Westruun

Description

Built against the perimeter of the Bramblewood Forest near the base of the great Gatshadow Mountain, the city is easy to spot from quite a distance. Among the aged cobblestones and very busy roadways, the sounds of music from vagrant bards and nearby taverns mingle with the nearly ever-present winds.

A city/regional guard called the Shields of the Plain (or just "Shields" for short) keeps the peace in the city and its environs, and all arrests and social unrest are immediately brought before the Hall of Reason, a "beautiful courthouse in the High Elven Style". Westruun is divided into six wards: Opal Ward, Residential Ward, Scholar Ward, Temple Ward, Market Ward, and Underwalk Ward.

Westruun was named after a person, Palest Westruun, not a direction. The town's iconic flower is the white iris, which grows around the western side of town.

Opal Ward

• Ironhand Trading Company Warehouse: One of the more powerful and well-known trade companies throughout Tal'Dorei, the Ironhand Company mainly works in construction materials, such as woods, metals, rope, and roofing. They are based out of Emon.
• Lord Mayor's Residence: Formerly called the Margrave's keep, the Lord Mayor's Residence is a sturdy structure that serves as both an executive mansion and a military barracks for many of the Shields.
• Hall of Reason: The courthouse, the Hall of Reason, is noted for the impressive statue of Bahamut on its front steps.
• Public Forum: central to this public gathering area is another famous statue, that of the town's founder, Palest Westruun.
• The Black King: Erected in 812 PD, the Black King is another statue of Palest Westruun on horseback, able to animate as a stone golem to defend the city in times of crisis.

Residential Ward

• Softsky Bakery: A very modest bakery that looks to have been family-run for a few generations, the Softsky Bakery is owned and run by Elowen Brist, who lives alone with her son, Simon Brist. The smell from outside the bakery is pleasant, although the size is small and the business slow.
• The Sunkissed Tavern and Inn: A fair-sized tavern and inn, the Sunkissed Tavern largely houses local farmers after work hours and travelers that require cheap lodging. An attached stable makes for a convenient business for those passing through the city. A gruff half-orc barkeep named Ulf keeps his ears open for news and valuable information.
• The Underwalk Gates: A passage leading into the Underwalk Ward.

Underwalk Ward

• Survivor's legacy

Scholar Ward

• Cobalt Reserve: A grand dome of blue, polished stone, the Cobalt Reserve is a well-fortified library organized. The library is run and controlled by the monks of The Cobalt Soul, worshipers of Ioun who gather and retain information and knowledge. The Reserve's collection of knowledge is so vast that individuals travel from all over the world to study here. A monk is assigned to every person that seeks entry, both as a guide and as a security escort, as Quian was assigned to Vox Machina during their quest to remove the proto- phylactery from Grog's torso.
• Greystone Tower: A looming spire of shimmering stone in the center of the Ward, Greystone Tower is a source of mystery and much rumor within the city. Home to the powerful archmage Realmseer Eskil Ryndarien and his servant-aide Jekt Wince, it's not uncommon to see strange colors and fumes flash from the windows throughout the evenings.
• Westhall Academy: An unpretentious place of higher learning for all manner of disciplines. Estella Ladimar is headmistress here, and one of Scanlan and Pike's children attended here.
  • Yuminor Observatory: A single tower on the edge of the Scholar Ward looms high above the nearby Westhall Academy, to which the observatory belongs. It looks forever skyward, the arcanists inside constantly charting the movements of heavens. A quasi-religious order of diviners and astromancers named the Scions of Yuminor, supported by Westhall Academy's headmistress, study here. The Scions secretly keep many of the Astural Scrolls in the observatory.
• College of the Savvy: A bard college founded by the legendary White Duke.

Temple Ward

• Bahamut's Rest: At the southern end of the Temple Terrace lies the alabaster and silver temple to the great platinum dragon Bahamut. Home to the great paladin Lady Kima of Vord, Bahamut's Rest welcomes the forgotten, the oppressed, and the hungry. Simar, Keeper of the Temple, oversees the temple and its services.
• First Bastion: a temple dedicated to Erathis. It is the largest temple in the district.
• Wild Arbor: A temple dedicated to Melora.
• A temple dedicated to the Matron of Ravens.
• Yulia's house, a scrap wooden roof with a modest interior.

Market Ward

• Beyond the Veil: A shop that specializes in magical relics and curiosities, Beyond the Veil has an unassuming, tent-like exterior that opens into a mystically larger interior. Abjurist Noja owned this shop.After the attack of the Chroma Conclave and Herd of Storms, the shop was heavily looted. There was a side room that contained Noja's personal items.
• Gilmore's Glorious Goods: Shaun Gilmore was working to open his second Gilmore's Glorious Goods shop in Westruun throughout The Briarwoods Arc, which would likely have been located in the Market Ward.
• Red House of Trickfoot: The family home of Wilhand Trickfoot and origin of Pike Trickfoot, this humble home also doubles as a small house of Sarenrae worship. Rarely without a warm hearth, it offers a welcome bit of respite from the harsh outside world. The attack of the Chroma Conclave and Herd of Storms left the Trickfoot home badly damaged, but it was later repaired.

Demographics

In 812 PD, about a year after a devastated Westruun was freed, it was a large city with a population of 26,205. Many races were represented among its citizens, including humans (65%), gnomes (10%), tieflings (7%), half-orcs (5%), gnolls (1%), and other races (12%).

By 836 PD, the population had nearly doubled to 51,980. Of those, the percentage that were humans had dropped to 61%, while 5% were orcs (not half-orcs) and 4% were half-giants.

Notable people

Since not all surnames are known, the following table is sorted by the first name.

Factions

• Brawler's League
• The Clasp
• Court of Avandra
• Vistani

Campaign One: Pre-stream Arc

The city was named after its founder Palest Westruun, a trader and philosopher.

Several members of the adventuring party that would eventually be called Vox Machina came to Westruun in 809 PD on their search for a missing member, Grog. They discovered that he used to live with two gnomes and were pointed to their home, where they met Pike Trickfoot and exchanged stories. Pike then performed a ritual to discover Grog's location, discovering that he had been drawn to nearby, cursed Gatshadow Mountain. She joined the party to rescue him.

After returning with Grog, whose abductor had left him with a magically festering scar, the group discussed how to heal Grog. They couldn't find help at Beyond the Veil, Greystone Tower, nor in the Temple Ward, but Drez Vina approached and offered to get them access to Greystone Tower if they'd steal a magical item there. The party agreed and entered the tower via the city's sewers of Westruun. However, they set off a few traps and Pike was caught by servant Jekt Wince. Scanlan talked them out of trouble under the guise of "Burt Reynolds of the Tal'Dorei Customs Department", and they continued on their search. They found the box Drez Vina wanted, but were reluctant to to steal it, which intrigued the archmage Realmseer Eskil Ryndarien, who had been observing them. He helped them understand what what happening with Grog and sent the party to collect special components for a ritual to save Grog. The party eventually returned to Greystone Tower (with a new member) and Grog was contained long enough for the ritual to be completed.

The party did have to compensate Drez Vina for failing to follow through on their deal, but after returning from a quest to the Shadebarrow, they briefly joined the Brawlers' League and scored some victories in the fighting ring before deciding to move on. During Westruun's preparations for the Winter's Crest Festival, a great, blue crystal egg was delivered to the city, supposedly from Ryndarien. The egg suddenly exploded, instantly locking the entire city in magical frost. Fortunately for the party, Abjurist Noja was there and managed to shield most of them, but he himself was frozen solid. A weakened white dragon named Skysunder had emerged from the egg and opened a portal to the Frostfell, but the party chased her down and slew her, saving the city. Eskil Ryndarien was arrested for his alleged role in the crisis, but the party helped clear Ryndarien's name. The party also learned that the trail to the real perpetrators of the attack led back to Emon, and they left Westruun.

Meanwhile, the party learned of a string of child disappearances across Tal'Dorei, and met one such child's mother, Elowen Brist.

The Chroma Crisis

In late 810 PD, Westruun was attacked by three members of the Chroma Conclave, and although there was significant damage to some structures, the city remained mostly intact and livable. The ancient black dragon Umbrasyl took up residence in the nearby Gatshadow Mountain, returning regularly to Westruun to collect his material tribute from the people—and, sometimes, to feed. ^{[citation needed]} Meanwhile, the Herd of Storms, bolstered by the absorbed members of the Rivermaw Tribe, took the opportunity and occupied weakened Westruun. Although many citizens were killed by Umbrasyl and the Herd, most others fled to Kymal, Turst Fields, other towns, and Foramere Basin. During the occupation, only a few hundred people remained within the city.

Vox Machina managed to defeat Thunderlord Kevdak and worked toward liberating the townsfolk from the Herd of Storms, and an unsteady alliance between Vox Machina and the Herd was arranged to defeat Umbrasyl. Although the Herd suffered heavy losses in the battle, Vox Machina and Herd member Shale pursued Umbrasyl to Gatshadow's peak and slew the dragon in his lair. The twelve survivors from the Herd of Storms left Westruun to join the Rivermaw Tribe. Although the danger of retaliation from the Chroma Conclave loomed over the ravaged city, Vox Machina's recent victories and construction of a fortified underground bunker encouraged the people of Westruun to begin the arduous process of returning to—and rebuilding—their town.

In Wilhand Trickfoot's twilight years, a House of the Everlight emerged on the northern edge of Westruun.

Rebuilding and reorganizing

By 812 PD, Brandon Zimmerset was appointed as the city's margrave following Atrix's death at the hands of the Herd of Storms. In order to rebuild the damaged city, Zimmerset authorized hundreds of reconstruction bounties in order to rebuild the city's damages following the Chroma Conclave and Herd of Storms' destruction. These bounties were fulfilled by the newly formed League of Miracles in only a few years, leaving Zimmerset unable to pay the debt.

Zimmerset was regarded as a local tyrant in his time. In 822 PD, Zimmerset was overthrown by a group of idealists called the Retrievers, with the aid of adventurers and mercenaries. The Retrievers instated their leader, Lysandra Kallos, as the new head of Westruun, who abolished the postion of Margrave in the city in favor a new democratically elected position, the Lord Mayor. Lysandra remains undefeated in her re-elections and is still Lord Mayor in 836 PD.

The Apogee Solstice

During the Apogee Solstice of 843 PD, Lady Cassandra de Rolo visited Westruun.