OVERVIEW
Westwind, as it is known in the common tongue, or Vant-din-Vest to the native Traladarans, and Zephyros to the newly come Thyatians, is a small village northwest of the town of Luln. The settlement sits along a noteworthy tributary of the Achetos River, nestled comfortably near the rolling hills common to the region. It numbers roughly seventy-five permanent residents, give or take.
The small Traladaran village has been locally governed by the Moraru family for generations. Only last year, psaltis (priest) Ionnes Agapetos arrived, carrying letters from Leonos Vardas, the Archduke’s magistros (governor) in Luln and addressed directly to Bogdan Moraru, the current head of the family. The magistros had named Bogdan patrikios (patrician), a Thyatian title signifying that Bogdan had now become an appointed member of the Archduke’s government. Bogdan felt little recourse but to accept and what had once been tradition had now become formalized.
Apart from this new responsibility, the Morarus have otherwise continued on with their role as leaders in the village, operating their mill, which all the locals use to process their wheat, and marshalling the residents in times of conflict or other necessity.
Ionnes Agapetos himself has been widely accepted into the community. With funds provided by the governor of Luln, a modest church was raised next to a small cottage purchased from one of the locals. And although many villagers continue on with their traditional religious practices, many also accept the teachings of this new Church of Karameikos and all the magical healing and undeniable aid that accompanies it. Ionnes has even become recently engaged to a local girl, Ileana Fieraru, daughter of the village blacksmith and the wedding party is expected to be the highlight of the upcoming spring season!
Other well-known residents of the village include Will Dappleglade, the proprietor of the Dew Drop Inn, the local public house (such as it is) and Barglos Karatzas, a young Thyatian wizard who has come to study the flora and fauna of the Blight Swamp that lies to the west.
The village itself is surrounded by many wheat fields that are regularly tended to by its inhabitants. On the other side of the riverlet from the main settlements they also maintain a fenced off common pasture, which is in turn surrounded by even more cleared fields. Most of the residents also keep small vegetable and herb gardens around their dwellings. A common well is also to be found in the center of the settlement.
Perhaps the best known feature of the little village is its common orchard, which is carefully attended to by most of the residents and which supplies an abundance of apples used for all manner of dishes, as well as for making more cider than anyone could reasonably consume. The village’s spiced cider is so greatly prized by the small elvish clans dwelling in the nearby forests, they often come to the village to trade for the fermented drink.
NOTABLE PERSONAGES
Patrikios Bogdan Moraru (Lawful Fighter 4)
Bogdan’s family are the traditional village leaders and own the local mill. Bogdan himself is a respected headman and skilled warrior, having led the defense of the village against small goblin and gnoll incursions in the past.
Psaltis Ionnes Agapetos (Lawful Cleric 4)
Ionnes is a somewhat recent arrival to the village who has been readily accepted by his new neighbors. He is now betrothed and has truly made a home for himself in Vant din Vest. Ionnes had previously served in the defense of Specularum against the great gnoll incursion and was awarded the Order of the Griffon for his valor. He is regularly consulted by Bogdan in matters relating to communiques from the magistros.
Willian “Will” Dappleglade (Lawful Halfling 3)
Will Dappleglade has lived in Westwind village going on ten years now. Rumors suggest that he is a retired adventurer who prefers the bachelor’s life to that of an arranged marriage in the Five Shires. He certainly enjoys drinking with the locals and spinning yarns with them deep into the night and never seems to be in need of coin, given that he also seems to give away more free libations than a shrewder tavernkeeper would. His establishment has a few rooms for rent, and the halfling proprietor himself lives in one of these lodgings located above the common room. Some of the local youths have been known to find a bit of part-time employment in his service on those infrequent occasions that visitors come to town, or when a merchant wagon pulls in with more barrels of halfling-brewed ale imported from the Five Shires.
Barglos Karatzas (Neutral Magic-User 4)
Barglos is a Thyatian-Traladaran hedge wizard, alchemist and aspiring potion-maker who arrived in Westwind not long after Ionnes. Barglos hails from Specularum and through a bit of luck, and despite his poverty, he was apprenticed to a local magic-user of little note with a great fondness for strong drink. Barglos was an apt pupil and reveled in the knowledge he acquired, being particularly drawn to both the ancient histories of his homeland and the arcane mysteries of magic and alchemy. AS soon as he was able, he set out looking to make his fortune.
He decided upon Westwind village as a place where he could pursue his studies in relative peace and quiet and explore the exotic flora and fauna of the Blight Swamp in search of ingredients that would serve as the keys to unlocking great magics.
Seen as something of a harmless and eccentric academic by his neighbors in Westwind, the wizard has been known to sell the locals alchemical unguents and poultices useful for tasks as varied as helping keep their iron tools from rusting to boosting the egg-laying production of their chickens. If anything mystical or esoteric comes up, he is consulted, although most such consultations involve little more than local superstitions. As long as he receives a few coins in return, he doesn’t complain.
Word has now spread that the magic-user intends to hire a group of ambitious explorers to gather various items from the Blight Swamp when spring arrives, and that he is already enquiring about for volunteers.
RECENT HAPPENINGS
As spring arrives and thoughts turn to planting, Ionnes and Ileana’s wedding party and the prospects of an adventure into the Blight Swamp, a messenger has arrived from Luln bearing an official communication from the governor himself.
It carried the decree of Archduke Stefanos Karameikos that with the arrival of spring, two great public works would commence, each of which being the construction of a great road connecting the capital to Luln in the west and Rugalov in the east.
Surveyors and other workmen were already assembled and on their way from the capital to Luln.
SURROUNDING ENVIRONS
Westwind lies roughly on day’s travel in any direction from its closest neighboring settlements. Each of the villages in the area farm the land, while in Luln, the Archduke’s officials see to it that each village’s harvests are properly tithed and collected seasonally. Each settlement also has arrived at some specialized area of production that spurs trade and social relations amongst the various peoples.
Padure village lies to the north and is situated on the edge of the Achelos Woods. It is a settlement of roughly 60 inhabitants and is respected for its wainwrights and woodworkers. The folk of Padure maintain harmonious relations with the elves of the nearby forest, working together to responsibly harvest wood and expand the forest’s overall footprint.
Miere village lies to the east and is noteworthy for its numerous beehives. From this village come many useful items, including honey, beeswax and mead, another favorite of the elves of the Achelos Woods.
Luln lies to the south and is nestled within a cluster of notable hills. It is the regional administrative center of the Archduchy and lies in a particularly strategic location, being situated over a sizable underground stream. The fortified hill town is surrounded by open prairie for endless miles and is an ideal location for the many Thyatian villas, vineyards and ranches that have sprung up around it. Nearly all of the villages under Luln’s oversight lie to the north, with Westwind being the closest. The scattered prairie holdings to the east eventually give way to the Radlebb Forest and the largest community of elvenfolk in the Duchy, the tree dwellings of the Callarii. South and west of Luln lies the demesne of the Archduke’s cousin, Loudovikos Mavrosaetos, the Black Eagle. From his coastal stronghold of Fort Halag, the ambitious baronet looks to expand his influence and is always watchful for opportunities.
West of Westwind village lies the Blight Swamp, a foreboding tract of saltmarshes,
fens and bogs rarely visited by the good folk of the area. It is rumored that a tribe of lizardfolk
dwell in its environs, as well as other, even more dangerous denizens. This is the area, and its potential resources,
that Barglos Karatzas has hie eyes set on.
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