Duhail

Duhail is a small farming village about 60 miles to the southwest of Carlion, Sarnia. "Duhail" translates to "Two Hills", the most striking geographical feature of the region. For as long as anyone can remember, two families of minor, landed nobility, The Rolens and the Brauns, owned all of the surrounding farmland of Duhail. The two families existed in a mutual animus stemming from some long forgotten trespass or the simple desire to own a larger slice of the land.

Both of the hills of Duhail are topped with the manor house of their respective family, The Brauns to the east and the Rolens to the west. A road twists and turns between the hills to the small settlement nestled at their base. Duhail town proper is little more than a few streets lined with homes, a handful of modest storefronts offering necessities, and a five bedroom tavern and inn for the rare traveler that passes through. Beyond the hills are the fertile fields where the farmers make their livlihood. Much of the food grown is sent down the road to Carlion, where fair prices are paid for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Life in Duhail is simple and pastoral. Men work the fields, women tend the home. Children are reared and the elderly pass on. The high point of the year is and always has been The Harvest Feast, a three day celebration at the end of every season where the town comes together to eat, drink and toast the fruits of their bounty.

For a brief time, Duhail experienced a series of events that left many of the townsfolk reeling for years to come. It began with the arrest of Artur Braun, the patriarch of the Braun family. Artur was well-known and well-loved by those who worked the fields, and was known as a fair and just man. Many could not fathom what he could have been arrested for. As it turned out, there was very little time to consider the matter. During his incarceration, Artur fell ill and died. It was barely a month after burying her husband that it was revealed Gabrielle Braun, Artur's widow, was engaged to marry Lord Harold Rolen, patriarch of the Rolen family.

The wedding was a spectacular affair, followed by four days of feasts and merriment, all paid for by Lord Rolen. For the first time ever, the two wealthiest families of Duhail were united in marriage. Unfortunately, it seemed the peace was not to last. Only a few years in to her marriage, Gabrielle Braun died giving birth to a son, Gareth. The townsfolk mourned her loss, and Lord Rolen became increasingly reclusive within his manor.

Several more years passed without incident, until the night some still remember as The Black Harvest. At the annual Harvest Feast, panic spread through the streets when it was realized that Braun Manor, long vacant, had somehow caught fire. The townsfolk acted quickly before the flames could leap to the dry fields below, threatening everything. During their efforts to put out the blaze, it was learned that Lord Rolen had gone missing. Marco Rolen, Harold's middle son, gathered a group of men to help find him.

In a clearing near the road out of town, Marco found the body of his father, killed by a swift dagger strike to the heart. Marco and his men combed the forest for the assailant, and Marco managed to clip him with an arrow, but the assailant escaped.

Once the flames of Braun manor were put out, a disturbing scene was found inside at the dining hall. The main table had been laid out for two, and the charred remains of a meal were still present. Also present were the blackened bones of a man, still seated at the head of the table. Nearby, a broken oil lamp was assumed to be the start of the fire. The townsfolk deduced the burnt bones belonged to Artemis Braun, Artur's son. In the years since his mother died, Artemis had become sullen and withdrawn. Several fieldhands had seen Artemis walking into Braun Manor from time to time in the months leading up to this terrible event. The gruesome tableau, the laid out dinner, the fact that the body was still seated, led rise to the belief that Artemis, distraught over the death of his mother, killed himself through self-immolation.

The Black Harvest seems to have been the last of the major misfortune Duhail has had to deal with. Harold's sons Cainus and Marco took their young half brother, Gareth, and relocated to Carlion. In the absence of the Brauns and the Rolens, Duhail established a modest system of democracy. Aside from the occasional field fire, or the excitement when a traveling fair comes to town, life in Duhail has remained unremarkable; precisely the way most residents prefer.