Bremen

Overview

Founded by dwarf prospectors, the sleepy town of Bremen sits on the west bank of Maer Dualdon, at the mouth of the Shaengarne River. Bremen’s harbor has frozen, requiring local fishers to haul their boats across the ice to put them in the lake. Visitors who lack a boat can reach Bremen only by crossing the river, which is mostly frozen over. Targos, Termalaine, and Lonelywood are all visible from the docks on clear days.
If Auril’s everlasting winter has one benefit, it’s that the hardy folk of Bremen are spared the seasonal floods that normally threaten the town in early summer. That’s not to say that the long nights, frigid air, and howling blizzards provide any comfort.
Twice in the past two months, residents of Bremen have had to mount search parties for their town speaker and oldest living resident, Marwin Blackwood, and twice they’ve found him wandering the frozen shores of the Shaengarne in heavy furs, with no memory of how he got there. Marwin, old even by human standards, isn’t long for this world. Many locals fear the same is true of the town itself, if Auril’s brutal winter does not abate.

Places of Interest

Buried Treasures

Inn
This inn caters to treasure-seekers, specifically ones who pan for treasure along the riverbank in warmer weather. During the winter, this establishment has few, if any, visitors. The middle-aged innkeeper, Cora Mulphoon (neutral good human commoner), treats her guests like royalty while trying to conceal the fact that she is barely making ends meet.

Five-Tavern Center

Five Unaffiliated Taverns
Five taverns stand in a semicircle around a central yard in the heart of Bremen. As the story goes, five brothers originally intended to build a tavern together, but each had assumed he would be the one to run the business. Since none of the brothers would work for the others, each built his own tavern, and they all compete for customers.
The five taverns are called Stones, Even Keel, the River’s Mouth, the Grumpy Moose, and the Black-Bearded Brother. The taverns are old and poorly maintained.

Friendliness ❄❄❄ Services ❄ Comfort ❄❄
Population. 450.
Leader. Nominally Speaker Marwin Blackwood speaks for the townsfolk. Age has addled his mind, and his vacant-eyed stare is often mistaken for unflappable calmness. In practice, his daughter Sorsha, Sheriff of Bremen, leads the town.
Militia. Bremen can muster up to 85 soldiers.
Heraldry. A gold circle on a white field, with a horizontal blue band extending to the left under the circle, and a flaring blue triangle opening away from the circle on the right. The gold circle represents treasure found in the wake of local floods, the blue band is the Shaengarne River, the blue triangle is Maer Dualdon, and the white field represents snow.
Rivals. Lonelywood, Targos, Termalaine.

Type

Town