Citadel Altaerein

Order of the Nail

(Location)

Locale

Near Breachill, Isger

Type

Hellknight citadel

Proprietor

Abandoned

Affiliation

Bumblebrashers
Order of the Nail (formerly)

Source: Hellknight Hill, pg(s). 12–43

Position sourced from Inner Sea Poster Map Folio.

This article covers the former Hellknight citadel. For the Age of Ashes Adventure Path issue, see Hellknight Hill (adventure).

Citadel Altaerein is the abandoned former headquarters of the Hellknight Order of the Nail, located in eastern Isger, high in the northwestern Five Kings Mountains, close to the border with Druma. It overlooks the town of Breachill, whose residents call it Hellknight Hill and largely ignore it.

Structure

A well-marked path about 1 mile long leads from Breachill northeast to Citadel Altaerein, which is located atop a sloping hill. Since its abandonment, its exterior is overgrown with brambles and overgrowth, a few of its reinforced brick walls have collapsed, and its outer doors and gates are left open. The center of the citadel has open-air battlements surrounding an open courtyard. Its interior ceilings are typically 20 feet high.

This section contains spoilers for the following products: plot points and encounters of the Age of Ashes Pathfinder Adventure Path.
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Citadel Altaerein was built directly above Alseta's Ring, an ancient ring of elf gates.

History

In 4638 AR, the Order of the Nail, impressed with the peace and efficiency of Breachill as well as its defensibility, chose a low-rising hill about ten miles northeast of town to build their headquarters. For decades, many citizens of the town took jobs in Citadel Altaerein to attend to the Hellknights' needs.

In 4682 AR, Queen Domina of Korvosa moved the Order of the Nail to Varisia, and they relocated from Citadel Altaerein to their new home Citadel Vraid. They kept a small handful of knights at Citadel Altaerein to keep an eye out for goblinoid uprisings to the southwest until 4711 AR, when their mounting missions in Varisia forced them to abandon their old headquarters entirely. All kinds of people and monsters have since moved into Citadel Altaerein, most notably the Bumblebrasher goblin tribe.