Lore:Cascabel Hall

Cascabel Hall
Type	Settlement
Continent	Tamriel
Province	Skyrim
Hold	Haafingar

Haafingar marked on a map of Skyrim

Cascabel Hall was a castle located near the city of Solitude in Skyrim. It was noted for its impenetrable walls and the vast arbor of golden apples that stretched for many acres near the castle, said to be the finest, most delectable apples in the Empire. Its well was connected to an underground basin rich with vast reserves of water.

At some point between 3E 246 and 3E 427, the Kings of Solitude and Farrun fought a war against one another, and the Count of Cascabel allied himself with Solitude. When the forces of the King of Solitude had left Cascabel Hall, the Bosmer mercenary Menegur was left behind to man the battlements as the rear-guard to protect their retreat. The army had left a wagon behind to supply him with what they assumed would be enough food for months, but the trunks turned out to be filled with inedible netch leather armor from the army's incursion into Morrowind. The enemy army soon surrounded the castle, leaving Menegur to defend it alone and nearly starving after living off of rats, insects, and even moss. He soon went on irregular treks to enemy encampment outside the walls to retrieve apples from the arbor, using the netch armor training he received from his kinswoman Aerin to avoid being killed by the enemy troops.

The King of Solitude eventually returned with his army after months of working out a truce with the King of Farrun, and thanked Menegur for his service. The knights of Farrun, now no longer hostile to Menegur, apologized for their attempts to kill him and admired his skills. The King said Menegur owed thirty-seven Imperial gold to the Count for the crops he'd eaten while they were away, as they'd exceeded his mercenary wages. Menegur responded by saying he'd pay the fee to himself, as after reading through law books he viewed an Elder Council decree made as an attempt to clear up some questions of property rights in Skyrim during Uriel IV's reign, which stated that any man without a liege who occupied a castle for more than three months would be granted the rights and titles of that estate. Menegur proclaimed that by rule of law, he was now the Count of Cascabel.

By 3E 427, Menegur's son still held the title of Count of Cascabel. The castle no longer stood by the Fourth Era, although some of the shipments of netch leather armor survived, having been sent to the nearby Fort Hraggstad after the battle. These armor pieces were looted from the ruins of the fort by the Last Dragonborn circa 4E 201.

Notes

• The war between Solitude and Farrun may have been the War of the Bend'r-mahk, which started in 3E 397, as that was a war between the High King of Skyrim (which traditionally serves as King of Solitude) and the Bretons of High Rock in addition to Hammerfell.