MarkOliva

10/27/2013

1346

With the 128th Map of the Week we take a look at the village of South Docks in Slovania's River County. The town, which serves mainly as a boat and raft portage on the Fjörm River, is a bleak and lawless place populated to a great extent by refugees from Windland to the south. Baron Karel, the ruler, is self-serving, and the 10-man village watch enforces the law only when the baron's interests are involved.

Key to the Map of South Docks

1. Miklaš Boat and Raft Works. Master Wainright Miklaš, a 49-year-old human male artisan, makes his career building and repairing watercraft rather than wheeled transportation. His company makes the large lumber river rafts in service on the Fjörm as well as fishing boats and small rafts and boats. He employs two journeyman wainwrights, both artisans, and two commoners as apprentices. All four are human males and females.

2. Dock No. 1. This dock is used exclusively by the sawmill, the smithy and the boat and raft works. The sawmill's timber is delivered to the docks on river rafts, which also transport the finished lumber downstream. The smithy receives its coal on rafts. And the boat and raft works launches new products on the dock and uses it for rafts and boats that need repairs.

3. Dock No. 2. This dock is reserved exclusively for the fishermen's guild and for boats and small rafts, which may dock here or use it as a portage dock. Boats and small rafts that traffic south of the dams are carried to and from Dock No. 4.

4. Fjörm Fish Packing. The operation is owned by the South Docks Fishermen's Guild, which also has its only offices in the building. The packing plant processes the guild members' catch, packing some fish in brine in barrels and smoking others, in both cases for transportation. Locals also can buy fresh fish at the packing plant. The manager is Ivana, a 38-year-old human female merchant.

5. Hlini's Smithy. Hlini runs an extraordinary smithy, simply because he's a dwarf in human lands. Hlini, a 1.2-million-year-old male dwarf artisan-runecutter-warrior, emerged from sealed Niðavellir in the distant north more than 200 years ago and spent more than a century of that time traveling southwestward, battling and dodging orcs in the fallen areas of Jötunnheim. He emerged from the mountains into the desolate ruins of the Æsir Empire before reaching South Docks some 70 years ago. When he reached town, he used a runestick to magically transport a hidden stash of gold that he hid anew north of town. He then used a part of that gold to pay locals to build his smithy. Hlini left Niðavellir after several centuries of feuding with his father there. However, he never has explained to anyone how or why he left the dwarven halls. The humans of South Docks value his services greatly. He is a master weaponsmith, armor smith and blacksmith. Anything that he does with metal is a work of art in human eyes.

6. Dock No. 3. This is a portage dock reserved for the large river rafts. Their cargoes are unloaded and the rafts are lifted by a crane onto heavy duty wagons drawn by a team of four horses to Dock No. 5. There, a crane lifts the raft from the wagon and back into the water. The cargo is transported in a separate wagon and loaded back onto the barge.

7. Millstream Dam.

8. Fjörm River Dam.

9. Village Hall. In South Docks, Baron Karel is the sole political authority. Burgomaster Klara, a 44-year-old human female merchant, is more a village manager who carries out the baron's will rather than being a political authority in her own right. Commandant Abdon, the 32-year-old human male warrior who is commander of the village watch, plays a similar role. Baron Karel considers Abdon to be is police chief with the responsibility for enforcing Karel's laws and edicts. The village administration under Klara is on the ground floor of the village hall. The watch is on the second story. The village jail is in the cellar. Klara employs a clerk, a human female merchant, and siy laborers, all human male and female commoners.
 
10. Northland Sawmill. Timber fallen in western Southwood Forest in Royal County is transported by river raft down the River Blesk (Leipt or Lightning) to its mouth on the Fjörm and then further to South Docks, where master sawyer Pravoslav, a 33-year-old human male artisan, cuts it in his sawmill. From the northeastern timber Pravoslav produces a substantial amount of lumber. Much of it is used in the area around South Docks, but he also sends considerable amounts of cut lumber downstream by raft for sale in Minadoka and other parts of River County. Pravoslav employs four journeyman sawyers, all artisans, and three apprentice sawyers, three laborers and four teamsters, all commoners. All are male and female humans.

11. Watermaster. South Docks's watermaster is a servant of River County, answerable to Count Arnošt's government and not to Baron Karel. The watermaster is responsible for controlling the level of the flood pond (which also serves as the millpond) and the flow of the Fjörm and the millstream out of the pond. The current watermaster is Oldřiška, a 52-year-old human female scholar from North Junction. Her responsibilities go well beyond the town edge of South Docks. In spring, when the Fjörm and the Blesk (Leipt or Lightning) begin to swell with the melt of winter's snow in the north, rangers in the counts service send warnings southwards. The flood pond cannot contain flooding as well as it could in Æsir times, but it still can minimize damage in many flood seasons. When the warniungs come, Oldřiška orders the mills to raise or dismantle their waterwheels. She then gradually releases all of the water from the flood pond but never in such quantities that the water would flood South Docks, Minadoka or other downstream destinations on the Fjörm. The flood pond is drained to the level of the former waterfall, allowing the water to flow free through the two channels. When the flood wave approaches the village, Oldřiška closes both dams, forcing the water to accumulate in the flood pond rather than inundating the village. However, in the worst flood years, the water keeps coming, flowing over the dams, and serious damage occurs. Oldřiška also is responsible for seeing that enough water flows out of South Docks in non-emergency times or dry periods so that mills downstream can turn their waterwheels. In her employ are six dam warders who do the actual physical work. All are human male and female artisans. They too are county employees who are beyond the authority of Baron Karel.

12. South Docks Meat Packing. In the autumn, beef cattle and sheep are driven southward to South Docks for slaughter. The meat packing plants slaughters the animals and makes smoked meats and sausages as well as brine-cured meat, which is transported to other inland destinations. The owner is master butcher Radim, a 50-year-old human male artisan. He employs six journeyman butchers, all artisans, and four apprentice butchers, three laborers and four teamsters, all commoners. All of his employees are human males and females.

13. Dock No. 4. This dock is reserved exclusively for boats and small rafts, which may dock here or use it as a portage dock. Boats and small rafts that traffic north of the dams are carried to and from Dock No. 2.

Baron Karel's Castle Complex

14. Stable.

15. Baronial Castle. Baron Karel, a 55-year-old human male merchant, lives here together with his wife, the Baroness Julie, a 52-year-old human female sorcerer, and his adjutant, Rostislav, a 49-year-old human male scholar. The castle also houses the baronial administration, which includes four clerks, all merchants; three baronial bodyguards, all warriors: two cooks, both artisans: four manservants and maids, all commoners; two teamsters, both commoners, and two laborers, also commoners. All are human males and females.

16. Milan's Tower. The tower has a footprint of 30 x 30 feet/9 x 9 m and is 60 feet/18 m high. It is the domain of Baron Karel's court spellcaster, the 60-year-old human male wizard Milan.

17. Portage Mill. The central mill grinds grains for flour and feed and presses vegetable oil. The owner is master miller Milos, a 51-year-old human male artisan. He employs two journeyman millers, both artisans, and an apprentice miller and a teamster, both commoners. All are human males and females.

18. Butcher Květoslav. Květoslav, a 36-year-old human male artisan, specializes in venison and meat of wild boar, both brought in by hunters. When possible, he offers fresh meat as well as smoked and cured meat and sausage. His only employee is the saleswoman Anna, a 55-year-old human female commoner.
 
19. Dock No. 5. This is a portage dock reserved for the large river rafts. Their cargoes are unloaded and the rafts are lifted by a crane onto heavy duty wagons drawn by a team of four horses to Dock No. 3. There, a crane lifts the raft from the wagon and back into the water. The cargo is transported in a separate wagon and loaded back onto the barge.

20. Portage Inn. The inn is like most of the rest of South Docks … cheaply constructed, rickety and a bit sleazy. The owner is a 45-year-old human male immigrant from Vétrnývlast, Barnabáš, a merchant-thief. He's among a minority in South Docks in the respect that he's married. His wife, also an immigrant from Vétrnývlast, Regína, a 42-year-old human female artisan, is the inn's cook and brewwife. In the kitchen, she makes various warm freshwater fish dishes and assorted cold bread boards with sausage and smoked meat slices from Butcher Květoslav (Location No. 18). In the neighboring brewhouse, she brews a mediocre, light-colored, bottom-fermented sud that defies categorization. The quality of her beer, however, is not entirely Regína's fault. Locally, there are no farmers who raise hops or brewers' barley, and there also is no malting house ion the vicinity. All of her beer's ingredients must be shipped to South Docks from Minadoka. Warm meals run from 4 to 7 bronze pieces. Bread boards cost 3 to 4 bronze pieces. The inn's guest rooms cost four bronze pieces nightly. Barnabáš has five employees, a waitress, a chamber maid and three stable boys and girls. All are human male and female commoners. Barnabáš and Regína live in a house of their own. They have no children.

21. General Store. Alžběta, a 41-year-old human female merchant, owns his shop, which sells basic needs except for meat and fish. It's the only such place in town. Peddlers seldom come to South Docks. A market square once was located directly south of the Portage Mill (Location No. 17), but it went out of use more than a century ago. A residential building now stands on the site. Fortunately, Alžběta sells most of the useful items that one usually can find at the market. That includes ready-made shoes and boots in fixed sizes from cobbler Agáta's shop in Minadoka. One also can order custom shoes or boots if a month's delivery time is no problem. Alžběta employs two salespersons and a laborer, all human male and female commoners.

You can get this map in two versions:

1. The Fractal Mapper (TM) 8 version in FMP format, fully editable (35 MB) from the Jörðgarð website.

2. A JPG flat map of 1360 Pixels x 1020 Pixels (730 KB), available with the hyperlink below.

Both versions are released for personal and commercial use under the Open Game License Version 1.0a, which you can read on the Jörðgarð website at:

www.vintyri.org/joerdhgardh/joerdhgardh.htm

Next Week: South Docks - the Portage Inn

Mark Oliva
Webmaster, the Vintyri Project (TM)
www.vintyri.org
info@vintyri.org
Celebrating 20 Years of RPG Freeware