Lords of the Byrny Area Part II

 

This is Part II of my look at the various lords in the Byrny Area. Part I can be found here.

 

Daven (Sten)

Located north of Byrny. Lord Daven inherited this manor from his grandmother, Helga, who was awarded it by the Sten family for her service against bandits.  Lord Daven’s father died as a young man and Daven inherited his grandmother’s magic sword, Argetlahm, along with the land. It is rumored that the sword is intelligent and may be running the manor through its owner. While well-liked by his peers, most will admit that Daven comes across as a bit dim in conversation, so there may be some truth to that rumor. What he lacks in intelligence, Lord Daven makes up for in enthusiasm. He will be personally participating in the tourney.

Fiel (Byrny)

Located northwest of Byrny. Lady Fiel reluctantly returned to the Byrny area from the City State on the death of her father to assume the duties of running the manor. She inherited two years ago, following a rough several years for the manor. Goblins had twice set fire to the wheat fields resulting in cash flow problems for her father at the time of his death. The situation has not improved under her management. She never had much interest in the running of the manor, assuming that she would just leave it to her father’s bailiff, Charles. While she followed this plan for the first few months, she eventually fired him because of the financial difficulties. Since then, she has discovered that the business is more complex than she realized. She also bickers with Lord Blan over who is responsible for the maintenance of the bridge. Prior to taking over for Charles, she had assumed that the chartered villages handled all this and does not see why it should be her problem. She plans to personally participate in the tourney. If Tanya Blan, her rival for Robert Boyter’s affection, can do it, so can she.
 

Hops (Berk)

 

Located directly northwest of Byrny. Thogrol Hops is a dwarf vassal of Lord Berk who holds the right to mine here. As a direct vassal of the Overlord, with no link to Thunderhold, Lord Berk is not permitted to mine in the area around Byrny. By granting the lands to Lord Hops, Lord Berk is able to enjoy a cut from the profits of the mines on his land. Lord Hops' holding consists of good farmland, productive forests, and two profitable steel mines. Lord Hops is skilled at running the mines and acute at hiring others to run the agricultural concerns on his manor. He has retained Sir Mar to represent him for the joust at the tournament, but plans to participate in the melee himself.
 

Krutz (Overlord)

Located east of Byrny. Lady Krutz’s family has held this land for several generations. She is known for her sharp tongue and brutal honesty. While some of her peers appreciate this, others resent her harsh manner. Even the Overlord is not spared as the lady has no use for Custalcon and constantly raises the issue. While her farms are profitable, she is always on the lookout for a chance to improve efficiency. She currently has her eye on Charles, Lady Fiel’s former bailiff, and hopes to hire him before Fiel realizes her mistake. Athelnar will represent her in the tourney. She has not kept her desire to see him married to her daughter a secret. Many whisper that this is a sign that an announcement is near on that front.

Montu (Berk)

Located southeast of Byrny across the River Stillring. Montu is not a Lord. The manor is technically held by his wife, Lady Elizabeth Montu, who fell into a coma almost forty years ago. They were betrothed when she was badly injured in a massive tent fire at a tournament that killed thirty people. She lives on in a room in the manor set aside for her. The Overlord at the time broke with tradition and allowed the wedding to go forward, in a move than angered the Church of Mitra, because her father was in poor health. With no issue, the land will revert to Lord Berk on Lady Montu’s death. There will be no participation in the tourney from the Montu estate.

 

Morely (Berk)

Located east of Byrny. Lord Morely was granted this land last year to quiet an ongoing scandal involving the Overlord and his daughter, Maxine. The daughter has rarely left the estate since they took possession and there are rumors that this was part of the deal to keep salacious details from the wrong ears. Berk resents being forced to grant this land as he had plans to develop it himself later. Lord Morely plans to participate in the tourney himself.

Norcus (Sten)

Located north of Byrny. Lady Norcus is Governor Hetalan’s sister. He forced Lady Sten’s father to grant her this manor in exchange for forgiving a large sum of unpaid taxes. This allowed Lady Norcus to attract a wealthy lord in the City State as a husband and that is where she spends most of her time. The manor is run by their Grunnar, a talented half-orc bailiff. He has managed to keep the land profitable despite constant meddling from Lady Sten in the form of extravagant hospitality demands for parties to be held at the manor. Grunnar has been seeking a knight to represent his lady at the tourney, but Lady Sten keeps hiring them out from underneath him. He has almost reached the point of participating himself.
 

Parway (Sten)

Located northeast of Byrny. Lord Parway is the most contentious of Lady Sten’s vassals. He was once betrothed to Lady Sten. Her father promised him her hand in marriage when she was thirteen. At eighteen years old, Lady Sten broke the engagement when she fell in love with a bard that had taken up residency at the manor. After her older brother died of the flux, and shortly before his own death, her father lost the land to Parway in a card game. Needless to say, their relationship is strained. If Lord Parway is known for one thing other than mismanaging his estate, it is drinking to excess. Contrary to the advice of all that work for him, Parway is determined to compete in the tourney himself. There is great anticipation amongst the populace for his “performance”.

Patter (Thunderhold)

Located northwest of Byrny. Lady Patter is a dwarf vassal of Thunderhold who has personally held these lands for over one hundred years. She is concerned by what she sees as a loss of power by Byrny. The lands now held by the charter villages to the west was once held by actual lords. She is frustrated by the lack of clearly defined responsibility for the important bridges to the west. To the east, she grows tired of the various Sten-related nonsense that occupies energy that could be better spent. Lady Patter does not care about tourneys. She has never been to a tourney. She is not in the habit of participating in the idle games of nobility and has no desire to break that habit for Lady Rixia.