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It has been thirteen months since the city of Hyrmsmir lost its treasured status as a small, safe port on the shores of Northsea. Trade sailed into to Hyrmsmir, past Wevir Keep, into the small harbor at the mouth of the Harmony River. Galleys and schooners came from the south, pinks and cogs from the north. Townsmen offloaded pungent spices, dark woods, reptilian leathers, filmy cloth, gnarled barks, hammered steel, veined marbles the riches of foreign shores and southern lands. From the far and barbarous north came thick-bearded men of the bitter plains, granite mountains, and icy swamps, leading caravans of furs, heavy wools, rare ores, straight-beamed woods, and the ivories of beasts long-forgotten in lands further south. Slowly, with patience and endurance, the caravans plodded through the Duchy, gathering others: allies in the dwarves of the Cairn, men of the Duchy, and elves of the Tanglepath, foes in the orcs and humanoids of the Peace and Dragonspine or the swamp-dwelling Lizariim. In Hyrmsmir, Northman and southerner met, haggled, cheated, lied and drank.

Hyrmsmir was well on its way to becoming a prosperous trading town until the armies came out of the mountains to the east and into the lands surrounding the town. Trade dropped off. Fewer caravans arrived. Fewer ships came. Hordes of orcs, goblins, ogres, and giants marched as armies with order and discipline under the cover of night. When the armies came, Hyrmsmir was not prepared.

From the start of the attack, the city was defeated -- outnumbered, outfought and out-strategized. The first wave struck from the air setting ablaze vast portions of the city. As the flames licked over the chimneys, the attackers charged into the night-blind militia. The “Battle of Hyrmsmir” was a massacre, able only to buy the city time to barricade certain small portions.

Over the last year, however, men have returned to Northsea coasts, determined to reclaim their lost homes. Such is the case in Hyrmsmir. Although the city proper—its districts and its fortresses—are still held by the twisted armies of the conquerors, men have managed to gain a foothold in the ruined city (at the cost of the lives of several well-known, heroic sorcerers). Fired by the feelings of destiny and progress, they have set their sights on reclaiming and restoring it to its former glory. A new Council (a consortium of the original merchants of Hyrmsmir and new, eager speculators), backs them.