Sarbreenar

Sarbreenar was a hamlet in the Vast, lying high in the western Earthfast Mountains, on the High Trail between High Haspur and Elvenblood Pass before Ravens Bluff.

History
Sarbreenar was originally built by the forces of Roldilar, a dwarven kingdom that once dominated the surface lands in the early 7th century DR. It was constructed as a defensive outpost of the nearby city of Sarbreen, to control access to the pass to the city, to ward off surprise assaults through the mountains, and to maintain an overland link with the city of Procampur in the southern Vast. At that time, Sarbreenar consisted largely of a keep with adjoining terraced gardens and high pastures.

This role came to end when Roldilar fell to orcs in 649 DR. Soon after, Beluar, an elven hero who'd aided the dwarves of Roldilar, died in Elvenblood Pass, giving it its name. The grateful dwarves buried Beluar and his riders in Sarbreenar, building them a tomb and erecting an obelisk to honor them. Afterwards, humans settled Sarbreenar.

At some point, Maldrithor, a huge green dragon some called "the Sarbreenar Wyrm", chose to lair at the site and the people fled. Maldrithor demolished the keep and roosted upon its ruins, so large that his tail dangled down a tower and none dared even approach. From here, Maldrithor watched and preyed upon travellers on the road. But in time, people stopped using the road and Maldrithor went hungry, raiding Procampur until he was finally slain by a mage.

People returned to Sarbreenar but found orcs had moved in instead. Neither side would leave, so vicious fighting broke out through the surrounding mountains. After a week, humans held Sarbreenar and Elvenblood Pass again. However, the orcs had sacked Sarbreenar, taking away its goods and the dragon's small treasure, and leaving the rest spoiled and ruined. Thus the people rebuilt.

By 1370 DR, Sarbreenar was a simple hamlet, with all sign of the keep gone.

Description
The land around Sarbreenar was full of sharply rising cliffs, rocky ridges, and pinnacles, where avalanches were a common hazard. Between them lay about a dozen wet, narrow valleys fashioned by mountain streams and filled with moss and mists. These valleys were home to local farms, typically worked by elderly farmers who raised sheep and goats.

Sarbreenar provided a market to the local farmers, and was also home to a smithy and a high-quality, but expensive, wagonworks owned by Torstan Holbrar. Sarbreenar had an inn called The Merry Mage, with a signpost carved with the image of an old, bearded wizard giving a wink and leering.

At the center of the hamlet, over the road from the horse-pond, was Beluar's Tomb, the burial place of the elven hero Beluar and his riders. The spot was marked by a great grassed-over mound with a stone obelisk on top, carved with intricate designs. The obelisk was often a resting place for pigeons.

Local legends
The dragon's small treasure, carried away by the orcs, was thought to be hidden in the surrounding mountains.