Population: 5,800
Overview: Eldeen town, garrison for the Wardens of the Wood, known for fish and insects
Key NPCs: Dew-on-the-Leaf (awakened tree), Dosun Oars (male human Warden), The Beekeeper (female druid, species unknown), Mils Holt (male elf acolyte), Raegan Oak (male shifter druid advisor), Stillwater (non-binary half-elf Greensinger), Tala Landon (female human councilor)
A century ago, Sylbaran marked the southern border of Aundair. During the Last War, Aundair made the decision to focus its forces to the east; leaders decided that the agricultural towns to the west were expendable. Brelish troops seized Sylbaran in 950 YK and occupied the city for six years; throughout that time, bandits and Brelish pillagers wreaked havoc across the region. The Wardens of the Wood brought this chaos to an end, uniting Aundairian peasants and druids of many sects to drive out the invaders and scavengers.
In 956 YK, the Warden alliance drove the Brelish troops out of Sylbaran, and now it marks the southern border of the Eldeen Reaches. Sylbaran is one of the largest towns in the Eldeen Reaches, and it is remarkable in many ways. It serves as a garrison, recruiting center, and training ground for the Wardens of the Wood—maintaining a force that is ready to protect the Reaches from any southern aggression, while also bringing in recruits from the smaller hamlets and farmsteads scattered around the Reaches. While the Wardens are the largest druidic sect and take the most interest in maintaining the Reaches, Sylbaran has representatives from two of the other major sects—the Children of Winter and the Greensingers. While these druids use their powers to help the community, they also act as missionaries and recruiters, sharing their traditions and preparing their students for the pilgrimage into the Towering Wood. In this, it reflects the original alliance forged by the Wardens—the farmers of western Aundair and the druidic initiates of the Towering Wood—working together for the greater good. The notable holdout among the sects is the Ashbound; Sylbaran may be a relatively small town, but it is still too civilized and industrial for the Ashbound extremists.
Warden initiates work with farmers, hunters, and fisherfolk throughout the Eldeen Reaches. Unlike the Ashbound, the Wardens don’t oppose metalworking, arcane magic, or basic industry; their focus is on sustainability and minimizing damage to the environment. Gleaners use Plant Growth, Mold Earth, Druidcraft, and other rituals to enhance farming and construction. Beyond this, Sylbaran is a focal point for commerce with the southern nations. There are well developed docks to handle shipping on Silver Lake and warehouses filled with Eldeen produce waiting to be picked up by Orien caravans. Despite this, Sylbaran is unmistakably an Eldeen community. Much of Sylbaran’s illumination is provided by bioluminescence. Swarms of bees support the Warden peacekeepers. The fisherfolk sing fish into their nets. While much of the town still uses the pre-Eldeen infrastructure, the newer buildings are made from shaped earth—not unlike the quickstone structures of Quickstone, though not as durable. Many of these are on the edge of town, but there are a few in the center, replacing buildings that were destroyed during the Brelish occupation.
Overall, the people of Sylbaran are happy folk who love their town and the natural world around it. Sylbarans know their neighbors and are always ready to lend a hand to other members of the community. They prefer harmony to strife and prefer to solve problems peacefully whenever possible. However, they’re quite used to dealing with outsiders who don’t share these ideals. While Sylbarans are patient with travelers, there are limits to this patience. Animal abuse (such as mistreating mounts) will not be tolerated, and someone seen pissing in the lake is likely to be thrown in it. The townsfolk stick together, and if someone sees a crime being committed, they will typically raise a hue and cry and get involved, rather than passing by. However, there are always new outsiders who don’t know the ways of the Reaches, so there’s always trouble to be found.
Most of the communities of the Eldeen Reaches are self-sustaining hamlets and villages. Sylbaran is remarkable due to its focus on commerce. As a result, there are many locations that can be of interest to adventurers.
While many dragonmarked houses are interested in Sylbaran, the town council has prevented a number of them from establishing outposts in the town. The Children of Winter vehemently oppose any dealings with House Jorasco, and the council has denied both House Deneith’s request to establish a garrison and House Lyrandar’s proposal to construct a Storm Spire and airship docking tower. However, there are a few services adventurers may find useful.
Bank of Sylbaran/Stone 112. House Kundarak operates the only bank in Sylbaran. It has a large, secure vault, but at the moment it isn’t connected to the Kundarak vault network; the house continues to petition the town council for permission to establish such a connection. Following the common practice, House Sivis operates its Speaking Stone station from the bank and provides scribing services.
The Dragonne’s Roar. The Finder’s Guild of House Tharashk isn’t allowed to prospect in the Towering Wood, but the Town Council has recently allowed Tharashk to establish an outpost for the Dragonne’s Roar—the branch of the guild that brokers Droaamite services. Guildmaster Kard’Aashta is still completing work on the outpost and building up her staff; primarily, it serves as a waystation for mercenaries passing through town. However, Kard’Aashta has many contacts in Droaam—including friends in Turakbar’s Fist and the Great Crag—and can be a useful source of information for adventurers planning to travel west of the Border Road. While she’s interested in making a profit, Kard’Aashta truly does want to help normalize relations between Droaamites and the people of the east, and will often encourage the mercenaries in residence to accompany her to town revels or to the Sylvan.
Sylbaran Station. The Wardens of the Wood have refused to allow House Orien to extend the lightning rail into Sylbaran, but they allow the house to maintain the trade road and run caravans and Thunder Coaches through the town. Sylbaran Station was built to support this traffic and to store freight being transferred to or from these caravans; the enclave is surrounded by silos and warehouses. Station manager Husker d’Orien dreams of seeing the lightning rail in Sylbaran, and is constantly working to win the favor of members of the town council.
The Stampede. House Vadalis has deep roots in the region. Many local families have connections to the house that date back centuries, and Vadalis provides vital services for travelers. While there are druids who despise Vadalis, the Wardens allow the house to operate as long as it adheres to certain guidelines on the treatment of its beasts and restrictions on magebreeding. The Stampede is an Orien enclave that focuses on providing mounts and teams for Orien caravans and couriers, as well as caring for the animal companions of other travelers. The Stampede breeds tribex, but only as mounts and beasts of burden, and this is a trivial operation when compared to the stockyards of Shavalant. The Stampede is run by Myrana d’Vadalis, a tough old woman whose greatest pride is the pair of bulettes who live on the ranch, which she calls Trundle and Grim. Myrana has been working with these two monstrosities for years and has developed a strong bond with them, but the bulettes have never produced young. Myrana brings Trundle to festivals, and allows children to ride the monstrosity.
The Sylvan. This small theater doubles as an outpost for House Phiarlan. The Sylvan is run by Laenan Shol d’Phiarlan, an accomplished actor who is particularly fascinated with the Greensingers and the fey knack for enchantment and illusion. While Stillwater has never come to the Sylvan, Laenan has convinced a number of Greensinger initiates to perform there.
Weather permitting, many of the people of Sylbaran prefer the outdoors to the confines of a tavern. There are two common gathering places, at opposite ends of town. Lake’s Edge is a stretch of beach north of the Sylbaran docks; fisherfolk who use small boats will often land on Lake’s Edge at the end of the day and trade some of their catch for stories or a song. The Greensingers of Sylbaran primarily camp on Lake’s Edge, and every night at least one of the ‘Singers will lead all comers in song and dance. The Haven is a vast, rolling meadow west of town. The Wardens of the Wood have a semi-permanent camp in the Haven, and many Reachers visiting Sylbaran from elsewhere—especially travelers from the Towering Wood—will pitch their tents or lay their bedrolls in the Haven. As long as they mind their manners, visitors can always find a place around the bonfire.
Travelers who prefer to take their meals and nights indoors have a few options. While it’s largely shunned by the locals, House Ghallanda’s Gold Dragon Inn offers reliable, modest, and comfortable lodging for travelers and has a single wealthy-quality suite. The Gold Dragon is not to be confused with the Golden Hour, a Ghallanda-licensed inn with a beautiful sunset on its sign; it’s a peaceful establishment that offers excellent vegetarian fare and simple lodging at modest rates. A more unusual option is The Welcoming Boughs, an inn built into the spreading branches of a great oak (whose growth was accelerated); it’s modest in quality and price, but certainly unusual. When it comes to food and drink, The Good Berry is the best tavern in town, offering drinks for any budget. While it’s known for Goodberry wine, it serves a wide range of unusual fruit wines and liqueurs and occasionally has what the innkeeper swears are wines from Thelanis.
The majority of the people of Sylbaran respect the traditions of the Wardens of the Wood, and the druid Raegan Oak and the awakened tree Dew-on-the-Leaf hold services in the meadows west of town. The Wardens seek to maintain a path of harmony between civilization and the wild, drawing on the best aspects of each world and using them to help the other side prosper. The Greensingers hold their services at Lake’s Edge, where the druid Stillwater shares stories and keeps the peace between Sylbaran and the fey of Silver Lake. The Beekeeper resides in the massive apiary to the north of Sylbaran, and the Children of Winter join her there, but their services aren’t open to outsiders. None of these druids will sell their services, and none have the power to reincarnate the fallen or to raise the dead. Funerary services are generally conducted by the Children of Winter, who bury the dead in the gardens around the apiary; beautiful flowers bloom over the mass graves.
While the residents of Sylbaran largely follow one of the druidic traditions, there is an old temple of the Sovereign Host that has been maintained by Mils Holt, an elf who has lived in the region for hundreds of years. Mils supports the Reaches, but prefers the old ways of Boldrei and Arawai to the druidic traditions. He performs the rituals of the Sovereign Host for local Vassals and travelers. Mils is wise and often has sound advice to offer, but the only spell he can reliably cast is Ceremony. However, on occasion he has had divine visions—mirroring the effects of Commune or Augury—relating to travelers in need.
While the druids of Sylbaran don’t sell their services, one of the most important things they do is teach. This is one of the few places beyond the Towering Wood where groups of aspirants study the druidic mysteries. All three of the sects represented in Sylbaran have students and initiates. Most will only ever be gleaners, but some may become true Druids or Rangers—and if you’re such a character, Sylbaran could be where you learned your skills.
Local farmers and artisans from the surrounding villages bring their goods to Sylbaran, and most commerce occurs in the ever-changing open market. Food, herbal remedies, handmade clothing, druidic focus items, and many more can all be acquired at the Sylbaran market. Notable permanent establishments include Karch Tanners, which specializes in leather goods and armor; The Hardy Haft, which produces staffs, hafted weapons, and other wooden goods; and Balm & Bloom, an apothecary’s cooperative with a remarkable range of goods and tools. Druella Grayroot is a shifter herbalist and talented primal healer, capable of casting Lesser Restoration and Gentle Repose; but thanks to an understanding with the Beekeeper, she won’t perform Lesser Restoration on those whose afflictions are entirely natural. There are relatively few magewrights in Sylbaran, but there are gleaners—the primal equivalent—who can perform some of the same functions; notably, there’s a squad of gleaners who can cast Control Flames that deal with any fires that break out in town.
The shifters of Sylbaran largely live on the northeastern edge of town. Some live in earthen buildings within the town; others pitch their tents in the tall trees on the edge of the Haven meadow. They’ve built a Hrazhak field north of Haven, and while this sport can be challenging for non-shifters, a number of the townsfolk have taken up the challenge.
The oldest families in Sylbaran are the Karches (traditionally hunters and tanners), the Oars (fisherfolk), the Landons (livestock), and the Fields (farmers). There are many other families in Sylbaran, but these four are the largest and someone who carries one of these names is likely to have a lot of friends in town. There’s also a significant number of shifters in Sylbaran, most of whose forebears fought alongside the Wardens during the liberation of the Reaches and chose to stay by the water’s edge. These shifters don’t use family names, but as a community they’re known as the Graykin—a reference to a legendary champion of the Towering Wood.
The Beekeeper. This enigmatic figure wears a veiled, hooded robe and is often literally covered in bees; as a result, few people are even sure of her precise species. The Beekeeper is an influential emissary of the Children of Winter, and she teaches the Children of Sylbaran from within her vast apiary. The Beekeeper has an astonishing gift for working with insects, and it is her talents that jump-started Sylbaran’s honey industry and provided the Wardens with their unusual assistants. Despite the sinister reputation of the Children of Winter, the Beekeeper is a positive force who works for the general good. She is determined to ensure that the people of Sylbaran don’t defy the natural cycle of life, which has resulted in House Jorasco being banned from the town and limits placed on other healers. She wants the people of Sylbaran to be strong and thrive, but they must come by this naturally.
Dew-on-the-Leaf. This maple tree was awakened by Faena Graymorn—one of the most powerful druids of the Wardens of Wood—during the Eldeen Uprising, and charged to watch over Sylbaran. Dew-on-the-Leaf generally takes root in the Haven meadow, where they are always happy to discuss the philosophy of the Wardens of the Wood with initiates and curious travelers. While Dew-on-the-Leaf doesn’t have the power of the Great Druid Oalian, they have on occasion performed spells associated with plants and earth—Plant Growth, Entangle, Thorn Whip, and others—but their full abilities are unknown.
Dosun Oars. Born to one of the old families of Sylbaran, Dosun embraced the teachings of the Wardens of the Wood and proved himself to be a capable ranger. Today, he commands the Warden garrison in Sylbaran and oversees the training of Warden recruits. While generally a kind man, he is relentless when dealing with criminals or raiders that threaten Sylbaran. Dosun plays Hrazhak with the Graykin, and is one of the few humans to play on a shifter squad.
Raegan Oak. A wildhunt shifter from the Towering Woods, Raegan is the druidic advisor for Sylbaran. He represents the Wardens of the Wood and the Great Druid Oalian, and is charged with providing the town council and the people of Sylbaran with guidance on how best to live in harmony with the world around them. Raegan is old and there’s gray in his fur, but he is filled with a love of life and exudes an infectious energy. Raegan performs Warden ceremonies in the Haven meadows, and teaches aspirants seeking to grasp the primal mysteries. Oak has a strong bond with Dew-on-the-Leaf, and often sleeps in their branches.
Stillwater. The leader of the local Greensingers is a non-binary Khoravar who spent much of their life in the feyspire Shae Loralyndar—the City of Rose and Thorn—in the Towering Wood. Stillwater—a name they gave themselves when they came to Sylbaran—serves as an emissary to the fey of Silver Lake, and teaches their initiates rituals and rites to help placate these fey. Like most Greensingers, Stillwater encourages the people of Sylbaran to see the magic in the world, and to take joy in the stories unfolding all around them. When they aren’t teaching Greensinger aspirants, they are often found singing at Lake’s Edge. If you’re looking for information about the fey of Silver Lake, Stillwater may be able to help.
Tala Landon. Tala is one of the five members of the Sylbaran town council. While she respects the Warden traditions, Tala claims that she hears the voice of Kol Korran and Onatar urging her to do more—to be ever vigilant for new opportunities that could help Sylbaran prosper. With this in mind, she is often interested in talking to adventurers who could help her with the subject of her latest vision.
The Eldeen Reaches don’t enforce the Code of Galifar. Justice is administered by the town council, which is made up of one representative from each of the four oldest families and a representative of the Graykin shifters; the Warden druid Raegan Oak advises the council. Casual crimes and disruptions of the peace are dealt with directly by Warden Commander Dosun Oars and the Warden peacekeepers. Brawls driven by passion are largely dismissed as long as there’s no lasting damage, and fighting in self-defense is acceptable. Those who commit minor crimes will be given a chance to compensate the victim of their crime and undo the damage they have done; those who are unwilling to do so will be scarred across one cheek and driven across the Eldeen River. Perpetrators of more serious crimes will receive harsher punishments; nature can be merciless, and killers who can’t find a way to make up for the damage they have done may be executed. One of the strangest aspects of justice in Sylbaran is the bees. Thanks to the Beekeeper, swarms of bees can be found patrolling Sylbaran—and when commanded by a Warden peacekeeper, these swarms target criminals.
Sylbaran is a garrison for the Wardens of the Wood, and there can be up to two hundred Warden soldiers in residence. Generally, half of these troops will be patrolling the region—traveling between the villages and hamlets—on the lookout for bandits, monstrosities, and other threats. The Wardens have fortified the bridge that crosses the Eldeen River—known as the Eldeen Ford—and perform a quick search of all coaches and caravans. Blast disks and similar military-grade weapons aren’t allowed and will be confiscated. The guardians of the Ford have feytouched fireflies that Detect Magic, changing color to indicate the school; they use these to identify evocation items, and to spot illusions and Bags of Holding.