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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aholibamah" data-source="post: 3634777" data-attributes="member: 53031">The City of TouchstoneThe City of TouchstonePopulation: 15,000 (including approximately 3,500 refugees at the moment)Government: the Great Council of New Edom Main Temples: Ishtar,(goddess of brewing, war, marriage, childbirth) Moradin (god of dwarves and blacksmiths)Other deities worshipped: Derketo (a love goddess) , Tammuz(consort to Ishtar and lord of the ploughshare) (goddess of the moon), Utu (god of the sun) Ereshkigal (goddess of death), Bahamut (god of Justice) Army: 400 regular soldiers, 600 militiaExports: Coal, iron, forged goods, carved stone, lumberImports: Spices, fruit, grain, livestock, hides, cloth, alcohol, dyes, salt, glasswareHistory: During the reign of the tyrant King Obed this was a mining town that acted as a penal colony. Those spared execution were sent to dig and to do work supporting the mines. At that time it was called Fist Keep. An uprising of the slaves was led by infiltrated rebels roughly at the time of the death of the king. Because the civil war was not quite over and a fortified location was believed to be needed in order for the rebel council to meet Fist Keep was chosen. Following the hero Touchstone’s ascension to High Lord and his subsequent death it was named after him. Thus the capital of New Edom is a former slave colony named after a Court Fool who assassinated a king became a Lord. King Obed's agents had always been somewhat wary of the dwarvish kingdom of Svartaheim to the north and so had been rivals for exploration of mining territory. This changed under the new government; Touchstone deliberately sought friendship with the dwarf king and this friendship has bloomed into a strong alliance. The dwarves sent miners and engineers to help make Touchstone a strongly fortified city, helped dig deep wells to pure springs and great storage halls beneath parts of the city. They made it possible to expand it to hold more people comfortably. Lord Aholibamah, the country's most powerful wizard, led others of his kind in establishing magical defenses, including making a number of statues of heroes of the revolution that can animate when the city is in great danger. They also made such wards as made it impossible for the city gates to be opened by the hand of a traitor to the republic. Recent HistoryTouchstone is a troubled city. New Edom has been invaded by an alliance of Celtic tribes and humanoid tribes. Two thirds of the country have been conquered; only a recent victory over besieging forces at Fineberg has prevented more than that being lost. Thousands of refugees are beginning to stream into the capital. Elsewhere the republic's allies the dwarves of Svartaheim, the gnomes of Nibelheim, the wood elves of Carnmag are under attack as well. Slowly the enemy alliance is closing an iron fist around the region.Unfortunately the nearest area that is still free is the north, which is largely mountainous and doesn't produce much food. Furthermore the soldiers there under General Abiathar are with difficulty holding the mountain passes against another group of invaders. The only way for food to come through is from the east, which is now reduced to a scorched area of wasteland and a narrow corridor through which caravans and columns may pass. This is constantly being attacked by raiders, mostly orcs and horse mounted barbarians. In addition to all this New Edom's forces are increasingly stretched thin. To prevent the encirclement of Touchstone Lord Dunsinaine, the commander of the armies, has fielded an army in the valley region south of the capital, and General Carmel holds the eastern corridor as well as the river country around Fineberg. Food is very expensive in Touchstone at the moment, and much of it is being rationed sternly. Unfortunately with the confusion of the arrival of refugees, the need to form a draft lottery to fill the empty ranks of the militia companies and a general sense of fear and panic there exists a black market that hydra like cannot quite be put down. Religion in TouchstoneIshtarAt one time the Ishtar cult was an aristocratic one, and it reluctantly agreed to stand aside and let the rebels deal with the king's injustices. There are two factions in the temple structure today one that feels that the goddess clearly blessed or at least accepted the rebel efforts, the other feeling that they have been humbled by their failure to defend the king and to find a way of correcting his behavior on their own. The priesthood is largely hereditary though ability to prove the goddess's acceptance is proven through the gaining of spells. Thus there is in addition to a priestly hierarchy a whole support structure of stewards, factors and the like who are also largely hereditary. The Fabian family is very powerful within the temple hierarchy, having two representatives in the Great Council (Guildmasters and Representatives) and many business interests through the temple. Ishtar is patroness over brewing, marriage, and is also liason for the worship of other deities such as Ereshkigal one approaches rites concerning death through Ishtar so as to demonstrate respect for instance so that for instance marriages, deaths, taverns and also such areas as education often require fees to be paid to this temple. At the same time the clerics of Ishtar are also valiant in their public service, acting as healers, warriors and scholars. MoradinMoradin is claimed as the First Ancestor by the dwarves and as the patron of smiths in general. Generally his clerics are smiths and weaponmakers anyway, and therefore tend to be burly or at least well muscled, often with scars from sparks and hot metal, with a reputation for hard work and forthrightness. While there are many normal smiths most will have a little shrine to Moradin. It is difficult to follow the smith-god's service, for he requires one to be very much subject to the spirit of the metal not merely to gaining constant business. As a result few want to go all the way in their devotions to absolute commitment to the god. There is nevertheless great respect and reverence for the priests of Moradin among the metal-craftsmen and engineers of Fineberg. StonehavenStonehaven is part training ground, part vault and part special prison for the Council Police, the enforcement arm of the Nocturnal Council. (Note: the Nocturnal Council is a 70 person non-voting part of the Great Council devoted to gathering information. It is called the Nocturnal Council because their sessions are done by night.) It is located partly within a tall mountain north of Touchstone and is very difficult to get to even by air. The only way it could be built was by magic and dwarvish help. The trail up to it is no wider than the body of a person lying sideways and has two forts built right onto it so that one has to go through them to get farther up the trail. Strong winds buffet the upper reaches of the mountain constantly. It is a lonely desolate place and it is said that some of the prisoners kept there for special interrogations or because they themselves require special places to be held or are quite mad.</blockquote>

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