Overview The Village of Hommlet--or merely "Hommlett," as it is commonly called--is situated in the central part of the realms, that portion of the western Continent which is known and is 'civilized.' The hamlet-sized village (local parlance having distinguished it with the greater term) is located some 30 leagues southeast of the town of Verbobonc, or thereabouts, on the fringe of the territory controlled by the noble Lord the Viscount of Verbobonc. It is at a crossroads. The First Rising Hommlet grew from a farm or two, a rest house, and a smithy. The roads brought a sufficient number of travelers and merchant wagons to attract tradesmen and artisans to serve those passing through. The resthouse became a thriving inn, and a wheel and wainwright settled in the thorp. More farmers and herdsmen followed, for grain was needed for the passing animals, and meat was in demand for the innfolk. Prosperity was great, for the lord of the district was mild and taxed but little. Trade was good, and the land was untroubled by war, outlaws, or ravaging beasts. The area was free, beautiful, and bountiful--too much so, in the eyes of some. Whether the evil came from the west (as is claimed by one faction) or crept up out of the forestlands bordering the Wild Coast (as others assert), come it did. At first it was only a few thieves and an odd group of bandits molesting the merchant caravans. Then came small bands of humanoids--kobolds or goblins--raiding the flocks and herds. Local militia and foresters apparently checked, but did not stop, the spread of outlawry and evil. A collection of hovels and their slovenly inhabitants formed the nucleus for the troubles which were to increase. A wicked cleric established a small chapel at this point. The folk of Hommlet tended to ignore this place, Nulb, even though it was but six miles distant. But its out-of-the-way position was ideal for the fell purposes planned for this settlement, as was its position on a small river. The thickets and marshes around Nulb became the lair and hiding place for bandits, brigands, and all sorts of evil men and monsters alike. The chapel grew into a stone temple as its faithful brought in their illgotten tithes. Good folk were robbed, pillaged, enslaved, and worse. In but three years, a grim and forbidding fortress surrounded the evil place, and swarms of creatures worshipped and worked their wickedness therein. The servants of the Temple of Elemental Evil made Hommlet and the lands for leagues around a mockery of freedom and beauty. Commerce ceased, crops withered; pestilence was abroad. The First Fall But the leaders of this cancer were full of hubris and, in their overweaning pride, sought to overthrow the good realms to the north, who were coming to the rescue of the land being crushed under the tyranny wrought by the evil temple. A great battle was fought on the fields of Emridy Meadows, nearly twenty-five years ago now. When the good people of Hommlet saw streams of ochre-robed men and humanoids fleeing south and west through their community, there was great rejoicing, for they knew that the murderous oppressors had been defeated and driven from the field in panic and rout. So great was the slaughter, so complete the victory of good, that the walled stronghold of the Temple of Elemental Evil fell within a fortnight, despite the aid of a terrible demon. The place was ruined and sealed against a further return of such abominations by powerful blessings and magic. The Second Rising Life in Hommlet quickly returned to a semblance of its former self, before the rise of the temple. For five years afterward, the village and the surrounding countryside have become richer and more prosperous than ever before. A monstrous troll which plagued the place for a time was hunted down by a party of passing adventurers. Carrying the ashes and a goodly fortune as well, the adventurers returned to the village. Before going elsewhere to seek their fortunes, the adventurers also returned a portion of the villagers' losses. Other adventurers, knowing of the evil that had once resided in the area, came to seek out similar caches, and several did find remote lairs and wealth--just as some never returned at all. But after a time, adventurers stopped coming to the area. It seemed that no monsters were left to slay, and no evil existed here to be stamped out. The villagers heaved a collective sigh--some pained at the loss of income, but others relieved by the return to the quiet, normal life--and Hommlet continued its quiet existence for four years more. Then, only nine years after the sealing of the temple, hints of evil's return began to surface. Bandits began to ride the roads again--not frequently, but to some effect. To the good folk of Hommlet, this seemed all too familiar, so they sent word to the Viscount that wicked forces might still lurk thereabouts. This information was spread throughout the countryside, and the news attracted outsiders to the village once again. Several bands of adventurers came to test their mettle, to achieve fame and fortune, and to bring peace back to the unfortunate villagers. But in the end, only one survived the great onslaught of evil. The Second Fall The exploits of The Five are told with many different variations in the epics and songs heard in the region. They, along with the help of a few of the more skilled townsfolk brought down the great evil that had infested the region, purging not only the town and the nearby moathouse ruins, a once great outpost of the cult, but also the very Temple itself. In a campaign of persistence that lasted nearly a year, they penetrated the great magical warding seals placed throughout the Temple after Emridy Meadows and forged through the bowels of the Temple, cleansing it of the hundreds of evil beasts that were being amassed for a new assault on the recovering populace. Scholars and sages tell that in truth, their ultimate goal was the destruction of the Orb of Golden Death that had granted the demon Zuggtmoy and the demigod Iuz much of their power during the Temple's heyday. This effort proved to be a mammoth task as the gems that powered the Orb had been dismantled by Zuggtmoy before her defeat and scattered to four elemental nodes the Orb created. The nodes were small planes of existence created to attract and house elemental beings and to draw power directly from the Elemental Planes that they hovered near. Gates to the nodes were only found in the deepest depths below the Temple itself. Access to them required destroying the very protective protective magics that kept Zuggtmoy bound to the Temple. After the foray through the Temple, The Five braved the harsh elements and denizens of each node, avoided annihilation by the release of the demon herself, and restored the Orb only to shatter it in an elaborate ritual. But these efforts brought about the destruction of the entire subterranean structure below the Temple, closed access to the nodes, and banished Zuggtmoy back to the Abyss, assuring that in her utter defeat the Temple would no longer plague the lands. Peace Unlike the first fall, these heroic efforts were not as visible to the townsfolk of Hommlet, but they were certainly no less appreciative. As the story spread throughout the region, folk flocked to the small village and it has swelled from a hundred to nearly a thousand in but 15 years. Nothing but peace and prosperity has bothered the folk of Hommlet for some time.