Tarnov

### Citizens

2839; 34% Human, 22% Oread, 5% Ooze Mephit-born Undine, 4% Ooze Mephits, 3% Other Undine, 3% Dwarves, 2% Ifrit, 1% Naiad, 1% Shaitan Genie, 1% Sylph, 11% Other, 12% Varied Travelers

### Unique Feature(s)

Armed to the Teeth, Tarnov Bathhouse, Trail of Iron

Once a mere hunting ground by the roadside, an eye for opportunity and budding business sense had transformed **Tarnov** into the primary stop on the Trail of Iron. Clear waters, saunas and mud baths await the weary. Fur and ivory awaits traders. And for the aspiring adventurer, there is always a bounty on dangerous game - including the most dangerous.

## History

The settlement was built in ancient human times during the reign of the Qurumi Empire, along the very same road it serves to this day.

Its founding was by the design of the imperial authority itself. Loathsome creatures coveted the caravans' beasts of burden. The hunters had a mission: protect the caravans, grant the traders supper in the night, and sell them the furs, the meat and the bones they could spare.

They were successful in only their first task. The Qurumi hunters who arrived were capable sharpshooters, but they had not a ranger's respect for the lands they came to tame. They were city folk, and treated the river running through the town the same as they'd treat the city aqueducts. The Pollen, a source of precious drinking water, soon became good for nothing more than the disposal which tainted it. The algal blooms killed off the fish within, drove the animal herds away, and their predators followed the prey. This made the road much safer for travelers to be sure, but with scant little game left, the hunters fell into destitution.

Tarnov languished stagnant for many hundredyears. Its character didn't go sour as swiftly as its fortune. It was subtle at first: people with better prospects left. More desperate folk took their place. Over time, the little town built a reputation as a haven for people who could hold a bow, or later, a gun, but not a job, nor a lover, nor a conversation.

Eventually, the supposed safe-keepers of the road are whom the travelers came to dread, a small army of louts, thugs and never-do-wells with a lot of weapons, time, and ammunition they unloaded more of into each other than into wild animals. Or the water fey menace which beset them with fury growing greater as time passed.

It wasn't until our current generation - a human generation, we should say -, far after the fall of the town's original mother country, that the right man was found for the job(usually, those with the right skills had better places to go). The aspiring knight, as of that day a landed one, scoffed at the ruins which were granted to him. But duty called, and he was nothing if not dutiful.

Though no man of nature himself, Illen has always had a talent for leadership and delegation. In this case, finding the right people for the job meant talking to the same fae who were dead set on slaughtering his kind, or so he was told. In truth, the fey were amicable, if vary, of friendly contact, and explained they were just as reliant on the river as the animals were, though in a different way.

Realizing he could solve two major issues in one move, he called an oread workforce to create the Pits, and soon, both were being filled bountifully with their intended treasure. Meanwhile, the fey had brought magicians of their own kind to cleanse the Pollen, up as far as the town itself so long as the bargain was kept. Illen made sure it was, with only minor grumbling from the citizenry.

Soon, the clear waters and muddy shallows would draw Serira's undines to settle. Feeling the scent of profit in the rising towers of chimney smoke, ifrit traders came, serving ever more influential clientele. More people meant more waterworks, and dwarves were contracted to maintain areas were the oreads could not fit. Finally, sylphs arrived with the changing winds, as they do; though their purpose here is obscure, they did furnish and supply an arcane school when asked.

All of this, Illen recognized as good for his town. But the old holdouts didn't share his rosy prospects, who saw the many newcomers as a threat to their way of life.

Dwarves, no strangers to infighting with their clan structure, took to the conflict with a passion. The geniekin arrivals were nervous around both, and though they were a good influence on the others' table manners some, the locals were also an influence on their trigger finger after a few shootouts. Soon, the violent nudge became the dominant one - a few hundred armed louts became a few thousand. And now they were from seven distinct groups.

Later, the tensions almost came to a head. A loyalist to the old Qurumi empire came to visit, a dying breed in this Iranese silver age, following the old rumors of distant Tarnov as a stronghold for like-minded people, but finding it began to change. Naturally, in his eyes, cooperation between the races meant the change was for the worse.

The rabble-rouser twisted the hunters' distaste for that change into his image. In public speeches in defiance of the Township Council, the genies and kin were painted invaders. The lord knight, a traitor to his race for encouraging their coming. And while people didn't rush under his banner by any means, they listened.

Then, little more than a year ago, the loyalist, who shall remain unnamed by these chronicles, and the troubles he brought, were addressed through a swift and, unconventional solution.

That, and nothing else, is what the official record says.

With his departure, the dwindling flame of Qurumi pride died for good, and Tarnov returned to...if not peace, then their usual bar for violence. People don't speak of the event much, and never directly. Most travelers soon learn not to pry too deep, lest they touch a now famous Tarnov nerve.

No longer poachers or opportunists under the crown, the town had taken a life of its own. It remains a dangerous life. But now, there is also the promise of coin...

## Rights

* The public works of the town are provided and maintained for all. Basic service is always free.
* Whatever god of virtue or foul spawn of hell you turn for guidance, locals and visitors alike may do so freely. Chances are better than none the temple has a shrine for it. Rituals require approval by the Township Council, but the request is usually granted.
* All may request a single flare on their departure, be it for the road, or the wilderness. Volunteers of the town's leading citizens are at the ready to assist you in exchange for an equal share of your endeavor's income. Certain hazards one may seek out in search of their fortune may merit specialized assistance, with matching color-coded flares.\*

\*Tarnov Township wishes to note for all whom it may concern: Personal indulgences regarding other residents, including but not limited to the "cute sylph volunteer" who is "just giving you the silent treatment", may or may not present a hazard, but does not, in either case, entitle one to a flare, much less a color-coded one.

## Settlements Laws

* The length of the Pollen, and its tributaries, all the way to the Windswept Shores of Treidor is under Tarnov's governance. Its waters may not be tainted, and its wildlife must be preserved. Any harm brought upon the locals living on the shore of, or Inside of, the river will be treated the same as harm brought upon a citizen.
* The Laws of The Trail are in full force here. Yes, even more so than in other places. Everyone respect the guards, for they are doing the gods' work. Everyone shall knock, everyone leaves the wildflowers unpicked. And *absolutely no one litters on the promenade*. Those who witness littering on the promenade may inform Guaca of the infraction.
* The temple is sacred to all, but belongs to no one. People who cannot comprehend the notion of sharing it with other faiths are advised to put their antipathy to good use, and worship by their lonesome.

## Settlement Qualities

**Armed to The Teeth:** The primary industry in town is hunting, and of dangerous game at that. As a result, the majority of citizens have deadly weapons. City guards are on constant high alert, to intervene before disputes between residents get ugly. +5 Danger, +1 Crime, +1 Law.

**Tarnov Bathhouse:** The town is served by a massive public bathhouse, able to accommodate every resident and then some. The locals are well-groomed and cared for, with even the poorest having access to proper hygiene. +1 Society.

**Trail of Iron:** The mercantile highway from the inexhaustible Frolenw mine of Ebeningen runs through this town. Steel is abundant, as are the tools of many trades crafted from it. +1 Productivity, treat the base value 10% higher for the purchase of steel and steel items.

## Buildings

**Hushstream Temple:** This outwardly unassuming mound houses lush plant beds, waterways, and a scenic path running between, above and underneath them.

Once an end's been put to the dispute with the naiad, they and the local undines joined forces to construct a place of worship for the gods of nature, as well as the elemental lords of water. While its primary purpose remains just that, altars for deities of fire are placed by the braziers, rooms to revere the earth from within had been carved into the ground, and hung from a chain beside the roof windows, a single man-sized chime celebrates the plane of air. The holy site as it is today represents the convergence of many powers, not unlike the people of Serira, or the rivers which join underneath its roof into the Pollen.

The leader of the naiad resides here, and visitors purport to see sylphs pass through its cavernous interior before slinking away in hopes of some privacy.

**School Arcana:** An austere school of magic, and the only one of its kind in town. It provides the bare necessities of arcane education and services a settlement requires, but little else.

An aging sylph is in charge of the sole classroom. She insists to be called only 'Teacher', but she takes guessing games at her real name in good humor. The clientele are mostly oread workers who study in order to improve their labor conditions, or as a hobby. Aspiring children, and serious arcane scholars, just travel to Treidorira for their education instead.

**Tarnov Bathhouse:** The oldest building standing in town, it's been expanded and renovated with the change in leadership. It retains the ostentatious Qurum architecture of old, but its doors have opened to everyone, whatever their price range. Since the promenade lacks a proper tavern, its bar is also the place for public gatherings among the well-to-do, much to the delight of its steward. The spells *create water* and *purify food and drink* can be used in place of coin by those capable of casting them.

While the bathhouse is owned by the township, Guaca takes a share of the proceeds in exchange for her services.

**The Pits:** Actually two separate areas, divided for sanitary reasons. One set of pits store ice to preserve game and other food, while its counterpart is where waste is safely disposed of, away from the river. These holes in the ground are under the watchful eye of oread motley crews, and a few especially odious ooze mephits. Their purpose by the waste pits is both obvious and better left unspoken.

**The Powder Keg:** The arms dealership responsible for the town's inexhaustible supply of guns and munitions. By Illen's mandate, the establishment is built entirely of stone, and gunpowder is stored in sections separated by thick walls, in order to keep the promenade from turning into a fireball.

True to its name, the weapons on offer are rather higher in quantity than necessary for a hunting community of this size. The morbidly cheery ifrit shopkeeper, for her part, doesn't ask questions, just for your money.

## Notable NPCs

Illen of Tarnov: A magical knight granted jurisdiction over the town of Tarnov, in return for his hard-fought battles in the borderlands. Whether this assignment is a reward or a punishment remains an open question. At any given time, it may be a mixture of both.

Guaca: An ifrit noble from the ruling house of Ebeningen. She has the temper and the taste for power to match, if a more charming take than usual. Content to listen to an upstart knight's leadership, if only as long as she is allowed to annoy him. Many locals are afraid of her for some reason, but them and visitors alike appreciate her as a host and a performer.

Rachit: Oread architect and engineer. The growing, complex web of Tarnov's public works is a task worthy of his talents, and he performs it with stoic tolerance of whatever chaos inevitably erupts around him. He represents the dwarves in the Township Council in addition to his own people, both out of respect for his expertise, and as a compromise to keep any dwarven clan from becoming a dominant force.

Leader of the Tarnov Sylphs: True to form and some would say an exemplar of her race, no one knows why her people are here, or what her name is. Her cadre of sylph operatives are frequent responders to distress flares, and most thank her by leaving her alone. She is morose, serious, and prying into her affairs can anger her just as much as it amuses her. Perhaps there is a logic to it, but it may just be down to mood.