Numenera: The Trade Town of Ashar (An RPG Nerdery Entry)

Ashar is a large town that lies on the upper reaches of the Sadara River.  Nestled in the foothills that, further north, become the Black Riage mountain chain, it is not the most friendly town to travel to.  During the summer months, the land route is hilly and the roads are rough.  The river has a fast current, passable downstream (If your pilot is an experienced hand at the river), but upstream it's an impossible challenge.  During the winter the town is practically impossible to reach.

However what it has going for it is a expansive bridge across the river reaching into the northern reaches of the Matheunis desert.  From that bridge it is but an 80 mile trek to the town of Guran in the former nation of Seshar, and from there, a simple trip to the famed canals of the land.  And so Ashar grew to be a trade town, booming especially in the years since the Garl Nave pass further north had been anchored by criminals.

Due to the geography of the area, the main town of Ashar lies upon a hill, up against a canyon from where the Sadara River has cut through the land.  Further downhill on a road that is frequently being repaired lies the docks upon the river from which goods are transported further into the empire.

The town sits just outside of the bridge's entrance, for they found no real way to control its operation.  Completely made up of light, it forms itself whenever anyone approaches either end of it.  They keep guards near both ends of the bridge to collect fees or to attempt to force travelers not to cross.

The ruler of the town is Viscount Juritrier, who has presided over Ashar (as well as the surrounding foothills) since early in the reign of Challadien II.  He is gaining in age and his small court is beginning to fracture as each member tries to show the new Empress why they would be the best next choice.

Crime is virtually non existent here, as the Viscount is serious about keeping trade running through his town.  The Baronets in his court act as judges before any case and any crime is given a monetary penalty.  The perpetrator's goods are confiscated until the penalty is satisfied.  If the perpetrator doesn't have enough items to fulfill the penalty, they are thrown off the canyon into the river below.

The town's trade is in the hands of the few nobles that preside here.  While there have been attempts from some to create a Mercantile Class, it has been strongly squashed by Viscount Juritrier.  Baronet Kilkoral is trying to subtly create one (and thus gain a type of peasant support) by hiring commoners to handle the shops he owns in Ashar and paying them a percentage of what the shop makes.

The shops are, as intimated above, owned by nobles and frequently operated by staff or younger family they want occupied.  Inside Ashar, many things are available due to the trade that passes through.  And nearly anything that Explorers would want.  Both Common and Rare special items in the Equipment List are frequently found for sale here.  Very Rare ones are still Very Rare.  Cyphers and Artifacts are almost never found for sale here as they are too precious, and often are shipped to Rarmon or held by the Viscount.

Hearsay in Ashar

• Baronet Verilien has found a device that teleports someone to another location.  It is being kept quiet as to where those teleported end up, however she has put out the call for Explorers to come and help her with it.
• Baronet Kilkoral is using some of his wealth to send medicine to the town of Redstone in the land of Seshar.
• While there are several farms devoted to taking care of livestock, given the vibrancy of the grass in this hilly area, it is rather risky due to packs of undomesticated brehm (Reptilian Coursers) hunting the livestock...and occasionally the farmers. 

The Weird in Ashar

• During certain solar events, the bridge has been known to oscillate through various colours.  No one has attempted to cross it during these times.
• There is a hill three miles from the bridge that has a rough stone staircase going up it.  It was there before Ashar was founded, and has never seen any damage in the years that followed. No animal sets foot freely on that hill and if forced the animal immediately turns feral.
• The people of Ashar, and of the farms surrounding it, have yet to succumb to any disease. It is unknown what has affected the health of the people so positively.

D&D Nerdery: Winterthur

The city of Winterthur is the last sign of civilization in the north.  Sure there are some villages further north that house and serve those that live out even closer to the wilderness, but none are very large nor visited by much beyond farmers, soldiers and tax collectors.

The fact that civilization is slowly crumbling is very evident on the roads surrounding Winterthur.  To the more civilized south the roads are evidently still heavily used, but not the strong straight concrete that it once was.  To the north the road is even more heavily ruined, but it still makes it to the villages in what could be generously described as 'one-piece.'  To the east, into the mountains where once trade was handled with the industrious Dwarves, the roads are long neglected and extend not much further than the final village.  And to the west the roads disappear into the ravenous forest, which is encroaching further and further upon lands claimed by the settlement every year.

Soldier patrols are stronger every year to combat the wildness and desperation taking hold.  Of course with increased patrols comes increased taxes, which adds to the desperation.  Bandits along the southern road, wild goblins and orcs hounding the eastern parts of the settlement, raiders pillaging the north and creatures that reek of magic haunting the western.

Inside the high and thick walls that surround the city (Ignoring for the moment the densely-populated Vorstadt which are surrounded by smaller walls and house the trades) things are less desperate, at least they are on the surface.  The Markets are often packed, and the guildhalls are well maintained.  The houses of the noble families form an inner ring that surrounds the center of the city where the hall of government sits.

Leadership

The ruler of the city is Margrave Zanne of the family Kyburg.  She is a young woman who has been the ceremonial ruler since she was six years old, and actual ruler for the past 4 years.  She is advised by the heads of the guilds, the noble families and occasionally the mayors of the nearby villages.  

The official religion of Winterthur, as in many former imperial cities, is Erathis.  The head of the church is the ruler of the city.  Given Zanne was Margrave at the age of 6 she was given the charge of running the church at that young age.  This has led her to be more pious than many past rulers.

Economy

Given the cost of the Linked Portal ritual, only magical items travel via portals, though occasionally higher end artistic craftsmanship will as well.  The trade goods all travel the old fashioned way, either by boat or road, and thus are prey to the bandits to the south and north.

The guildhalls inside the city are a strong part of the city politics, and thus can be truly said to no longer represent their guilds interests properly.  As the power of the Empire waned and finally collapsed, the families of the city saw the guilds as a way to increase their own money.  So most of these guilds are now ran by various noble families and the Guildmaster has become a hereditary one.

The mages guild is the major exception to this rule.  The Mages guild, due to their teleportation circles, is in constant contact with the other Mage guilds throughout the old lands of the empire.  There is a clear structure that runs through the various guilds.

Vorstadt

The Vorstadt mostly lies along the southern and western walls, sandwiched between the city and the river.  It is a densely populated area where most of the city’s trades are done, and so the smell is..unpleasant to say the least.  The people of the Vorstadt are of a variety of races (Unlike the mostly human interior of the city).  

The population of the Vorstadt is rapidly increasing.  As raids increase on the farms and villages surrounding Winterthur, not to mention the forest claiming an ever increasing amount of land, people flee to the city of their liege for help.  Most of those people end up in the Vorstadt, some joining an honest trade.  Many others resorting to begging, or worse.

The guildhalls in the interior of the city claim to control their respective trades that are done out in the Vorstadt, but they hold little true control.  All the smiths still pay their ever-increasing dues, they have to of course by city fiat, but many of them have a closer influence they must answer to.  

Crime has always been an issue in the Vorstadt, but it’s gotten increasingly worse as more bodies press inside.  The old Vorstadt ‘Guild’, a mockery on the other guilds, that kept overt crime at a low to prevent the soldiers from intervening has splintered into competing factions.  Now to too many tradesman one does not pay protection money to just one organized guild, but to many different gangs.  And woe to the smith who decides to gamble and only pay to select gangs.  Too often they choose poorly.

Other Lands / Races

Southern Lands

Things up in the north sound dire, but they are no better in the south.  As the empire withdrew into its core lands, petty kings began to pop up in their old lands.  And once the empire finally collapsed, the various cities in its core all declared themselves strong states of their own.  And as is often in a place of many kingdoms and city-states, war is common.

Elves

The elves have always been more aloof and distant to the old empire, but they often had ambassadors and traders interacting.  Since the fall they’ve turned more inward and are rather rare to come across.  Though some do live in human lands.

Dwarves

The Dwarves turned inward before the empire collapsed, about the same time as Orcs began to threaten the boundaries.  Traders are rarely seen, though some cities have dwarven enclaves.

Caverna de las Brujas Part 5

Caverna de las Brujas Part 4

The building before Henry was impressive for being in the center of London.  Comprised of tan brickwork, it stood three stories high with tall windows gazing out into the street.  Three chimneys rose above the roof, with a steady stream of smoke rising high into the London sky.  The land before the place was impressive tile work with each tile bearing names of what were presumably patrons.

Caverna de las Brujas Part 3

Fuck it's bright.  That was the first thing registering in Henry Arthur's brain.  His eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring straight up at an electric light, hanging above the bed he was in.  He tilted his head to the left and groaned in pain and once more upon registering what he saw.

Caverna de las Brujas Part 2

Henry's eyes snapped open at the sound of an explosion and within seconds he was up and out of what was laughingly called a bed down here in the trenches.

Caverna de las Brujas Part 1

Visually it was unimpressive.  A dark mouth in gray slate, thrice the width of a man but only slightly taller, flanked by a handful of green bushes.  The rocks and soil in the steep slope up to the cavern were held in place by the intermittent placement of short stubby brown plants.