Rumors about Wollbach

Wollbach is the capital town of the province that shares its name - it holds a 'Thing' several times a year where people from the surrounding villages (and sometimes further afield) come to discuss concerns, air grievances, and trade goods. 

Up until recently the Province of Wollbach was just shown as open wilderness on most maps of the area. Despite this, the villages of the Province have clearly been present for a few centuries and the residents haven’t seen hide nor hair of tax collectors or ruling nobles for generations. Such a place, with no functional king or lord, holds ample opportunity for business, station, and more villainous affairs. 

The leaders of Wollbach have put out word that the town is seeking to grow! They have established a sawmill near the town and the province has established an iron mine in the mountains, both of which need more people. Loggers and miners, obviously. But also all sorts of other service people a growing town needs. 

The woods of Wollbach are even more wild and dangerous than the rest of the Schwarzwald. Residents and travelers alike speak of monsters that kill each other and any who witness them, enigmatic creatures of old who offer bargains for your soul, goblins, ghosts, and old gods come to answer prayers. Whispers among the most devout Christians show a different tale, one of a province lost to the light of God, a wilderness ruled by monsters in human skin.

The Province is governed by a Proconsul who lives in the village of Wollbach. Each Village is run by a Magistrate who is advised by a council of 3-5 prominent citizens called the Curia. For the most part if a member of a village has enough influence, wealth, or holdings in the Village they can claim a spot on the Curia. 

Each Province has their own means of choosing their Proconsul from the Curia. Egerten has had the head of the Albrect family hold the position, Nebenau is chosen by the heads of the local farmsteads, Egishoiz’s Magistrate is chosen by the Curia although it is widely known that the 3 major families of the village have the real say, while Hammerstien’s is chosen through a bewildering mix of negotiations among the craftsmen and farmers that feed them. Typically Magistrates are chosen for life, although historically some have been removed while others, who held too much power to be ousted, have met with accidents.

The Proconsul assigns each village a Warden, who is responsible for protecting the village and enforcing the laws. The Wardens maintain a volunteer militia, people they may pull from their day to day jobs to assist in their duties. The prior Proconsul, Gustav, was found to be a traitor aiding raiders from outside the province that sacked and burned Egerten. This has led to an overall decline in the surrounding villages' confidence in the Town of Wollbach and some speak of change. Wollbach is too influenced by outsiders, they say, and perhaps it is time to change which Magistrate holds the title of Proconsul.

A new devotion is taking root in Hammerstein and Egerten, giving offerings to Nimal, a local deity who is credited with saving the village of Hammerstein after the Gerber farmstead, one of their main food producers, was burned in a feud. The few local Christians claim Nimal is an angel, not a god, while others whisper of darker origins for the being. Regardless, faith in Nimal is spreading.

“The Guardian”, a being long-believed to be mythical in this modern day, has been uncovered. The Guardian, also known as Ice in the Stone, was responsible for the enchantment that held Wollbach Province apart from the rest of the world for hundreds of years. The full implications of this enchantment and why it has been seemingly waning in power are not yet widely understood. 

A number of merchants and travelers have begun to speak of Wollbach. An isolated province in the Schwarzwald with five villages teeming with Kine and little Vampiric oversight. There is a Tzimisce by the name of Erben who claims domain over the forest but little is known of him. As far as anyone has been able to tell, the province of Wollbach has little vampiric presence beyond Erben and a few Gangrel who call the Black Forest home. There are whispers that Erben and these Gangrel are at war but none know the cause or who truly holds the upper hand. 

With the new influx of Cainites in the area the time may soon come for the establishment of a new Court, with all the prestige and power that entails. A Prince’s power should be shared beyond those who are members of Erben’s circle, and the newcomers may have to push and politic to gain the power they crave. 

A great treasure is rumored to hide within the mines of Wollbach. Some say it’s the Greater Key of Solomon, others a sleeping god, while others still claim it is a hidden treasure of an ancient Fae lord. While the identity of the item is in question, the interest of the Order Hermes, Ahl-i-Batin, Old Faith, and Messianic Voices is not. Each have sent members to retrieve whatever is hidden here. 

With so many new Willworkers in town, and the loss of Dr Glass’s demon-fueled cray, there is a choice to make: how to take control of the single remaining cray and monopolize the flow of Quintessence here? Whichever Tradition can do so will have a significant foothold in the province and gain its members prestige among their kind. Additionally various methods of new cray formation have been proposed, but what, if any, will succeed - the patient method with a potentially large payoff, an unproven and violent method for fast results, or something a little more esoteric with powerful implications but in dire need of refinement? 

The potential of this province, it’s abundant magical creatures and resources, is tempered with its risk. Wollbach is home to many creatures, no small number of Fae, and undead that all bring their own risk. The Church has also taken a key interest in the town and province, with rumors swirling of mage killers targeting the province.

A powerful Winter Fae called Ice in the Stone is rumored to call the province of Wollbach home and have old oaths with the humans here. If rumors are true, this Fae knows the secrets to crafting the old Gold Oaths. Also known to live nearby is Mistbringer, a Spring Firstborn - a moody beast, broken by his experiences in the Battle of Stones, he prefers isolation. 

A small Holde, previously unclaimed but perhaps formed on top of an old abandoned Winter Holde, has been claimed in the name of Spring. Time will tell if Spring can maintain it and keep the peace with their neighbors and other newcomers to the area - or if the forces at play trying to reignite the War of Seasons will prevail. 

This wild & forested area is mostly Fenrir-controlled with a large sept of Fenrir holding the Great Caern located in the middle of the Black Forest. Other, smaller, Caerns are scattered throughout the Schwarzwald and there are two near Wollbach. The closest, within the province itself, is Fenrir-controlled while the other, just to the East of the province, recently taken from the Fenrir by the Silver Fang. The Silver Fang spread tales of how the Fenrir fell to the Wyrm, and so their taking of the Cray doesn’t violate respecting another’s territory. The Fenrir, obviously, take offense at this dire insult and both septs prepare for war. Holding the area of Wollbach previously cut off is critical, as it would allow whoever holds it to strike from a new line into either Sept’s land.

There are extended Bone Gnawer families, within and yet separate from the Fenrir in the area. The Fenrir prefer to undergo cub-hood in the forest - the Bone Gnawers prefer to undergo cub-hood in the cities. There are small pockets of Bone Gnawer families through the area, but the largest concentration of them is in Mainz, near their main Sept in the region.