Town History

General Overview

Drakewatch founded… blah blah blah

The lake shore city of Drakewatch is a watchtower for the north against the possible or eminent invasion from the hostile Grandia, however in its position it is also an area of considerable trade with the north even if much of it amounts to smuggling. For instance the Ossian metal weapons are much prized in the north and bring a fine price from the nomads. Each spring brings the fur traders with thousands of rough cured pelts from the traps and hunters of the north as well and hides for curing in the local leather works. The south west corner of the dock ward is the poorest area, where the tanners and fullers cure the hides and bleach the cloth that becomes the white mantles of the church. Of course they also collect the piss that is boiled down to concentrate its acidity and make it the center of the process. Boys who collect urns of urine have routes that are sometimes the subjects of brawls.

Furriers turn the raw pelts into fine coats and hats and frilled boots for the ladies and gentry of the south, and the dyers bring in expensive inks and stains from the manufactories in the south to color their creations. The guilds are not powerful in Drakewatch but the proprietors of various industries are watchful of rivals and tend make informal agreements that they treat as binding about market-share and such.

The local taverns serve Kumis, the fermented mare’s milk of the nomads alongside fine Ossian vintages and ales. The north also offers a refinement process that is unavailable in the south. Poor wine and ale, and Kumis are often left to freeze in the winter and the unfrozen alcohol is then harvested and bottles as refined spirits. Such rotgut is favored by many humanoids in the north who pay gold for smuggled barrels to local boatman. Indeed some of the local fisherman have terrible fortunes when it comes to netting fish, never finding a single fish more then they need to eat in order to make a profit…it is surprising how they manage to keep in whores and gold chains.

While the Spring brings a flood of trappers, the Fall brings a wave of drovers. The herds of the north are vast but spread out. Many of the buyers and traders bring the wild pony and horse stock south to sell to the dwarven mine market and to farmers who want a sturdy but strong strain of horseflesh. Also many a stolen noble steed finds its way to Drakewatch on the path to some chieftain of the north. As a result of this annual train there is a fairground enclosed by the teeth of what was once an elven keep outside of town where many attractions take place in October including all the harvest festival events and horse racing on the proving grounds.

The winter months offer an opportunity to harvest great blocks of ice from the lake that are gathered by sleds on cleared roads of ice to be stored in the several major ice houses for the long summer months. The ice is general plentiful all summer and it offers a unique treat to the patrons of the better establishment, cold ale, iced punch and confections made from frozen milk and juice that are the rage among the nobility of the south at five times the price.

In the summer there is a sizable influx of nobility from the south, come to fish on the lake, vacation in the cooler weather and buy the finished goods of spring. With them come their routines and guards and wagon trains. Some have houses that they clear out and move into, others set up pavilions that make up a small colorful tent city outside the wealthy east side of town. This is also the sight of the Midsummer Joust sponsored by the temple of Heronious which includes the melee, grappling tourney and archery contests.

The Spring is also the time when the clip from the is harvested from the local sheep and goats. The wool is spun, much locally by farmwives but about a third makes its way to the factory mills along river that feeds the lake. The Mills is a small town to itself, where skilled millers compete for space and stone bridges span the swift water over and over with towers on each end to guard against winter raids and to store raw grain, wool and even gravel to be ground into cement. The Village of Mills has a contingent of dwarf and half-orc labor that also doubles as an informal defense force, however the prudent millers also pay the nomads in the region to leave them to their work in peace.

The mill road is the main route from the north gate and it follows an old dwarf track kept repaired at least as far as Mills that then turns into an uncertain path along the deepening gorge to the north. Some miners brave gorge to the north through the long winter to pan for gold washed down from the dragon kingdom, but to steal gold from under a dragons nose is a dangerous business indeed.

With the growing garrison in the town the usual businesses that take care of soldiers from ferriers and smiths to bath houses and wine halls are all doing a brisk trade. The soldiers are seen as a steady source of coin as their payrolls are shipped in each month to their officers and often stored in the city coin depository. Some daring highwaymen have hit the pay wagons and thieves have tried to rob the depository but the security on both is very good. There are also a discrete number of professional camp followers that work out of inns and taverns and who have a deal for protection and compensation with the city watch.

Some of the wild youths in town are known to seek glory and wealth by exploring the traps and treasures in the elven ruins, so they are pretty knowledgeable of the obvious dangers within. However they all know the ‘turn around’ points where there cleverness and strength is thwarted by some obstacle that they cannot pass.

Work can always be found at the docks, or with the mason teams that cobble roads or with the sweepers and chamber pot collectors so unemployment is strictly by choice or temperament. If you cannot tell a guardsman your trade or how you are employed he can put you out of the city at sundown if you have not paid for a room.

The town is small enough that most of the locals know each other by name and trade and they are nosy about new acquaintances. However with so many people coming and going the site of a stranger is not that unusual, nor are strange magic occurrences or bizarre creatures. For a small town the people are fairly cosmopolitan.

Dwarven Mining Company

Not actually in Drakewatch

Dwarves of the Golden Foil

Aalo Rockhammer/ Dadania RockHammer
Buh Lightcrusher/ Dethusha Lightcrusher
Cgih Keybattler/ Eikilia Keybattler
Citser Deathbreaker/ Feduthia Deathbreaker
Darmat Foeslasher/ Gfidia Foeslasher
Dihegu Goodgem/ Haduda Goodgem
Divmo Warhunter/ Hrenian Warhunter
Fvun Enemysmasher/ Krorba Enemysmasher
Gol Ghoulfighter/ Likgiga Ghoulfighter
Hongor Beamaxe/ Sgada Beamaxe

Kayvir Orehunter
Lrul Anvilfighter
Oadi Hammertracker
Oako Honorhunter
Oire Beamgilder
Rok Demonsmiter
Rolmih Anvilkiller
Tag Forgechop
Teha Fiendsmiter
Yir Beamcrusher

Gnomes of the Golden Foil

Bleenab
Bunkwyn
Daerrick
Lindle
Scheppel

Recent timeline

September 1st - Contact with Azure Peak is lost
September 14th - Party returns to Drakewatch with a bunch of gems and such

Upcoming Public Events

October 28th - Harvest Festival, Big Feast
December 28th - New Year's celebration

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Upcoming events

DM KNOWLEDGE DO NOT READ
September 28th -
October 19th - A barrister is assassinated.
October 25th - If tiefling saboteur has not been dealt with, the zoo is sabotaged and all the beasts let out into the streets.
November 4th - An explosion in the alchemist's shop sets fire to a warehouse.
November 14th - A shop is closed for a few days as it undergoes renovations.
January 17th - Massive blizzard strikes town, trade roads are closed for a couple days.
February 20th - The demigod Tukadian has stopped in town for a couple weeks. Ossian army officials want to co-opt him to fight in the upcoming war against Grandia, businesses are booming from the visitors to the town and so on. He spends most of his time at library or The Silver Sable.
March 3rd - Greta gets a franchise offer for her business, throws a big sale as a result.

Beppo Melonson opens up a melon shop in town, his brother Meppo has one in King's Crossing
Meat on a Stick sets up shop.
A potion shop based on http://noc.wikidot.com/weer-s-elixirs opens up
http://noc.wikidot.com/gorven-s-boots-and-shoes Opens up shop

Use for warehouse district http://noc.wikidot.com/maavu-s-imports
Use for ophelia's http://noc.wikidot.com/skie-s-treasury
Nimble's http://noc.wikidot.com/sure-foot-livery and http://noc.wikidot.com/fendal-s-pets
http://noc.wikidot.com/spells-for-swords
http://noc.wikidot.com/bee-in-the-bottle

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