Eaumont

The Owenarian military patrols the area after a small campaign had concluded that the town was condemned. They have successfully held back against pillagers and the overtly curious from entering the area. Even so, those who manage to sneak through have yet to be seen again. Only those given special permission by the adventuring guilds can be permitted to enter the town under the intention of investigation, salvation, or personal goals.

The skeletal remains of Eaumont's past prosperity cling to the Southern Valley's border, its infrastructure now a testament to its sudden downfall. A haunting combination of weathered wood and pale stone structures stands eerily silent, their windows like empty eyes. Muddy brick roads wind between sprawling residential buildings, now scattered with abandoned belongings—tools, toys, and personal effects dropped as if their owners had vanished instantly. In the central square, the clock tower looms, its hands frozen at the moment the town fell. Dominating the landscape to the north, perched near the cliffside, is the ominous Quincy Manor, its stone facades showing signs of advanced decay, having been abandoned longer than the rest. Yet, remarkably intact, the colossal Foyer des Lames—a weapon foundry designed to extract water from the coastline for its steam-powered machinery—remains mostly preserved and, chillingly, fully operational. Everywhere, a persistent mist stays low to the ground, obscuring scratches on walls and shadows of bodies that seem burned into the surfaces. While nature's reclamation is minimal—only faint vines and moss on surfaces, replaced by layers of dust and debris—the pervasive sense of paranoia and the faint echoes of lost souls cling to the very foundations, silent witnesses to the paranormal event that wiped out its vibrant life.

Despite its spectral abandonment, Eaumont holds a morbid trove of assets for those brave enough to challenge its resident spirits. Scattered among the low-quality metal ores and commoner personal possessions are abandoned weapons – relics from the war-profiteering days, still clinging to their deadly purpose. However, the true prizes lie deeper, remnants of House Quincy's insidious ambitions. The Foyer des Lames, a marvel of engineering, not only houses storages of high-quality weapons and metals but also offers the invaluable lost knowledge of weapon development and steam-powered schematics. Amidst the lingering paranormal aura, these can be salvaged, though they may be fiercely guarded by haunting spirits attempting to use them against unwanted visitors. The most coveted assets, however, are tied directly to House Quincy's dark magical studies. Fragments of their magical studies of dream magic and specialized combat-enhancing potions might be found. Foremost among these are the rare dream magic reagents: moon dust, harpy leather bandages, and Thaznirian ink, capable of unlocking profound, albeit dangerous, insights. The family's most prized possessions, "The Hand of the Quincy" – an heirloom gauntlet crafted from silver steel with a cold enchantment effect – and their experimental steam-powered crossbow are rumored to exist within their grasp. Also sought after is the elvish talisman, "Harpy's Blindspot," said to prevent sleep in its wearer, a chilling memento of their reckless magical pursuits.   The ultimate elusive treasure, hinted at only in deliberately destroyed prosecution records from the Kingdom of Owenar, is the deep underground facility beneath Quincy Manor. This facility, suggested by original blueprints, is believed to be where the most dangerous and risky magical weapon experimentation took place – a clandestine vault of forbidden knowledge and devastating potential. Recovering any of these assets promises not only great reward but also profound risk, as the tormented souls of Eaumont cling to their former lives, and the very air whispers with an aura of paranoia.

The grim fate of Eaumont is deeply rooted in the ambitious vision of Gabriel Quincy, a former sailor who turned to blacksmithing. In 829 ADA (After Dark Ages), just six years before the cataclysmic Twin Civil War, Gabriel, discerning the escalating rivalry between Prince Matthias and Princess Emilynne Owenar, shrewdly anticipated the inevitable conflict. Aligning himself with Prince Matthias, Gabriel swiftly leveraged his loyalty and blacksmithing skills to become the Prince's personal weapon manufacturer, conceiving a town specifically designed to expedite the production of armaments. Thus, Eaumont was born, not from community spirit, but from the cold calculus of war-profiteering.   From its very inception, House Quincy exerted complete control over Eaumont's industry, secretly supplying and allocating all resources, and employing every worker to produce weapons for Prince Matthias's loyalists. Their ultimate aim was to facilitate a coup should Parliament choose Princess Emilynne as the new monarch. When the Twin Civil War indeed erupted, and Emilynne was overthrown, Prince Matthias's loyalist military formed the 4th Kingdom of Man in 835 ADA. Eaumont, under House Quincy's iron fist, became the focal point for this new kingdom's war resources. This period saw a vast increase in Quincy's wealth, expedited by the full completion of Eaumont's infrastructure through the brutal use of slave labor and illegal trade of metals plundered from battlefields. Whispers of House Quincy conducting unscrupulous experiments on weapons and abusing magic to counter Princess Emilynne's progress circulated during the war. However, in 851 ADA, both twins tragically perished in the final siege of the capital, and the monarchy passed to a family cousin. Remarkably, House Quincy's clandestine activities had remained so secret that they were never charged with war crimes.   For decades, House Quincy's power waned, but it wasn't until 971 ADA that their true reckoning arrived. The young King Argon II, while reigniting investigations into the family's shady financial records, discovered that the current head, Antoine Quincy, was attempting to replicate dream magic —a direct violation of a crucial treaty with the Kingdom of Thaznir. The royal Judges swiftly moved, arresting the entire family. Found guilty of treasonous magical practices, House Quincy's available resources were confiscated, and their wealth was shattered. Stripped of their influence, the family was forced into exile, abandoning Eaumont and its grand manor. The town, deprived of its economic engine and burdened by its now public, infamous reputation, slowly began to dissipate through financial turmoil and neglect.   Then, in 993 ADA, twenty-two years after House Quincy's fall, a chilling incident plunged Eaumont into its current cursed state. A messenger from House Hyperius reported to King Argon II that the town appeared to have been abandoned altogether, seemingly overnight. Sensing a grave danger, the King dispatched a minor division of soldiers led by Captain Anthony Cromwell, supervised by the shrewd Judge Sereshe, known as the Flintwood Scar, to investigate. While their findings have remained highly confidential, pervasive stories claim that demons plagued the town, causing everyone to vanish. Some theorists believe a latent experiment by House Quincy was the catalyst, while others suggest an external cause – a rift or an imbalance – that cursed the entire settlement. Since that fateful day, Eaumont has been sealed off, with Owenarian soldiers constantly patrolling the perimeter, ensuring nothing enters or escapes unnoticed.   For more than half a decade, Eaumont has stood as a ghost town, suffering only minimal deterioration due to a lack of repairs, preserved by the very curse that emptied it. Its infrastructure, though dusty and silent, remains largely intact. As the harrowing tale of the town's demise spread throughout the kingdom's populace, adventurers and guildmasters alike began to see not just a tragedy, but a profound mystery to investigate. For them, Eaumont represents a unique opportunity: to discover what truly caused the horrifying incident and to uncover the rare and exceptional items, lost knowledge, and dark treasures from an entire town's abandoned resources.