Gardmore Abbey

Gardmore Abbey is the abandoned religious fortification located in the northeast part of the Trade Republic. It is currently home to a large band of refugee orcs.

Geography
The Abbey is north-northeast of Winterhaven, the northernmost town in this part of the Republic. The Abbey is further north than any travelers go, between the barren mountains, farmland and the largely unoccupied coast. Ivograd is the nearest city.

The Abbey itself is situated on the top of a plateau, with a commanding view of the surrounding land rising to the mountains. Forests and meadows fill the land between foothills in this part of the country. The northern slope of the hill is steep, barren and difficult to scale - and exposed to defenders. The southern slope is gentler and rises in steps to provide for a thickly forested area and a hillside village, in addition to the various fortifications and military buildings of the old religious orders.

History
Paladins and priests of the Five Gods have had temples on the hill of Gardmore Abbey since before living memory. In dark times, the temples defended locals from war, invasion and plague. The development of the Abbey as a military position reaches back before the establishment of the Trade Republic and possibly before the advent of man.

Some centuries ago, near the time of the Republic's foundation, the Abbey's orders came under attack by an unknown force. Whether demons, or giants, or some ancient power thought extinct, the Abbey was besieged for nearly a year. At the end of the siege, it is thought that someone within or without the Abbey walls attempted to use the Deck of Many Things to break the stalemate. The Abbey fell almost immediately.

For the last three hundred years, no one has successfully explored the Abbey. Approximately 180 years ago, a force of Republican militia gathered to clear the Abbey to make safe a road to the sea. The attempt was met by a demon horde, and those who survived never reached the Abbey plateau. The disastrous result of the expedition led to the resulting abandonment of the Abbey to the modern day.