Aldford

Town with no Nicknames

Aldford has no nicknames. The town has a population of about 14,000, and it has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and it was granted its charter of rights in 1055. Aldford’s crest is three sea-cats vert on a field gyranny sable and argent. Politically, this town is found in the Barony of Aldford, the County of Gnoman, the Palatine Duchy of Hexton, in the High Kingdom of Rhonce.

It is a major river port on the Djal River’s east bank, and it is surrounded by fertile agricultural land. Secondary roads connect Aldford to Bromsfeld Town to the northeast, Holdwall Town to the west-by-southwest, and Borsford Town to the west-by-northwest. The Djal River also connects it to Essien-on-the-Djal Town to the north and Djalford Town to the south.

Aldford is organic and unplanned, so its uneven sprawl has continued out unchecked. There are curtain walls, towers, and gate on the landward side, but the town has already spread beyond them will soon need new fortifications. The city market is close to the wharfs, and that is banked by the Church of St. Halwin (Aldford’s patron saint), a unified guild hall, and large counting houses.

The main street and market are cobbled, the other streets are not. Natives are friendly to well-behaved visitors, but town culture is uneasy, and it feels as if its shadows harbor uncomfortable, recriminating secrets. One awkward side effect is the locals devotion to their carnival of horrors, where on holidays they dress as monsters and treat the city as a stage without borders and act out traditional, if rather macabre plays. It is also common knowledge that Aldford has suffered the dancing mania plague four times.

This settlement is also the historical home of Atrectus Barroman, inventer of the chimney in 1022. He never got to enjoy the benefits of his creation, because his murderers shoved him down one of his new chimneys and left him to die of smoke inhalation. Aldford is celebrated for its leather goods and leather finishing, poppy paste, and Hextonian white wine. Shadow people are common here, although the locals pay them no mind, leaving these negative, umbral entities to beset visitors.