Tannen
Town: AL CN; 15,000gp limit; Assets 9,000,000gp; Population 5,000; Mixed (90% human, 5% halfling, 2% dwarf, 3% other)
On the coast of the Jæruel, where the river meets the sea, lies Tannen (pronounced TAW-nen), a bustling seaport of a town built on sandy soil.
Architecture
The larger, more established buildings of Tannen are of sandstone and light wood from the forests harvested upriver near the village of Ches.
The buildings on the capitol grounds are of carved alabaster, taken from the mines east of Alabaster. The humbling, white edifice in the center of the city lies on a 5-acre plot surrounded by formal gardens decorated with flowers from the farthest reaches of the Jæruel. This is truly where the goods of the Jæruel comes together in an impressive display of what a successful merchant collective (some would say oppressive) can accomplish.
Layout
Along the banks of the river Ches runs a short wall of sandbags to keep the river in its banks in rainier months. Within five feet of these walls rise the older and more ornately-decorated buildings made of old hardwoods, including the town hall, the Jæruel central offices, the two inns that made Tannen famous (Inn of Golden Meadows and The Lark’s Nest), Smullivan’s Emporium, and, where the river meets the sea, the shipyard, where ninety percent of the seaworthy vessels in the Jæruel are built.
The town blocks off the river are devoted to residences, including the mayor’s house and on a low hill the wealthy neighborhood inhabited entirely by those in executive positions within the Jæruel, retired merchants who now manage their personal matters from their estates.
The rest of the town is a hodge-podge of market squares, shops on lower levels, and residences rising in the second and third storeys.
Key locations:
* Capitol Grounds – large, new construction that towers over town hall
* Town Hall – a converted keep that predates the town
* Jæruel Central Offices – new constructions across the river
* Twin Lighthouses – one in north-town and one in south-town
* Smullivan’s Emporium – market for many items
* Inn of Golden Meadows – standard inn named for the surrounding countryside
* The Lark’s Nest – exotic inn, featuring delicasies and fine things
* the shipyard – busy, working-class district where the river actually meets the sea
This town has served as the center of government for the Jæruel since the central offices of the merchant collective moved here two generations ago.
Map
(to follow in later post)
Personas
The Jæruel hierarchy represents the most notable personas in town. Galway Froid (mayor), Fennel Chatwid (head consulate), and Zann Diacon (finance minister) are the highest-ranking officials in Tannen.
The innkeeper owner of the Lark’s Nest is a boistrous legend. Of foreign descent and well-traveled, he tells stories the way most men tell lies, with the upmost of ease. Chariz Muqatad is known throughout the Jæruel, and there are those who visit Tannen just to meet him and hear his stories. In the process, he listens to their stories, which he uses to continue to embellish his own tales.
J.P. Smullivan is a trader who has recently joined the Jæruel, electing to pay his membership dues rather than risk losing his business to the town guard. Though less-than-friendly to new faces, largely due to this pressure to join the Jæruel, he is aware of much that transpires in Tannen and thus represents a great source of knowledge. The key is getting him to share it.
Plot Points
Each of the executives in the wealthy district finance treasure hunting expeditions and each have constant need for couriers and escorts. In addition, the Meldor House is known for financing voyages inland, past Westfort into the mountains and plains beyond. Zane Meldor is a known eccentric, known for his misadventures in the brothels in Tannen’s slums. He is ailing, and has been convinced that the fungal cure for his illness lies west of Westfort.
Smullivan is always after new supplies, especially those of an exotic nature. He knows of certain individuals who possess such items, and runs a secret business trading such items. Interestingly, it seems he has thieves steal from one Jæruel or Tannen city official which he then sells to another, and so on. He is likely to hire a party with an experienced enough thief to acquire such items from the homes of the wealthy.
Chariz Muqatad needs a message delivered to his extended family back in the dry lands to the far south, across the Old Bay. He is willing to pay handsomely for the message’s delivery. The message itself is so important that it has been stuffed inside a chicken, and must be delivered while the chicken still lives. This is an age-old custom for communicating among his people.
Galway Froid’s daughter, Ammrie has gone missing. Rumor has it she is being held for ransom, but there is no official word on this. If the party inquires too directly in official circles, they are likely to be taken to the dungeons beneath the town hall, a converted keep that predates the rest of the city, for probing and questioning. Others who have relevant information include Chariz Muqatad, who said he overheard some of the kids joking about staging an abduction, and Smullivan, who sold a load of face paint and robes to some of the local teens. The real story is that Ammrie had her allowance cut back and so she and her friends decided to stage a kidnapping to collect the ransom. It turns out, however, that when a local thug heard of this, he took her from her friends, and now holds her in a cliffside camp overlooking the sea to the north of Tannen, where he awaits delivery of the ransom sum.
Once the teens are found, they will admit their part in the staging, and provide a description of the thug, who happens to be Thaddius Brewster, former employee of Smullivan’s. He used to lift large crates by himself and earned various nicknames for his feats of strength. If asked, Smullivan will mention Brewster’s departure from his shop lines up with the time of the supposed kidnapping. Once returned, the mayor will pay the party handsomely, though less than the original ransom. He is a shrewd merchant, after all!
The dungeons beneath the keep lead in various directions throughout the city. They are well-explored in the vicinity of the town jail; however, the secret, windy passages are said to hold more in store for an adventurous enough lot.
Posted in Encounter and tagged farghoal, Jæruel, Location, town by Stephen Hilderbrand with 1 comment.
Piran Point
Town: AL CN; 2,000gp limit; Assets 900,000gp; Population 920; Mixed (70% human, 15% halfling, 5% dwarf, 5% gnome, 5% other)
On the coast of the Jæruel, south of Tannen, there is a rocky point that juts out into the sea. This was once the home of a great serpent that fed on the schools of fish that swam around the point, as well as the occasional human who made their way here off-course from their intended destinations. This lair serves as the undersea port down the cliff from the main town center.
Architecture
The larger, more established buildings of Piran Point are hewn from the surrounding stone, a mix of limestone on the coast and granite further inland. More recent single-story buildings are of wood construction from the nearby oak, maple and pine forests.
Layout
At the top of the cliff, the town is laid out in a series of semicircles that run along the peninsula, the outermost being the poorest, and the region closest to the fresh water and woods the wealthiest. As the area was traditionally prone to piracy and attack by marauders, the wealthy moved farther and farther from the edge of the cliff, leaving their buildings unoccupied as they built increasingly more opulent estates inland. Because of this, there are various historic buildings that have been occupied by the working and non-working classes.
Encounters in this region include:
* low-scale thieves and pickpockets
* defensive family men
* various brawls and other pre-existing conflicts
Key locations elsewhere:
* St. Grisdon Square – where four churches come together in each of the cardinal directions
* Darkhouse Inn – featuring tinted windows; “what happens withinn stays within”
* Shelt’s Pelts – center of the halfling market
* Fishing Market – varieties of fish from varieties of merchants
* Town Hall – center of the village
This town has long been at the crossroads of merchants and rogues, lying within seven miles of three known robber barons, though this town has largely escaped their direct advances, as they have found the passersthrough along the broad roads more vulnerable and thus worth their effort. This has led to more armed caravans, which has reduced the frequency of their arrivals and departures.
Out at sea, there has been pirate activity as well, making Piran Point a refuge for travellers both by land and sea. Sea trade has mostly ended, the merchant vessels converted to fishing ships. Those vessels which sail into Piran Point are escorted by larger galleons decked out with many arms.
Map
(to follow in later post)
Personas
Piran Point is home to several merchant families of the Jæruel. Elton Thistlewood runs the local chapter of the merchant house, aided by Jossathon Radvell and Saldon Thede. Each keeps control over their own region of the merchant quarter.
Reverend Marden and Brother Sandis run the Cathedral of St. Grisdon, by far the largest of the four churches in the center of the town. In it, sermons to the words of the dearly-departed Grisdon, worshipper of a merchant-sect of Pelor’s younger brother Geld, and creator of the ten virtues of trade.
Plot Points
Tristega Thistlewood has split from her family and opened up a profitable business dealing in black market goods. Her father seeks to bring her back into the fold, and is willing to pay anyone willing to help convince her of this. The Radvells and Thedes have since made a play for power, realizing this distraction leaves the Thistlewoods vulnerable to infiltration and unable to rightly control their holdings across the town.
With this infighting among the merchant class, the streets have seen a rise in crime, the unorganized type that leads to confusion in the masses. Many poor have taken to picking the pockets of others, especially wandering parties. Of course, this news has not yet reached the lips of anyone in this town; why would they, when they profit from the unspoken truth.
The St. Grisdon sect of Geld has grown in influence among the more lawful-minded citizens of Piran Point, and can be called upon to assist the party if they uphold the ten virtues of trade. Tristega Thistlewood anonymously attends the sermons in the cathedral, and is a devout follower of St. Grisdon’s teachings.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged farghoal, Jæruel, Location, town by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.
Junction
Medium Town: Conventional; AL LN; 10,000 gp limit; Assets 2,000,000 gp; Population 3,000; Mixed (95% human, 2% halfling, 1% elf, 1% gnome, 1% dwarf).
Junction lies along the road from the Jæruel to the Cyrűk Mountains and into Northbay. The walled town has 3,000 inhabitants, many of whom moved to the town relatively recently. The town is still expanding along with its walls, so there is much housing still under construction along the edges of town. Junction enjoys a relatively high standard of living, as there is much abundant produce and rolling fields for cattle to graze upon in the area, and nice stone that is mined in Alabaster to the north. Fish stream in from the coastal town of Uppwint the southeast.
Junction serves as the main hub of the trade route from the Cyrűk Mountains to the Jæruel, and part of its wealth has developed through the high tariffs imposed by the local Jæruel officials. These official live in the southeast of town in a gated community.
Architecture
The buildings in Junction are mostly made of wood. Much of the mansions in the wealthy quarter have stone foundations and parts of walls made of stone. The city hall and older buildings along Market St. are made of stone. Parts of the city walls are stone — 5 feet every 10 foot section of wall. Much of this stone was brought in from Alabaster to the north, though some was quarried a few miles northeast of Junction.
Layout
Market Street runs east-west in the center of the walled city. Local merchants without a permanent shop set up each morning along this thoroughfare which is much wider than the streets in the rest of the town. Guard towers are prominent features in this town of local militia. All the troops report to the Jæruel who very clearly run the town.
Justice Street runs north-south from Market St. to the North Gate. The Temple of Justice sits at the corner of Justice and Market. Thieves are usually sent to the temple to repent before being tried.
The southeast quadrant of the town is the wealthy residential area known as Sunnlunt. Eight large mansions occupy the space, each with its own stables. Shrines line the main roads into the quadrant, filled with scenes painted from humanized images of Garl Glittergold.
The northeast is home to the arena. Many people live in this part of town, including warriors and small-time merchants who sell wares in and around the arena during events. There is also a temple to the god of war along Market St. To the east end of Market St., East Gate overlooks Fish Square, where the fresh catch is brought in from Uppwint and other, smaller fishing villages along the coast.
The north central part of town is known as the Jæruel district. This is where the city hall, the temple of justice and the Jæruel administrative buildings can be found. The quarters in this part of town are equivalent to decent merchant homes. Guards stationed at the North Gate keep watch over Pork Square, home of the famous pig auctions.
The southwest district is known as the Merchant quarter, named because it is home to many successful merchants, as well as a temple and the Climbing Rose Inn. The homes are fairly well cared for and there is only moderate crime. The West Gate overlooks Apple Square, where much produce enters the city.
If not for the troops stationed in this part of town, the northwest would perhaps be a sketchy part of town. In addition, given the walled nature of the city, crime is not as rampant as one would expect for a population of nearly 3,000, over 4,000 on the heavier trading days, and 5,000 during the first market days of the lunar cycle.
Map Key
Religious:
1 Justice Temple of Hieroneous
2 Peace Temple of Fharlanghn
3 War Temple to Kord
4 Druid Temple to Ehlonna
5 Various Shrines
Civic:
6 Town Hall
7 Trade Winds Oak (south side of Town Hall)
8 Arena
9 Merchant Museum
Mansions:
a Luxord Manor
b Dwenton Manor
c Tynold Manor
d Swansyd Manor
e Jarlsbyd Manor
f Hox Manor
g Antol Manor
h Tanebrux Manor
Other:
A Apple Square
F Fish Square
G Garrisons
i Market Inn
j Jæruel
J Jæruel Square
k Kiosks
m Mills
M Mercantile Square
n Inn
o The Three ‘N’ Blankets
p Stables
P Pork Square
q Residences
r The Climbing Rose
s Shops
t Towers
T Small Taverns
u Blacksmiths
v Warrior Guild
w Mage Houses
x Training Grounds
y Magic Shop
z Jæruel Quarters
The buildings outside the town walls are barns and farmhouses. On the north end of the town are pig stalls and to the northwest is Eggelt Farms, where chickens are raised and vegetables grown.
Persona
Junction is a town of many merchants. They live decent lives selling their wares and keeping the populace well fed. Farmers come to town and sell produce most days of the week, and with the constant influx of travellers, the inns remain at least half full, and the visitors meander about the markets in the morning hours before setting off for adventure. When the weather is favorable, there is much music and dance in the streets, but when it rains, the people are glum, moping about in the taverns and waiting out the weather.
There is a slight feeling of inequity among the poorer workers in town. When the ruling Jæruel officials parade along Market St. or show themselves in the arena, the people eye them suspiciously. Foreigners are welcomed as long as they are strong warriors. The people of Junction can’t stand weakness — they’ve worked too hard to stand it.
Jæruel leaders administering Junction:
Tarrin Dwenton
Darrius Luxord
Felonious Hox
Mortimyr Swansyd
Lynus Tynold
These posts will follow.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Jæruel, Location, town by Stephen Hilderbrand with no comments yet.