The beginnings of the Barony of Skeffington lay in a dispute between Earl
Rykar IV of Starstone County (or the Larches as it was known as then) and Scaef
his Marshal. Scaef wanted to marry the Earl’s sister but the Earl refused
permission for the marriage to take place. Scaef fled the county with his l
over and built a castle by the great east road in a strategic location. In due
time the town of Skeffington grew up and the King of Carondor, appreciating its
worth to the kingdom made Scaef a Baron after the death of Rykar IV.
Since that time there has been much bickering between Startstone and
Skeffington, with a fair amount of pettiness on both sides, but mainly because
of the high tolls extracted from merchants travelling to Starstone on the
northern route. This bad blood continued into modern times as Skeffington
remained neutral while Daretta controlled Starstone and notably failed to
provide any support for Risten’s crusade against her.
Risten made overtures to Odvic, Baron of Skeffington, and for a time there
was less friction in the area. The relationship was still cool, however, and
Odvic refused to allow Risten’s rangers to pursue fugitives into his lands. In
time a cumbersome legal process for extradition was arranged but in truth only
those unaware of its existence were ever apprehended as a result. Arinbjorn,
one of Risten’s closest friends, was head of the Ranger Service. There were
popularly known as the ‘Outsiders’ not only because they operated frequently
beyond Starstone’s borders but also because it was known that many members came
from ‘exotic’ races whom the general populace normally viewed with fear and
wonder.
As the lands were cleared of bandits, monsters and the remaining pockets of
Daretta’s supporters the stubbornness of Skeffington began to irk Arinbjorn and
in 1370 with the tacit agreement of Risten the Outsiders were given permission
to pursue fugitives across Skeffington’s borders. In the spring of 1374, however,
a ranger named Tref, pursuing an assassin to Skeffington itself disappeared.
Such was the skill of the Outsiders by that time that losing a member was
unusual and there was a considerable effort made to trace him without success.
Later that year, however, Risten was killed and the Outsiders were given the job of tracking down his killers. Odvic agreed to send troops to this expedition but came too late and arrived in Starstone claiming that his role was to keep order in the north while Risten’s troops were away. The tracks were followed into the Northern Waste which was an area largely unknown although Arinbjorn had just started to send out patrols that far afield. The scouts suspected some sort of trap and went warily because little attempt had made to hide the tracks. A day into the Waste, however, a mist descended and the scouts emerged into an entirely unknown landscape It took them two days to trek back to the main party and by then the carrion birds forewarned them that a disaster had taken place. Now there were no clues as to the attackers and no tracks to show which way they had gone. The scouts followed the tracks of the survivors back to Starstone.
They found the County under the control of the Baron of Skeffington’s men and they were arrested immediately on suspicion of treason. The charges were cleverly laid: those with family and friends in the area (mainly the humans members of the service were exonerated, as was the now dead Arinbjorn). A conspiracy, involving the non-human members of the service was postulated backed up by the confession of Tref, who within 24 hours re-appeared, was arrested, confessed in public and was executed.
Those members of the service who had remained behind in Starstone were also arrested, but had taken part in a mass escape which was taken as a proof of guilt (it later emerged that they had been told they were to be executed). As a result the returning scouts were kept under heavy guard which included magical restraints. What happened next is a matter of some debate. Powerful magic aided the scouts escape. Some say the Outsiders had been aided by Istamor, a powerful mage and friend of Risten, who surprisingly had not joined the expedition and mysteriously has remained a recluse ever since Risten’s death.
Odvic, who had taken the earlier escape rather well, was now furious. He incited the populace against non-humans (excepting those with large established communities e.g. dwarves although these too suffered some backlash). There has always been some xenophobia in the County but what gave the conspiracy added credibility in the minds of the average inhabitant of Starstone was the alternative explanation: that the flower of the chivalry of the north had been crushed by a superior foe. The Outsiders (now re-named the ‘Outcasts’ by Odvic) had no such illusions of course and re-organised as a guerrilla resistance in preparation for what they saw as an imminent invasion of the County. They were aided by their human comrades-in-arms for Odvic disbanded the ranger service altogether. The invasion never came and, after petitions were sent to the King, Baron Granek was sent to the County and Odvic withdrew his men. Around this time, however, the first assassinations of the Outcasts occurred and these spread to the humans who had never been implicated in the conspiracy. The remaining Outcasts went deeper underground (sometimes literally) and began a game of cat and mouse with their pursuers.
And there we stand. Skeffington’s actions might be seen as the self-interest of a noble looking after his status and his lands or something more sinister. The ranger service was never re-instated and the lands outside the major cities and towns in the north have become more dangerous. The conspiracy is still believed by most of the population. The north lacks replacements for Risten and his comrades because of the war. No-one knows who killed Risten or what became of his son.