Bargsen

Bargsen lies on the shores of the Maer Kellis. It is a small, sleepy town originally founded by Dwarven prospector using it as a staging area towards the Jarl's Teeth mountains. The small harbor, pride of the town for its always massive fish catches, is frozen over, which is hampering the town's activity quite a bit. On clear days the towns of Bargsen, Ostfell and Morcant are visible in the distance, across the icy expanses. The benefit that the most optimistic townsfolk find in all of this is the fact that they don't have to deal with the floods which affected the town every spring and summer, but all agree that the long cold nights overlap and crush this feeble comfort.
The town, mostly inhabited by dwarves, has inherited from them its sturdiness, and in particular in the light of recent attacks from wild beasts pushed down from the mountains by the lack of food.

The residents have recently had to send out search parties every other evening for their Speaker, Gorm Halebeard, an old and nowadays addled Dwarf - ancient even by his race's standards. They would always find him wandering the plains in the north covered in heavy furs, with no recollection of why or when he left his comfortable house. The knowledge that they will have to soon pick a new Speaker has rekindled some old grudges - and disputes between Dwarf families can run long and bitter.

The Goddess is very present in town - the humans all worship her as their protector, and the Dwarves, though clinging to their old traditions, acknowledge her strength and respect her. Tributes are offered in small quantities, due to the town's own meagre haul, but with clockwork (Dwarven) regularity. The only clergy to speak of is represented by two Missionaries of the Eye who take residence in a house near to the Speaker's hall and hold regular celebrations, without much pomp or ceremony as befits the village itself.

Rivalries

The townsfolk have a healthy competitive spirit in regards to the other Lake Towns - Bargsen, Morcant, Ostfell. This contest has mostly been for fishing rights and the prestige of which village would haul the best cargo inland, and is mostly amicable - though the dwarves have a measure of real contempt and dislike for the "pampered" Grimsfjall residents.

Demographics

200 Dwarves make the vast majority of the town's inhabitants, with the remainder only composed of humans. The latter are in charge of the fisheries, while the former took care of the mining shafts in the South, mostly.
Some simmering tensions appear between both races, as the Humans are out of work due to the permanent coat of ice over the Maer, and the veins the Dwarves have exploited for the past century are quickly running dry - both groups are mostly stuck in the village, brooding.

Defences

Virtually all townsfolk are able to use a weapon and there is no standing militia. In times of need someone would sound a hunting horn atop the tower flanking the Speaker's House, to which everyone would respond with axe and spear.

Infrastructure

The town doesn't have much in its name, being for years a simple staging area for mining caravans. It is a collection of sturdy flat-topped houses on a plain a few paces away from the shores of the Maer Kellis, with a small but well-built harbor, partly machine-operated thanks to the creativity of the Dwarven engineers who spent time in town through the decades.
Harbor and village are connected by a usually well-maintained smooth stone road, now needing serious repairs after two years of being frozen and unused.

Natural Resources

The town is a frontier hamlet and never had a major role in the Enclave's scene. Its worth so far has been mostly linked to the silver veins the first prospectors found in the hills to the East, highly prized in Skorvik. Together with the other towns in the Maer Kellis, it was one of the main contributors to the fishing industry in the Enclave.

Founding Date

2 C.R.

Population

Population : between 250 and 260.

Inhabitant Demonym

Bargsen-folk