Town of Ilvin

Ilvin is a town located originally in Dorvinia but is now in Borca following the merging of the two realms during the Grand Conjunction.

Template:Potential-canon Ilvin (large town): Conventional; AL LE; 3,000 gp limit; Assets 615,000 gp; Population 4,100; Isolated (human 94%, halfling 5%, other 1%). Authority Figures: Baron Baldassarre Olszanik, male human Ari7; Captain Ciprian Stricatti, male human Ftr10. Important Characters: Sentire Olivia Pustnic (anchorite), female human Clr4; Geier Turbatoff (cleric of the Morninglord), male human Clr8.

Gaz IV Missing Notes.

Template:Potential-canon My cab coach crossed an old tollhouse marking the former border of Dorvinia during the short trip to Ilvin. Ilvin straddles the deep clefts where the Strecura River joins the Vasha. The Scythe Highway continues through Ilvin, forming its main thoroughfare as it curves north. The bulk of Ilvin — known informally as the “Flesh Quarter” — sits on the western banks of the Vasha, its fortifications solid and secure. Ghiare Keep rises near the center of town, alongside the Vasha. This garish structure of red brick and verdigris-stained copper is the central armory for the Borcan militia, erected here in 730 BC so reinforcements could be sent quickly anywhere along the Falkovnian border. The surrounding town is perhaps the least aesthetically appealing in the country. In addition to its role as a trade waypoint, Ilvin is the heart of Borca’s leatherworking industry. Every year, Steading herdsmen and lowland trappers bring their animals here to market. Southern Ilvin is given over to slaughterhouses and tanneries, and the sickly stench of blood and death hangs heavy over the surrounding slums during the warmer months.

A graceful temple of Ezra stands near the main marketplace in the northern half of town. The temple is relatively humble, but its clergy take great pride that Praesidius Postoya once served among them. Another temple is all but hidden in the slaughterhouse slums, a ramshackle structure maintained by a sole priest of the Morninglord. The temperamental old Barovian seemed intent on being left alone with his stacks of books, reacting with deep suspicion to my most innocuous questions. A stone toll bridge crosses the Vasha just above the mouth of the Strecura, leading to the smaller but more spacious Lord’s Quarter, home to the guild houses and manors of Ilvin’s elite. Here one also finds the home of Baron Olszanik, Ilvin’s stapan. A cruel and unpopular fellow, the baron breeds and trains attack dogs as a pastime, turning them on condemned criminals and using them to patrol his estate. “Dogs are more loyal than men,” he remarked.

Where to Stay in Ilvin

Most travelers stopping over in Ilvin are drawn to the warm and lushly furnished rooms of the Black Hourglass (good quality rooms, common quality meals), by the north gate, though the cuisine is mediocre and the service inattentive. Indeed, most patrons seem to come to admire the inn’s alluring proprietor, a young widow who had scarcely wed the former proprietor before his funeral. The only notable competition is Gaspar’s Trifle (poor quality rooms, good quality meals), by the west gate and all too close to the slaughterhouses. Rumor has it that Gaspar won the lease in a drunken card game, and now begrudgingly runs the inn and gambling parlor simply to cover its rent. To combat the permeating stench, Gaspar plies his wealthier gamblers with a steady flow of complementary wines, ales, almonds, and imported tobacco.