Leetown

Located in the The Eternal Desert, Leetown is a sedentary mining-camp-turned town that lies north of the The Altar of the Evening and west of Cirros Mot, the Frozen Mountain, huddled in the shelter of an enormous petrified stump.

History

Leetown is ostensibly allied with the The Cartographer's Guild, though this is mostly just because the Guild (avid buyers of pyrite) is their primary client. Leetown has managed to establish itself a long-term foothold in The Eternal Desert, making it a rarity, as camps typically travel with the shifting of the sands to uncover new resources.
Leetown was initially established as a mining operation centered around a particularly large pyrite deposit in an enormous petrified stump (which has been given the sadly uncreative name, “The Stump”). Run by Kwa’chir’hoo’kah’tu’a and his partner Mollie Lingeld, the mines have been operating continually for nearly seven years.
Part of the reason the camp has been able to remain sedentary is its position on the leeward side of The Stump (hence the name). Though the sands of the Eternal Desert are ever-shifting, close proximity to the coast has provided stable wind patterns, and thus created a "safe zone" on one side of the enormous formation. The other primary reason the camp was able to establish was foothold was the discovery of water and ice deposits deep beneath the mines, which the inhabitants use to provide fresh water for themselves, their beasts of burden, and the few modest swathes of staple crops they’ve been able to grow in areas partially shaded from the sun.

Description

The permanent population of Leetown is relatively low, consisting of a small crew to run the operations, miners who have decided to settle into this particular job, a Guild outpost, and the individuals responsible for keeping the town running smoothly. Kwa’chir is ostensibly the mayor of Leetown, though he never refers to himself as such, and Mollie is essentially the sheriff, though she also rejects an official title.
There is relatively little turmoil or upheaval, as surviving in the harsh lands of the Eternal Desert is difficult enough, and individuals who put forth the effort to travel far enough to reach Leetown almost never do so for anything other than the promise of honest work. More or less any sort of excitement comes from underground. More than once, miners have stumbled upon passageways and chambers, or unearthed relics from bygone civilizations that vanished with the Jungle. These have so far been few and far between enough not to attract more than minor attention, but there is a chance a major discovery will change the future of the mining town forever.
Leetown is also in regular contact with a contingent of the Vrii on Cirros Mot, largely to organize transport of particularly large ice deposits when a sufficient quantity and feasible means of transport both happen to be available. Establishing a stable and lasting line of communication with the notoriously isolated vrii was difficult, but has proven to be mutually beneficial, as the vrii can offload "waste" minerals from their mining operations in trade for the ice.

Parent Location

The Eternal Desert

Character Knowledge
Characters just now arriving on Venus: I've heard there are mines out in the Eternal Desert, but I'm not sure for what.
Characters not from Venus, who spent some time there: Mining operations in the Eternal Desert are always on the move, but apparently there's one that's managed to find a stable foothold near the Altar of the Evening.
Characters from Venus: Leetown is a scrappy little settlement that's dug its heels in and clung to the side of The Stump. They mainly mine pyrite for the Cartographers, but it's a proper town now, and word is they're even growing some of their own food there.
Characters who have traveled through or live in Leetown: Life in the Eternal Desert is hard, but Leetown is full of determined people. The day-to-day can be pretty routine, but it's always exciting when someone comes up with an unusual relic or when we get some "garbage" from the vrii out on Cirros Mot--you never know what you'll find.