Hommlet and Surroundings
Ten leagues south of the large and well established city of Verbobonc, within the Kron Hills that lie east of the Lortmil Mountains and just west of the Gnarley forest, nestles a small settlement with a long and dark history. This unremarkable village, called Hommlet, witnessed the growth of one of the greatest centers of corruption the world would ever know: the Temple of Elemental Evil.
Hommlet is a small town with a population of just under one thousand. Only twelve years ago it was a hamlet of around one hundred people, although even then most folk referred to it as a village. Since that time, the town has enjoyed unprecedented peace and prosperity.
The town is not ruled by a mayor or a town council, as many others are. Instead, two ex-adventurers called Rufus and Burne have been granted control of Hommlet and its lands by the viscount of Verbobonc. Not many people in the town look at it that way, however. Most folks simply see the two men as the town 'elders', giving them the respect they have earned. Few grumble when it comes time to pay their taxes to the two lords. Most everyone appreciates the protection Rufus and Burne's soldiers provide, as well as the role the two played in the downfall of the original Temple of Elemental Evil (and the threats they have overcome to protect the town since then).
In such a small town, nothing costing more than 800gp commonly can be found for purchase. Exceptions exist, of course - the Curch of St. Cuthbert might have an extra suit of full plate to sell brave heroes who obviously fight against evil, for example. Such exceptions should be rare.
Above all, Hommlet is a peaceful, contented place. Its people are well fed, safe, and happy wih their lot. However, they are wary, for their happiness has been threatened more than once in the past. The people, particularly those who have lived in town a long time, watch with interest the comings and goings of suspicious strangers, and they keep an eye on the old moathouse and temple that were sites of not one but two malevolent insurgencies over the years.
Important People in Hommlet
Canonness Y'dey - Head of the Church of St. Cuthbert
Yether the Keen - Head of the Church of Pelor
Ostler Gundigoot - Proprietor of the Inn of the Welcome Wench
Terrigan - Proprietor of Terrigan's bar, and competition to the Inn
Joman Dart - Runs the Trading Post
Todariche Nem - Town Scholar
Zerosh Nubric - Scrollmaker
Spugnoir - Potion maker
Jaroo - Keeper of the Grove (missing)
Elmo - Head of town guard
Rufus and Burne - Town leaders
History
Once this area was simply a gentle wilderness. Growing out of a small collection of farmhouses and a roadside shelter, Hommlet expanded quickly. Prosperity came naturally to the fertile land, as herders, farmers, hunters, trappers, and woodcutters made the growing hamlet their home. The town was built on a crossroads between Verbobonc and the Wild Coast, so visitors were frequent. Eventually, these visitors brought trouble.
Brigands and other evil humanoids have been a bane to Hommlet for years. Eventually, thieves, cutthroats, orcs, and even more sinister forces created a settlement of their own - Nulb. That hamlet was frequented not only by the most evil of people, but also monsters and beasts as well. A chapel dedicated to vice and damnation grew nearby, with increasingly vile creatures coming to worship foul deities there. In time, this chapel became the Temple of Elemental Evil, filled with dark priests and their wicked servants.
While that first temple reigned, the lands around Hommlet grew dark with violence and pestilence. As their power increased, the temple clerics built a small keep, known as the moathouse, not far from Hommlet. From this base they planned to launch raids and secure their fortunes in the west. Fortunately for Hommlet, those who commanded the temple were not overly concerned with the village but with more powerful strongholds to the north. When their corruption spread, it drew the attention of armies the temple was not yet prepared to deal with.
Forces from the north attacked the temple, some using Hommlet as a base and a point for resupply and rest. When the temple fell, folk in Hommlet saw ochre robed priests fleeing westward and rejoiced that the evil was gone.
Two men involved with the fall of the original temple, Rufus and Burne, settled in Hommlet and built a tower. Their connections with the lord of Verbobonc to the north were well known, as were their plans to expand their tower into a large keep. The town prospered once again.
But evil was not done with the Temple of Elemental Evil. Slowly, over the years, its creatures and servants returned to the place and brought with them the taint of evil that hung like a shadow over Hommlet a second time. This time, however, the inhabitants of Hommlet chose to get involved. A young man named Elmo and his brother Otis worked with Canoness Y'dey of the Church of St. Cuthbert to spy on the temple's activities. They helped small bands of adventurers overcome the evil cleric in the moathouse and the more powerful foesin the temple - not the least of which was a demon lord who was eventually banished back to the Abyss. This time, the dungeons beneath the temple were collapsed, and it appeared that the place was finally overcome.
In the years that followed, the town prospered as never before. With the temple and Hommlet on the lips of many throughout the countryside, the former hamlet grew into a village and eventually a small town. Burne and Rufus finished their keep and were granted the town and the lands around it to protect and nurture. More churches sprang up to serve the needs of the growing population, and some are even talking now of building a wall around the town.
