Borruk is a settlement located deep in the Ice Hills, on the edge of the glacier zone. It is situated in a steep sided valley of granite and obsidian known as Night's Valley, where dark trees crowd the snow banks and jagged mountains soar high enough for the unseen sun to catch their peaks.
It is a crude and simple place, little more than a trading post. A stockade of wooden posts surrounds a cluster of huts half-buried under snow and earth. The fires here burn constantly, and the small windowless rooms are insulated with draped pelts and woven carpets. The walls are lit by huge dangling lanterns, with charcoal fuel and sides of parchment, that create a small oasis of light in the night.
Borruk lies at the highest navigable point of the river that flows through Sorgan's Fall. Beyond Borruk's log-cut walls the river flows only under a blanket of ice (fur-swathed Keldians must keep the port clear with stakes). Borruk is primarily a supply town for travellers and prospectors, though it also provides a trading hub for trappers and loggers operating out in the dark. It is also heavily fortified against the predations of the Night Goblins that infest the hills around it.
Greystone is the chief town of the 4th of Ur, which lies in the Ice Hills. It is Nightwards and Counter-turn of Ur. A typical river barge can make the journey in four days, while a Black Ship might manage half of that.
Greystone is a town of thick walled stone buildings lying at the mouth of a dramatic fjord. The cliff walls behind the town are steep and craggy, striped with bands of grey-green stone and overhung by dripping cloud forest. Four Klegs Nightwards a tumultuous waterfall plunges off the clifftop at the head of the fjord, throwing up a constant curtain of mist. Greystone is primarily a fishing town, and small boats ply the cool waters of the One River, catching Nirpad and Ubiku. Timber and Zerom wool from the interior are brought down to be traded in the town, and fish sauce is a major export.
Greystone lines on the Iceway, the road that links Chald and Derzak along the line of the Ice Hills. The road proper is actually six Klegs Nightwards, above the head of the fjord. A smaller outpost, Greystone crossing, lies at the junction.
A river and trail that runs from Sorgan's Fall into the depths of the Nightlands. Most voyagers travel the Night's Valley by river, at least as far as Borruk. Beyond this ice-sleighs are the best choice.
Sorgan's Fall is a small town built where the Iceway crosses the Coldwater, a wide and rapid river that thunders through the black ice Hills rock and surges away Daywards to the One River. The waterfall known as Sorgan's Fall was the site of a famous battle between Ur and Derzak in the 6th Century of Empire. The river is navigable to small boats both below and above the fall, but boats must portage around the falls themselves.
The town of Sorgan's Fall is built on the Turnwards side of the river with a long bridge of rough wood crossing a series of stone piers just above the top of the falls (which are level with the road). A steep trail leads down to the lower part of the river, where a second dock is located. Small barges unload at this lower port and transfer their cargo to the upper one. Often this cargo is then loaded on a second boat, but sometimes the boat is raised by crane and winch to the top of the falls.
Sorgan's Fall is beholden to Ur, but the lands of Derzak lie just on the other side of the river, where a small guard tower is located to watch the crossing. It is 3 days Counter of Tarfell.
A small village in the Ice Hills, Tarfell lies on an open slope that frequently bears the brunt of snowstorms and icy gales. The frosty pasture land around it is dotted with Uzan. Small silver mines dot the surrounding hills, and prospectors, some Freemen, some escaped Slaves, bring their finds here to be traded to Urite and Chaldian merchant houses. Tarfell is three days Counter to Greystone Crossing.