Barusi
Barusi is the most opulent of the three towns in Northern Ibini. It is home to the biggest and most comfortable inn of the region, The Crafty Fox, which is a nod to the rich Guildsmen who often stay there. Curiously there is no church in this town. This is because the late Baron Abund was greatly opposed to the clergy of the Light. He was a devout man but did not agree with the practices of the holy men in Ibini. However his wife, the new Baron, understands that the people need hope in these darks times and so she has begun construction of a new Church here. As the town is walled and short of space, Baron Isla has given the church permission to build the church on a part of her land. She is also shrewd enough to know that having a powerful organisation like the Church of the Light being in her debt is a good idea.
As well as the Fox, there are two other inns in Barusi. The Drunken Mermaid and the Purple Parrot. Both have recently been renovated such that all three inns are now pleasant and comfortable establishments, offering cosy rooms. Rumour in the town is that Baron Isla subsidised the owners to carry out these upgrades, in a bid to make her town very attractive to live in. Perhaps she is trying to attract investment into the town from the Guild.
There are a myriad of typical shops and businesses inside the walls and more still are cropping up outside as the town grows too big to contain its populace. The best Smith in the region is based here, a man who claims to have been trained in far off Honshu, though he is clearly a local and not a foreigner. The usual bakers, food merchants and general stores are here. As are a series of warehouses where goods are stored for the Guildsmen. Each of the Guildsmen in the town is allowed to use these buildings and unusually a small detachment of a half dozen Guild mercenaries guard the warehouses. These men are well trained and well equipped. Rumour has it Baron Isla has asked them to help train her Enforcers. A large market square completes the business quarter, with the gallows here a constant reminder of Baron Isla’s pledge to protect her people.
A proper road leads south out of the town down to the wealthy farmlands and the village of Aeer. A less travelled track leads out to the north west and the villages of Carmelo and Epiedes. Travel in this region is perhaps the safest of anywhere in the north, with the roads regularly patrolled by Overseer Emilia and her Enforcers. The Overseer has taken the unusual approach of planting a large blue banner every mile down the road system, making a constant reminder to travellers that they are in Baron Isla’s territory and under her protection. Any bandits caught in this area are brought back to Barusi and hanged in the market square as a constant reminder that she will tolerate no attacks on travellers near the town.
The River Odd flows down into the Inner Sea next to the town, but outside its walls. The Odd Bridge spans the river here and links Barusi with the south east of Baron Isla’s lands. Wagons of food stuffs and produce commonly rumble over the bridge in both directions; bringing food into the town, or distributing goods from the further reaches of the continent to the outlying farmsteads and the village of Aeer.
Because Barusi is not a port it relies on the port villages of Aeer and Carmelo to connect it to Manabas and beyond. Baron Isla sees that as a major block to the development of the town, and so is in the planning stages of building a large dock just downriver from the Odd Bridge, where Guild ships could moor up. Experts think she would have to expand the river a bit too, for the bigger carracks to be able to navigate it.
Observers wonder where Baron Isla is getting all the money to fund her recent upgrades and improvements. She has renovated two inns, is building a church and is drawing up plans to build an entire dock outside the town walls. She is either spending all her reserves or must have some source of income unknown to most people. It is clear that if she can afford to continue this process Barusi will rapidly become the premiere location of Northern Ibini.
Maps
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Barusi
Type
Town
Population
3,000
Location under
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Characters in Location