Duskford
“That ship just sat there. No sails, no lanterns, no crew I could see. Then folk started getting sick.”
— Renholt Grayne, former fisherman of Duskford
Duskford is a ruined agricultural settlement in Ebonmoor whose sudden fall destroyed one of the island's most important food-producing districts and severed the routes leading north toward Fetterbrook.
Overview
Before the Rotmire Blight, Duskford and Dunmere formed the agricultural core of Ebonmoor. Fertile fields, reliable water, granaries, and organized farming estates supplied food to Ebonmere and supported trade beyond the island.
For a time after the destruction of Velmere, Ebonmoor's containment measures appeared to have protected the interior. Duskford's later collapse therefore caused as much suspicion as fear.
The outbreak spread rapidly. Fields, farmhouses, granaries, and roads were abandoned, and the routes north became unsafe.
History
Duskford remained productive after the first major Blight disasters elsewhere in the region.
According to surviving accounts, a strange vessel was seen offshore shortly before people began falling ill. The ship later disappeared. This story became the foundation for widespread claims that the Blight had been brought to Duskford deliberately.
Some rumors accuse mainland interests or even Baronial authorities of arranging the outbreak to weaken Ebonmoor. No public evidence establishes those accusations as fact.
Whatever its cause, Duskford fell quickly and its loss dramatically reduced Ebonmoor's food security.
Present Day
Duskford is considered lost. Former farmland is corrupted, storehouses and granaries are abandoned, and Blighted remain throughout the district.
Its loss is felt far beyond the ruins: empty granaries increase pressure elsewhere, broken routes isolate Fetterbrook, and Dunmere now carries a burden that the two agricultural settlements once shared.
The settlement's fall also isolated Fetterbrook from its former supply routes. Travel through the ruined agricultural country is now largely limited to smugglers, hunters, scavengers, and others willing to accept the risk.
With Duskford gone, Dunmere carries much more of the burden of feeding Ebonmoor.
Notable Locations
The Granaries
Duskford's large grain stores once held agricultural surplus for Ebonmoor. Many remain standing but are considered unsafe.
The Farmlands
The fields surrounding Duskford were among the island's most productive. They are now associated with corrupted soil, abandoned farmsteads, and wandering Blighted.