Kethira-720TR-Harn-Kaldor-Qualdris

Qualdris (castle)

From "In Genin's Footsteps" by Julian Verdreth, 715 TR:

The trail through the rocky hills is several leagues long. It can be trying enough on a short day, and bandits have been seen often enough that I suggest keeping a keen eye on the surroundings and an arrow loosely nocked. About halfway there to Qualdris, a short detour to the south – a few hundred paces – brings you to a stretch of stream that I recommend on a hot day. The way is well-marked, and is the dividing line between Thelshire and the Oselshire.

Most travelers are very happy to get near Qualdris and see the cultivated fields to either side of the road. So close to the city, the bandits do not dare trouble travelers, for Lord Meleken deals with them promptly and harshly.

Qualdris itself is a bustling city of six hundred or so with a fine stone keep and lords who have been gentle both to the land and their people, but are always prepared to defend either. Caer Qualdris is a long, boat-shaped affair on a hill, surrounded on three sides by the city. A good arrow-shot away to the south-east, is the local miller and the crossing over the Siloryne River. Immediately north of the crossing the Valganra River joins the Siloryne.

When in Qualdris, I suggest staying with the Pig and Whistle or the Genin’s Rest. The Pig and Whistle is certainly the busiest of the inns, and the food is always superb. Quality is excellent, but the prices are also high. I personally tend to stay at the Genin’s Rest; the prices are far more reasonable, although the food is not as good. The building is over 300 years old, and in need of work, so I like to contribute to the cause. Either place has a good commons, right by the inn and fenced. The Genin’s Rest is hard by the keep; the Pig and Whistle is on the far side of town from the keep and right next to the spacious western commons.

If you have any business in town, I recommend staying a day and trading. Kobing is about a third the size of Qualdris.

Take the Genin trail (hereabouts, it’s called the Kobing Road) to the south-east out of town, across the river. Water for the animals should not be a problem for awhile; the trail runs near to the Valganra River for nearly a league.

Barely a mile out of Qualdris is Hylesim.

The keep is highly visible, long and narrow, situated atop a hill like a long ship facing the road north. It Begun as an old hill-fort – put a stout timber wall around the top of a hill and dare the attackers to come get you, charging up a defended hillside with no cover. Buildings came later and the stone walls look every bit as strong as the keep. It isn’t big, but it is clearly sturdy.

The town itself is spread out, without the crowding from a city wall, some forty acres running from north-east to the south-west in a long rectangle. There are fields running all through the area with homes and businesses scattered pretty haphazardly throughout.