When peacecame at least, word of the disaster finally reached the Keep. Gathering all his troops except for a few whom he left behind to man the Keep until he returned, he marched away and was never seen in the south again, falling in battle with all his men around him. The Keep itself was unaffected, being far from the centers of civilization and the other prizes of war, but Macsen could not stand by and watch his homeland far to the north be destroyed, not while he was still hale enough to wield a blade. Thus things remained for many years, until the disaster of war overtook the land. Eventually the decimated lizard men became so few that they were shy and rarely met with, the emptied caves offered neither treasure nor glory to explorers, and would-be heroes out to make a name for themselves moved on to other regions. It was left to others, themselves aspiring young adventurers even as the Lord of the Keep had once been, to clean out the humanoids of the nearby Caves of Chaos, raid the lizard men of the swamp, and eliminate those threats to his little settlement. He devoted all his time to managing the affairs of his garrison and the Keep, leaving the region beyond untouched, save for the occasional patrol, and even these grew less frequent as the years passed. In the event, Macsen found that retirement agreed with him. He planned to drive all the monsters from the land, save for a few which he intended to allow to skulk in odd corners, feeling that the occasional monster-hunt might prove good sport when he began to miss the old days of dungeon delving and deeds of valor.Then, peasants and freemen attracted by the protection of his fortress would settle nearby, and within a few years he would have his own village at the heart of the region of well-defended farms and fields, the beginnings of his own barony. Having chosen a readily defensive spot not claimed by any lord, he proceeded to build a stronghold atop a low flat hill, not too far from an important trade route. He chose an area on the fringe of civilized lands where he could carve out his own little fief. The Keep was founded some thirty years ago by Macsen Wledig, a successful adventurer who, having reached the stage in his career when he had begun to attract followers, decided to retire and build his own stronghold with the proceeds of his exploits.
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