MarkOliva

01/26/2014

1296

With the 138th Map of the Week we take a look at the village of Desert's End in the southwestern corner of Grainland County.

Key to the Map of Desert's End

Low Village:

4. Distant Trails Trading Office. The coster is based in Mine Docks. Exactly who or what owns the company is unknown, but it seems certain to most that the River Count Arnošt has a substantial interest in it. He does, in fact, own it. Pavla, a 42-year-old human female merchant who fled from Windland, is the station manager. She employs a bookkeeper, a human male merchant; six guards, all human male and female warriors and fighters, and two laborers and two stable workers, all human male and female commoners. She and her employees live in upper story apartments in the High Village.

5. Distant Trails Trading Warehouse.

6. Josef's Horse Lots - Ruin. Josef, a young human male merchant from Mine Docks, tried to sell horses in Desert's End, but he went broke several years ago and headed on to points unknown. These are the remnants of his operation.

7. Last Tankard Inn. The village's only hostelry is a dump of the first order, but it still is the only hostelry. Potential guests have to live with it, at least in a monsoon when camping is out. It's not a money-losing business, but it won't make the landlord Kašpar rich either. A few years ago, lightning struck the inn's brewhouse and burned it down. Before the fire, the dark ale of the Last Tankard's alewife was generally considered to be superior in quality to the light ale of the club. However, shortly after the fire, the club's alewife resigned and the former Last Tankard alewife, Markéta, a 56-year-old human female artisan, was hired to replace her. She now brews what had been dark Last Tankard ale in the club's brewhouse, and Kašpar buys it and serves it in the inn. Meals in the Last Tankard usually are a matter of fresh fish and smoked and cured meats and sausages served with potatoes and some regional tropical fruit. The food isn't bad, but it isn't particularly good either. Entrées run from 3 to 6 bronze pieces. Breakfast, included with the room fee and available only to guests, is a matter of baked goods, butter or lard and a few slices of smoked sausage. To cut costs, Kašpar tore out the 2nd story guests rooms several years ago and now has only an open sleeping bay. A bed costs 3 bronze pieces nightly. When guests inquire about a bath, he points them to the millstream. Kašpar personally prepares cold breakfasts for his guests. For the other meals, he has a cook, a human male craftsman. He also employs two waitresses and a cleaning lady, all human female commoners. The amount of business varies with the number of transients in town. The complex has a double-seater outhouse but no indoor jakes. Kašpar lives in his own private room in the inn. His employees live in apartments in the High Village.

8. Last Tankard Brewhouse - Ruin.

9. Windland Overland Office. Little is known about this trading company, nor has anyone asked a lot of questions. It claims to be based in the small coastal town of Dark Mountains in northwestern Windland. Windland Overland does both honest and dishonest business in Slovania. On the honest side, it is one of the main transporters of goods between Slovania and Windland. On the shadier side, it's one of the big customers of Distant Trails Trading for forbidden wares from the North Kingdom. Windland Overland once did its own contraband runs between the North Kingdom and Slovania. The station manager is Denisa, a 56-year-old human female merchant. She employs a bookkeeper, a human male merchant; eight guards, all human male and female warriors and fighters, and three laborers and three stable workers, all human male and female commoners. She and all of her employees live in the coster's main building in the High Village.

10. Windland Overland Warehouses.

11. Marketplace. Anyone may set up a sales tent or stand here, but in practice, few do. There are no permits or fees required.

12. Camping Grounds. As long as there's no monsoon rain, many transients prefer a night under the stars to a night in the inn. Anyone may use the campground at no cost. Several campfire pits have been set up, and there are hitching posts for horses.

13. Royal Trading Co. Office. Slovania's largest trading company is the smallest in Desert's End. Royal Trading does only domestic business. Its only role in Desert's End is to deliver some of the goods locals need. Despite its name, the company belongs to neither the king nor the crown. Instead, it is a national transportation operation jointly controlled by the crown, the four counties and the Border March, with the king, the burgomaster, the counts and the margrave all having a say in its dealings. The station manager is Ctirad, a 50-year-old human male merchant. He employs a bookkeeper, a human male merchant; four guards, all human male and female warriors and fighters, two laborers and two stable workers, all human male and female commoners. He and his employees live in upper story apartments in the High Village.

14. Royal Trading Co. Warehouse.


High Village:

1. Desert Corn Mill. Master Miller Teodor, a 44-year-old human male artisan and refugee from Windland, softened his somewhat hard lot by going to unusual working hours. He begins grinding his grain in the evening after the night coolness begins to come in and delivers flour and vegetable oil to Baker Bořek (Location No.23) at about 4 bells (4 a.m.). His day begins then and lasts til noon, when he gets seven hours sleep while main heat sets in. Teodor also employs a journeyman baker who fled from Windland. The latter lives in an apartment in the High Village. Teodor lives in an apartment above the mill.

2. Millstream.

3. Fjörm River. The Fjörm flows about 100 feet/30 m wide, equally deep and very rapidly through the village. The river is unsafe for boats. Anyone falling into the water will be swept downstream rapidly and is in grave danger of downing.

15. Fjörm-Storming Pool. The turbulent waters, sometimes nearly a small whirpool, are caused by the powerful and fast-moving waters of the Fjörm and River Storming meeting at the confluence.

16. River Storming. The r flows about 80 feet/25 m wide and deep and very rapidly through the village. The river is unsafe for boats. Anyone falling into the water will be swept downstream rapidly and is in grave danger of downing.

17. Garrison. Some 100 soldiers, many of them refugees from Windland, are stationed here, but about only a third of them are in the garrison at any given time. Some 40 soldiers are stationed at the Equatorial Gate 30 miles/50 km southeast of Desert's End, where the Kingdom of Slovania ends, the western leg of the Muspell Desert begins and the Windland Trail disappears into the unclaimed no man's land between the desert and the Midworld Mountains. The garrison complex includes, from west to east, a horse stall at the foot of the Fjörm bridge and a mess hall and woodshed on the River Storming shore. The main building is south of them on the Fjörm shore.

18. Tailor Medard. Master Tailor Medard, a 56-year-old human artisan, sews the new clothing in Desert's End, and he also repairs damaged apparel. He makes clothing in all price and quality categories and also is responsible for clothing the village watch and the military garrison. He fled Windland with two journeymen, both human male and female craftsmen, who still continue to work with them. All three live in rooms above the tailor shop.

19. Cobbler Doubravka. Doubravka, a 50-year-old human female artisan, also is a refugee from Windland who took a journeyman with her and gained another after arriving and taking over the cobbler shop. Both journeymen are human male and female craftsmen. They are the sole suppliers of shoes and boots and repairers of both in the village. They also supply the watch and the garrison with shoes and boots. The three live in rooms above the cobbler shop.

20. Butcher Vít. When Vít, a 36-year-old human male artisan, became aware that the town watch in his native Štráznice wanted to ask him questions that he had no desire to answer, he packed together his wealth and skipped town, intending to get far away. He thought Windland might be far enough. By the time he had reached Desert's End, he had become rather tired of running and thought it might be far enough too. He became convinced of that when he heard that the local butcher had saved his money, closed his shop and migrated northwards without a successor. When Vít inquired, he learned that the baroness would deed it to him at no fee if he agreed to run it for at least seven years. He employs the two journeymen, both human male and female craftsmen, and the saleswoman, a human female commoner, who worked for his predecssor. Twice yearly he slaughters and butchers cattle and sheep driven to town from the range lands south of the village. He also gets shipments of slaughtered but not yet butchered meat from the nearby River Storming valley east of town. In addition to meats, Vít also buys, cleans and sells freshwater fish that local fishermen bring in from the lake north of town. He sells fish fresh and smoked. He sells some fresh meat when he has it, but most of his meat is made into smoked or cured cuts and sausages.

21. Village Hall. This is a formidable six-story structure that also houses the village watch and all village employees. With the Barony of Desert's End having a relatively low population, Burgomaster Kryštof, a 33-year-old human male merchant, devotes his time and energy mostly to administration, leaving matters of rule with Baroness Jana. Administration in Desert's End is mostly a matter of seeing that things in the High Village are maintained and kept working. Less attention is paid to affairs in the Low Village. It's also Kryštof's job to see that taxes owed within the village are collected. He employs a clerk-bookkeeper, a human female merchant; three tax collectors, human male and female merchants, and a stable tender and two laborers, all human male and female commoners. Kryštof lives in a small apartment on the ground floor of the village hall. The other employees live in third and fourth story apartments in the hall. The cellar level contains a storage area and houses the city jail. The second story is the headquarters of the village watch, and it also houses the apartment of the commander, Captain Rudolf, a 29-year-old human male warrior. The fifth and sixth stories house the watch members.

22. Fjörm Tower. The 30-foot/9-m high tower is manned at all times by three guards from the village watch. The guards carefully control those who cross the bridge. From 8 to 19 bells (8 a.m. to 7 p.m.), permanent residents and trusted transients simply are waved on. The village has few enough permanent residents that the guards can recognize them. All others are allowed to enter only after checking their weapons and magic wands, staffs and the like. They also are allowed to go through the High Village in groups no larger than three in number. If the watch has doubts about some transients, it may detain them until additional watch members arrive from village hall to accompany them. The guards all are human male and female warriors and fighters. Only permanent residents may pass from 19 to 8 bells (7 p.m. to 8 a.m.)

23. Baker Bořek. Master baker Bořek, a 49-year-old human male refugee artisan from Windland, goes downstairs into the bakery half an hour after 3 bells (3:30 a.m.) and fires his ovens. At 4 bells (4 a.m.), Miller Teodor (Location No. 1) delivers Bořek's flour, and he begins baking. At 7 bells (7 a.m.) Bořek loads his wagon and delivers fresh baked goods to the High Village Club (Location No. 26) and the Last Tankard Inn (Location No. 7). For the latter delivery, he always is accompanied by two members of the village watch, to assure that no drunken guests of the inn make trouble. Before 8 bells (8 a.m.), he usually is back at the bakery, opening it to street customers. He spends the morning shutting down the ovens, cleaning up his work area and runniung his shop, until 11 bells (11 a.m.), when he closes for the day. He usually sleeps away the hot period until 19 bells (7 p.m.), when he goes to the High Village Club for an evening meal and an hour or two of socializing. After that he returns to apartment above the bakery and spends five or six hours on his hobby, woodcarving. His work with wood is little known in Desert's End. He sells it to interested peddlers and caravan merchants, who resell it at disant points. Shortly before 3 bells, Bořek makes his second of two daily meals and prepares then for the new workday. Villagers consider Bořek to be something of a miser because he employs no one. That also is a problem for the village on those rare days when Bořek is ill and Desert's End must do without fresh bakery.

24. Baronial Castle Complex. This is a rather simple country castle complex consisting of a main building, a wizard's tower, a riding stable and a woodshed. That notwithstanding, it still is too big for the needs of a baron or baroness without family and the administration of a small barony. Baroness Jana, a 47-year-old human female seer, lives in an apartment that takes up the northwestern half of the second story. Her court mage, the 48-year-old human female wizardess Iva, occupies the tower. Few of the transient groups that pass through Desert's End command any significant amount of magic. Jana and Iva, on the other hand, are quite experienced in their arts. Jana divided the southeastern half of the second story into two apartments that she rents to Alena, the 42-year-old human female merchant who manages the High Village Club, and Irma, the 44-year-old human female healer who is the apothecary in the Healing Apothecary (Location No. 27). The baronial administration is on the ground floor along with the well-guarded and armored baronial treasury. The cellar is a little used but often inspected storage area. The baroness employs a bookkeeper, a human female merchant; two clerks, human male and female commoners, and two laborers, also human male and female commoners.

25. River Smithy. Master Blacksmith Evžen, a 42-year-old human male artisan, also is a refugee from Windland who works alone. Before fleeing, Evžen did nothing but standard blacksmith's work, which he does quite well. He still has no desire to do other work. When he thinks there's no other good choice, he sometimes agrees reluctantly to fix a broken piece of armor or a broken weapon, if they are of no more than run-of-the-mill quality, but he refuses to put his hammer to weapons or armor of a better grade. Evžen lives in an apartment above the smithy.

26. High Village Club. Desert's End's private tavern and restaurant, where the locals go and no one else is allowed, is owned by the barony and therefore under the control of Baroness Jana. However, she has little to do with the club. As manager, she employs Alena, a 42-year-old human female merchant from Windland, who makes all of the club's decisions. By local standards, the club is a luxury house. By national standards, it leaves wishes open. Alena has furnished the club well, and locals are enthused over the dark house ale, brewed by its alewife, Markéta, a 56-year-old human female artisan. The weak point is the food. The house cook, Oleg, a 37-year-old artisan and master from Windland makes the best he can of the raw materials available him, but they're very limited. Only from time to time can the butcher Vít deliver fresh meat, although he does deliver top quality fresh tropical fish daily. Except for storage crops, fresh vegetables are infrequent. Highly perishable produce never comes to Desert's End. Locals don't complain. Despite the shortage of top ingredients, Oleg always serves better meals than customers expect, and they eat his cooking daily. Breakfasts cost a bronze piece. Noon and evening meals run between 4 bronze pieces and a silver piece. Markéta's ale costs three copper pieces per pint/half-liter tankard.

27. Healing Apothecary. This house of healing is owned Věroslav, a 60-year-old apothecary healer who is one of the few Slovania natives in Desert's End. He not only is willing to tolerate the heat and humidity that plague the village. He is is almost fanatically enthusiastic over what he believes to be the probable pharmaceutical properties in the venom of snakes, scorpions and the like in the wilderness beyond town. Věroslav has, indeed, developed both medicines and poison antidotes from venom that are effective. Most of the time, Věroslav's assistant apothecary, Marián, a 40-year-old human male healer from Windland, is in charge of the shop. Věroslav spends at least half of his time in the wildness, along with his expeditionary aides, fellow apothecary Heřman, a 38-year-old human male healer-warrior, and Liběna, a 41-year-old human female scout. Three apothecaries and two patient healers work in the house of healing. The latter are Irma, a 44-year-old human female healer, and her assistant, Lumír, a 29-year-old human male healer. The apothecaries include team leader Marián as well as David and Brigitia, both 29-year-old human male and female healers. Their duties are concentrated upon making medicines out of imported herbal products. Outside of the exotic goods that Věroslav brings in, the house harvests no herbs on its own. All of the employees live in apartments on the upper levels of the house of healing except for Irma, who has a rented apartment of her own in the castle complex. All of the staff members except Věroslav are refugees from Windland.

28. General Store. This operation is run by the Windland Overland Trading Co. It includes a wide variety of the items that High Villagers seek, including non-meat imported food items, and it sells both domestic wares and imports from Windland. It also makes sales to transients, but it offers only the most basic items that they might need. Teamsters and caravan guards usually stock up in advance on their own non-perishable supplies and seldom have need for them on the trail, too seldom to make it reasonable for the store to stock them. Prices run 10 to 20% higher than those in the players' guides. Overhead costs are high here. The current store manager is Nikol, a 35-year-old human female merchant from Windland. She employs two salespersons and a laborer, all human male and female commoners from Windland. None are refugees. All were employed previously by Windland Overland at home. All of the store's employees and also all 16 employees of the coster's station in the Low Village (Locations Nos. 9 and 10) live in apartments on the upper levels of the four-story store building. All continue to be burghers of Windland, but they are accorded the full rights of permanent residents as long as they live in the village.

27. Southgate. This is a well-armed gate intended to control who leaves town. Transients have a bent for skipping town and leaving affairs open here. The gate is opened to outgoing traffic only from 9 bells to 19 bells (9 .m. to 7 p.m.). Locals can make complaints as transients depart, and some do.

You can get this map in two versions:

1. The Fractal Mapper (TM) 8 version in FMP format, fully editable (24 MB) from the Jörðgarð website.

2. As a JPG flat map of 1360 Pixels x 1020 Pixels, (740 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: Desert's End - The Last Tankard Inn

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