Golden Acres

Golden Acres, made up of three hundred acres of rich farmland, situated between Liam's Hold and Bowshot along the Trade Way, was home to the ranger Goldentag Skaylebane and his wife Rina. In 1372, Rina was pregnant with their first child. Rina would later give birth in the same year to a son, Goldentag, and Rina would name Zak in honor of Zaachaeus, a drow who had saved the then-pregnant Rina from a group of orcs who wandered down from the High Moor.   Goldentag died of old age in 1401 DR. His body was buried beneath the ancient oak tree on his beloved farm. After Goldentag's death, Rina, Zak, and his family lived on the farm for a while.   Zak had married a half-elven woman from Daggerford named Leslyn, whose family owned a small bakery. A year after they were married, Zak and Leslynn had twin male half-elves, Xanros and Belnan. With Rina's failing health and desire to see the city where she grew up, the Skaylebanes moved to Baldur's Gate in 1408. Sadly, Rina would only live for two more years after. As she requested in life, she was buried next to her beloved husband in Golden Acres.   Zak considered selling Golden Acres, but his mother made him promise not to. Zak found a job as a dockworker while Leslyn opened up a small bakery near the docks called All You Knead. Their son, Belnan, would grow up to be a sailor in the city's navy, while Xanros chose to follow in his grandfather's footsteps as a Ranger working for contracts with The Flaming Fist, a mercenary group based in Baldur's Gate.   When he reached adulthood, Xanros Skaylebane married a human adventuring cleric named Merla Dhaloheim, who worshipped Mielikki just as his grandfather Goldentag did. When Merla became pregnant with their only child, a half-elf boy they named Arik, they both retired from adventuring and settled down in Baldur's Gate.   In 1436 DR, Zak Skaylebane died of old age. His wife, Leslyn, continued to run the family's bakery. To this day, despite her age, she still runs the bakery.   In time, Arik grew to adulthood and met Gayla Dhakal, a local human woman who had worked at his mother's bakery. They were married in 1479 when Arik was 29, and Gayla was 19.   In 1480, word reached Xanros and Belnan that Goldenacres was in disrepair and that the merchant guild of Daggerford was asking the Skaylebanes if they would consider selling the vast property to the town. The twin brothers refused to sell it, but weren't planning on leaving Baldur's Gate to live out their lives on a farm. Arik asked Xanros if he could take his family to Golden Acres and care for the land that belonged to his great-grandfather.   In the spring of 1481 DR, Arik Skaylebane, the half-elven great-grandson of Goldentag, arrived in Daggerford to reclaim his family's homestead. Along with wife Gayla, they moved to Golden Acres with their three-year-old son, Jon, and their two young daughters, Katryn and Jaquiline, who were born a year apart.   They have since rebuilt Golden Acres in honor of Goldentag and Rina Skaylebane, who both dearly loved the land they called home for years.   The Skaylebanes still live there to this day.