Overview
Probably the safest way through to the lands beyond the Grey Mountains is through Castle Greymere which sits, squat and ugly, among towering peaks. Those who approach will find the gates always open and alert stone golems that lead them within the castle’s halls.
Soon after entering, the stone golems will strip their guests of all of their clothes and possessions, which are then folded, stacked and inspected minutely. After some hours the stone golems will choose one interesting item from each guest and return the rest before leading them through narrow and winding halls, past rotten doors and tapestries gone to dust until they emerge on the north side of the mountains.
What few know is that some of these doors lead to Greymere Vale, a beautiful green valley surrounded by impressive lightning-scarred crags. For centuries a small community of humans has lived here and none have ever set foot beyond it. That is, except the most beautiful. For, every so often a gong sounds from deep within Castle Greymere and the most beautiful woman and man of the vale must enter the castle, after which they are never heard from again.
In order to avoid this fate, the people of the vale go to great lengths of cultivate ugliness and wear knit sweaters that should not be, hack their hair into truly hideous forms and spend long hours practicing crossing their eyes. Any travellers who somehow find their way into the vale will be told excitedly about how beautiful they are, for it has been a long time since the gong has rung and many are already smearing grease upon their faces in hopes of raising an impressive bounty of pimples.
However, despite all of their efforts, the people of Greymere Vale are a handsome lot. This might be because of a torrent of cure light wounds potion that constantly falls from a certain tower. The people of the vale drink it constantly and grow up uncommonly healthy and well-formed. It might also explain the succulent meat of their cattle and their truly impressive vintages of wine.
Connections
- Greymere Vale is not quite as isolated as it seems. Every so often the strigoi (09.00) ride their owls in on during moonless nights and make off with a few jugs of wine, which they are able to sell for fantastic prices. However doing so is dangerous as the lightning bolts that strike the crags around the vale seem to be aimed.
- Some years ago Jarn Ossery (24.18) passed through Castle Greymere and had to give up his Rod of Adhesion as his toll to the stone golems. His clan would love to have it returned as being able to stick together any two things comes in handy more often than you’d think, especially for making sure that Dungers don’t run away under the cover of Stinking Clouds.
- The Duke of Thring has somehow gotten his hands on a full barrel of this hex’s healing water (18.17).
Hooks
- Who built Castle Greymere? Are they still doing something with the tolls that the stone golems collect or are the stone golems operating on ancient instructions?
- What treasures and traps lie within Castle Greymere?
- What is the story behind the beauty tithe that is collected from Greymere Vale? How are the most beautiful people of the vale chosen?
- What sort of things do people do to make themselfs uglier?
- How has this strange wound-resistant culture developed in its centuries of isolation?
