preferred to be the big fish in a smaller pond – and that alone was one of the reasons House Stonehearth had ventured to North Point.

It was no secret that Stonehearth wanted better conditions throughout the city. That was good business: improve the overall economy, and their slice of improved along with it. For many of the patriars, however, it was a zero-sum game. It was also no secret that half those nobles actually benefitted financially and otherwise by maintaining the status quo.

During the 1458 debates, those opposed to Stonehearth stoked their following by pointing out the outrageous levels of tax necessary to support the ridiculous ideas of a non-sewage-tainted utopia that Stonehearth was promoting.

There was a deep divide in the city. The largest cracks were at the top but the fissures ran all the way down. For their part, Stonehearth asserted considerable power, both in their obvious presence and in the tax they provided to keep the city solvent. There was no lack of ironic hypocrisy that loudest voices for the status quo came from anti-tax nobles that enjoyed the benefits of Stonehearth tax revenue.

The noble rancor bordered on civil war but one thing prevented open hostility: *the Stonehearth Arms*. “It’s just the excuse they want!” was the patriars' battle-cry to run away from battle...

### **A different kind of shadow government**

By late 1458, Shadovar threats reached critical mass. The Baldurian Parliament, a sort of House of Commons, had risen up and largely supported the House. It didn't pull enough patriar votes to install Stonehearth onto the Council of Four, there was simply too much threat of a Stonehearth coup, but it was enough to legally authorize Stonehearth license to crenellate.

To a degree, Stonehearth was already fortified. The Stonehearth Arms' 1st Battalion was based in the city and was the primary response force for the several House neighborhoods within the walls. 1st Battalion was also deterrence against Baldurian rivals – though at this point, there was no single rival. That lack of parity was another reason the noble collective was so threatened by the House.

When Parliament authorized the crenellation, the patriars were up in arms. There were accusations that Stonehearth was a shadow government, usurping the Council of Four. Given the power against the Shadovar, the dukes didn't publicly oppose Stonehearth's proposals.

Construction started immediately...

## **The Southern ACD teams started work in the Outer City**

From the Trade Way's river crossing, the road to the Gate wrapped around a comparatively steep, rocky hill known as “Hilcross.” So named for the hill by the river crossing. It was less-than-imaginative, but made it easy to identify for out-of-towners.

## Trashing the Old Ways

Parts of the west valley and the east hill, just outside the gate, were used as an unofficial dumping ground. While the hill overall was considered part of the Outer City, the emphasis was on the "outer," and therefore beneath the notice of genteel Baldurian society.

House Stonehearth unilaterally took over the eastern Outer City. First things first, they cleaned the dumps. This was done by ACD building a barbican into the side of the hill, with the path through leading to a hole where garbage could be dumped.

Stonehearth fined anybody that dumped elsewhere: it was a health hazard. About half the patriars were on fire as Stonehearth (itself a patriar) asserted power as if they were a king over the dukes. The dukes backed the House on the matter: it was, in fact, a health hazard.

The interior of the barbican went into a subterranean complex that used elemental fire to vaporize trash. This paid for itself with the amount of metals recovered and purified alone. Those unfriendly to Stonehearth now looked at trash removal as a kind of organized crime.

Stonehearth was taking over the whole hill, but the mess had to come out before the foundation went in. This meant clearing out a garbage dump and razing the Fisherman’s Slums. The slums were easy enough: Stonehearth simply bought out the residents at exorbitant rates. Everybody was happy. The garbage caused more controversy, but that was a whole different story.

### **The Hilcross Borough**

Baldur's Gate had three official entrances to the city. The Northeast Gate was the most popular: that was where the extension of the Trade Way connected to the city. The Northwest Gate went toward the western half the Baldurian territory, the Sword Coast, and for the last 80 years, toward North Point. The Southwest Gate had been entrance toward the hill, the Fisherman's Slum and the dump. The Southwest Gate found new life as the Baldurian path to the new Hilcross Borough.

Another curiosity: Hilcross would *not* be sharing walls with the city. Rather, they built their own walls around the entirety of the base of the hill. That perimeter wall considerably higher, thicker and more artfully designed than the Baldurian wall, making a statement toward the rival patriars.

### **Knock Knock**

The perimeter wall went along the Baldurian stretch of the Trade Way, just up the hill from the Outer City community. This massive construction brought a newly *powerful* perception to the Baldurian approach.

The Hilcross Borough walls had two gates – one at the once-unloved Baldurian southeast corner (the borough's west side), and the other just up the hill after the bridge (on the borough's east side). The east gate was up a steep grade, requiring a switchback path just to reach the barbican. Once through the gate, there was another switchback path to reach the inner road that would soon be known as "The Spiral."

### **Inside the Walls**

As the House took the initiative on garbage disposal, the site of the old slums had been decontaminated, graded to a smooth slope and squared city grid laid out that was the psychological antithesis of the frustrating Baldurian traffic flow next door.

Whats more, like North Point, the Hilcross Borough had running water, flushing toilets, and artisan-crafted brick-paved roads. Intended as a kind of mixed residential-business district, it filled almost overnight and was perceived as a kind of almost theme-park utopia against the dank maze to the west.

## A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight

Stonehearth retained their manor in the Upper City, using it as a low-level diplomatic reception area. Most of the Stonehearth-Baldurian patriars had their audience there. Stonehearth entertained guests and used the living quarters as a regal guest house.

Meanwhile, invites to Hilcross Keep were rare and largely treasured. While there were a few patriars that saw themselves as implacable rivals (or at least resistance), most were ecstatic just achieve the waiting list.

Stonehearth maintained excellent relations with other stalwarts of the city, especially the High House of Wonders, the temple to Gond. It also included underwriting The Unrolling Scroll, the Gate’s Shrine of Oghma.

The Marquisate had their own well-supported churches, but the House contributed to the local shrines of Helm, Ilmater and Lathander. There was even an occasional nod to Tymora for luck and Umberlee for the sake of superstitious sailors.

There was a keep on the top of the hill – with access from *inside* the hill – but a ceremonial road on the surface that would take people on a winding route to the top (and the magnificent views that went with it). It was completed in 1459, along with the heavy, arcane cannon-studded keep at the peak.

The Spiral, the nickname for the road, was visually stunning and made another statement – especially as other patriars made the occasional surface trek to visit Stonehearth. As for the local residents, it was grandeur they could reach on foot.

By 1461, the success of the Hilcross Borough was so massive, the Spiral so symbolic, that people were petitioning to build along the road.

### **The Spiral District**

Stonehearth authorized and guided construction along the length of most of the Spiral. Given the new level of traffic and the surprising density of population up the hill, a city wall was built just inside the road, following it all the way up. With occasional towers, it served to emphasize the swirl up the hill, considerably adding to the enchanted perception.

By 1463, both sides of the road – steep in each direction – had been built roughly two buildings deep on each side. While everything inside the new walls was Hilcross Borough, the thin surface route became a subdivision of the borough known as the *Spiral District*.

Nearly a self-contained city in its own right, the Spiral District became a haven for upscale artisans. Many were suppliers, subcontractors or specialists for House Stonehearth in some capacity or another. High above the city, with the views and the breeze, it was *the* prestige neighborhood... much to the consternation of the Baldurian Upper City residents.

### **Crowning the Peak**

Like an imperial crown, Hilcross Keep was protected by beefy double walls. The walkways were protected "against the wind" or at least that's what people thought until they realized it was designed to withstand attack from a flight of dragons.

Not that would happen: the cannons ensured that any attempted siege, dragon-enhanced or not, would be blown apart long before it reached the outer walls, much less those of the keep.

Inside the imposing protection, there was palatial grandeur unlike any Baldurian had seen. They'd far outdone what they had in North Point, but Hilcross was still only labeled a “keep.” It was a poke to the eyes of the patriars who endlessly bragged on their gold – but did nothing with it except pile it and count it.

## **By Authority of the Baldurian Council**

From 1459 to 1461, the Stonehearth construction at Baldur's Gate had increased confidence and considerably lowered the target profile from the Shadovar. Part of the local relief was strategic guidance that was sending the Shadovar directly at North Point.

1461 was the critical juncture: the battle between the Marquisate and the Shadovar. The war was closely followed in the south and the final battle had reverberations all over Faerûn. While this eventually redirected the Shadovar Netherese to focus on the Cormyr-Sembia area, the military power of Stonehearth bought a realization to the Gate that things had changed forever.

### **The Northern Ways Come South**

Neither the Guard nor the Flaming Fist patrolled Hilcross – that was the sole responsibility of the Stonehearth 1st Battalion. Likewise, while Hilcross was technically a geographic subdivision of the long-established city of Baldur’s Gate, the standards were far different.

On the Hill, the Stonehearth charter and laws took effect. If a crime was committed on the Hill, the Arms had rights of pursuit into the city – and several occasions did.