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With the 91st Map of the Week we continue in the Slovanian Border March with a look at the Black Fortress settlement.

Key to the map of Black Fortress

1. Border Road. The road leads to Grainmill in the Southland County. A bit farther southeast of the mapped area it intersects with the road that connects Pavel's Mill in the Grainland County with the East Fortress.

2. Æsir Trail. The Border Road once connected the Æsir Austamæra town of Tarmylla (now Grainmill) with Lifehall (now Beinhöll) in Viðurland. North of the Black Fortress, the trail still leads to Bonehall, but it has deteriorated. This dangerous route is used today only by draugs, orcs, soldiers from the fortress and adventurers.

3. Gatehouse.

4. Garrison Brewhouse. Radmila, a 52-year-old refugee from the North Kingdom, brews the garrison's lager beer. Radmila was the only member of her family to survive he flight from the vampire draug kingdom. She is a human female artisan and master brewwife. She is aided by her laborer, Sergeant Kazímir, a human male warrior. Kazímir is a retired soldier who stayed on in the fortress. He and Radmila have small rooms on the second story of the brewhouse. Radmila is less than enthusiastic about her brew. She says that the well water beneath the fortress lacks the mineral balance it needs to produce excellent beer. Radmila uses barley malt and yeast from the Slovánski mainland, which are brought in by military supply caravans, and spruce gruit, which she makes herself.

5. Guardhouse.

6. Mess Hall (Mapped separately). Adventurers who spend a night in the fortress will find the equivalent of an innkeeper in Captain Květa, the 49-year-old human male warrior who serves as the mess officer. The mess hall has a second story open bay area with bunks where travelers can stay for 4 bronze pieces a night. They also can dine in the mess hall. Breakfast costs two bronze pieces. Dinner and supper are 5 bronze pieces each. A pint/half-liter of garrison beer costs 4 copper pieces. In general, travelers heading into the draug lands are allowed to stay for one night in the mess hall's sleeping bay. Those returning from the Fallen Empire may spend up to three days resting before continuing on. However, Květa can allow longer stays if he feels that there is good cause for them.

7. Magicians' Tower.

8. Garrison. The military headquarters and barracks are in this three-story structure. Ivona, a human female seer, is commander of the fortress. The healers Anitra and Sáva also have their clinic in the garrison. Both are experienced at healing and are at hand when there are wounded after a battle. However, Sáva spends most of his time making herbal remedies. Traveling adventurers can gain healing services for a fee when the two military healers have time for them. However, wounded soldiers always have priority.
 
9. Military Horse Stable.

10. Fortress Smithy. Master Weaponsmith and Armor Maker Bjarnhéðinn, a 63-year-old human male artisan, repairs the weapons and armor of the soldiers in the fortress. He is aided by an apprentice, the 22-year-old soldier Doubravka, a human female warrior, whom Ivona assigned to the job in the hopes that Bjarnhéðinn can train her to become a master smith who can succeed him one day. Doubravka is eager to succeed. When the workload allows it, they also will repair adventurers' armor and weapons for a fee.

You can get the map in two versions:

1. The Fractal Mapper (TM) 8 version in FMP format, fully editable, from our Jörðgarð web page (10 MB).

2. As a JPG flat map of 3000 Pixels x 2250 Pixels (2.8 MB), available above.

Both versions are released for personal and commercial use under the Open Game License Version 1.0a, which you can read on the Jörðgarð website at:

The Jörðgarð World

Next week: Slovania - the Black Fortress Mess Hall