Welcome to Cragshead

The village of Cragshead lies at the mouth of the Falls River in the empire of Kyzia in the land of Aardia. It overlooks Crag's Harbor, lies to the south of a large forest, and Falls River runs through copper and iron-rich hills and mountains before arriving at the sea.

Normally that would result in a large city springing up where Cragshead lies, but that's not the case here. Crag's Harbor is full of rocky shoals, and is unsuitable as a port for large oceangoing vessels. To the south of Cragshead the land is swampy and difficult going for 6 months out of the year, and the rapids below Norford are precarious, so most goods are unloaded there and taken 200 miles overland to the capitol city of Porthelm where they either go up the Spice River or are shipped throughout the continent.

The river isn't completely impassable, though, and so the river has some defensive value--small raiding ships could head upstream and do considerable damage if it were ignored entirely. Consequently a fort was built at Cragshead, and the village formed around it.

So it's a pretty small settlement: there are approximately 50 villagers living within the walls, with 200-300 more living in the surrounding area. The majority make a living as fishermen or farmers, but it is large enough to support a blacksmith, boatmaker/cooper, small inn, baker, butcher, potter, bowyer, and a miller who doubles as the ferryman for the river crossing. In addition to the fort, there is also a small temple in town (with garden) and a pair of lighthouses in the harbor located on particularly prominent shoals.

A bit of the lay of the empire: the empire of Kyzia (in which Cragshead is situated) lies between the Southmarch and the Northlands, to the west of the Grey Mountains. Long ago all three were unified as the Kyzian Empire, but approximately 200 years ago the empire began to shrink.

First the Northlands--only recently conquered to begin with--rebelled and split away, leaving the region in the hands of a rough and barbaric band of human occupants.

Later, in the south, hostile hill people (the dog-folk, Anthrocrocuta minimus and A. erectus, known colloquially as kobolds and gnolls) drove a wedge between the Southmarch and the remainder of the empire. While Kyzia and the Southmarch remain amiable, the union is fractured. The hills and mountains of the Southmarch are the ancestral homeland of Homo fossor, the dwarven folk--they are rarely found elsewhere, though a small colony has moved to the Dark Hills high on the Falls River to work the mines there.

The Grey Mountains are home to the cave-folk: Troglo vulgaris, the common goblin, and its larger siblings Troglo terriblis (the hobgoblin) and Troglo destructor (the fearsome urgoblins). History claims that their cousin Troglo ursus (the bugbear) was once nearly as feared as the urgoblin, but the Empire at its height drove the close to extinction to the point where they capitulated and implemented the code of honor for which that noble folk are now known.

A handful of other intelligent species merit mention: both the peaceful Homo minimus, the halfling folk, and the larger and more aggressive H. colossus (the ogres) live in the hills extending westward from the Grey Mountains. The latter can be aggressive on their own territory, but are generally unwilling to approach human settlements for fear of retribution. Many of the high lakes are home to Icthyus anthropus, the gillfaces, who tend toward xenophobia but aren't overtly aggressive if left alone. And the giants, Homo gigantus, tend to make their homes in the high hills and mountains--even the cave-folk leave them alone.

Back to Cragshead.

Historically the fort was garrisoned with about 25 trained soldiers in addition to the town militia, while the lighthouses had about 15 each. In recent years, though, forces have been diverted away from the town.

The great warrior Sir Arlan the Cleaver, now in his middle ages, remains as the Lord Commander of the fort and town magistrate. His battle companion, the grizzled mage Aedmund the Dread, also remains as his trusted advisor. And they have two well-trained guardsmen, the robust warrior Gerald Flemming and the imposing bugbear fighter Huyghe Talley, who serves as nightwatchman.

Aside from them, the town largely depends on its irregular militia for defense. Two of the largest ship's captains have demonstrated signifcant talent in battle--Captain Cora McThorpe of the Harmony famously defeated 3 Fire Island raiding ships that attacked her vessel at once, and Captain Orick of the Bonnie Cornelia has recently won a couple of skirmishes in elegant manner--have demonstrated significant talent in battle.

There's also a hunter named Micah the Lesser who is a skilled archer who spends much of his time roaming the farms and destroying predators in exchange for food and gifts from the farm families. He's a bit standoffish but has worked with the village's militia in times of need.

Aside from the town priest, Father Morris, there are no other talented healers though there is a skilled herbalist and midwife named Alicia who lives out to the east.

The town itself is primarily organized along two major roads, the River Road and the High Road. The High Road runs from where the river meets the sea north, up the slope as the land rises to form the cliffs. The River Road runs from the High Road east along the river until reaching Miller's Ford, the ferry crossing and sometime ford which connects with the lands to the south.