Scudisola (skoo-dee-soh-lah)

The small island of Scudisola is home to a fortress that protects the nation of Tralizza from maritime threats. The island is situated at the mouth of the Gulf of Tralizza where it meets the Northern Ocean. The island itself is situated somewhat in the middle of the gulf's mouth, creating two channels for ships to pass to the south. The fort is able to watch over both of these channels and hold up any pirate or military ships that try to sail toward the heart of the nation.
Before the construction of the fort, the island was the home of a young adult dragon who had ruled there for a couple centuries. As the dragon got older it started raiding more ships and even ventured inland to attack caravans and steal from the outskirts of the cities. Thus, the establishment of the fortress solved multiple problems for Tralizza and its capital of Alloro. Once the dragon and its kobold followers were destroyed, the nation flourished from its share of the dragon's hoard - other nations and mercenary groups that had helped also got their own shares. And as they constructed the fortress, they were able to deter any hostile navies from attacking, which had been an issue periodically. Pirates were especially dangerous, as they would hang out in caves on the coasts and come out to attack passing merchant ships. A few of these pirate groups were known to be hired by the dragon, which made them even more hated among the other sailors.
Despite the fact that Tralizza is not at war currently and has not faced a serious naval threat for several decades, the fort is still fully manned and maintained. The 1,800 soldiers stationed there are on tours of duty for several years at a time, rotating back to the mainland after each one. The fortress town is also inhabited by several hundred permanent families who run various businesses and farms that support and assist the soldiers there. These permanent families help provide some sense of stability in the town that otherwise might feel cold and transient for many of its residents.

Demographics

The majority of people in Scudisola are humans, though dwarves, halflings, and elves are also fairly prevalent. Other races can be found sporadically in town at various times, depending on who is in the rotating cohort of soldiers stationed here at any given time. Because the vast majority of the population is military, the income levels are somewhat low, and money tends to just change hands over and over between soldiers with various gambling games and other activities they use to pass the time. The permanent families tend to be somewhat lower middle class, mostly farmers who grow produce and raise livestock that go to feed the soldiers. There are maybe half a dozen families that own businesses such as taverns, brothels, theaters, florists shops, etc. and some of these owners would be considered upper middle class, though none rise to the same level as a noble or aristocrat in most cities.

Government

The citadel is fully under the command of the military Marshal that runs garrison here, including the permanent families that are not military. In the recent past, there has been a handshake agreement between the various Marshals and the permanent families that the latter mostly police themselves and only interact with the military leadership for taxes or when a crime has been committed (either by the permanent families or by a soldier against them). Most soldiers understand that the permanent families are there to support them and make their lives enjoyable, so only the really dumb ones try to mess with the permanents. Most who do find themselves very disliked by the rest of the regiment before any formal punishment is meted out, and the social correction is usually very swift.

Defences

In a manner of speaking, the entire island of Scudisola is one massive defensive structure. Its intended purpose in its construction was to provide an amount of security and defense for the inland territories. Specifically, there are several ballistae pointed out to sea that can target ships up to a mile off shore. The docks also have several shorter range arcane cannons to target ships that get closer. The main concentration of buildings on the island constitute a fortified town, with a main keep, a strong surrounding wall, and several fortified towers around the perimeter to keep watch out over the sea straits.

Industry & Trade

There is very little industry or trade to speak of in Scudisola. All of its agriculture goes to supply the citadel and population with food, and it imports most other goods that it needs. The metal for weapons and armor is imported on ships that pass occasionally - sometimes with the reinforcement soldiers that are being stationed at the island. On very rare occasions, merchant ships stop at the docks here to rest and end up trading some of their goods with the local populace or soldiers.

Infrastructure

For the most part, Scudisola is very developed. As it was constructed somewhat recently in the past, it was always designed with the best technology and innovations. Inside the fortress itself, every road and passage is paved, and the outlying farms and grazing lands are connected by a series of roads - sometimes paved but mostly gravel or dirt. Part of the fortress infrastructure is a magical desalination plant located within the mountain upon which the fortress is built. This plant provides clean drinking water for the entire island and also irrigation for the farms and croplands. The fortress also has a very sophisticated sewer system that all leads to one single shaft several hundred feet deep that empties into the ocean. It does not have as many smaller chambers or collecting pools as sewer systems in larger cities, but it is suited to the terrain and population of the island.
There is a fairly large dock system in Scudisola, though it rarely sees use. Other than a small fleet of fishing ships, there is not much regular maritime traffic to or from the island. Occasionally, ships will bring new soldiers to the garrison and leave with those whose tours are up. Some merchant ships dock here if they need emergency repairs - there is a small shipyard that can accommodate the most basic jobs - or just want to put into port for a night. Most just pass the island by and continue on their way. In the rare situations where the fortress needs to stop and inspect a ship suspected or piracy or hostile military action, they can cordon off part of the docks to host that ship, but this is a fairly rare circumstance.

Districts

There are not many formal districts in Scudisola, only certain sections of the fortress. The barracks are in various sides of the fortress, the armory in a certain spot, the training and drilling grounds are in a different section, and a general stock and warehouse section in a separate part. The outskirts are also very informally arranged, generally separated into farmlands and grazing lands. The docks are also their own section of the island, connected somewhat to the fortress.

Guilds and Factions

As the vast majority of Scudisola is in the military and the entire island is under military control, there are no formal guilds here. On occasion, various mercenary groups will station people here or have them stopover for a short time, but there are no known factions with a permanent presence here - unless one counts the Tralizzan military itself. The permanent citizens have organized themselves in very informal guilds based on their job functions or family occupation, though they mainly focus on getting apprenticeships for their children and have very little interaction with the island's military leadership.

History

Other than the occasional naval incursions that the fortress of Scudisola has stopped through the years, its most interesting historical period is actually before its founding, when it was ruled over by a massive black dragon and its army of kobold servants. Most scholars believe the dragon was relatively young when it settled on the island, and it began raiding passing ships looking for treasure. Over the years, as the dragon got bigger and more powerful it started to venture to the inland areas to harass merchants on the road. Very rarely did it attack any towns or settlements - it seemed to understand those areas were more dangerous for it. And also the dragon started hiring pirates to help it raid ships, making the entrance to the Gulf of Tralizza an incredibly hostile place for any maritime vessels. Trade to Tralizza ground to an almost complete halt, and the kingdom started to feel the strain of not being able to import goods via ship.
Eventually, the businesses of Alloro started to fail, and even the aristocrats felt the burden of the economic collapse. Something had to be done to keep the city in its affluence, and the Doge at the time decided that they had one shot to take out the dragon, and in doing so set up a fortified outpost to protect the gulf from hostile navies. In addition to the kingdom's own soldiers, a call was put out to all neighboring cities for any mercenaries that wanted a chance to make it big. All were promised a cut of the dragon's treasure hoard, and many hundreds of mercenaries joined up. A fleet of ships were constructed to transport the armies to the island, and scouts kept an eye on the movements of the dragon. Several warships were dispatched to take care of or distract the pirates, hopefully preventing them from attacking the transport fleet.
The ships waited at sea just out of the island's reach, waiting on word from the scouts that the dragon had headed inland, knowing that it would be at least a day or two on its journey. The ships set full mast and continued toward the island, preparing to take out as many kobolds as possible before their master returned. As expected, the kobolds spotted the fleet approaching the island and had scant time to prepare a hasty coastal defense. The soldiers made a harrowing beach landing, fighting through the kobold defenses and making their way toward the interior of the island. The mages and priests that accompanied the infantry were key to taking out traps and kobolds from afar, as well as helping keep soldiers in the fight. Knowing the dragon would return relatively soon, the soldiers moderated their invasion speed and set up their own defensive points to be ready for the dragon.
As dusk approached on the following day, the dragon was spotted on the horizon steaming back toward its home. The soldiers prepared for a pitched battle in the approaching dark of night, knowing they would still have to fight through the kobolds and their traps to reach the dragon's lair. As the dragon flew over the island, it breathed rivers of acid over the defenses that had been set up before retreating into the island's cave structure to mount its defense. The Tralizzan forces fought through the night and into the next morning, clearing wave after wave of kobold traps. The spellcasters were exhausted and barely able to maintain their support, and well over half of the attacking forces had been decimated by two days of fighting.
As midday approached, a group of about 50 soldiers made it to the dragon's inner fortress. As they fought the beast, many perished in the acid pools and remaining kobold traps. Reinforcements kept coming, and many battle historians estimate at least 300 troops fought in the dragon's lair that day. After hours of fighting, a spellcaster on his last spell was able to Earthbind the dragon, and the few dozen soldiers remaining at that time piled on it and slashed it until its body lay motionless. After the battle, many of the soldiers succumbed to injuries from the dragon's remaining acid and the acid pools that still dotted the island. Over the next several days, the forces were able to rest and systematically eliminate the remaining kobolds. A tally was taken at the end of hostilities, and of the roughly 700 soldiers and mercenaries sent to the island only 142 survived.
Over the next several months, mages and engineers worked to make the island more habitable, and fleets of ships that had not sailed the Gulf in years came to help transport the dragon's riches back to Alloro. All surviving soldiers, as well as the families of the fallen, were given adequate compensation from the dragon's hoard, and the kingdom still had a small fortune to itself. As the island was made more habitable and the myriad acid pools drained, construction began on a fortress that would cover a large part of the island and allow Tralizza to have advanced warning of any hostile ships that might try to approach the capital or any of the other cities.
Once construction was completed, the number of soldiers stationed at the island was brought up to its standing number of 1,800. The Tralizzan government offered parcels of land to anyone who wanted to relocate to the island and operate farms or grazing land. Several dozen families took them up on this offer, with others claiming land on Scudisola over the next several centuries. The descendants of most of the original settler families are still around, though many others went back to the mainland at some point.
With very few wars in recent decades, the island hasn't seen much action apart from the occasional pirate ship. The kingdom's navy runs regular drills for the island to stay prepared, but those operations are mostly academic and not treated too seriously by either side involved. Most soldiers consider being stationed here an annoying but mostly uncontroversial posting for the few years they are here.

Architecture

The vast majority of buildings in Scudisola are purely functional military structures. They would most likely be described as Norman castles. The farmhouses and other external buildings tend to be in the early Anglo-Saxon style, with tall thatch roofs and loft storage areas. The few taverns or other non-military buildings in the town proper tend to be timber frame styles, reminiscent of Tudor styles or even German timber buildings. Most have inns attached to the taverns, which requires them to be at least three stories tall usually.

Founding Date

1072

Type

Citadel

Population

2379

Inhabitant Demonym

Scudisolans