Finstow

Demographics

75% Human, 15% Earth Genasi (65% Earth, 35% Fire), 5% Tiefling, 4% Dwarf, 1% Other.

Government

The settlement is run by a town council, where the most senior member of each family is made a member. The council meets once a week to discuss issues affecting the settlement and resolve disputes between houses, although the later occurs very infrequently.

Defences

The settlement sits behind a wall made of stone from the local mine. This wall is manned by a handful of guards who rotate daily. It was constructed primarily to keep local wildlife out where possible, however, should an assault from the capital ever come, the wall was designed to act as a delay whilst people could escape by boat.

Industry & Trade

The village attempts to be self-sufficient, wanting to avoid as much contact with Auchendow as possible, however this cannot always be avoided. When unobtainable supplies are needed, small groups will visit the city's market in order to engage in trade with locals and merchants from the other settlements.
If meat, fruit or vegetables are required, merchants are sent to Penningham to trade directly.

Assets

Finstow's dockyard contains a storehouse which holds citizen's supplies of preserved fish. This is currently being expanded to hold potential crops that might grow in the area.

History

Finstow was established shortly after the founding of Auchendow. Many who did not wish to live under the rule of the Grand Vizier but had no home to return decided to make their own settlement in the province.
The people who founded the settlement found the land nearly impossible to farm, so they took to fishing in order to produce food. This and the many other hardships they had to endure because of he local environment motivated many of the people to begin looking for a way to return the land to the way it was before the events of The Confluence.
Over the next 400+ years, the people of Finstow conducted thousands of experiments with the aim of terraforming the land. These included: attempting different methods of growing food, researching the volcanic activity in the nearby Crucible of Life and sending brave researchers on expeditions across The Cinder Peaks to find evidence of ecosystems thmmwhich they could study. The most successful of these experiemns occurred recently, in the last 50 years, when a large, fresh water, hot spring was discovered after being dug out of the cliffside. Since the unearthing and subsequent cooling of this water, plant life has begun to naturally grow in the area. The water from this has been the biggest step in the towns goals as it has allowed for more successful, albeit slow, crop growth in the once-thought infertile soil.
In the hope more progress like this can be made, a mine was constructed in the town which hoped to find more underground springs like this, or perhaps something else which could help them achieve their goals. However, this and all pervious ventures to change the land have been kept secret from the Grand Vizier and Auchendow as the fear of retribution for trying to change his land has always been great in the village.

Tourism

Due to it's location, Finstow is not visited often by outsiders and due to the endeavours of the locals and the fear of repercussions from Auchendow, those who live here are cautious of visitors.

Architecture

All building are made of stone, similar to the province's capital, with very little timber being used. This is aside from a the dock area in the north-west where using flammable materials is less of an issue.

Geography

Finstow is situated between the Auchendow coastline and the base of the northern Cinder Peaks where The Crucible of Life can be found. Aside from Portstoke, it is the only waterside settlement in the province. Finstow is the only location in the province to have a naturally formed hot spring where fresh water, heated by the local volcanic activity, reaches he surface. Around this spring, on the cliffs away from the sea, a variety of yellow-leaved willow tree grows alongside an indigenous, purple-flowered vine (famous for only blooms in moonlight) known as Midnight Ivy.
To the south of the village wall, the land has been cultivated for farming, to varying degrees of success. The western fields are barren and abandoned, however the larger, eastern field on the foothills of the mountains grows more successfully.
Finally, in the eastern portion of the village, a mine exists where stone is excavated and scientific research is conducted.

Maps

• 

  Finstow

Type

Village

Population

1,500

Location under

The Auchendow Province

Owning Organization

Finstow Village Council

Characters in Location

• Brenton of the Wildfire