Pendlebridge
Pendlebridge is a pioneer town at the heart of The Masterless Valley. It features hearty townsfolk, local traditions and festivals, ancient ruins, a silver mine, and a unique blend of peoples you're unlikely to find in too many other places.
Their biggest regular challenge is that The Masterless Valley is not just untamed wilderness, its wilderness that has actively fought being tamed by kings long past. Nature around the town grows to sizes not found on the northern half of the continent, and scholars visiting from prestigeous universities have even claimed that the area likely has a thin veil between it and The Land of Shadows , which may do some to explain local traditions.
Demographics
By Race
395 Humans, 97 Dwarves, 40 Half-Elves, 11 Elves, 413 Goblins, 91 OtherBy Occupation
410 Farmers/Farm Hands, 42 Miners, 16 Guard, 6 Masons, 39 Entertainment/Lodging, 42 Adventurers, 9 Priests, 12 Carpenters, 8 Charcoaliers, 3 Smiths, 1 Muse, 6 Tanners, 40 Laborers, 1 Wheelwright, 17 Other Merchants, 100 Children
Local Religion
Pendlebridge has two primary religeous foci with some choosing to devote themselves to both faiths. The first faith is likely to be more familiar to travelers as Pendletons pray to Makuul for protection as they go about their day to day lives. They live by star-charts for just about everything they do. The second religion seems to be almost entirely a local tradition, praying to a local diety named Izaleth for the protection of their crops, success on their hunts, and for forgiveness for living in her forest. This religion is much more primal in its rituals than that of Makuul, and the act of worshiping Izaleth often includes animal sacrifice for the harvests, and rituals conducted in Shadow Tongue .Government
Mayor
Pendlebridge opperates on a voluntary mayoral basis, and has since its inception. The current mayor is Merill Miller , the daughter of a miller who also fulfills the duty of acting Head Priest. She has been the Mayor for the last six years and no one else has volunteered to take her place.Legal System
Pendlebridge operates almost entirely at the direction of the mayor, but historically mayors have been directly resolved in conflict resolution, providing final verdict if a mutually agreeable terms cannot be reached. Mayoral verdicts are rarely challenged because going to a higher authority requires weeks of dangerous travel. In the event of serious crimes reparations are usually arranged and in the event that appropriate reparations cannot be made the surviving victims or kin may choose from the options of "Forgiveness", "Revenge", or "Withdrawl". Forgiveness usually indicates that the victim believes their victimizer to either harbor no ill intent or to be rehabilitatable. Revenge indicates that the victim cannot forgive the victimizer, and the victimizer is subjected to a punishment of the victims choice at the Mayor's approval. Choosing revenge is typically an unpopular option because doing so also comes with a punishment for the victim as well. Punishment for the victim usually means the loss of a body part in accordance with how severe the victim's assigned punishment is to the victimizer, in the case of less severe punishments instead the victim may be branded on their thigh or buttock instead. The victim undergoes this punishment as a reminder that revenge often starts a cycle of never ending pain, and that only forgiveness allows everyone the opportunity to heal. The third option, withdrawl, means that the victim isn't comfortable making that decision themselves, in which case the situation is handed off to the Mayor to deal with in finality. Withdrawl also means that the victim surrenders the right to contest any ruling the Mayor may make. This also means that the victimizer may be harshly punished, even put to death, without the victim being punished as well.
If the original victim, their kin, or associates take any further action against the victimizer without further povocation after the verdict has been given, those involved will be punished severely, and the victim will be assumed to be involved regardless of if they were present during the event. This is also to prevent further conflict.
Punishments for severe crimes vary greatly, and range from being branded on their hands or face, to being tied to a tree and slathered in pig's blood near a known bear or wolf cave for three days.
Taxes and Documentation
The church is typically responsible for the large majority of the legal paperwork in Pendlebridge, as they also act as a hall of records, and everyone who works there can read and write. For similar reasons the church collects taxes and keeps tax records, with taxation amounts being signed by the tax payer upon payment. Those who cannot read instead spread ink on their thumb and make a thumb print signature instead.
Defences
Walls
The walls of pendlebridge a thin but sturdy built. They extend around completely around the town save for the outlying farm lands. The walls are made using mixed construction methods. The bases are made out of locally sourced stone that has been mortared together. Extending from the stone bases are tall veritically oriented logs with sharpened tips. These are made from locally sourced old growth trees and are quite thick. On the inside of the walls is scaffolding along the backs of the walls to allow defense from the tops of the walls. There are three gate-houses, only two of which are on bridges. During The Battle of Pendlebridge trenches were dug around the walls to make siege towers more difficult to deploy.
The Siege Golem
During The Battle of Pendlebridge the town's militia enlisted the aid of Lithquain Jadar to awaken an ancient anti-siege weapon sealed in the ruins beneath the town. After the battle the siege weapon was unable to transform back, and the ground it had burst through had been opened into a giant crater. The Siege Golem still stands motionless at the edge of the town's northern wall where it expended its energy to stop the onslaught of the invading goblin army.Infrastructure
Notable Structures
The Church
The town church is little more than a small chappel with half of its rooms dedicated either to providing medical care, or keeping the town's records. The church houses the town's two primary religions but makes private spaces available for the worship of other patrons. The church's front worship room features gaint stained-glass windows dedicated to its primary religions that sit just behind the preacher's lectern, as well as a ceiling that is magically animated to display the night sky as it exists overhead even in the brightest daylight.
The Mechanical Sawmill
In the months before The Battle of Pendlebridge one of the town's heroes Veil Omblyn worked tirelessly with his party to apply what they knew of golems to drastically increase the operational capacity of the town's sawmill. It now stands as a mechanical marvel of engineering with the unfortunate feature of being all but unrepairable if anything breaks.
The Goblin Crater
In the months after The Battle of Pendlebridge, Pendlebridge's newest inhabitants (goblin defectors) struggled to find permanent housing. The sudden expansion of the town's population meant that the goblins would need to live in tents for months on end. With winter fast aproaching their leader Gabbriel Tukk negotiated with the town's militia and leadership to allow the goblins to turn the crater created by the Siege Golem's sudden excavation into a home of sorts. Now the goblins maintain the walkways and stairs decending to the bottom of the pit, while making their homes in the crater's rock walls. Some floors have even been turned into commercial space where the goblins can ply their wares. Thanks to the efforts of the townsfolk and Draza Starfel the goblins have integrated into the town nicely and are in the process of making the transition to productive citizens.
The Ruins of The Great Wyrm Palace
Underneath Pendlebridge there are the ruins of the Great Wyrm Palace ; the throne of the ancient Empire of the Great Wyrm before its demise. The ruins were found largely frozen in time on the inside. Now that the crater has been made at the entrance to one of the Palace's upper floors the town has proper access to the Palace, however most other areas of the palace have cave-ins which block off further access at this time. The town is hesitant to continue excavation due to what it may unleash. For now the current floor is being closely guarded as plans are drafted for its use.
The Twin Mills
Pendlebridge has two mills which are owned by a competing brother and sister who have split the business of their father after his death. These two mills are at constant odds with each-other and the source of much of the town's regular gossip.
The Amber Lamp
The Amber Lamp is the town's only inn after Veil Omblyn paid its employees to skip town, and then proceeded to burn the building to the ground out of spite for the other Inn's business practices. The Amber Lamp features the town's signature export Wild Grain Mead as its main offering. It regularly hires local musicians to play for its patrons and is well loved by locals.
Founding Date
3721 ADE
Type
Town
Population
752
Inhabitant Demonym
Pendletons
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Additional Rulers/Owners
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Comments