The Plums of Death Knell

The little town of Death Knell is nestled into the curving rim of Bloodroot Forest and dangerously close to the Bloodroot altar, the place from which the Elves of Linwe set out on their deadly raids for sacrifices. As such, the town more than lives up to its name with the townsfolk clinging on more for bloody mindedness than for any sense they might have been born with.

Like many of the towns within the beleaguered Border Princes, the buildings grew out from the central marketplace and market hall. Here produce is stored for consumption in the hard months of winter and, at times, fairs are held in which the harvest is sold on to travellers and merchants from Malko.

A good deal of this produce comes from the orchards, cultivated trees within Bloodroot Forest that bear strange but delicious fruit. Whether the Blood Root itself has any effect on this fruit, no one can say for sure, but the sweet plums of Death Knell's orchard are swollen and delicious. They are regarded as a delicacy in Malko, especially by the former mayor, prior to his death, and if there are any side effects to their consumption, the traders will not say.

Suffice to say, the population level of Death Knell seldom falls far, despite the frequent raids by the spiteful Elves of the forest. The birth rate, hardiness, and rate of growth of the inhabitants of this tainted land is prestigious. Families are large and constitution strong.

The plums of Death Knell are sought after even as far north as the Empire, for those who know of them. In great vats beneath the ground in Death Knell, the bloated over-sweet plums are made into a thick and heady wine; wine of which the Count of Averland never takes a meal without a goblet at his side.

Yes, Death Knell is a pretty place and a place of renown, despite the danger lurking in the north, but the townsfolk would never leave here. The fruit of the orchard tastes far too good for that.