Florin's Cross

This settlement is basically a stone castle with a village built beside it. A palisade of sharpened logs built as an extension of the castle’s outer wall surrounds the village buildings. The castle flies the banner of Eastreach, a scroll and four coins under a purple crown. The stone-paved high road passes by the village gates, and a second road, made of packed dirt, enters the village gates directly from the south. A small river runs from the south near the dirt road past the settlement. The high road bridges the river just to the east of the village.
Florin’s Cross is a village located where the Tantivy Road reaches the Coast Road, standing by the side of the Scaramouche River where it runs north toward the sea. The settlement is an official possession of the Lord-Governor of the Province, and is run by the Bailiff of Florin’s Cross, an appointed status currently held by Lord Crothian Barne, who no doubt paid well to get the posting. The bailiff and his family reside in the castle, which is called Florinfort and gives the village its name.
Florin’s Cross is a relatively old settlement, but other than the castle it does not have a continuous history, having shrunken to a mere hamlet more than once during hard times. A stone wall once surrounded the village, but it was reduced to the foundations in the war following the Eastreach Decree and was never rebuilt. The settlement’s stockade wall follows the original line of the stone foundations.

Demographics

491 humans, 35 smallfolk.

Infrastructure

The Beard Inn

Marked by a black, bushy beard painted on a hanging red sign, the Beard is the town’s only inn, and by the evening it is usually filled by travelers looking for accommodations along the high road. The innkeeper, Boskin Lewd, is a massive individual who carries on the Lewd family’s tradition of wearing a bushy beard decoratively tied with ribbons and tiny jingle bells. There is a large common room where the Beard serves food and drink along with the town’s strong, dark ale. Most evenings, traveling minstrels are hired to play for the common room’s company, if any are available; otherwise, the town’s troupe of six mimes, the Tongue-Tied Fellows (LN male humans), entertain the patrons. The Tongue-Tied fellows are an interesting lot, all of them tremendously agile, with olive skin and startling yellow eyes.

Florinfort

Florinfort is a stone keep with a small outer bailey where there is a forge, a dovecote, dog kennels, and stables. Only nobles, those on official business of the province, and personal guests of the bailiff are generally permitted access to the bailey, much less to the keep itself. Bailiff Crothian Barne has little to do with the town, treating the castle as his private home, as if it were not connected to a town at all. It is a requirement of his appointment that he holds a regular court of justice; but since he merely sells decisions to the highest bidder, not many people bother to use the court for settling disputes.
Crothian’s garrison is a company of 10 archers and 15 footmen, all of whom remain in the keep, letting the townsfolk maintain their own militia and town watch. They accompany Lord Crothian when he makes his official monthly procession to accept taxes from the town, but otherwise their business is to guard the keep itself.

Type

Village

Population

526

Inhabitant Demonym

Floriner

Location under

The Borderlands

Owning Organization

Eastreach Province

Max Clerical Spell Level

Good -, Neutral 3, Evil-

Notable NPCs

Bailiff, Lord Crothian Barne (N male human) ; Innkeeper of The Beard, Boskin Lewd (N male human) ; Priest of Archeillus Cedric Highborn (LN male human) ; Priestess of Tykee Elispeth Tykeen (N female human)

Purchase Maximum/Month

2,000gp