I finally decided to begin sharing a long-running fantasy worldbuilding project centered around the frontier town of Restenford, a setting inspired by classic tabletop RPGs, old-school fantasy, and adventure modules such as L1: The Secret of Bone Hill. This piece serves as an introduction to that world. So let's start where every traveler does, at the river's edge.
Where the Restin River empties into Lake Et Skymorin, the frontier town of Restenford stands between farmland and water, quiet yet alive with trade and motion. Once a sleepy fishing and farming village, it has grown swiftly since the Dwarves of Citadel Gondrag reopened their halls and sent their goods downstream.
Fishing boats and gnomish barges crowd the docks, their ropes creaking softly against the piers. Warehouses rise along the eastern shore, while smoke from the smithy and forge drifts across the lake, sharp and metallic against the clean scent of morning mist. From somewhere upriver comes the steady creak and splash of the mill wheel turning with the current. The air smells of lakewater and oak smoke, touched by the faint sweetness of malt from the brewery.
Farmers drive carts through the market square, merchants haggle by the bridges, and every street hums with the mingled sound of hammering, laughter, and gulls overhead; a harmony of honest labor and the untamed world pressing close around it.
Travelers arriving by river see Restenford spread before them in morning light as they pass beneath the old wooden bridge. Ahead lies the Abbey’s spire rising over the rooftops to the west, the keep’s banner catching the wind on the eastern hill, and between them the curve of the stone bridge and the bustle of the docks.
Voices carry across the water: bargemen calling orders, church bells marking the hour, and children chasing gulls along the quay.
Life here feels steady and honest, though every face seems to watch newcomers a moment too long. Restenford is a place on the edge of change, still small enough to feel familiar, yet humming with the promise and the uncertainty of what comes next.
The Restin River runs through the heart of Restenford, dividing the town into East and West Resty.
East Resty holds the Baron’s keep on its northern hill, the merchant quarter, and the old docks that serve the expanding trade. Further to the east of town, orchards, pasture, and scattered farmsteads spread toward the forested hills. The smell of the lake mingles with fresh-cut timber and river mist.
West Resty, enclosed by a timber palisade, climbs toward Abbey Hill, its bell tower watching over cottages, gardens, and the fishing wharves below. Two bridges link the halves of the town, the stone bridge near the market and an older wooden bridge upstream.
Beyond Restenford’s bridges and palisades, the frontier quickly gives way to untamed country. Rugged hills, deep forests, lonely farmsteads, and half-forgotten ruins surround the town on every side, crossed only by old roads and winding river paths.
The western road bends through the hills toward Garroten, while eastern trails follow the lakeshore into the Disputed Lands. Though merchants and caravans still travel these routes, few journey them carelessly. Orcs, gnolls, bugbears, and even wandering ogres are known to prowl the wild places beyond settled land, and many travelers vanish between one town and the next.
Lake Et Skymorin lies to the west, vast and beautiful beneath the open sky. Its waters carry trade, travelers, and fortune seekers across the frontier, though more than a few sailors have vanished upon the lake, whether claimed by sudden storms or something more ominous beneath the waves.
Yet danger brings opportunity. Prospectors, mercenaries, hunters, and adventurers are drawn constantly to Restenford, lured by rumors of forgotten ruins, lost treasure, and fortunes waiting somewhere beyond the walls.
There are more stories waiting beyond the bridges, docks, and wild roads of Restenford. In the days ahead, I hope to share more of the people, places, rumors, and adventures that shape life along the frontier.
