Ordhov
"Lord Duv is in over his head clearly, the reigns are let loose on the mines, the Mountain Trolls are growing bolder and the flow of Merchants into the Markets has slown to a crawl. His old man ran a clean house for sure, Old Ironheart ran as smooth as butter until the war came." -Unkown, Overheard Outside the Ironsides
Nestled betwixt the Khirinan Mountains and the Ordhovar Mountains, the city of Ordhov is a major city in the Grand Duchy of Irinoff. The only roads leading into the western half of the continent and towards Melynk converge in Ordhov. Ordhov, also known as Old Ironheart is renkowned for it's famous iron mines, which produce nearly all of the iron in Khirina.
Ordhov was founded in 510 by Imya Barrol who was a highwayman who robbed the travellers of the valley pass. Imya would be legitimized as a member of the nobility several years later, although the records for what were lost following the collapse of the Kingdom of Khirinoff. House Barrol would rule Ordhov until 767 when Edrik Barrol rose in rebellion against the Grand Duke and was deposed after a several week long siege.
Wards of Ordhov
The Gates
Entrance to and from Ordhov is controlled through The Gates. Massive stone doors that tower 20 feet high slide open through expertly engineered gearworks. The Gates were built in 889 during the reign of Imyon II Valrak.
The Western Gates, bordering Garakh's Mines protect the city from wildlife that might attack from the road leading to Melnyk. The Eastern Gates however, were put in place to protect against Mountain Trolls who, living in the Northern Mountains have shown a historical tendency towards conflict.
The Market District
The Market District of Ordhov is the heart of the city, it's from here that inland caravans from distant Pranor's Strand and Vesser's Bend pass through eastwards towards the larger Eneklander and Irinoffin Markets beyond the valley. Stone Halls carved into the valley's walls by Dwarven Artisans act as trading hubs for merchants to set up shop in the warmth and lighting of mass iron troughs of fires. In the streets, Braziers provide warmth in the center of the streeth during winter's depths.
Among the many Inns and Taverns found in the Market District, none have earned a lower reputation than The Grand Duke's Own where violence is commonplace and the guards are oft to turn a blind eye.
Stonekeep Tower
The Stonekeep Tower is the personal manse of the Boyar of Ordhov, built in the Ironsides not far from the Garak Mines. The Tower is the tallest building in the city, stretching above the valley walls. A dwarven-made lift allows for access into the Khirinan Mountains to the north into the Boyar's personal hunting grounds.
It is known that, during the construction of the tower in the year 740, that the ruler of Ordhov requested many different hidden routes be built into his tower but the amount of these built are not known. The only proof of these tunnels existing was, shortly after it's completion when a group of wandering drunks stumbled through the Market District, they came upon a hatch that led them directly to the kitchen of the keep. When these men were returned back to town, having eaten half the food in the Boyar's larder, they began boasting of their exploits. When word made it's way back to the Boyar, so insensed was he, that they were immediately round up and put in the prison cells kept in the mines. The loudest of the drunks however, was hung, drawn, and quartered for his actions.
Garakh's Mines
A sprawling complex of underground Iron mines that stretch north to south, Garakh's Mines are the largest Iron mines in Khirina. These stretch from the Khirinan Mountains in the North all the way to the Ordhovar Mountains in the south with underground mines hundreds of feet below the city. In times of conflict, it has been common for the smallfolk of Ordhov to hide out in the mines while waiting out whatever happens above.
Garakh's Mines are a lifeline for the the Grand Duchy as the ores mined make up more than half of the total supply of the Grand Duchy's iron. As Ordhov has been plagued with attacks from nearby Mountain Giants, in 851, the Grand Duke Ifan I Valrak ordered that a regiment of the Grand Duke's royal army be garrisoned outside of the mines itself. This regiement however, is often recalled in times of war leaving the town defenseless.
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