Eyeless' manse is in the foothills of the World Wall, not far from the northern shore of the Ædrismere.
The team's accommodations are in the nearest town, Skrær, a reasonably sizeable and busy settlement with a permanent population of a couple of thousand.
The inhabitants are predominantly human, but dwarfs, gnomes, halflings, and the very occasional half-orc or half-elf are also to be found. High Elves are almost never seen in the town, though very, very rarely a wild-elf raiding party might venture into the surrounding country to commit mayhem.
Skrær is a major commercial centre for ore processing from the mines up in the World Wall, and it also has a thriving guild of gem traders and cutters. As well as the permanent population, there are always large numbers of transient miners, merchants, and their associated hangers-on in evidence. Though not completely lawless, Skrær definitely has a reputation as a pretty rough town.
There is a great deal of barge traffic on the Great Lakes, and Skrær's docks are always busy. Piracy on the water is not a frequent or significant threat (though it has been known to occur), but dockside thieving and robbery is rife, and security for their vessels and goods is an ever-present concern for the bargees who harbour there. The flow of precious metals and gems through the port is a great lure for the ethically challenged.
There is a certain amount of commerce traffic up and down the rivers from the Lakes, passing through the coastal towns of Rowan and Arrowtown to the south-west. The passage is difficult and perilous, and prices for goods from Hyarfalas in the far south are consequently very high.
The general climate of the LakeLand region is warm temperate, roughly similar to that of southern Italy or Greece.
The area is, technically, ruled from the royal seat at Coltraine, on the northern coast of the straits between Angelsmere to the west and Usemere to the east, though the actual reach of the current king, Chlodovich III, is fairly limited. The great nobles of the region are effectively independent princes, each of their own demesnes, and they and the larger towns maintain their own rule while paying lip-service to Chlodovich's authority.
As far as fashion, architecture and technology are concerned, conditions are roughly analogous to Europe about 1450.
The realm extends to the east right to the edge of the Curséd Lands. It is bounded to the north by the mountains of the World Wall. The westernmost limit is the small principality of Fnordonia, straddling the pass through the mountains to the sea coast. To the south of the Lakes themselves, apart from settlements right on the coast, the country is untamed and unsettled except by scattered tribes of Wild Elves and other creatures of the wilderness; it is dangerous country to travel in. Attempts are always being made to claim the ‘vacant’ lands there; success is scanty and survivors are scarce.