Halenar's Villages

[The Perilous Dreamer]

1. A two day walk beyond the frontier, sits the small village of Creektann. It has a freshly built wall and about 470ish people. Soon the soldiers who came to defend it during construction will leave and then comes the task of survival. Fields have been cleared and spring planting has been done. A few rangers have been scouting out the area for a three day walk to check for dangers and to get a sense of the area. But they cannot stay for long and will also leave. The village is mostly famers who will work the new fields and manage the livestock (cows, horses, donkeys, chickens and some dogs). A few businesses are setup, a stable, a small inn/tavern providing food and lodging, a blacksmith shop, a cobbler, a tailor and others are under construction.  A stream flows alongside the town, just inside the west wall and a grist mill is being built there. Homes and other building are under construction.  A massive pile of logs is at hand that are being hewed and shaped for these building and other to be built. At the four cardinal points of the town, guard towers have been built 30 feet in height. The villagers are relatively well armed and many of the men have military experience ranging from a little to a lot, through all are retired. 

Along the frontier, many villages are to be built, all of them roughly a days walk apart.  A generation has been spent trying to push the frontier forward and now the land is truly being claimed, but can they hold it. A dozen rangers in pairs will roam back and forth along the frontier. About half way between every fourth village, but also a half days walk further out, will be built forts with about 50 soldiers in each. One of the things the villages will do is keep them supplied with food and other things. Four villages or roughly 1800-2000 people to support each 50 soldiers.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

1. continued:

Each fort of 50 men will be responsible for responding to and defending from any attacks from deeper in the wilderness. They are mounted troops and along with their other duties they will also fall a few trees on most days. Rudimentary roads have been cleared between the villages and from that line a single road leads out to the forts. Villagers travel out by turns to transport the fallen trees back to be used, except those that are not suitable and those the villagers cut up for fire wood for the forts. The villagers also continually work to widen the road ways by clearing forest on each side of the roadways and to use stone and sand gathered from the rivers and creeks to gradually build up the roads so that they will be passable in even the wettest weather, though that will take years. 

As mentioned the village of Creektann has a stream of reliable year round flow and a grist mill. Not all of the villages will have this, although as many as possible will. So many will travel to have grain ground after each years harvest and as needed from storage throughout the year. Other villages will also have businesses that others day not. There is not much money to be had, so barter between individuals and between the villages is the order of business. But the forts and the soldiers are fully supported by the villages. 

Each fort of course does have its own blacksmith/armorer/weaponsmith  and a few others who do repairs of shoes, clothing and structures. Each fort has other support personnel such as cooks and a few servants. Half of the garrison is always in the fort and half is on patrol. 

[hengest]

Enjoying this.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Oct 11, 2022 16:17:09 GMT -5 hengest said:

Enjoying this.

As am I!