Caer Storogal: College of Weapons and Warfare
Built upon a narrow southern most portion of the White River, the white stone walls of Caer Storogal can be found.
The College's mighty walls, crafted by dwarven hands during the end of the Nerathi empire, are as strong as they were when first raised. In the rare times when the mists part, one can see the fortress from the King's Road to the west. The buildings inside the outer wall rise high above, perched on the hilltop.
At any given time, one can find between eighty and one hundred twenty people living in the stronghold, numbers far lower than the college can accommodate. Warriors and sergeants take rotations guarding the outer towers, so the numbers seem lower because one force is often traveling to relieve another.
Moat and Bridges
The Nerathans diverted streams from the White River into a channel cut around the stronghold to form a wide moat. Wooden and iron spikes hide just below the surface, threatening to impale horses and invaders alike. Four wooden bridges, one leading to each gate, cross the moat. Defenders can collapse them by hammering out the pins holding them together. Part of every soldier’s duty is to learn how to take the bridges apart and put them back together again.
A. Towers and Walls
Round turrets form anchors for fifty-foot-tall crenellated walls that act as the war college’s first line of defense. Outer walls protect the interior buildings, including the keep. Each wall connects to five walkways
stacked on top of each other and connected by ramps. The battlements give archers access to the numerous arrow loops arranged in rows. While an engineer might consider too many openings to be a
vulnerability, dwarf artisans shored up the wall with plinths to ensure that even the heaviest battering ram would have a tough time punching through these defenses.
The turrets stand seventy feet tall, with five floors and a cellar in each. They can be entered at various points from the scaffolding through doors so narrow that a warrior in plate armor cannot easily pass. Armored soldiers can enter through a door at ground level or through open archways accessing the turret’s upper floors. Caer Storogal has repaired the dwarves’ old ballistas and catapults, and all are in working order even if the college lacks the soldiers to use them. Most turrets are home to rats and dust. The interior levels once served as barracks, armories, and storerooms. Some even have kitchens and pantries, making each tower a defensible strongpoint. A second, interior wall rings the inner structures that claim the hilltop. This wall stands nearly as high as the outer wall and features broad gates to accommodate traffic into and out from the stronghold.
B. Lord’s Keep
The Lord’s Keep stands at the stronghold’s center and was the first structure the Nerathan occupiers built.
The building has a stone foundation and wooden walls. It stands sixty feet tall, and two watchtowers
emerge from its pointed roof another thirty feet. One is a bell tower used to alert the countryside in case of
attack.
The Great Hall fills the first floor; it’s here where students and soldiers take their meals. Above the ground floor are council chambers, guest chambers, armories, storerooms, and a few rooms set aside for teaching strategy and tactics.
C. Barracks
A low, long building, constructed from wood and fitted with a steep roof, quarters the stronghold’s soldiers.
The main floor holds a common room where off-duty warriors can dice, drink, and play cards, a storeroom for stowing gear, and baths and the like. The upper floor is divided into two large rooms, where soldiers can take their rest in bunks arranged in rows.
D. Chapel and Infirmary
Although a military outpost, the warriors living here are mindful of the gods, and many offer prayers to them in the wooden chapel attached to the barracks. The ground floor features small shrines to all the gods, each bearing an idol or a symbol and surrounded by candles in the god’s colors. The infirmary occupies the upper chambers. Friar Michael attends to these altars, changing out the candles and clearing offerings. He’s a burly man with a thick beard and shaggy black hair. He sees all gods as worthy of veneration. He confides to his friends that he holds the god of beer as the highest authority—a fitting devotion, since he’s also the
stronghold’s brewer.
E. Commander’s Tower
The commander’s tower rises alongside the Lord’s Keep and reaches above the walls. Here, the commander and the captains have their offices and residences. A cramped spiral staircase in the center
gives access to the floors and can be easily defended if enemies breach the inner walls.
F. Dormitories
The dormitories stand next to the barracks. Slightly smaller, but of similar construction, the dormitories
feature a common room, while the upper floor holds bunk-filled rooms for students. Worms share a big
chamber, while stripes have smaller and more private rooms.
G. Brewery
Caer Storogal has brewed its own beer since the Nerathan warriors claimed the site. The building holds several large vats, a loft with bins for ingredients, and tools. Here one also finds the stronghold’s well.
H. Kitchens
Kept separate from the Lord’s Keep in case of fire, this wide building boasts a dozen ovens, a scullery that also doubles as a laundry, cold storage, and pantries.
Arniss Debbler, “the General,” is the head cook. He runs a tight operation. Incredibly fat, he has oily, black hair and small, black eyes. Servants fear him, for he has few kind words and always grumbles about
something. He might be brusque, but he’s good at his job.
I. Storeroom and Garden
The stronghold keeps a small garden to grow herbs, root vegetables, and other supplies to keep itself fed in case of a siege. While the garden is modest, most people living in the stronghold grow plants in pots to make their own contributions toward meeting the community’s needs. The storeroom holds gardening tools, racks for drying herbs, and a cellar for storing the harvest.
J. Stables
Caer Storogal’s stable is home to some twenty warhorses. These steeds are used to patrol the valley, and
also for training purposes in the corral outside the stronghold. The mistress of horses is Serra Windspeaker, an elf warrior maiden who settled in the region fifty years ago. Many students find themselves distracted by her exotic appearance, but those who have sought to win her affection gain nothing but a broken heart.
K. Forge and Armory
The castle produces its own arms and armor, as well as shoes for horses, tools, and anything else that’s needed. Ore is expensive and usually comes either from the efforts of the few miners brave enough to explore the old shafts in the mountains or through merchants in Fallcrest or distant Hammerfast. Karl, a human smith, commands five apprentices recruited from the farms to learn the craft. He’s advanced in age and has begun thinking about retirement. He will not quit, though, until he finds a worthy successor.
L. Barn
The barn in the eastern bailey holds wagons, hay, and livestock. Recruits maintain the barn, mucking stalls
and attending the animals.
M. Grain Silos
Three silos stand opposite the barn, though only one holds grain. Rats are a problem, and recruits often get a chance to use their training as they clear out the nests.
N. Servants’ Quarters
Anyone who works in the stronghold but is not a soldier has quarters in the southern bailey. This building
is similar to the barracks and the dormitories, having a common room and large rooms shared by its occupants. This building also has a small kitchen, a pantry, and an outdoor garden.
O. Guest Quarters
Caer Storogal’s important visitors usually stay in the Lord’s Keep, but their retinues are lodged here, in a
small inn nestled against the northern wall in the southern bailey. A common room on the main floor
holds tables and booths and a bar where visitors can sample the fortress’s brew. Upstairs are small but serviceable guest rooms.
Alber Dunsworth, a young dwarf who was maimed by orcs, runs the inn and tavern, and he’s usually the only one here. If he gets more guests than he can manage, he recruits a few servants for help.
P. Training Yards
The northern and western baileys hold the training yards. Here, captains or their sergeants demonstrate proper techniques and then pit students against one another in fighting rings sketched out on the muddy ground. The western bailey is used for advanced training, where instructors match one- or two-stripe students against magical constructs granted to the college fifty years ago by a friendly magician.
Q. Archery Range
Also in the western bailey is the archery range. Targets set against the inner wall can be made fixed or mobile, so that students can first learn the fundamentals and later experience a simulation of actual combat conditions.
R. Corral
Outside the fortress is a fenced-in, muddy field where instructors teach the principles of mounted combat. Students can engage in mock battles, master their riding skills, and learn basic formations
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