Deadsnows
Deadsnows is a large village situated in the alpine valley that is located in the steep foothills on the northermost side of the Nether Mountains. From the Fork Road, travelers and caravans take a narrow cart track that winds its way upward through the wild, craggy foothills and ends at a village. Heavy snows sometimes make negotiating this pass difficult in the winter months, but even when clear the path can be treacherous. Dire bears, orc brigands, and worse creatures infest this territory all year round.
The village consists of perhaps two hundred wooden buildings encircled by a stone wall that is in need of repair. Outside the wall, an impromptu collection of tents and other makeshift shelters has sprung up in recent months, following the gold strike. Not far from the town walls, the valley slopes upward dramatically, quickly giving way to hillsides that alternate between stands of conifers and rocky outcroppings through which swift streams plunge and race.
Nearer the village, the valley walls have been cleared to created upland pastures for sheep and cattle. Beyond the hills the Nether Mountains rear sharply into the sky, their mist shrouded and snowy peaks fully visible only on those rare days when the sun prevails in this cold land.
The town's symbol is a single green conifer tree on a white field.
History
Located among the crags of mountain country near the trails left by dire wolves and hunting dragons sits an outpost of some five hundred thirty humans and dwarves. Deadsnows began its existence as the keep of a human lord who dreamed of establishing a kingdom. His vision was crushed under the weight of countless orc raids. The village is named for the battle that killed its founder, a winter skirmish in which the snows of the nearby fields ran red with the blood of attackers and defenders alike.
The resident dwarves worship Marthammor Duin, an adventurer's god, while the humans worship Lathander. The Lathanderites maintain a watchtower and temple in the town, the dwarf clerics maintain a fortified abbey that provides shelter for travelers, and both contribute to a vigilant watch on a nearby cavern that leads into the Underdark. Most of the folk who are not directly engaged in serving either deity make their living from the limited amount of timber cutting, hunting, and fur trapping they can accomplish when the weather permits.
When the spring thaw of 1372 DR eventually arrived, the snowmelt swelled the high country's streams as it does every spring. This year, a discovery came with the torrents of swift water: gold. A hunter returning to his home after an unsuccessful day in the foothills emptied his waterskin into a basin and saw tiny golden flecks sinking to the bottom. He lost no time in retracing his path back to the mountain stream from which he had filled his waterskin.
There, not three miles from Deadsnows, he began prospecting for gold and was rewarded with success for his efforts. Word soon spread throughout the village. Deadsnows is now a boomtown, and will probably remain so until gold is no longer found in its vicinity.
The village's population has swollen by some three hundred hopeful humans, dwarves, elves, and halflings. The better part of these newcomers hope to find gold for themselves, while the others intend to earn money by supplying goods and services (both legitimate and otherwise) to the prospectors. Naturally, this sudden increase in population and sudden influx in wealth has created a variety of challenges and problems for the community, and its leaders are struggling to cope with these new circumstances.
Unlike the strong dwarf citadels or the great human cities of the area, small villages such as Deadsnows are not signatories to the league of the Silver Marches unless they happen to owe fealty to a larger town. The Icespears of Deadsnows are independent lords, albeit minor ones. Lady Icespear petitioned High Lady Alustriel to admit Deadsnows to the confederation in order to take advantage of the common defense, and Alustriel granted her request. Deadsnows does not hold a seat in the league's councils, but it enjoys the protection of the strong cities around it.