Ironbrand

The Barony of Ironbrand is one of the most industrialized regions of Westridge. Originally named for surface veins of iron ore discovered early in settlement, most visitors assume the name is from the many mines and forges in the region. Climate is dry and arable land is rare, though the sheer income generated by industry is more than enough to sustain it alone.

The City of Ferrum is the third largest settlement in Westridge. Unlike Vries and Bridgeport, Ferrum was never planned to be the size it is today, though the Dwarves have since helped modernize the city infrastructure. With the just city interior alone playing host to three separate garrisons, crime is surprisingly almost non-existent. The Army garrison hosts 2nd Company of The First Regiment, the City Garrison hosts the city watch, and the Lord’s Garrison hosts the Wanduke Knights. The city is surrounded by an old stone curtain wall and dry moat, though tunnel entrances leading directly into the Old Mines have since been built to relieve traffic at the gates. Ferrum itself is largely understood to be a city comprised of three major sections; The Surface, The Old Mines, and The Hold.

At the surface, the city is a sprawling and confusing complex of structures of nearly every sort. Modern homes made of brick and stone stand next to wooden shacks stacked atop each other. Rope bridges criss-cross the streets many stories high overhead, while streets and alleys are barely wide enough to accommodate a single wagon. City watchmen patrol the streets in pairs night and day, and traveling vendors hawk their goods on foot going door to door. Brothels and Taverns are very popular and quite legal in Ferrum, with some right across the street from another in places. The city originally played host to many blacksmiths and forges, though most have been converted to store vaults and armories for the garrisons.

The old mines under the city have been converted into residential areas and storehouses for the people of Ferrum. With real estate at a premium on the surface, many citizens of simple and modest means have chosen to make their homes in the depleted mines underground. Unlike the surface above, the old mines have been impressively modernized and built into a safe and comfortable place to live. Ventilation, running water, steam heating, and broad underground highways leading out of the city provide a quality of life one might not expect from living in an old iron mine. The many cisterns and pump-houses lay hidden below rows of stone homes lining the endless corridors, while shops and gardens provide a sense of homely comfort to those who live in the old mines.

Ferrum Hold is unusual among fortresses in that more than three quarters of its interior space is underground. It is not connected to the old mines. The fortress seems oddly modest at the surface with only a single story, a pavilion, and a courtyard sitting above ground within the inner curtain wall. Below the surface, however, the true size of the Hold is revealed. Massive halls, grand ballrooms, and countless smaller rooms and hallways weave deeper and deeper into the rock. The hold is fabulously well decorated, with ceiling frescoes, hand carved pillars, and roaring fireplaces everywhere one looks. Despite the luxury, dust is somewhat of a problem underground. The Hold has more than enough supplies to hold out against a siege for years.

The Forges of Redmayne are famous throughout Westridge for their metalworking. One of the few locations in the Kingdom that produce authentic ‘castle forged steel’ for the Army, vast quantities of iron ore are sent to the city from Roche for smelting and forging. Redmayne is first and foremost an industrial center. It is neither comfortable nor attractive. The skyline is pierced by smokestacks of ore smelters belching soot into the air, crowning the city with a constant haze of smog. A cacophony of steam hammers, grinder wheels, and the hiss of molten metal fill the air every hour of the day. When the sun slips below the horizon and darkness blankets Wanduke, the city glows orange with the light of a thousand unsleeping forges. Leaving the city every day however is the product of all this constant labor. Worth their weight in gold, wagons full of finished steel ingots, armor, and other assorted iron products are sent under full escort to all corners of the kingdom. This city produces more income in two months than the rest of Wanduke does in a year.

Sinden is noted not for the town itself, but for its importance to feudal levies and professional troops for the designated mustering fields surrounding it. Much smaller versions can be found across the entire Duchy, where feudal troops gather into formations before deployment. The largest single mustering grounds in all of Westridge, however, is at Sinden. These fields can support formations of more than ten thousand infantry, not including siege and cavalry. The training camps themselves are not located within the town itself, but rather surround it. Grand formations of men-at-arms train with the pike and shield during the day, marching in, only to return to Sinden at dusk to fill the night with raucous and debauched merriment. Most of the town’s revenue is generated by taxing the taverns and brothels packed full of soldiers seeking comfort. Despite their nature, the soldiers are subject to severe punishments should they cause any real trouble - and so most remain well-behaved if nonetheless loud and excitable. Sinden is rather centrally located in Ironbrand, allowing deployments of these men to be quickly and easily executed. These men-at-arms, known as ‘halberdiers’, are equipped with half-plate and halberds. Trained in massed and disciplined formation movements, these units are exceedingly capable of felling larger creatures such as horse or Tauren.

The Towers of Southwatch built along the southern border of Wanduke are something of an iconic landmark and warning against extreme political feuding. The historic rivalry between Wanduke and Mirwood once came to a heated crisis many decades ago, prompting the ruling Montgomery lord to fortify his southern border with a series of twenty stone towers and prepare for invasion. While civil war was averted, the watchtowers remained. The First War destroyed most of the towers, and without a need to fortify the border again, most have remained so. Today, small villages and towns have sprung up around and between the string of towers. Trade routes run through these towns, offering a pleasant and prosperous life to those who make their home in the shadows of the old sentries.

## House Laldere

The Counts of Wanduke, House Laldere is a relatively new noble house raised from common status by the Duke himself and enjoyed a meteoric rise from humble beginnings. The Count is a close friend of Maxen Montclair and Captain of his Ducal Guard, having fought beside His Grace in countless battles. Count Laldere is considered an oddity among the nobles of Westridge. Despite his common birth as a bastard child of now extinct House Montgomery, he was named the designated regent of Westridge should the Duke ever perish before his heir comes of age. At the time, it sent shockwaves throughout Westridge with many other houses positioning themselves either for or against a Laldere ducal regency. Upon the death of the last living member of House Montgomery, then Baron Ismond Laldere was named the new Count of Wanduke.

House Laldere continues the Montgomery tradition of investing heavily in their armed forces. This spending is reflected by a feudal force that nearly matches the size and efficacy of the First Regiment itself. With the Wanduke Knights having sworn themselves to their new lord, House Laldere now sports an impressive feudal force of knights alongside heavy infantry. The feudal forces under Montgomery had traditionally been offered generous benefits alongside particularly advanced training, so much so that at some years the county spent more than half their revenue on upkeep. While the new Counts may not have brought new wealth with them, they now have no lack for it with the vast industries of Wanduke behind them and a glut of natural resources at their disposal.

House Laldere are officially seated at Ferrum Keep, a highly defensible stone and iron fortress built into the ground. They use this location for official purposes only, choosing instead to live in a more modest house within the Barony of Rockhold.

## Ismond Laldere

Count Ismond Laldere is a well-known knight of the Brotherhood of the Horse for his service in the First Regiment of the Stormwind Army, having conducted numerous campaigns in the various locales of Azeroth on its behalf. He is as well known for his barbarous tactics in defending Stormwind as he is for his barbarous appearance; despite his average height, he stands as a brutish and imposing figure. He was born a bastard to a woman of the House of Montgomery of Wanduke, who perished in childbirth, and an unknown father. He was then raised by outcast relatives in Grand Hamlet until the time of the First War, where he began to prove himself while fighting as a man of The First Regiment. Through numerous successful campaigns, and contributions to both the Army and Westridge, he quickly rose to prominence within the courts of Westridge and became a close friend and confidant of Duke Maxen, who raised him to the Lord’s Hand and provided him with lands within the duchy. With the death of the former Count of Wanduke, Richard Montgomery, he has since inherited the territories of Wanduke and continues to serve the House of Montclair with pride and distinction.