Talon Hill
Description
Talon Hill is a large, old clearing, fox-dominant but full of denizens of all sorts. It has been ruled by the Kingfishers for
as long as any denizen has recorded the history. At various points in history, the Kingfisher family has also sat atop
the Eyrie’s throne. As a result, the Kingfishers have as good a claim on the throne of the Eyrie Dynasties as any. In the
midst of the Woodland War, bureaucrats and powermongers alike hatched plans to make the bustling Talon Hill the seat
of Eyrie rule once more, not least because Lady Morgana IV of the Kingfishers seemed a good candidate for queen.
Unfortunately, Lady Morgana passed away suddenly and unexpectedly within the past months.
After Morgana’s death, the Kingfisher family finds itself locked in a three-way succession conflict for the ashwood
throne of Talon Hill (and possibly the Eyrie!).
The contenders include Thurgud, the traditional heir and Morgana’s nephew, who believes this is his due; his sister,
Theodora, a general and war hero who believes she would be a better ruler; and Gaius, a stark traditionalist and merchant,
seemingly with the weakest claim of the three, but using instead an ancient, esoteric Eyrie method of determining
succession that would make his claim the strongest.
Each of the three has taken to investigating the nearby Augustine Castle, a treetop fortress that was once the grand
seat of the Kingfishers when they ruled the whole of the Eyrie. Each would-be successor hopes to find and use ancient Eyrie
relics to solidify their claim to the throne without war.
Open war among the three Kingfishers would be a stain on the new rule of whomever wins, casting doubt on their
legitimacy and value to the Eyrie—not to mention that none of them clearly would have the upper hand in such a conflict
Even if an actual war doesn’t break out among the three Kingfishers and their supporters, the conflict might still tear
the clearing apart if this continues for much longer.
At First-Sight
From the paths into the clearing, visitors first see the massive oak atop the eponymous Talon Hill. In its branches sits the impressive
silhouette of the Augustine Castle. But the ramshackle state of the castle becomes clearer as one draws near, and the sprawl of the
modern clearing below comes into view.
The footpaths are filled with soldiers bearing a silver talon sigil, along with a few members of the blue-and-gold–uniformed High
Guard. Tension between the two groups fills the air. Some denizens wear blue-and-gold armbands signifying allegiance to Thurgud;
others wear red and silver, the mark of an allegiance to Theodora; and a rarer group wears the old crest of the Talon Hill regency of
the Eyrie Dynasties, connecting them to Gaius.
The sounds of hushed conversations are nearly drowned out by sharp words between denizens in differing armbands shouting at
each other, as each yells their grievances and the abuses of the other sides, be they High Guard, Silver Talons, or Riverfolk mercenaries.
Conflicts:
The Line of Succession – Core Conflict
After the death of Lady Morgana IV, her first nephew quickly assumed the silver laurel crown, becoming Lord Thurgud II
of Talon Hill and setting himself up to ultimately become King of the Eyrie Dynasties. Shortly thereafter, however,
Talon Hill’s primary military company, the Silver Talons, returned from battle elsewhere in the Woodland under the
command of General Theodora. While out-and-out conflict hasn’t yet bubbled up, Theodora’s forces have clearly failed
to acknowledge or bow to Thurgud’s rein. Theodora and the Silver Talons have made not yet made explicit, blatant
demands that Thurgud relinquish the throne, but their position is perfectly clear—only propriety and fear of outright
civil war stands in the way of open claims. In the meantime, the High Guard has taken to opposing the Silver Talons
and their intimidation tactics, all but pressing to full-scale conflict. Most soldiers and leaders of the active expeditionary
military maintain that their forces will only answer to General Theodora.
In the midst of the conflict, Lord Gaius Kingfisher threw his hat into the ring, making a claim for sovereignty through the
ancient tome On Rulership written by Augustine Kingfisher himself. He is backed by the wealthiest non-Kingfishers of
Talon Hill and by traditionalists within the nobility, including several who had originally hoped Morgana would ascend to
the throne of the whole Eyrie. Additionally, Gaius has hired out Riverfolk Company mercenaries to support his claim.
Riverfolk Captain Signa has agreed on behalf of the Company to blockade the clearing’s commerce should the Company’s
chosen candidate not become Lord Gaius I.
All three would-be monarchs look to Augustine Castle, inside which several Eyrie symbols of power are rumored to be
buried: the original Seal of Augustus I, given to him by the all the leading families of the Dynasties; the Royal Mantle, a
cloak made of Augustus I’s feathers; and the Binding Scepter, crafted by the legendary Eyrie Queen Tornessa and handed
down to new Eyrie rulers through the ages. All were buried in the ruins after a battle in the Civil War, when a group of
crows from the nascent Corvid Conspiracy sacked Talon Hill and destroyed parts of the castle with explosives.
Having the classical symbols would bolster any would-be successor’s link to tradition and help them win support from
the rest of the undecided nobility and denizens throughout Talon Hill and the wider Eyrie. Without these symbols, each
of the three has only enough sway to force a stalemate. None of them can afford to dismiss the others, and none wants any
outright conflict. These relics might tip the balance.
Gaius was the first to look for the symbols of power, hiring denizens to delve into the ruins to search the ancient ruins
for him. It wasn’t until part of the unstable castle collapsed, crushing one such group under wood and stone, that anyone
took notice. Afterward, King Thurgud tasked a large portion of the High Guard to lock down the decrepit castle. Now the
Guard keeps careful watch to prevent anyone else from entering, while Thurgud forces Guard members and other servants to risk
the dangerous ruins in search of these items for him.
Not to be outdone, Theodora has sent a military detail to “assist” in keeping the ruins off limits; the Silver Talons and
the High Guard hasn’t yet clashed because their commanders are each hoping to resolve the conflict by successfully
pillaging the ruin, but every day they face off at the ruins, blocking each other from entering their own guarded
passageways. Theodora has taken to press-ganging denizens and military personnel to enter the ruins while her soldiers
keep watch against the High Guard. Gaius, meanwhile, has begun sneaking his own supporters into the ruins, using
whatever illicit means he can to send more and more rogues in to find the relics he needs.
As the three bribe, conscript, and force denizens to do their dirty work, more and more denizens go missing in the ruins.
Rumors circulate that, while the ruins are certainly unstable, the biggest danger is a colony of giant ants who will kill
anyone who attempts to enter their territory.
How it Develops: If the vagabonds never came to Talon Hill, then the search for the symbols of power in the ruins would go catastrophically awry. As the denizens continue to search for the symbols of power, their inexpertise would cause the ruins to totally
collapse, preventing anyone from entering without either years of effort clearing rubble or some other outlandish solution
like explosives. Without the symbols to support one claim or another, tensions would come to a head.
Theodora would be reluctant to resort to a coup, but as the conflict grows, her advisers would convince her that the only
way to restore peace and order is to take the throne by force. The militaristic Silver Talons would march on the castle and
fight the High Guard. Gaius would respond by calling in Captain Signa and her mercenaries to join the fight. Theodora’s
Silver Talons, made up of highly seasoned professional soldiers, would defeat both the High Guard and the Riverfolk
mercenaries, but not without heavy losses. Lady Theodora X’s rule would begin in bloodshed and strife. The hopes of uniting
the Eyrie behind a Kingfisher monarch would fall apart, and the Eyrie itself would suffer widespread conflict as other Eyrie
leaders strive to take control of the wider faction. Soon Talon Hill would become a hotbed for anti-Dynasty sentiment.
In the Chaos – Conflict
In addition to protecting the ruler on the ashwood throne, the High Guard is traditionally charged with policing Talon
Hill. Usually, the Knight Sergeant of the Guard—currently a fennec fox named Sir Qina’an Nahtam—leads these efforts.
But Sir Qina’an hasn’t had the time to maintain the careful balance with the smugglers, thieves, and cutthroats in Talon
Hill, especially with regard to the Moonlight Syndicate.
The Moonlight Syndicate is a local operation of smugglers and thieves run by Marie White-Talon, better known as the
Winter Night. The Winter Night is a self-starter and has been smuggling illegal drugs into the clearing for years.
In the past, Sir Qina’an Nahtam has allowed the Moonlight Syndicate to operate their smuggling ring as long as Marie
kept the Syndicate small, and as long as the Syndicate funneled a portion of its income to help the poorer denizens
in the clearing. Marie has been happy to fulfill her end of the deal. Recently, however, the Winter Night has been
expanding, running a racket on wealthy merchants—she started by charging them exorbitant prices and extorting
them, and has since moved into demanding protection money and claiming valuable, undefended businesses.
But the Moonlight Syndicate’s position isn’t secure. Someone has been stealing from the Syndicate’s internal smuggling
stores. The Winter Night has noticed that a few of her illicit deliveries never arrived, and some of the best-kept secret
caches of Moonlight Syndicate contraband were plundered. She has tasked her daughter and right hand in the gang,
Diana White-Talon, to investigate what’s going on. Little does Marie know that Diana herself is the traitor. Diana has been
using the stolen goods to support her partner, Alexandria Kingfisher.
The Winter Night is still trying to expand her territory while holding off this new threat. Meanwhile, Sir Qina’an wants her
to either stop trying to expand and return to the way things were, or be eliminated entirely.
How it Develops: If the vagabonds never came to Talon Hill, then the Moonlight Syndicate would press their expansion while trying to find the person responsible for stealing from them. When the Winter Night discovers the thief’s hideout, she would have it sealed
and burned down. Diana and Alexandria would barely escape with their lives, but Marie would notice her daughter is singed.
This, along with other clues, would reveal Diana as the traitor. In that moment, Marie would harden, and Diana would
disappear utterly. The Winter Night then would then seek to expand the Moonlight Syndicate to control the clearing, first
revealing evidence of her deal with Sir Qina’an Nahtam to ensure he is dishonorably discharged and removed from power
before having him quietly murdered. The Winter Night would quickly fill the position with someone more loyal to her, and the
Moonlight Syndicate would all but take over control of the law in Talon Hill, brooking absolutely no rivals or threats.
A Red Lizard – Conflict
The Lizard Cult runs the Talon Hill Orphanage under the stewardship of Clement Meekly, providing indigent children
with housing, education, and food. Being relatively new in the clearing, Clement and his followers haven’t made much
traction on the conversion front. They took the last half decade to garner enough members to sit an invocation ritual,
in which one of their older members voluntarily gave their own life to bless the others. The body was laid to rest with
respect and care: he was buried on the orphanage, which double as the local Cult’s sanctuary.
Recently, on six different mornings, the High Guard has found a corpse of a bird lying in the street, killed in a manner
that evokes rumors and stories of Lizard Cult sacrifices. Both the manner of their deaths and the proximity to the
orphanage have brought suspicion on the orphanage and Cult, while a murderer stalks Talon Hill. Meekly needs
someone to vindicate his members and school while respecting the practices of their faith.
In fact, the murdered birds are all denizens who, if the archaic method of succession being put forth by Lord Gaius
is accepted, could have an equal or even greater claim to the throne of Talon Hill than Gaius himself. These other
potential claimants aren’t even all particularly wealthy or powerful—it’s a fluke of the old rules that they have any claim
at all. Most had no concept that they might be able to don the silver laurel crown, and they might not even have been aware
of their familial relationship to the Kingfishers—Gaius only knows because of dynastic lineage documents uncovered
with the archaic legal tracts. Gaius might be able to press his claim through this manner without issue, but the chance
that an opponent might find out about one of these other stronger claims and create a puppet wearing the silver laurel
crown…it’s too much for him. So he sent an assassin to solve the problem. His assassin, Adrian Hookbeak, learned of the
Cult’s recent sacrifice and is happily playing on the clearing’s xenophobia and prejudice against the Cult to hide the
assassin’s own attacks on the Kingfishers and their cousins.
How to Develops: If the vagabonds never came to Talon Hill, then without another voice coming to the defense of the Lizard Cult and
its local leader, Clement Meekly, public opinion would turn against them and passions flare. Furious and mistrustful
mobs of Talon Hill denizens would protest the Cult, and some participants in the protests wouldn’t hesitate to inflict harm
on the Cult members they spot—in fact, they would likely assume any lizards they see at all are members of the Cult and
inflict harm accordingly. As the body count mounts, the mob would gather outside the orphanage, protesting its continued
existence. Sir Qina’an Nahtam and his High Guard would move then, not to protect the Cult and the orphanage but to
arrest Meekly and close the orphanage. The children would return to the streets and the harsh fates that meet them there.
The Hatchling Heir – Conflict
While the assassin Adrian Hookbeak has been largely successful in taking out Gaius’s rivals, one would-be victim made it out
alive. Alexandria Kingfisher was deemed too young and too ignoble to rule by their second cousin Gaius, though their claim
(according to the archaic method Gaius uses to press his own) is just as strong as his. Alexandria didn’t want the silver laurel
crown and didn’t even realize they had any real claim…not until Adrian Hookbeak came for them. They barely survived the
attack, and Hookbeak assumed Alexandria was dead. Instead, Alexandria escaped and went into hiding, slowly putting
together the bigger picture and realizing the commonality they shared with many of the other recent victims—that all had a
claim through Gaius’s archaic succession method.
Now Alexandria spends most of their time on the ground, hiding with friends all over Talon Hill and with their lover,
Diana White-Talon, who is the daughter of the notorious criminal, the Winter Night. Diana hid Alexandria while they
recovered from the attack. Using their connections to the criminal underworld of the clearing, Alexandria marshals
their own faction of denizens, funded through money and goods stolen from the Moonlight Syndicate. They plan on only
revealing Alexandria’s survival to the clearing at large when it is time to implement their plan: when Gaius makes his move, they
will expose him as a murderer and discredit him. Unfortunately, pilfering from the Moonlight Syndicate to fund this plan has
drawn the attention of Diana’s mother, the Winter Night.
If the vagabonds never came to Talon Hill, Alexandria’s and Diana’s plan would enable them to depose Gaius at the perfect
moment…but Hookbeak isn’t sitting still. Eventually, Hookbeak would manage to figure out that Diana is helping to protect
Alexandria, and they would kill a couple Syndicate members while grievously injuring Diana. Alexandria would grow more
desperate with their lover injured, and they would allow their worst nature to rule them, using their small gang of denizens
to run over Gaius’s interests until they try to have Gaius himself murdered. Alexandria’s movements would not be well hidden
at this point, and Hookbeak would pick up their trail, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When Alexandria would go
to murder Gaius, Hookbeak would strike and kill them. The recovering Diana would go to her mother for aid, and when
she reveals why she had been stealing from her own mother, the Winter Night would turn the full force of the Syndicate against
Gaius and would begin a war against the merchant class.
Improtant Residents: Thurgud Kingfisher II – Theodora Kingfisher – Gaius Kingfisher – Clement Meekly – Alexandria Kingfisher – Marie White-Talon – Diana White-Talon – Adrian Hookbeak – Sir Qin’an Nahtam – High Guard – Silver Talons – Riverfolk Company Mercenaries
Important Places
Augustine Castle
Built within the twisty branches of an ancient oak at the
top of the eponymous Talon Hill, the Augustine Castle is
a remnant of a more prosperous time. When the fortress
fell with Lord Dante VII still inside, the symbols of power
were lost. The castle was condemned, and the symbols left
to molder as Talon Hill moved forward. Now giant ants
make the ruins their home and will die defending their
queen against all comers. The High Guard and Silver Talons
both are stationed all around to keep denizens out. Not a
day passes where a room or passageway doesn’t crumble or
collapse. The soldiers aren’t everywhere, however, and one
entrance, a former drainway from the kitchens, remains an
access point for any who know of it.
Citadel of the Shield
The Citadel of the Shield is the stronghold of the Silver Talons
and sits on the ground floor of the clearing. Theodora’s
headquarters is here. The citadel is heavily fortified with stone
walls and roofs and has its own larder and plenty of supplies,
making it impractical for the High Guard to lay siege.
Kingfisher Manor
Built in the highest part of the trees below Talon Hill,
Kingfisher Manor is the current seat of power for the
clearing. For generations, the Kingfisher dynasty has ruled
from this palatial estate. Thurgud and all his siblings and
cousins live here, and the High Guard is stationed inside
with a small guardhouse nearby comprising their offices.
Kingfisher Manor is not well protected or designed to resist
attackers—the citadel was supposed to be the real gateway to
the manor. The manor is on lockdown, and only those with a
royal request are allowed inside.
Talon Hill Orphanage
The orphanage is a large complex that used to be several
individual homes. Talon Hill Orphanage features a large
school building and a dormitory for the children, as well as
the worship house for the faithful and a graveyard. While it
does boast gates and a wall, it is not particularly defensible.
The Full Moon Club
It’s an open secret that, while masquerading as a mere tavern
and card house, this is the home base of the Moonlight
Syndicate and their leader, the Winter Night. All manner of
unsavory types can be found in the bar and game rooms, at all
hours of the day and night. During the day, leaders in the less
affluent communities of the clearing come here to meet with
the Winter Night to conduct business, as it is the Syndicate
who provides municipal services for those places.
Special Rules:
Giant Ants
Giant ants roam the halls of Augustine Castle. They have the following stats.
Small Mob: These stats represent a small group of ants that patrol the castle halls, the most common size of group that the vagbonds will encounter.
Exhaustion: [] [] [] []
Injury: [] [] [] [] []
Drive: To protect their queen
Moves:
- Break a wall to cause a collapse
- Swarm upon a thret to the hive
- Pick a target to carry them away
Note: When a group of ants is defeated, the exude a warning scent that brings another grup of ants to the area.
Shaky Ground
The ruins of the castle are dangerous to move around in.
Whenever one or more characters undertake vigorous activity
that could threaten a collapse within the castle proper, roll
1d6, +1 for every time you’ve made the roll since the last
collapse. If the total is 6 or more, then there is a collapse,
inflicting at least 1-injury on all characters present, though
potentially more based on the fiction.