Vogler

The Kingfisher Festival is an annual celebration commemorating Solamnia’s victory over the forces of Istar during a clash near the town centuries ago. The festival takes its name from the kingfisher, a symbol of the Knights of Solamnia and a bird the fishers of Vogler consider lucky. Festivities culminate with the locals’ reenactment of the Battle of High Hill, a clash between Istarian and Solamnic soldiers.

The Brass Crab is a modest single-story inn on the village wharf, and its exterior vaguely resembles its namesake. Its proprietor, an Ergothian woman named Yalme (neutral good, human commoner), has an odd love of bad storytellers and inept musicians. One wall of the circular common room features a faded mural of two enormous crabs locked in combat, inlaid with brass details. The mural’s origins are lost to time, but if asked, Yalme says she named the crabs Fancy and Gorgeous George. Four short halls branch off the common room, each lined with rooms for rent.

After a long day on the river, many of Vogler’s fishers gather at the Fishbowl to tell tales, quench their thirst, and indulge in baked fish pies. The cramped but well-kept tavern is known for its savory baked goods more than its weak ale. The Fishbowl’s proprietor is the elderly Elthar (neutral good, human commoner)), whom most locals call Uncle.

High Hill stands a mile north of Vogler. Centuries ago, Solamnic and Istarian forces clashed here, and legends claim the spirits of fallen knights haunt the hill and watch over the town. Each year, the Kingfisher Festival’s reenactment of the battle serves as a reminder of the village’s history and nominally honors any spirits lingering at the battlefield.

Across from Vogler’s busy wharf spreads the village market. Amid this collection of stalls, vendors sell fresh river fish, fishing supplies, crafts, the bounty of local farms, and all manner of mundane equipment. One notable stall is that of Froswin (chaotic good, kender commoner), who sells intricate fish-bone puppets she designs in the shapes of animals and sea serpents.

Vogler’s down-to-earth mayor, Raven Uth Vogler (neutral good, human scout), lives in a two-story house on the village circle. Raven is a practical, empathetic leader in her thirties who grew up on the river. She keeps a pair of guest rooms—lavishly decorated with mounted fish—where she frequently hosts villagers going through tough times.

Along the road north of Vogler, a mile past High Hill, lies a mercenary camp. Known as the Ironclad Regiment, the soldiers here are under the command of Captain Ridomir “Cudgel” Ironsmile Cudgel is a friend of the deceased Ispin Greenshield and many others in town, and she brought her company to Vogler a week ago to attend Ispin’s funeral. She volunteered her band to take part in the annual reenactment of the Battle of High Hill—her attempt to lift the village’s spirits after their loss.

During the day, Cudgel remains in the camp with her lieutenants—the half-ogre Gragonis and the human Jeyev Veldrews—along with several dozen mercenaries. The soldiers spend most of the day participating in drills. At night, they keep to themselves, lounging and playing dice. They’re under strict orders from Cudgel not to interfere with the locals.

Those who enter Vogler from the north pass through the unguarded River Gate, a 15-foot-tall wooden archway carved with two leaping fish on its frame. Over the years, locals have etched the coin-sized scales of these fish with prayers for bountiful fishing. Two large wooden doors stand within the arch, but they haven’t been closed for years and are embedded in the surrounding dirt.

The ruins of an ancient Solamnic keep perch on a rocky rise at the western edge of town. Thornwall Keep’s steward, the knight Becklin Uth Viharin maintains the keep. Partially ruined walls surround the keep’s three-story tower. The tower’s ground level holds a small library and a collection of local relics: over forty pieces of rusty tools and armor. The second floor holds the quarters of Becklin’s squire, Darrett Highwater. Becklin’s austere room lies on the uppermost story; from there, a ladder leads to the keep’s crenelated roof.

Vogler’s resident tinker gnome, Than, built an elaborate catapult-like contraption on the roof of the keep. A friend of Becklin and Darrett, Than occasionally drops by to fine-tune this device, called a gnomeflinger. Though it looks like a weapon of war, the contraption is a mode of rapid transportation originally devised by the tinker gnomes of Mount Nevermind. Becklin tolerates the gnomeflinger—and the noise of Than’s occasional early-morning tinkering—because she sees the catapult-shaped device as a deterrent against attack.

The homes and shops in Vogler cluster around a grassy patch shaded by an ancient tree. This green is encircled by a dirt road that branches off into streets leading north out of the village and south to the ferry across the Vingaard, and others radiating out into the town. The village circle serves as a public space, meeting spot, and festival ground. An iron bell hangs atop a tall pole near the mayor’s house. The local militia is largely composed of retired farmers and fishers who exhibit more zeal than skill in the village’s defense, but they all take the bell’s sounding very seriously.

South of Vogler, an incomplete stone bridge begins to stretch across the Vingaard River. Half-constructed before the Cataclysm using techniques lost in the ages since, the bridge looks like a glorified pier—a remnant of once-promised glory. A simple ferry system of ropes and winches follows the bridge’s supports and connects with posts on the opposite shore. Simple rafts and skiffs allow travelers and even small wagons to cross the river. The process is safe but slow, taking approximately 10 minutes for a raft to cross the broad river. Travelers can make use of the crossing themselves or hire a ferrier to aid them for 1 sp.

The horseshoe-shaped structure known as Westide House is only slightly larger than the other homes in Vogler, but its owner speaks of it as if it were an opulent country manor. This is the home of Lord Bakaris Uth Estide (neutral evil, human noble) and his son, Bakaris the Younger. Lord Bakaris is a Solamnic noble who claims to be living in exile after raiders burned his family home in Estwilde. In truth, Lord Bakaris and his son were driven from the region and sought anonymity in Vogler. They’ve been in the village for over a year, throwing their wealth around and treating the people of Vogler as backward yokels.

Local fishers crowd these docks each dawn and dusk, rowing out with empty nets and returning with the day’s catch. At the end of the southernmost pier, a centuries-old wooden post bears an eroded carving of a bird with a fish in its mouth. Many locals rub it for luck before seeking the morning catch.

Wharfinger Umpton Lanth (lawful neutral, human guard) wakes up earlier than any other fisher in Vogler to inspect boats docked at the wharf and impose fines on those in poor repair. Fishers and traders seeking to use the wharf must register with Umpton at his stuffy two-story office across from the market. The office is usually staffed by Umpton’s son Nesau (chaotic neutral, human commoner), who—to his father’s consternation—is quick to forgive fines and forgo docking fees when his father isn’t present, making him quite popular in the village.