Saltmarsh

Saltmarsh is a medium-sized port town, situated neatly on Royal's Bay's southwestern coast. Though large enough to accpt large ships in it's port, Saltmarsh is often bypassed in favour of the larger ports in nearby Vinheim and Daytower. This has turned the fortune of Saltmarsh from prosperous port city, to shady fishing village. However, the recent discovery of a nearby silver mine seems likely to change the town's fortunes. Though the mine has been quickly claimed by the White Rock Mining Company, a notion that the inhabitants of Saltmarsh seem upset with.

Geography

Saltmarsh is found on the southwestern coast of Royal's Bay, and is Astora's southernmost settlement. The area around Saltmarsh is rocky coastline, as evidenced by the cliffs of stone rising out of the water around the port. Numerous coves and caves can be found on the coastline to the southeast of Saltmarsh, making the area ideal for smugglers and pirates. Inland, the town is surrounded by rolling hills, the bottommost areas turning almost into bog-like basins at the lowest points. These small swamps give Saltmarsh a permanent covering of mist and fog on extremely boggy days. In fact, the cold air from Royal's Bay combining with the warm southern winds from Meridian give Saltmarsh a unique bog-like climate, often punctuated by extremely violent thunderstorms.

Government

As part of Astora, Saltmarsh is subjected to the rule from The Council of Nine. All Astoran laws and policies are active in Saltmarsh, with the Council appointing a Townmaster to look after the day to day and minor issues that crop up within the small city. The current Townmaster is Ellander Firecrest, an old veteran of the Astoran military.
Though it's not required by Astoran law, Ellandar himself has put together a small council within Saltmarsh, bringing together some of the more influential citizens of the town to help him run the day to day.

Districts

As a coastal city, Saltmarsh contains a very large port area, with docks lining almost the entirety of the town. The port district contains many warehouses for storing goods, though many of these have stood empty for years due to Saltmarsh’s economic downturn. Instead they tend to now house the homeless, criminals, or less than legal goods. Saltmarsh's many docks are now used for fishing, the town's now primary business. This area is very rough part of town, with it's inhabitants mainly being disgruntled sailors.
Apart from the port, Saltmarsh contained little else of note. There was a small marketplace, usually filled with goods from the sea. Though occasionally Saltmarsh would welcome traders from Meridian, of which often carried interesting and exotic goods. The residential area of the town contained few inns and temples, the most noteworthy of which was a Temple to Sandrum.

Defenses

As a settlement within Astora, Saltmarsh was assigned a small garrison of military forces. The Townmaster commanded a small force of around fifty men in total, with most being no more than common infantry. While it isn't much in terms of force, the garrison has been more than enough to repel the very rare pirate or bandit raid. In recent months the numbers of Astoran military has grown significantly, no doubt a response to the growing silver mine in the nearby hills.

History

Early Astora

Saltmarsh was founded early into Astora's own existence. It's placement along the southern coast provided the young country a foothold into the area, as well as quick transportation by sea for settlers and goods. In these early years Saltmarsh's numbers boomed, and it turned into one of the most profitable towns in the area. However, this good fortune would not last forever, as in time, Saltmarsh would begin to fade.

Overlooked

With Meridian growing in size to the south, and Vinheim becoming the largest city in Naneth, Saltmarsh was beginning to see it's importance in Astora's trade routes fade. With Astora and Meridian now firm allies, the nearby Meridanian city of Daytower grew significantly. Saltmarsh saw most of the trade that would usually pass through it's ports now carry on straight to Daytower. This was the end of the economic surge Saltmarsh had long enjoyed, and over the years the city would shrink to a shadow of it's former glory. Natives and the long-standing families of Saltmarsh have never forgotten this moment in history, and to this day, tend to harbours ill feelings towards Astora's government. They feel Vinheim and it's officials had placed greater importance on a foreign city, instead of watching out for it's own citizens.
By AoR 600, Saltmarsh had found itself to be mainly a large fishing town. Occasionally the town was used as a resting point for large vessels, but this was rare. Because of Astora's perceived ignorance of this area, the waters around Saltmarsh have become somewhat dangerous with raiders and pirates.

Crime

In recent years Saltmarsh has become a hotspot for smuggling and piracy. With the Astoran government focusing more on the inland silver mines and less on the waters around Saltmarsh, these criminals have almost free reign in the waters amongst the misty shoreline. The caves and coves around Saltmarsh are fantastic hideouts for these criminals, though the notion that they haven’t also infiltrated the city itself is foolish. It is an open secret that Saltmarsh itself is home to some of these illegal activities. The city watch under Townmaster Ellander Firecrest does the best they can to combat these issues, but without further support, it seems a lost effort.

Organizations

White Rock Mining Company: Recently the hills around Saltmarsh were discovered to yield silver. Almost instantly, the White Rock Mining Company arrived in Saltmarsh with the intention to take over management of the silver mine, with plans to ship all goods straight to Vinheim. The Astoran government approved this move and has been providing protection for the company workers within the mines. This move drew the ire of the already angry Saltmarsh natives and has led to a thinly veiled distain for dwarves in the town, of which most of the Company's workers happen to be. Manistread Copperlocks leads this detachment of miners from Vinheim. She is a middle-aged mountain dwarf and is extremely grumpy at the best of times.

Basic Information

Aliases: Saltport, The Mire
Type: Town
Region: Southeast Astora
Population: 1,100 (AoR 607)

Society

Races: Humans (45%), Dwarves (30%), Elves (15%), Other (10%)
Primary Religions: Torm, Sandrum, Armok
Notable Inhabitants: Ellander Firecrest, Manistread Copperlocks

Commerce

Exports: Seafood, Silver

Politics

Ruling Type: Appointed Townmaster
Ruler: Ellander Firecrest (Current)
Overruling Government: The Council of Nine