Leicheberg

A town in Tax Collection Simulator.

## History

The settlement on the west bank of the Black Run which would become known as Leicheberg was settled long before the time of Sigmar by the ancient tribe of the Fennones. It was almost certainly no more than a hunting and fishing village, though even at that time there was a strong tradition of animal husbandry and shepherding on the misty hills extending to the east. The village did not develop much past this point for well over a thousand years, as war, famine, disease, and migration ensured that a large and settled community never really formed. The region would not even become part of the Empire of Man until late in the first millennium, nearly six hundred years after Sigmar abdicated the throne.

Though the chieftains of the Fennones fought bitterly against the encroaching armies of Stirland, they were slowly pushed back, and the village that became Leicheberg was captured and settled relatively early in the eastward expansion and turned into a major staging point for further colonization. It was at this point that the first small fort was built on the island in the middle of the Black Run.

Leicheberg has been effectively wiped out three times throughout its history, with almost its entire population dying horribly. The first time was in 1111-1115 when the Black Plague killed 90% of the town's population and Skaven captured and enslaved most of the rest. In 1681 on the Night of the Restless Dead many of those people not within the well defended fort were slaughtered and the town left in shambles. Finally in 2050 the town was captured and sacked by the undead forces of Vlad von Carstein. Many of Leicheberg's inhabitants escaped into the surrounding woods and hills, but many more were killed and reanimated to join the force that would face the Elector Count of Middenheim at Swartzhafen. Each time the town has been slowly rebuilt by its surviving populace, and the people of Leicheberg's devout worship of Morr has been credited with allowing the town to repeatedly be brought back from the brink of death.

[[More to be added here.]]

Most recently - in 2508 (or three years ago) - multiple rich veins of gold were found near the heads of several rivers descending from the Spukhügel. Panning for gold in streams north and east of the town has made some prospectors wealthy, and staking claims and digging for the precious metal has made an even smaller number filthy rich. Of course, when people become suddenly flush with cash, they tend to spend more freely, and this has turned into a huge opportunity for Leicheberg. These prospectors need food, equipment, guides, and protection from the small packs of wild ghouls that prowl the hills. Merchants are needed to find buyers for the precious metal, and engineers are needed to test and build machinery to extract gold from river sediment or break rocks to find priceless veins. Additionally there is still no reliable land route to Leicheberg to the rest of Stirland, so countless barges must travel up and down the River Aver bringing fortune-seekers and supplies while taking away gold to be sold across the Old World.

## Statistics and Demographics

Population: Approximately 6,350

1,950 Stirlanders

550 Sylvanians

2,400 Other Imperial Humans

950 Non-Imperial Humans

250 Halflings

200 Dwarfs

50 Ogres

## The Powers That Be

### The Count's Household

Albert von Stolpe is the current Count Leicheberg, and at thirty years old is full of energy and ideas to improve the lives of his subjects and the security of his domains. Albert's father Pieter died fourteen years ago of a wasting sickness and his teenage son took up his mantle with the guidance of his father's advisors and his widowed mother Emma.

### The Leicheberg Town Council

The town council is made up a various important persons who make decisions regarding the spending of tax revenue and set local laws. One member is appointed by the Count, one member is appointed by the Cult of Morr, two are appointed by the guilds (the selection of these is complicated and hotly contested by the guildmasters), and two are elected by citizens of Leicheberg every two years. Recently the council has been nearly overwhelmed by the influx of people coming to take part in the Spukhügel Gold Rush. While this has resulted in much greater tax revenues, it has also outstripped the rate at which the town council can build new infrastructure and hire new employees to deal with the greater workload.

### The Leicheberg Town Guard

The town guard are hired and administered by the Town Council, and not by the Count's household, though the there is plenty of cooperation between the guards and the Count's soldiers. The town guard are typically stationed at the gatehouses of the bridges, as well as along the freshly built palisade around the West Town. As one would expect, Town Guard can also be found patrolling the streets trying to keep the prospectors under control.

### The Cult of Morr

The Cult of Morr is extremely well established in Leicheberg, being more important even than Sigmar's church in the town. The constant threat of the undead on the borders of Sylvania makes keeping the dead well cared for a matter of life and death. High Priest Karloman Gorsuch is the leader of Morr's servants in Leicheberg.

## Locations and Districts

### Castle von Stolpe

The castle in Leicheberg is a moderately sized stone fortification built late in the second millennium on the north end of the island. It replaced an existing wooden fort that had originally been constructed (and rebuilt many times since) by the Stirlanders pushing eastwards into the lands of the Fennones. In addition to being a strong defensive position, this is also the ancestral home of the Von Stolpe family, and Count Albert rules from here.

### West Town

What is now the West Town was the site of the original Fennones village.These days more than half of Leicheberg's population resides there as a result of the huge population growth brought about by the Black Run Gold Rush. Towards the south end of the West Town are the major docks, where barges to and from the outside world drop off and pick up trade goods, supplies, and of course precious metals bound for the great cities of the Old World. The West Town is encompassed by a sturdy palisade and deep ditches that were completed only last year to protect the crudely and quickly built wooden buildings housing and catering to fortune seekers and those hoping to profit off of them.

As a result of a major fire a few years ago that destroyed much of the neighbourhood and killed nearly fifty people, the Town Council has invested heavily in steam pump fire engines and water reserves positioned strategically at each major intersection. Teams of Ogres (and particularly burly men) pull the incredibly heavy and unreliable contraptions while town employees operate the pumps and hoses. This system is put to the test on a nearly weekly basis.

The Anvil of Sigmar smithy operated by Alrick Grimm is located in the West Town, near the gatehouse of the west bridge.

Blauer Käse Inn.

### The Shanties

Outside of the palisade surrounding the West Town is the shanty town which has built up as new fortune seekers continue to arrive in Leicheberg. Life in the shanties is rough, and crime is an everyday occurrence. It is also worth mentioning that the at least a thousand people living in the shanties have no walls of any kind protecting them from the unquiet dead here on the western borders of Sylvania.