Saltmarsh is a large, respectable fishing town in the
Viscounty of Salinmoor, in the southernmost part of
Keoland, noted for adventuring although it is normally a rather sleepy town.
Overview
Saltmarsh is situated in the Viscounty of Salinmoor, in southern Keoland. It is located on the coast of the
Azure Sea, south of the
Dreadwood. It lies nestled amongst three low hills where the
Kingfisher River arrives at the sea. Within about 10 leagues (30 miles) away are woodlands; the
Drowned Forest, the
Silverstand, and the Dreadwood. To the west, just across the Kingfisher River are the
Hool Marshes and the
Dunwater River which feeds them. Two larger towns,
Burle and
Seaton, are each about twenty miles away (Burle inland to the northwest, Seaton along the coast to the east).
Saltmarsh's residents are predominantly human, with a dwarven mining contingent of about two hundred workers being the largest non-human group in town. Elves and halflings draw no special notice, since the Silverstand hosts a wood elf enclave and a few halfling villages are tucked in the hills around town. The residents react to other visitors, especially tieflings and dragonborn, with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
Saltmarsh, remote though it might be from the center of power in Keoland, is entering a new phase of its life as it reacts to the king's plans. The crown's agents want to expand the village's port and make it a prime location for trade with the world beyond. In another recent development, a band of dwarves—bearing a decree from the king himself—have arrived and begun to excavate the hills and seaside cliffs near town, looking for precious metals. If their work bears fruit as expected, the mine stands to become a major factor in the village's—and, indeed, the entire region's—prosperity.
History
Establishment
During Keoland's Imperial period (c. 286 CY - 488 CY), the kingdom's expansion was characterized by conquest to the north which brought considerable wealth to the kingdom. Its southern coastal reaches, particularly those separated from the rest of Keoland by the Dreadwood, saw very little of this growth. A disastrous attempt by King
Tavish III to conquer lands to the south in 453 CY lead to his death, and his successor
Tavish IV chose to withdraw his forces from the frontier territories.
It was in this region that Saltmarsh was established in 465 CY, in the waning years of the Imperial era. A group of four adventurers, unsupported by the Keoish military, cleared the region of a brutal tribe of lizardfolk and use their personal wealth to establish the town of Saltmarsh, on what had been a sparsely populated site consisting of a handful of buildings.
Saltmarsh grew steadily, reaching a population of around 2,000, which remained steady for several years. Its proximity to the sea established it as a significant fishing town.
Recent history
Some years ago, with the Keoish south coast poorly defended by the crown, Saltmarsh was itself attacked by slavers of the
Sea Princes, a coalition of pirate factions who control territories to the southwest bordering on the Hool Marshes.
Another victim of the slaver raids was the nearby regional capital of Seaton. The city was sacked, and nearly a thousand refugees fled to Saltmarsh. Around the same time, adventurers dealing with sahuagin in the Hool Marshes returned to Saltmarsh with a great deal of plundered wealth. The resulting increase in wealth and population began a period of rapid expansion for the town, and its proximity to the Dreadwood and Hool Marshes has made it a popular home for adventurers.
Recently, King
Temend I has shifted his focus to protecting Keoland's southern border, resulting in an influx of wealth and political interference in Saltmarsh as the King enacts plans to develop the town as a major port. This has sparked controversy among the locals, with loyalist and traditionalist political factions attempt to support and oppose the King's plans, respectively.
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