Ashenmoor
The Half-Built Bastion
Ashenmoor is already lost—they simply refuse to see it. They are not survivors; they are the dying, clinging to the illusion of life.“To send men to them is not arescue,rescue.itIt is an invitation to jointhemthem.”
in—their slow death. The Blight takes all in time, and I will not squander good steel and strong bodies for those too stubborn to accept their fate.
UnlikeAshenmoor Oldfen,is whicha wasruined completely sealed offsettlement in itsFaulmoor finalwhose days,unfinished Ashenmoor'sdefenses woodenbecame wall was never finished. At the heightone of the Blight,clearest constructionsigns wasof abandonedhow asquickly thea containment plan could fail. The town wasfell overrun,within leavinghours gapswhen Blighted reached it, before its barricades and breacheswalls wherecould thebe dead poured in. Many fled, but those who remained fought, endured, and survived—even as the world outside marked them for death.completed.
Over time, the surviving townsfolk reclaimed portions of the wall, reinforcing what they could with scavenged materials—wagon parts, sharpened stakes, and scavenged metal plating. What was once meant to keep them inside is now their best defense against the horrors beyond. The gates of Ashenmoor, now called the Gate of Bones, have been reinforced with the remains of fallen undead, twisted branches, and rusted weapons.
It stands as both a barricade and a grim warning to anything that approaches. The side of town where the wall was never completed, known as the Shattered Quarter, has been turned into a desperate, uneven bulwark, where buildings themselves have become barriers, their doors and windows nailed shut in a last effort to keep the dead out. Along the perimeter, pyres burn constantly, not only for light but to destroy any undead that wander too close. The survivors have become adept at using oil and fire to hold back attacks.
Life in Ashenmoor is harsh, paranoid, and unrelenting. Every day, scavengers venture beyond the walls for food, supplies, and medicine—knowing they might not return. Every night, the town prepares for the next attack, as the restless dead from Oldfen still roam the land, drawn by sound, fire, and the scent of the living. Those who can fight do so, forming small hunter teams that track and thin out the undead to prevent the town from being overrun. Some have developed techniques for luring the dead into traps or leading them away, though such tactics are as dangerous as they are necessary.
Overview
AmongAshenmoor's most distinctive remains are its incomplete defensive works. Wooden walls, gaps, construction materials, abandoned barriers, and buildings pressed into service as improvised defenses show a settlement that was still preparing when the town’attack arrived.
The ruins do not represent a town that survived a long siege. They preserve the opposite: preparations interrupted before they could become a functioning defense.
History
Ashenmoor was being fortified during the first year of the Rotmire Blight.
Some Blighted emerged from nearby burial grounds, but the larger disaster came from the breach of Oldfen. The resulting surge reached Ashenmoor before its defenses were finished.
The settlement fell within hours.
Some later stories describe survivors holding the unfinished walls for an extended period. These conflict with the more widely accepted account of the town's people,rapid therefall.
Present whoDay
Ashenmoor lostremains tooabandoned and dangerous. Its unfinished barricades, burned defensive positions, and interrupted construction make the ruins unusually legible: much toof griefwhat orsurvives fear,can wanderingstill thebe streets like ghosts, neither fully alive nor willing to give in to death. These individuals, knownunderstood as the Hollowedwork Men,of arepeople whisperedwho aboutexpected inmore fear,time forthan theirthey hopelessnessreceived.
The town is contagious,commonly andcited somealongside claimOldfen theywhen are simply waiting fordiscussing the inevitable end.
Even more disturbing are the rumorsfailures of aearly voiceBlight thatcontainment.
Notable beyondLocations
The walls,Unfinished oneWall
Large mimics the voices of lost loved ones. Some claim it is a trick played by the wind, others believe it to be something far worse. Regardlesssections of the truth,town's thoseplanned whodefensive followperimeter were never completed. Gaps and abandoned building works remain central to Ashenmoor's appearance.
The Ruined Streets
Buildings near the voiceincomplete neverdefenses return.were Ashenmooradapted ishurriedly moreinto thanbarricades aand strugglingfighting settlement;positions it is a place whereduring the livingfinal arehours trappedof betweenthe death and survival, where each dawn is a victory and each dusk a renewed battle. Its people fight on, not because they believe they will win, but because there is nothing else left.settlement.