The high moor to the east is a wild and barren place - no trees to speak of and even brambles have to struggle. This changes rather rapidly near the border, where over a distance of a few miles nature changes from boggy and swampy to mostly inhabitable. The high road runs almost exactly on this border: the firm ground of outside the moors seldom gets marshy like the land more to the east, but a more western route would mean a lobger road.
The moors are troll country - and a lot of other creatures able to live of eachother. The plains are often windy, but the ground is fairly fertile and natural threats to humanoids are less abundant - if you are careful with the spotted grass snake.
When you near Dragonspear, a carefull observer can see a row of blue-and-red stones on the moors, standing parallel to the road on about a bowshots distance. This is the 'troll-border': any troll found on the wrong side is hunted down and burned.
The ruins of the castle lie about a mile north of the village. The remains are empty and devoid of live except for a small shrine of Tempus and a sturdy cottage for the priests. A scratched and pitted stone plaque stands next to the trail from the road to the castle: 'Please inform the priests or the landlord of your intentions. Access is free, but so are the dangers.
The castle, once the home of famed dwarven adventurer Daeros Dragonspear, contains both a portal to a hellish dimension and a passage to the Underdark and has for years been a launching point for raids by evil monsters and marauders. A subterranean river runs below the castle, which contains a detour to the Fountain of Nepenthe, a portal that attracts deceased souls and takes them to the Fugue Plane. About a decade ago, a concentrated effort by local munincipalities including Daggerford, Waterdeep, and Baldur's Gate finally cleaned the castle out for good. A shrine to Tempus is now the distinguishing feature of the stronghold.
According to legend, Daeros befriended a copper dragon and built his keep around him in mutual protection. Daeros was often seen riding his dragon friend while carrying a 40-foot long spear (hence the castle's name). The castle expanded to include several dwellings inside its walls, and a small dwarven village sprouted. Unfortunately, the dragon's hoard was coveted by outsiders, and a southern wizard's manipulations led to the creation of the planar portal, the death of Daeros and the dragon, and the ransacking of the castle. Hordes of monsters took over the fortress and for years until the recent cleansing. The magical gate has been sealed, but many expect it to open again at any time.
Physically, the castle is in shambles. Most of the walls have been destroyed and the skeletal remains of a dragon (either the original copper of one of many that attempted to claim its horde) still lies sprawled in the remains. An underground river flows nearby, although its waters are treacherous.
Adventurers still make treks to Castle Dragonspear. They are welcomed with open arms by the local people, who is always looking for reinforcements in holding back the tide of underground hordes and invaders from the High Moor. Many cities in the area look to rebuild the castle, while some evil organizations have their eye on it as a base.
The inn lies almost a mile south from the castle on one of the last hills of the moor. It is a large square two storey building, made of local stone, with a slate roof. No windows can be found on the ground floor, and the windows on the first floor are effectively arrow slits. The large double doors can handle wagons with ease, but they are expertly made of heavy oak and protected by black metal bands. The inn is not a castle, but it can protect its inhabitants from most raiding forces.
30 yards downhill from the inn is a walled enclosure, where there is room for 30 wagons and perhaps 50 horses. The gate in the wall is usualy closed at sundown and opened at daybreak, but the landlord is known to make exceptions for a small consideration.
Through the doors in the west wall you reach a spacious square courtyard with some room to place a wagon or two, drinking troughs and several tables and benches outside the winter season. Many windows and doors open onto the courtyard, but these also have heavy shutters. The north, east, and south has a [walkway] which the roof extends over.
The western side is used by the landlord, a halfling name Keldheric and his staff. The first floor of the other sides are sleeping quarters, varying from the common room in the south wall, small, but comfortable, rooms on the east side, and a few oppulent rooms on the north side. On the ground floor are kitchen and main hall (south), stables and strong room (east), and smithy, carpenter shop and generic shrine (north).
The stables and wagonspace inside the inn are far more expensive than the unmanned enclosure outside, but merchants carrying small but expensive goods can always rent some space in the strong room. This room clearly radiates some magic of different schools and above the door is a faint thiefs mark 'no you dont'.
On the other side of the road, about 400 yards from the inn is a small village. Most of these houses are made of stone with cattle living on the ground floor while the owners are living upstairs.
If you expected grace and beauty, because Iliana is an elf, you will be sorely disappointed. The tower is huge and square, eight sided more than 40 yards wide and about 120 feet high, with a small tower on top adding another 60 feet. Its walls are made of polished blue granite, which dwarves find beautiful, but most elves think lacks refinement.
Two 10' high doors