Quick Overview
The Night Watch protects Darkshire after Stormwind withdrew its guards from Duskwood. Led by Althea Ebonlocke, it confronts undead around the town and the graveyards of the surrounding countryside. Its limited strength leaves distant residents and travelers dependent on scattered patrols, local allies, and volunteers.
Full History
Darkshire's defenses grew out of abandonment. When Stormwind withdrew its guards, the people of Duskwood could no longer rely on a royal garrison to protect their homes. Althea Ebonlocke organized the Night Watch to meet that need. Its soldiers inherited responsibility for a threatened settlement without inheriting the resources of a kingdom. Their purpose is immediate and local: keep the town standing, watch the approaches, and prevent the dangers in the countryside from overwhelming its inhabitants.
The undead make that task especially difficult. Skeletons occupy the burial grounds at Tranquil Gardens, close enough to threaten Darkshire itself. Raven Hill's much larger graveyard presents another concentration of danger farther west. Althea calls for help against both. These requests reveal a defensive organization forced to divide its attention between the town's immediate perimeter and the wider region from which new threats can approach. Graveyards that once served surrounding communities have become places those communities must fear.
Distance compounds the shortage of defenders. Elaine Carevin cannot spare a member of the Watch to carry supplies to Sven Yorgen and the small camp sheltering near Raven Hill. Supplies still need to reach them, so outsiders are asked to undertake the journey. The difficulty is not merely winning a battle. Maintaining contact with isolated survivors requires people who can travel dangerous roads, deliver necessities, and return with information. Every such journey competes with the obligation to hold Darkshire's defenses.
Concern for the missing and secluded also draws the Watch's allies into the landscape. Elaine notices that the hermit Abercrombie has stopped appearing in town and asks that someone look in on him. Her concern shows how fragile ordinary communication has become. A person's absence can mean illness, isolation, or a threat no patrol has yet discovered. The Night Watch therefore belongs to the history of Duskwood's surviving community as much as to its armed conflicts: a local defense formed when distant protection failed, struggling to preserve the connections that allow the town and its neighbors to endure.
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