Icefoot Fortress

**Icefoot Fortress** is a once-abandoned fort built on the southern edge of the Battlefield, close to the Southern Mantle. Though it's original creators were felled and the place was labeled as cursed ever since, some members of the Brigade have taken the fort as a base and begun setting up a small community there.

## Etymology

The fortress was named for the three unnamed silver dragons, believed to have been Crusaders of the Sterling Serpent attempting to claim territory in order to gain advantage against their Mantalian foes.

## History

### Original Creation/Destruction

Icefoot Fortress was the sight of the great calamity of Sword Guru Gai Loomi, beforehand a potentially prosperous fortress built by three silver dragons attempting to push more of their soldiers into Mantle territory. It was said it could have held up to 500 troops tightly packed. Things were going swimmingly until the Sword Guru arrived.

Gai Loomi is a name revered in the battlefield. The Gray Maelstorm was what many referred to her as, and she is considered to be a great war hero matching Gantamos and Javelal in influence. Her Jian (Chi-En) can cut through the earth itself and produce earthquakes. Her speed surpassed sound, creating shock waves that would blow apart enemies. Gai Loomi is also referred to as the mother of two sword combat, no one reaching the heights of her combat perfection since. Loomi believed in one thing above all however, freedom through action, in order to truly become free, you must free yourself from your own instincts and have full autonomous control of your body, be aware of everything, including your heartbeat while you reach deep sleep. She died of old age at 94 years of age in 695, and has never sustained a serious blow from any opponent her size.

She felled each dragon within a minute, and set the people of Icefoot free to tell there superiors of her strength, as long as she breathed, the Crusaders had no power over the mantle.

The history of Icefoot has been lost to time even though Guru Gai Loomi has not been. Icefoot is a decrepit falling apart castle nowadays, evident large sword slashes across the fortress clear as day that someone took a blade to it.

### Re-Establishment as a Brigade Base

*(See: Home Sweet Home)*

After scouting the location and establishing some potential trade opportunities with nearby towns, Shang Mofuay led his war buddies and allies from the Brigade on a quest to claim the fortress as a new place to establish themselves. After halting an attempt to raise the silver dragon corpses within and fending off the intrusion of Taliesin's Marauders, they were successful in doing so.

## Defenses

The walls were made of hefty stonework, carried by the dragons who attempted to fortify the place against Mantle assault. Though much of it has fallen to the whims of time, there are still several walls in-tact that can protect against attacks from foes and towers that allow guards to be posted to keep an eye out for potential threats.

## Trade/Business

The people of Icefoot have already arranged some trade agreements with the nearby town of Woodsborne, to the north. Once the teleportation circle is completed, they will also help the Brigade conduct trade with themselves and other nearby locales.

## Layout

Icefoot is settled at the top of a tall hill, allowing it's residents to perceive potential threats from all sides as they approach. They're mostly dirt, with sparse patches of grass, making it particularly difficult to climb up to when it is raining or muddy. The skeletal remains of a silver dragon sit outside, half-embedded in the mud.

The fortress proper is rather simple, with a lighter outer "curtain" wall that's mostly destroyed. The thicker inner walls are still intact, as well as 3/4 of the watchtowers. There are several chambers within the inner walls that have been re-purposed for residential living or storage.

There also appears to be several different underground chambers/storage areas, including a large "dungeon" where one of the silver dragon corpses was nearly risen if not for the intervention of the Brigade. The bones that rose out of the earth are still there, taking up much of the space.

As of the re-establishment of the fort as a place for living at, the walls are being re-fortified and the outer curtain is also being rebuilt. There is also a teleportation circle being established, which will be completed and maintained at the end of the Neck of the Silver Solstice 906.

## Population

The first residents of Icefoot Fortress' re-established community were several Brigade members. Occasionally, other new people move in, oftentimes wanderers from the Battlefield or surrounding other communities.

### The Boomers

Shang Mofuay was the one who initiated the re-settlement of Icefoot. He brought with him several allies from his war days-

* Warren Toutou, a human mercenary who spent a lot of time in Oakarthel after the war ended
* Bulma & Kotl Bibambop, an orc woman and her husband, a flaming skull she revived and accidentally maintained his spirit in
* Tristan Talmi, a kobold with a massive trident who was renowned for his battle prowess in his youth

### Ex-Marauders

These individuals were sent to investigate the fortress by Taliesin, the leader of Taliesin's Marauders- however, according to Kessler the three of them were sent moreso as fodder/to be rid of, rather than actually contributing to the bandit group proper.

* Voorat Gutslinger, a young orc who was born and raised in Groasblouk. He craved the thrill of battle and wished to "earn his name", but after years of running around slaughtering he's second-guessed his career choices.
* Lara Gackle, a half-elf girl who was abandoned in the Battlefield by her previous group. She clung to the bandits as a means of self-preservation, and is relieved to no longer be associated with them
* Kessler Sagikkun, an ashstalker tiefling and the eldest of the three Marauders sent to Icefoot, particularly old for tiefling standards. His tongue has been cut out of his mouth, but he's learned to communicate via sign language.

## Organizations

The Brigade is the primary organization behind Icefoot's re-establishment, providing Shang and his fellow war buddies the funds and guild member protection to discover and settle the space.