Gray Shade
First Post
Description of Hazel
Those of you who live in or near Hazel know all this already. Those of you new to town discovered it all last night after you arrived.
Hazel is a small town, in terms of both population and geography. It has about 45 permanent inhabitants and is about two-hundred-fifty feet across. The mine that the village exists to work produces steadily, if not abundantly. White Mountain seems to give up exactly enough ore to keep the town in existence, and not much more, but the populace is content. The summers are beautiful on the mountainside and the winters more snowy than cold usually. Right now, in early October, the weather is cool, but the grass is still mostly green and the skies are clear blue. Snow is always gathered at the peak of White Mountain (hence its name), and it’s started to move down the sides, but it hasn’t even come near Hazel yet.
The village has a wooden wall about twelve feet tall around three of its sides with a large gate at its front, where a road runs down the mountain to Rumbol. The fourth (back) side of the wall backs against the rock of the mountain with a walkway that runs up over a large (15-foot tall and 20-foot wide) cave that is the opening to the mines. It was from this catwalk that the townspeople all saw the stone tower first appear. Mounted between the catwalk and the stone of the mountain is a wooden gate on pulleys. The gate can be lowered to cover the mouth of the cave when the citizens need to retreat inside during periods of drastically cold weather—a problem they have not had in almost ten years. Most of the time, the gate is up and the longhouses’ fires are enough to keep the people warm.
Inside the town walls, there are seven buildings, and a spacious longhouse that serves as a communal building, temple, and town hall. I’m sure I missed some important buildings—if so they will be added later, but for now, the buildings are:
1. The Grey Goat: A tavern and inn (this is built to cater to the tourist industry in Hazel, right now, it houses the people dislocated from the Longhouse and the professional adventurers). Nickleby the tourist coordinator lives here and owns the establishment.
2. A blacksmith’s shop (where all sorts of metalworking takes place, but mostly items of utility—pick heads, chains, horseshoes, etc.—not so much weapons and armor, but there are some).
3. A woodworker’s shop and dry-goods store (run by the only elf who lives in town, Fenway, and his half-elven wife, Elehandra).
4. A butcher’s shop and smokehouse (run by a butcher, his wife and son).
5. A seamstress and weaver (run by wives of miners).
6. The miners’ longhouse (this is where most of the miners live communally).
7. The mining shack (this is where the mine director works and where supplies are stored—it is back near the mine entrance).
8. The stables (there are various horses and mules here-it is manned by the human horsemen, Hamdur and Gel).
And, the temple of Woden (this longhouse is where The Padre lives and studies along with several of the more devout miners, it also normally serves as town hall, mead hall and home of the Mayor. Now, though, it is inhospitable—magically dark, cold and foreboding—everyone who normally lives there has moved to the miners’ longhouse or the inn (for free, of course), except the Padre who dares live in the darkness).
Those of you who live in or near Hazel know all this already. Those of you new to town discovered it all last night after you arrived.
Hazel is a small town, in terms of both population and geography. It has about 45 permanent inhabitants and is about two-hundred-fifty feet across. The mine that the village exists to work produces steadily, if not abundantly. White Mountain seems to give up exactly enough ore to keep the town in existence, and not much more, but the populace is content. The summers are beautiful on the mountainside and the winters more snowy than cold usually. Right now, in early October, the weather is cool, but the grass is still mostly green and the skies are clear blue. Snow is always gathered at the peak of White Mountain (hence its name), and it’s started to move down the sides, but it hasn’t even come near Hazel yet.
The village has a wooden wall about twelve feet tall around three of its sides with a large gate at its front, where a road runs down the mountain to Rumbol. The fourth (back) side of the wall backs against the rock of the mountain with a walkway that runs up over a large (15-foot tall and 20-foot wide) cave that is the opening to the mines. It was from this catwalk that the townspeople all saw the stone tower first appear. Mounted between the catwalk and the stone of the mountain is a wooden gate on pulleys. The gate can be lowered to cover the mouth of the cave when the citizens need to retreat inside during periods of drastically cold weather—a problem they have not had in almost ten years. Most of the time, the gate is up and the longhouses’ fires are enough to keep the people warm.
Inside the town walls, there are seven buildings, and a spacious longhouse that serves as a communal building, temple, and town hall. I’m sure I missed some important buildings—if so they will be added later, but for now, the buildings are:
1. The Grey Goat: A tavern and inn (this is built to cater to the tourist industry in Hazel, right now, it houses the people dislocated from the Longhouse and the professional adventurers). Nickleby the tourist coordinator lives here and owns the establishment.
2. A blacksmith’s shop (where all sorts of metalworking takes place, but mostly items of utility—pick heads, chains, horseshoes, etc.—not so much weapons and armor, but there are some).
3. A woodworker’s shop and dry-goods store (run by the only elf who lives in town, Fenway, and his half-elven wife, Elehandra).
4. A butcher’s shop and smokehouse (run by a butcher, his wife and son).
5. A seamstress and weaver (run by wives of miners).
6. The miners’ longhouse (this is where most of the miners live communally).
7. The mining shack (this is where the mine director works and where supplies are stored—it is back near the mine entrance).
8. The stables (there are various horses and mules here-it is manned by the human horsemen, Hamdur and Gel).
And, the temple of Woden (this longhouse is where The Padre lives and studies along with several of the more devout miners, it also normally serves as town hall, mead hall and home of the Mayor. Now, though, it is inhospitable—magically dark, cold and foreboding—everyone who normally lives there has moved to the miners’ longhouse or the inn (for free, of course), except the Padre who dares live in the darkness).
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