Argonth

The floating fortress of Hosuth, Argonth is one of the marvels of the Last War.  The product of House Cannith ingenuity and the industrial might of Hosuth, Argonth is the largest engine of war ever built.  This moving city is home to thousands of soldiers.  Currently Argonth patrols the edge of the Dragonridge Mountains, but if tensions rise with Three Falls or Darguun, the fortress can be deployed to reinforce a threatened border.

Soldiers or spies in Hosuth tend to serve aboard Argonth for a time, at least until some incident leads them to become adventurers.

A Town on the Move

The enormous mobile fortress known as Argonth was considered one of the masterpieces of Cannith magecraft and Hosuthian ingenuity during the early part of the Last War. Predating the first airships by eighty years, Argonth and its kin gave Hosuth the capability to move large forces at a relatively high speed to virtually any position along its borders. Although the crawl of a mobile fortress is not vastly different from the speed of a marching army in the short term, it can move without ceasing for weeks at a time, making it far more efficient for troop transport

Argonth maintains a constant population of roughly 1,600 soldiers, healers, cooks, smiths, innkeepers, grooms, and other support personnel. This sizable population lives in what resembles a tiny slice of a larger city supported on the stern portion of the floating fortress.

The bow of Argonth contains the magical engines that levitate the fortress and propel it forward. As with airships and the lightning rail, harnessed elementals bound into Khyber Dragonshards provide this motive power. In Argonth’s case, however, three separate Elementals are bound—an Air Elemental, a Fire Elemental, and an Earth Elemental. Unlike on an Airship, these elementals are not visible from the outside. Unlike the Lightning Rail, Argonth is not dependent on conductor stones.

A team of pilots must devote constant attention to control the course of Argonth. The fortress does not rely on Dragonmarked pilots the way other elemental vehicles do—the pilots are loyal only to Hosuth. Increasing the fortress’s speed demands more Human attention and puts undue strain on its construction, so Argonth moves at about two miles per hour most of the time.  Once During the Last War, Argonth sustained a speed of ten miles per hour for nearly two days traveling from Lurching Tower to Cragwar to respond to an attack; however, three pilots died from overexertion on that journey.

Roughly 90% of Argonth’s population is combat-ready, with 10% serving purely support roles. This high “tooth-to-tail” ratio is important when Argonth enters combat, ensuring that most of the people in harm’s way are trained military personnel. Because the support population is relatively small, a busy marketplace springs up around Argonth whenever it stops to resupply, which it does at each of the major forts along Hosuth’s border.

The stern of the fortress provides living quarters for Argonth’s population. Despite its relatively small size, it resembles a slice of one of Sharn’s soaring towers. Cannith Tower is the tallest protrusion on Argonth’s back, featuring apartments for the commanding officers at the top and barracks in the lower levels.

The hull of Argonth floats about 30 feet above the ground. A section of the bow can be lowered to the ground to admit and discharge passengers. The bow is heavily armored and can hold as many as 2,000 people in an emergency. The base of the stern is a full 100 feet in the air, protecting the towers and buildings of the village from any ground-based attack. When the fortress comes under attack, the stern is evacuated, soldiers are deployed to meet the attack, and noncombat personnel take shelter in the fortified bow.

Argonth at War

The first mobile fortress entered service in 4912, with the appearance of the citadel Chydris. Over the next thirty years, Sharn produced four more mobile fortresses, and the Hosuthian army put them to work, moving them where they were needed. Some supported Hosuth’s campaigns against its neighbors, while others were assigned to protect the borders against incursions.

The last and greatest of the mobile fortresses was Veldarren, commissioned in 4970. As its first mission, it traveled to Marguul Pass to quell the Goblin rebellion that had declared Darguun an independent state. Even this awesome fortress could not turn the tide of battle in Hosuth’s favor, however, and Veldarren fell to the goblins. Its toppled husk still lies in the pass. It is now called Matshuc Zaal, and it forms an important part of Darguun’s defenses.

The fall of Veldarren was a serious blow both to Hosuth’s military capabilities and to its national pride. At least partly as a result of the Battle of Marguul Pass, no new mobile fortresses were produced. During the remainder of the war, Chydris was lost in the Battle of Cairn Hill and Ursa was decommissioned (rushed into the field, this fortress suffered from cripplingly poor craftsmanship). Argonth is one of the two survivors, and by far the better known.

Forces of Argonth

The soldiers posted to Argonth include a full legion—an infantry regiment, a regiment of archers, and a cavalry regiment. The Commander of the Argonth Legion is Field Marshal Alain ir'Ranek (LG male human paladin 7), who also carries the title of Captain of Argonth. Alain is assisted by Colonel Devra ir’Lashan (LN female fighter 6), who is a member of the King’s Citadel in addition to her post with the Argonth Legion. Devra commands a dozen agents of the King’s Swords, Wands, and Dark Lanterns stationed in the floating fortress.

In addition to the Argonth Legion and the agents of the Citadel, four bands of Hosuthian Rangers are permanently assigned to Argonth.  One of the bands of Hosuthian Rangers, called Bara's Breakers (EL 7) after its commander, Big Bara, is notable in that fully half of its members are Warforged.

Big Bara: LN female personality warforged ranger 3
Wand: human sorcerer 1
Artificer: warforged artificer 1
Warforged Volunteers (4): warforged fighter 1
Volunteers (4): human fighter 1

Argonth Today

Since the end of the Last War, Argonth has become an element of Hosuth’s border patrol, traversing a route of nearly 4,500 miles from Shadowlock Keep in the west (near Droaam) to Sterngate Keep in the east (near Darguun). This route is defined by the network of permanent fortresses that range along Hosuth’s border, in combination with the mountain ranges and lakes that help define that border.

From Shadowlock Keep, Argonth stays to the east of the Graywall Mountains, follows the road west of Ardev, and then heads north to Orcbone at the border of Three Falls. Its route continues to the edge of Silver Lake, passing through Shavalant, until it reaches the Xandrar Road, which it follows as far as Drum Keep. Unless there is a particular reason for Argonth to visit Xandrar, it turns around and rides the road south of the Blackcaps as far as Cragwar, hugs the northern edge of the Greenhaunt, and stops at Sword Keep. From there it skirts the southern coast of Lake Brey, passing outside Starilaskur, and tracks the Brey River northeast to Lurching Tower and then Brey Crossing. It follows the Brey River until it reaches the dead-gray mists of the Mournland, then turns southward, keeping a careful watch along that border as far as Kennrun. From Kennrun, Argonth chases the road through New Verdun to Sterngate, where it turns around and reverses its route.

Argonth normally takes about six months to complete one circuit (from one end of the route to the other and back again), so it stops at any site along the way four times a year. Usually, it leaves Shadowlock Keep near the start of summer and again the start of winter, but its timing can vary.