Dalewood Crossing

Dalewood Crossing is the official name given to a trio of competing villages that gravitated to the central crossroads and the market there-in. The three villages, each of which fiercely defends its independence are:

• Alfriston on the northern side of the East Road.
• Rye on the southern side of the East Road
• Cookham on the West side of the Castle Road

In addition, there is a large market square and in recent years EvEstes has established a small garrison and storehouse south of the Pinefrost road.

Villlages:

Being so jealous of their perceived sovereignty each village maintains its own government, church, and other 'essential services'. These include basics such as a chandler, butcher, baker, and pub. These are generally small shops that struggle to compete with the Square but are kept afloat by the goodwill and pride of the residents.

Trader Square:

At the crossroads of the East and Castle roads, a large market square sits surrounded by taverns, shops, craftsholds, and inns. The market square is open to traders six days a week, with Cracking for cleaning and repairs except on the third Cracking of the month when The Game is played. Stalls, booths, and carts come and go throughout the week, providing a fairly wide range of wares, and people throughout Dalewood come here to buy and sell. The richer merchants and shopkeepers handle governance inside the Square, including issues of theft.

Government:

Each village is led by a council which handles all internal affairs. A council of the richer merchants and shopkeepers regulates the Trade Square. A member of each village, along with two members of the Merchant Council, meet to resolve issues between the four entities. This gives the Trader's Guild a disproportionate amount of power, but they also bring a disproportionate amount of wealth to the town.

EvEstian Compound:

Built in 2938 following the EvEstian occupation, the compound grew from a few commandeered farmhouses to a sprawling and crowded compound. Surrounded by a high wall and secured with two gates at either end it serves as a garrison house and supply depot for the area. Almost a thousand troops are densely packed into the three-story barracks buildings. To the east is a large, cleared field that serves as a martial ground and landing field for airships.

Foot-The-Ball:

Few things both unite and divide the three villages as much as foot-the-ball. Each village supports a team of players who compete in The Game on the third Cracking of the month. The games are violent and largely unregulated except for basic rules which are enforced by canings. With three teams, the losing team from the previous week gets a bye. Because of the violent nature of how the game is played a team rarely holds on to its winning position for more than a year as players are injured from the monthly 'sport'. On average 1-2 people, usually players but not always, die each year during the game. Some of the basic rules include:

• No weapons (armor doesn't count]
• No spiked or studded armor
• No hands except the Defender
• No help from the crowd
• No leaving the marked territory
• Players will wear the color of their team
• No kicking unconscious players
• All players will bathe an hour before the game

The last rule resulted from Harvey Boggus whose various 'personal problems' were judged to give the Rye team an unfair advantage.

Founding Date

2619 (or so)

Location under

Styguard