Barley Motte is in the north of Lyonesse, close to the border with L'Anguille. Two centuries ago it was the home of the D'ayvle lords, who cooperated with the Ruinous Powers and plotted to bring down the nation. They were defeated by a group of bold adventurers, one of whom was rewarded with the fief.[1a]
He was driven mad by the spirits of the D'ayvles, and another group of adventurers defeated the Undead. Once again, the Bretonnian knight among them was rewarded with the fief. A few years later, the knight was revealed to be trafficking with a Dark God, butchering his peasants to keep the fiend happy. The neighbouring lords drove him out, and the Garlonds put a steward in place. The steward betrayed his lords to their deaths a few years later but was himself killed in the ensuing battles.[1a]
This time, no one wanted the place, so it was abandoned. Over the following years bandits, Necromancers, and Chaos cults have all taken up residence there. They have been driven out, but anyone who takes possession of the place seems to fall to evil. Most people now believe it to be cursed.[1a]