Halfling Downs
Halfling Downs is a fertile stretch of rolling farmland in the southeastern corner of Carmathan. Just across the border is the Ostel town of Zarach, and immediately to the south of the Downs is the border of Impiltur.
This farmland is inhabited almost exclusively by halflings (hin), with only a few men scattered among them. Approximately 4,000 hin, with three times as many children call the Downs their home. Per capita, Halfling Downs is the most productive farming community in all of the Bloodstone Lands, and the halflings here pride themselves on their hard work.
The Downs is run by the council of Elders, who select a mayor from their own to interact with the lords of the big folk. Since the Downs straddles both Carmathan and Ostel, Mayor Greenshade is forced to interact with both Duke Helmont the 15th and Baroness Sylvia Praka, though both province leaders send bureaucrats to meet with the Mayor. Baroness Praka privately detests the hin, which she tries to hide, but has been overheard calling them "rabbits".
Halfling Downs is a fertile stretch of rolling farmland in the southeastern corner of Carmathan. Just across the border is the Ostel town of Zarach, and immediately to the south of the Downs is the border of Impiltur.
This farmland is inhabited almost exclusively by halflings (hin), with only a few men scattered among them. Approximately 4,000 hin, with three times as many children call the Downs their home. Per capita, Halfling Downs is the most productive farming community in all of the Bloodstone Lands, and the halflings here pride themselves on their hard work.
The Downs is run by the council of Elders, who select a mayor from their own to interact with the lords of the big folk. Since the Downs straddles both Carmathan and Ostel, Mayor Greenshade is forced to interact with both Duke Helmont the 15th and Baroness Sylvia Praka, though both province leaders send bureaucrats to meet with the Mayor. Baroness Praka privately detests the hin, which she tries to hide, but has been overheard calling them "rabbits".
Halfling Downs is a relatively closed community. Until very recently, visitors were tolerated but not welcomed. The halflings became more hospitable after the Twilight Riders came through. Those heroes put down a rampaging bulette that had been terrorizing the community, and local folk remember those strangers warmly.
The Halfling Downs covers a considerable area, slightly more than 50 miles east-west and about 20 miles north-south. Rolling hills and abundant streams cover the landscape. There are several "village centers" in the Downs, the largest is Whitebridge, while the easternmost is Oldwell. On the western end of the Downs is a large forest known as the Fanewood, which is not altogether friendly or safe. The hin tell their children stories of monsters coming out of the Fanewood to prey on disobedient children.
The dales of the Halfling Downs are relatively dense, with hin families living in close proximity to each other. Traveling through the rest of the Downs, one could go a mile or two between hin burrows and the occasional wood or stone home "when the ground isn't right for a proper burrow". Between the dwellings are hills covered in fruit trees, large vegetable and herb gardens, and farms for both grain and, to a lesser extent, pipeweed.
Herds of sheep and goats can be found everywhere in the Downs. Though it looks like the animals roam freely, a closer look will spot the shepherds tending their flocks. Most farms and homes have chicken coops and pigpens, while some also have small herds of cattle. Hin famers closer to the Fanewood sometimes complain of missing livestock, but that is rarer the further east one travels.
Type
Rolling Hills
Included Locations
Characters in Location
Comments