Vlekstaad
History:
In 432 CY the Hold of Stonefist was founded. Vlek Col Vlekzed, later known as Stonefist was an exile from the Rovers of the Barrens for banditry and lying, leaving the lands of the Rovers he and his followers raided into the Bandit Kingdoms and Tenh before settling in the lands of the Coltens Feodality. With his followers ranks swollen by recruited bandits and slaves taken while raiding Vlek founded a settlement on the shores of Whitefang Bay where the fishing resources would provided plentiful food even though the bay froze during the cold winter months. With careful stockpiling through raiding and smoking of fish the town was able to survive the long winter months. When the Coltens came to investigate the new town forming on their lands Vlek lured them into false diplomatic talks and slaughtering the negotiators.[1][2]
Over the years the town grows in significance as the Stonefists absorb the population of the Coltens and well as any others willing to join their raiding lifestyle. Vlekstaad was always a very racially mixed society, race mattering less than which of the descendants of Vlek a person was sworn to support.
By 582 CY Vlekstaad had peaked in size to 2100 adults, which is large city given the harsh climate in which it was found. Of course many additional Stonefisters lived in farmsteads and smaller fishing villages nearby, making the town the true power in the Hold of Stonefist, and the site of the ruler, The Master of the Hold, Sevvord Redbeard's defensive hold. During the Greyhawk wars the ablebodies male population of the town dropped significantly as Sevvord Redbeard, under the influence of Iuz lead the Stonefist host to conquer Tenh, and to remain and attempt to control the land. Plunder came easy to the folk of Stonefist, but staying in the civilised lands and trying to pacify them was not to the warriors liking. In 587 CY Vlekstaad was still largely depopulated of warriors when the Rovers of the Barrens came to raid the town and surrounding area for horses to help in their resistance to Iuz. When the Rovers lost their leader as a casualty the horse raid turned into an orgy of destruction.
In 588 CY when Iuz's mental control of Sevvord Redbeard came to an end Sevvord lead the Stonefisters back out of Tenh to their homeland. Seeing the almost total destruction destruction of Vlekstaad, Sevvord ordered the town rebuilt, mostly as a glorified military camp, with few businesses, mostly to cater for the needs of the soldiers and the workers building longships. The few stone building of the town that remained usable were repaired as much as possible and put back in service. The burned remains of the other building have been left standing, a reminder that the people of Stonefist don't think the same way as southerners, and see no need to clean up what is no longer useful to them. The people of Stonefist are a cruel bloodthirsty bunch with little sense of honour or decency. They are arrogant, contemptuous bullies, always seeking new victims to rob, enslave and pillage.
Geography and climate
People
The people of Stonefist are a cruel bloodthirsty bunch with little sense of honour or decency. They are arrogant, contemptuous bullies, always seeking new victims to rob, enslave and pillage. They are a polyglot population, though primarily of Suel and Flan origin, they also include ne'er-do-wells from Ratik and the Bandit Kingdoms, and given that slave women and children are taken wherever the Stonefisters raid the population is now very mixed. The current leader of the Hold of Stonefist is Rhelt Sevvord Redbeard I. Sevvord bears a deep grudge against Iuz for the mental control Iuz held over him during the Greyhawk Wars. He now actively seeks out and destroys Iuz's agents in his lands.
Population
At its highest in CY582 the population of Vlekstaad was 2100 adults. After the destruction of the town by the Rovers of the Barrens in CY587 the population is now 700 adults. Most of these soldiers and shipbuilders. There are few free-women and few children over the age of 6, those born of slave women since the resettlement.
Languages
Government
There is little true government in Vlekstaad. There is no organized taxation. The Rhelt's income is generated by raiding, the Rhelt of course receiving the largest share, even when he does not himself participate in the raids.
There is no town guard to enforce law. Law is instead exerted by the notice of the Rhelt or his Ataman. If something is significant for them to notice, then their will is law. Crime is a way of life in the Hold of Stonefist, but still disputes are sometimes brought to the Rhelt or Ataman for a decision, though they are as likely to decide in favor of their followers as they are likely to be influenced by any sense of fairness. There is no prison other than a few small holding cells for those held for ransom in the Hold. Punishment in Vlekstaad is most likely to be some form of slavery, dismemberment, or execution.
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