Coliftown

Demographics

Approximately 90% Human, 5% Dwarf, 5% Elf and Half-Elf.

Government

Run by the baron in the nearby castle, Coliftown is funded by the taxation of traveling merchants along the trading route upon which the town sits.

Defences

Aside from a main 30ft stone wall, the keep is guarded by a 20ft wooden retaining wall as well as its own 50ft stone fortifications. The city walls are manned and patrolled by members of the town's guard while the keep walls are secured by The Woodwalker's Guard.

Industry & Trade

Most of the craftsmen in Coliftown spend an average day working on carts and contracted work for the empire. Be it repairing an axle on a wagon or forging swords for the military, the crafters here are well paid where there is skill to be given.
The trade booms in this town and is the reason for its size and wealth a large square houses a roiling marketplace at all times with stalls set up on the main streets regularly. The city further profits from this by taxing street vendors. Not to mention the many landlords who have set up tenant housing to keep a roof over those who wish to spend a prolonged, but not permanent stay in the town.

Infrastructure

The main piece of infrastructure is the main trading route that connects Findisburray with the Esmadar. They have specialized workers to maintain draft animals and carts for the traders who come through, and many merchants gather along the way to sell to those with the coin from trade.

Assets

Stables

The stables lie beside the north gate and their main traffic is the many traders and their caravans that roll through town. A small team of crafters live and operate nearby, offering maintainence, repair and sale to those in need.

Stablesmith

The smith who works by the main road and entrance to the stable mainly shoes horses and draft animals, but occasionally is called in to fix a loose locking pin or replace a leaf spring. When otherwise unoccupied, he can be found making nails or repairing imperial arms and armour from the keep.
His name is Dalorel; a born-and-raised Velian but learned quickly that the Lowvires aren't the nicest sort, adn willingly bowed to their rulership during the invasions. This has branded him a traitor in the eyes of his Velian bretheren, but as long as he continues being paid by the empire, he doesn't really care.

Carpenter

The caprentry lies right next to Dalorel's smithy. This is convenient, for the carpenter often needs to make use of tools and nails that are kept and produced by Dalorel in repairing and maintaining the vehicles that come through.
Naelis is Dalorel's second cousin; their family has been a part of this town for a long time. Her and Dalorel's jobs cross often enough that they see a lot of eachother; enough that they tend not to hang out much after their working day.

The Blue Carrier; Inn and Tavern

The 'Blue Carrier; Inn and Tavern' is the most popular inn in town. This is partly due to it's size; the inn has 30 seperate rooms on the second and third floor of the building and at a comfortable limit, the establishment can house 50-60 people. This in combination with the friendly, jovial atmosphere of the place are what draw the many travelers and traders to stay here and be willing to pay the slightly increased prices that come from the building's location and size.

The building rests opposite the church on the main square of town. This prime real estate is what has driven the prices up inside the establishment. This remains tolerable, however, because the inn owner doesn't hire more people than is necessary.
Run by Lari Nobel; a low ranking noble and astute businesswoman, the Blue Carrier employs a very loose and malleable atmosphere of work. This has resulted in an increased popularity among its customers.

The Coliftown Remissionist's Church

Coliftown's local Church of Rebirth is a staple building of the town. It rests on the town square; taking advantage of the high traffic through the markets to draw in the populace. Headed by Bishop Layden, the church is also the centre of dawn worship in Findisburray.

The Red Iron Tavern

The Harhst family used to use this building as the centre of their mercenary operations, but after the large guild fell off, it has turned into a casual bar for loyalists and the few mercenaries that still filter through.

Guilds and Factions

The town can be fairly cleanly split into three factions; the crafting guild, the merchant's guild and the nobles. These factions usually help eachother but it isn't uncommon for one to try and pull some new moneymaking scheme on the others.

The Nobility of Coliftown

There are five major noble families in Coliftown, excluding the Innsbridge family, of which the lording baron of the town is a son of. These families are: Aburgis, Eserfeld, Gradise, Hahrst and Henewald.

The Aburgis Family

A newborn noble family, as far as their power is concerned. The Aburgis family recently came into a large sum of money from their diplomatic exploits in Andrala, and picked Coliftown to settle in.
They are commonly viewed as naieve and green and having just come into nobility in a town they didn't achieve it in, they are also regarded with a share of disapproval and suspicion by the other nobles in town.

The Eserfeld Family

The Forewoods; Coliftown's main lumber supply and symbol of local esteem are written in the Eserefeld name. The family, having the deed to the woods collect a tax on private operations that buy, sell or work in them. They have arranged a deal with the Coliftown government to have them manage and essentially entirely run the woods and foresting, while the Eserfeld family sits back recieving a constant supply of funds.

The Gradise Family

The Gradise family has been a part of Coliftown for the longest out of any family in the town; they were one of the first families to move here and their longevity is ever apparent in their wealth and land.
Owning the largest noble estate in the town, they are second in power only to the Tsyul family and the leadership of the town.

The Hahrst Family

For a brief time, the Hahrst Family ran a small mercenary guild in town, where willing folk would be payed a dividen of a trader's funds to have mercenaries with the Hahrst seal of approval guard their goods for their journey. Taxed, of course.
As the town grew, so did the reliability of the armed folk hanging around and eventually the need for this guild fell. The Harhrst family is now no longer directly organizing escorts, but still offer their sponsorship to reputable folk, which is what draws in their money.

The Henewald

The Henewalds wanted to differentiate themselves from the one-track mind of the town's trading history, and so specialized themselves in the town's masonry. Once skilled stonecrafters who helped the Lowvires construct the stone walls that now guard the populace, the Henewalds eventually hit nobility and then instead of working on projects themselves, began organizing other masons under their sponsorship.
In a brief scandal, the Master Ludovic Henewald divorced his wife and outcast his iligitimate son; Nolan.

History

Originally a single inn was the mainstay of traveler's respite on the way to Therfold or Andrala, but over time it grew rapidly. It is now on the border of being considered a city, awaiting only slightly higher resident population and approval from an imperial sovereign.

Architecture

The settlement's inner core was assembled by private workers when the town was run by the local inn-owner, but as it spread further and wider, the velian construction standards caught up, and the outskirts are firmly Velian-styled. The walls, when the imperials rolled through, were touched up and uipgraded slightly just to give Andrala an extra bit of proteciton.

Geography

Coliftown lies between two rivers, but does not rest on one. Thus, it's water supply comes from groundwater picked up through wells dotted around town.
Surrounding the town is the rolling floodplain of the Meseline River of which Coliftown is raised slightly out of by the hill upon which the town rests.
An evergreen forest, named the Forewoods always seems to be in bloom just outside the town; this is because it is a managed woodland designed to give the town a stable income of lumber for internal use.
To the northeast are the low mountain foothills that frame this area of Elfries. Among them stands an old fort; castle Layhauer. Coated in vines and overgrowth, it hasn't seen use since before the imperial invation.

Natural Resources

Aside from the stable lumber supply from the governmentally managed Forewoods just outside of the town, most of Coliftown's resource income comes through trading.

Type

Large town

Population

~5,000

Location under

Findisburray

Included Locations

• Blue Carrier; Inn and Tavern
• Greenshill Keep

Owner/Ruler

Lording Baron Luther Innsbridge

Owning Organization

High Council of Andrala

Character Reference

• Lording Baron Luther Innsbridge
Lord of the Town
Lives in the Greenshill Keep.
• General Loris Tyul
Leads and commands the Woodwalker's Guard
• Father Layden
Head priest of Coliftown.
Bishop of Findisburray.
• Lari Nobel
Owner of the Blue Carrier; Inn and Tavern
Minor Noble.
• Captain Carell Niece
Captain of the town guard and sherrif of Coliftown
• Dalorel
Smith Working in the Stables
Lives in his workshop on the edge of town.
• Naelis
Carpenter Working in the Stables
Lives in her workshop next to Dalorel's Smithy.

Organizational Reference

• Woodwalker's Guard
Castle Guard protecting the Lord and manning the town's walls.
Based out of Greenshill Keep.
Headed by General Loris Tyul.
Armed with Ranseurs and Longbows.
• Town Guard
Headed by Sheriff Carell Niece.
Armed with Shortspears and Light Crossbows.
• Aburgis Family
Headed by Mistress Lorena Aburgis.
Newer noble family in Coliftown that came into power through riches.
• Eserfeld Family
Headed by Master Sebastian Eserfeld.
Noble family that background-manages the Forewoods.
• Gradise Family
Headed by Mistress Lidia Gradise.
Oldest and most powerful noble family in Coliftown.
• Hahrst Family
Headed by Mistress Bianca Hahrst.
Nobles responsible for managing mercenary sponsorship.
• Henewald Family
Headed by Master Ludovic Henewald.
Group of masons turned noble, now sponsoring other mason's groups.