Urveth (Uhr vehth)

Table of Contents

There are innocent people in that jungle, stolen from all over Raan, and they are suffering. It is our responsibility to free them and send those slavers screaming back to whatever dark gods they pray to!

— Koerth, General of the Vethad Regulars

Once a relatively sheltered natural harbor, the colony of Urveth was founded by a group of adventurers who sailed to Vethad to mount a rescue. Finding many more enslaved than they were expecting, a portion of those rescued and those doing the rescuing volunteered to stay behind and built out the beginnings of what would become Urveth. Now a well-built and highly defensible outpost that has its own standing army, an impressive set of shipwrights, and enough merchants and plantations to have a small but respectable export business.

Of course, Urveth hasn't forgotten its origins, or its purpose. And the amount of kidnappers and slavers that use the relatively lawless jungle continent is large enough that Urveth remains active in this regard on a continuous basis. In response, the Outpost receives regular tithes from several foreign powers for the return of their people. This helps to fund the standing army, and also provides those states a safe harbor from which to retrieve their people after they have been liberated and nursed back to health so as to survive the trip back home.

Notable Locations

Visitors to Urveth will find themselves being pointed to several major points of interest.

Forge and Prayer House

Forge Temple by Gycinn

To those familiar with the Kingdom of Ulric and its patron deity, Rath, the fact that the Prayer House is also a forge makes perfect sense. Adjoined by a tavern that specializes in consecrated wines and small beers that can be drunk safely while on duty, the Forge and Prayer House is also the home to the clergy of Amanda and Rath, whose dormitories are carved into the cliff and warmed by the exhaust from the forges that snake through special channels carved into the walls.

Holy Ship! Boats

Overseen by two gifted Shipwrights, the Holy Ship dock yard both creates and repairs ships of all sizes, and is responsible for making sure that the boats of other nations are fit for sail or steam to return home. Even submersible apparatus can be repaired here, though such expertise and specialized tools do not come cheap.

Jungle Errant Hospital

Dream - Hospital in the Jungle by Balázs Kétyi

A few minutes walk outside of the outpost proper, on land that does not sink, a hospital has been built with deceptively strong walls. With both an alchemist to mix remedies and a coffee house famous for its delicious coffee-based drinks, Jungle Errant Hospital stands apart from the Outpost physically, but is within a few minutes' march of Urveth. It is home to a group known as the Jungle Errants, led by Virqen Daven, who unlike the standing army are not directly under the control of General Koerth Truefang.

Mercantile District

Crystal Street by Sandra

The heart of the Outpost is a well-protected series of bazaar stalls where merchants hawk wares imported from home, or plumbed from the depths of Vethad. From food to literature, and including rare materials such as Psicrystal, the district has something for everyone. And enough guards patrolling that pickpocketing is kept to a minimum.

Thirsty Cockswain

Thirsty Cockswain Brawl

Unlike the uptight and reserved tavern adjoined to the Forge and Prayer House, the Thirsty Cockswain is a rowdy house of drinking, good food, and song where folks of all walks can relax. Well, at least, relax between the occasional tavern brawl. Then again, as long as you get a table near the walls, your food and drink should be safe.

Notable People

There are several important people in and around Urveth.

Biri Truefang

The Mayor of the civilian population, Biri Truefang is co-director of the Urveth Outpost along side her husband Koerth. Biri is a dragonborn with emerald ancestry, a fact that only added to her mystique, and played a part in attracting the eye of her husband. A cleric of Tashan, Biri is no stranger to conflict, and does not shy away from negotiation. Indeed, though she prefers diplomacy to destruction, she seems perfectly capable of exercising both.

It is common knowledge that Biri's presence and counsel soothe the savage heart and unforgiving nature of her husband, and she is both a shrewd negotiator and a cunning diplomat who continually works with many disparate emissaries of numerous kingdoms with dignity and grace. But like any member of the Kingdom of Ulric, she takes a very dim view to the harm of innocents, and heavens help the poor creature who invokes her fury; the fury of a gentle woman is a terrifying thing to behold.

Caramel Latte

Lady Caramel Latte

Baroness Caramel Latte of Capulus is a well-known fixture around Urveth. She and her husband Mocha control the barony of Capulus, which consists of a vast plantation of coffee and tea, as well as Jungle Errant hospital. She works as a nurse, and alongside her chemist runs a very successful coffee house and an apothecary on the same grounds as the Jungle Errant Hospital.

Dewdrop

by Yama Orce

Sultry and fierce, the Moon Druid known as Dewdrop is a powerhouse of primal might and magic both, and a fierce protector of both innocents and the wilds they are being held captive in. Highly independent, Dewdrop ranges over a large area around Urveth in both humanoid and animal form. She is both patrolwoman and custodian, and can commonly be counted on to assist plantation owners and warriors alike as they travel through the untamed jungles that surround Urveth.

Irstmog

A veteran of both the Dwarven Occupation and several campaigns on foreign soil, Irstmog is a taciturn dwarf with hair as aggressive and straightforward as he is. A virtuoso with the hammer in combat, Irstmog spends his time at the Jungle Errant Hospital training any who wish to learn to fight, or training with the standing army to help out Koerth, or occasionally as backup to help quell a particularly rowdy brawl at the Thirsty Cockswain. Whatever Irstmog did before, of which he speaks little, he considers his work here in Urveth his retirement. Which, considering that he has commonly given Koerth fits during sparring, speaks to a dangerous history that is perhaps best left buried.

Koerth Truefang

The General. The Lion of Urveth. Koerth Truefang is the general of the standing army of Urveth Outpost, and husband to Biri Truefang, its Mayor. He is a peerless commander, father to the men and women under his command, and a shining beacon of strength and hope to every innocent citizen of the outpost. No man or woman that he has led has ever been left behind, even if the General has to throw them over his shoulder himself. On the other hand, his great strength and command can make him a danger to civilians on occasion, and require his wife to calm him down.

Mocha Latte

Lord Mocha Latte

Baron Mocha Latte of Capulus is more of a rare sight than his wife around Urveth, but only because he handles much of the day to day business of his barony and mercantile fleet.

The Macchiato

When Baron Mocha isn't on his plantation or in Urveth, he is traveling between Urveth and Ulric on business on his flag ship, the Macchiato. This fine cargo hulke has a reputation for being impressively fast and dexterous for its size. It is easily identified by its figurehead, an Al'Miraj of unusual size, whose unicorn-like horn forms the forestern.

Virqen Daven

Of the people in and around Urveth, the most difficult one to pin down would have to be the leader of the Jungle Errants, Virqen Daven, a firbolg woman who does not look nearly as powerful as they are. Not just a paladin, Virqen is also a shadow sorceress. Koerth Truefang calls her a Shadow Paladin, and she seems to enjoy playing herself up to his vision of her as a shadow-tainted paladin, who has somehow fooled the very oath she took as a paladin. She is nothing of the sort, of course; she just has a rebellious streak and enjoys tweaking Koerth's nose while going about the work of saving the innocent and helping the people who have sworn themselves to the Jungle Errants. And she has both the power and the will to do so.