Nordendell, Alfine

## **The Town of Nordendell**

* *Leader:* Lord Warden Fritz Mettler
* *Population:* 1,350; about ~500 more live in the outlying farms and thorps

In the rugged foothills of the Pearl Hills, in the shadow of the Shield Mountains to the south, the Alabaster Mountains and the Rimecrown Mountains to the north, sits a peaceful and prosperous valley known as the Gladden Vale. Within the northeastern reaches of the vale, nestled along the forested, alpine bluffs is the town of Nordendell. It is the central town in the Gladden Vale. This is not because of its size; Gladdenburg, to the west, is nearly nine times its size and is home to Arl of Gladya. But Nordendell sits in a unique position, sitting at the confluence of the Loudwater and Gladden Rivers. It is also the location of the monastery known as Restwell Haven, which is home to the bishop of Alfine.

In ages past, before the Dawn War, the Gladden Vale was home to the elves. Remnants of these ancient settlers can still be seen across the Vale, including Nordendell. Restwell Haven, the most famous site in the entire cantor, was erected by the ancient elven hero Vandirion who died in this valley defending its people from a horde of Primordial evil. The statue built in his honor stands in the spot where the rivers meet. The elf holds a spear in one hand and holds up his other hand, as if to warn approaching enemies to stay away.

Merchants, caravan guards, local craftsfolk, hunters, farmers, and travelers alike can be found in Nordendell, if one knows where to look. While seen as a bit more cosmopolitan than other towns across Alfine, the people still share its more isolationist tendencies; they distrust strangers and while most are willing to take their coin, they often view outsiders with wariness and a bit of suspicion. That is not to say that Nordendell is unfriendly; the people here are hard working, salt of the earth folk; both humble and proud. The town is welcoming and its people polite and helpful--just don't overstay that welcome or abuse the hospitality of its people.

In general, the people who live in the city are artisans, laborers, or merchants and earn their living by plying their trades and doing business with travelers, adventurers, and merchants who pass through town. Those in the Greenery (see **Districts**, below) earn a humble living by farming or keeping livestock. Those with no other prospects make a hard living as porters, carrying cargo from the wagons into town (or vice versa). The surrounding hills hold numerous marble quarries that produce a good deal of stone, and a number of new mines have opened up over the last two years thanks to the efforts of the Miner's Exchange. The nearby forest is excellent for woodcutting and the rivers are rife with fish. Trappers, fur traders, and fisherman also make a comfortable living as well, if a difficult and dangerous one. However, such trades are becoming less lucrative as fewer outside merchants seem interested in such things.

Nordendell imports finished goods from larger cities and exports timber, leather, fish, and grain. It also trades with other nearby towns and villages, especially Fallcrest, Bromby, and Gladdenburg.

### **Districts**

The town is divided into five main districts: the Coin Distrct, where the common folk reside and trade among each other; the Cloud District, where the nobility of the are live and where the guildhalls are based; the Flats, where the town's poor and wretched live beyond the walls; the Craft District, where many of the major craftsmen and their business can be found; and the Blessed District, where Restwell Haven is located. The Greenery, the local name given to the hills and grasslands beyond the walls where many of the region's farmers and ranchers make their home, is an unofficial "sixth" district.

#### Greenery

Less a "district" than the term used for the general region within an approximate ten mile area surrounding Nordendell; anything that lies beyond the walls. There are few businesses in this area, as traders and merchants rarely head this way. It is mostly farms, orchards, ranches, and the like.

The two main roads that pass through the Greenery (and the only two trade roads in the region) are the King's Road, a wide dirt road that runs north/south from the capital of Ard Bern to the northern border (and beyond), and the Salt Road, a west/east road that once began at the dwarven thaig of Salthame (which fell during the Calamity War) and goes east, from the Salt Bluffs to Fields of Gander, past the city of Greenburg, past Nordendell, and over the Shield Mountains, into Vanar. There are wooded areas to be found in this areas, but much of the land was cleared long ago for farming.

* **Carmichael Farm:** A ranch owned by Big Carmichael and his family, who have raised some of the finest cows and produced excellent dairy for decades. Neighbor to the Hoffmans.
* **Hoffman Farm:** A farm owned by the Hoffman family, who grow crops of potatos, carrots, onion, cabbage, and the like. Fine produce, though the farm has fallen on harder times as of late. Neighbor to the Carmichaels.
* **Shrine to the Wildmother:** A small shrine dedicated to Ehlonna, the Wildmother. It is a beautifully constructed gazebo, whose entrance is flanked on both sides by carved wooden statues bearing the goddess' likeness. The shrine contains a prayer area, and a place to light candles and leave offerings. Shepherd Howe lives in a small hut near the shrine, and he tends to it yearround.

#### Coin District

The central area of town, and also the largest district. Sometimes called the "Market District". It is built around the town square, where a massive oak tree is rests on a grassy hillock. This area, called the Green Market, serves as the center of town and everything else sort of radiates from it. The district is a collection of general and specialty stores that occupy the central section of town, where one can find fresh fish, vegetables, forged steel, trinkets, sparkling jewlery, handmade toys, pots, rope, seeds, and anything else one might need for day to day living. The Coin District is the busiest part of town by a large margin, since the vast majority of the town's business and shops are found here. The rents on office space here are expensive, but well worth the cost.

It also serves as the town's administrative center; town hall, the main hall of records, and the like are found here.

* **Belladonna House:** This building is an old, vine-covered manor house that sat abandoned for many years before it was purchased by Grinner and converted into the Belladonna House--a den of inquity where patrons can drink, gamble, listen to music, and spend time with soft company.
* **Black Horse Courier:** A newspaper published across Alfine, it is run by a pair of gnome brothers in Ard Bern. The newspaper is funded by the University of Alfine and several nobles seeking a free press. In Nordendell, it is run by a single beleaguered human man named Percival White. They publish extras of the paper in-house, but mostly the shop in the Coin District serves to distribute the paper more than anything else. Older editions can usually be found here, stored in the space below the shop, and can be purchased if you ask.
* **Brightly & Co. Cobblers:** This shop, co-owned by a human and a gnome, sells some of the finest shoes in the Gladden Vale.
* **Church of the Coinmaiden:** This lavishly decorated marble temple is dedicated to Waukeen, the Lady of Coin. She has always attracted a following in town due to the number of merchants and travelers who pass through, but since the coming of the Miner's Exchange, their influence has been rapidly rising.
* **Falmir's Curiosities:** A bizarre store that seems to peddle trinkets, old maps,. Outdated fashion, secondhand books, and the like. However, rare items sometimes pass through the shop. Falmir, the owner, is a white-bearded human man of around seventy. He is happy to let customers browse while he sits and smokes his pipe. His grandson, Zechariah, sometimes helps around the shop.
* **Flinders Fine Fancies:** A tailor's shop and clothing supply store, selling finely stitched clothes, cloaks, jackets, and hats for all occasions. Run by Fletch Flinders, a friendly old man who has run the shop for many years alongside his husband Jakoby.
* **Halfmoon General Goods & Provisions:** A successful general store run by Petri Schappi; a friendly old man who has operated the store longer than anybody can remember. The store is a great place to buy provisions, mundane tools, and the like. He also sells candies and specialty drinks (such as juices), as well as his famous Alpine Applejack.
* **Market Green:** The center of town, surrounding the Oak. Many merchants, both locals and traveling merchants, set up stalls and shops here. It has the atmosphere of a farmer's market. Many of the local farmers and ranchers ply their goods here, as well. In addition, several of the major players from the Craft District (see below) also have stalls set up here to sell their stock, including the blacksmith, the tailor, and the even the woodworkers.
* **Newmire Imports:** The finest of the town’s retail establishments, Newmire Imports deals in gemstones, jewelry, art, and minor magical trinkets. The owner is Orion Newmire, a human with impeccable manners and discretion. He corresponds with relatives and colleagues in several cities outside of Alfine, and can acquisition certain specialty goods—at a price. Similarly, he is always willing to purchase such goods, as well—but he’s not a fence and does not accept goods he believes to be stolen.
* **Nordendell Apothecary:** A sign displaying several odd-shaped bottles hangs over the door as a dozen different scents waft through the doorway, including a tangy musk, cinnamon spice, orange peel, baking bread, and gunpowder. This store sells non-magical tinctures, alchemy items, and the tools to make them. Also sells gunpowder.
* **The Singing Maiden:** A tavern and inn located in town (one of two) and the most popular by far. It is owned by a human woman named Elise, who runs it in place of her late husband. She spends her time behind the bar, serving the ale and chatting up patrons. Benvolio can often be found here performing songs for patrons. Rooms can be purchased for 5 sp (baseline).
* **Sun Gate:** The main gate into and out of the city.
* **Town Hall:** A large, wooden building that serves as the meeting place for the town's administrative body. It is three stories tall, with multiple offices for the Lord Warden, the Lord of Coin, and so on. An audience chamber, called the Moot Hall, is found in a central space on the first floor.

#### Craft District

The Craft District is the industrial part of town; it is the home of many crafts businesses and workshops. A number of guilds are based here, as well. It is south of the Coin District, and some find it difficult to pinpoint exaxctly where the Coin District ends and the Crafts District begins. It is always a bit smokey or dusty in the Crafts District, and the smell of oil, gunpowder, paint, sawdust, and more hangs in the air.

* **Blood Gate:** The city's southern gate earned its nickname after the city weathered the Goliath Raid seventeen years ago. Many died defending the gate. This gate was destroyed during the battle, and it hasn’t been entirely rebuilt since. One of the two paired towers is nothing but rubble, and several large gaps remain in the town walls south of the bluffs. Despite its lack of functionality, the gate is still guarded.
* **Carpenter and Sons Woodworking:** A carpentry space that employs many people across town. Always in need of not just craftsmen, but cleaners, porters, accountants, and more.
* **Hammer and Tongs:** A broad human man Finn Sarl runs the smithy, which is one of the largest buildings in the district, with a multitude of chimneys reaching from the roof, and several large forges both inside and outside in the yard. The building has a small wooden fence for both privacy and safety. Finn is a powerfully built man, his arms and bald head covered in sleeves of tattoos. A former member of the Pale Guard. A handful of apprentices work under him.
* **Laborer's Guildhall:** The main headquarters for the Laborer's Union, which includes guilds for the masons, the carpenters, the teamsters, and the like. Run by Garfield Stottenmeyer, who some believe to be less than honest in his business dealings.
* **The Nordendell Miner's Exchange:** This trading post appears like a squat, stone fortress. It is where the miners have their finds weighed, measured, and paid out. It also has an extensive records office, registering claims to various streams and excavations around the region. It's a good place to find those who spend a lot of time in the countryside or the foothills. The guildmaster is a shrewd dwarf by name of Heinrik Armazak. He is a vocal critic of the church's influence in town. However, he has also donated funds and supplies to the Pale Guard, and is trying to make the needs and ambitions of the Miner's Exchange heard in the halls of the town's administration.
* **Nordendell Stables:** Lannar Amsler owns this business, providing travelers with tack, harness, stabling, shoeing, wagons, and just about anything else dealing with conventional mounts. He keeps a corral about a mile outside of town, and at given time he has several riding horses, draft horses, or mules in his paddock by the Sun Gate. The human man is an excellent source of rumors, since he sees the travelers coming or going by the roads. He is a friendly fellow of about forty-two, with a large brood of children at his home in the countryside.
* **Nordendell Tannery:** This workshop tans hide into leather. Their stock is among the finest found in the Vale, but the building smells absolutely wretched.
* **Vasker's Engineering & Gears:** A shop run by noted tinkerer and gunsmith Icabod Vasker. A brilliant engineer and inventor, Vasker found his love for gears, engineering, and all things technical from a young age. He also possesses a keen mind for firearms, and is one of the only gunsmiths to be found outside of the major cities. He is seen as odd and mostly keeps to himself, having one of his few apprentices run errands for him instead. Vasker's daughter, Lana, is married to Xavier Carmichael.

#### Flats District

The Flats are the primary residential district in Nordendell. Hundreds of people live within the protection of the city walls. Dwellings crowd together, taking advantage of any available space. They vary in quality, from well-kept to run down. Some live in multistory apartments, while others (mostly middle-class merchants) live in huts and small, single-story homes.

* **Blue Skies Bakery:** The most popular bakery in town is found in the Flats, adjacent to the small park where children can be found playing in the daytime. Wonderful aromas commonly waft from inside. The bakery is run by a plump halfling man and his wife. They are excellent bakers and are known to produce daring recipes with...sometimes mixed results.

#### Cloud District

The Cloud District lies to the west of the Coin District, up a small hill and beyond a post where members of the Pale Guard keep watch. There are few businesses in this area, which is dedicated mostly to the homes of the city's wealthy citizens. It is clean and safe here, and well patrolled. The houses all tend to be at least two stories, and there are a number of beautiful gardens and lovely parks.

* **Blue Moon Alehouse:** This inn is of a higher class than the more popular Singing Maiden, and it serves a more exclusive clientele. The owner is a nervous, easily flustered human man of about fifty named Peter Winnowmer, who is always eager to please his wealthy patrons.
* **Klausman Estate:** This opulent manor house is larger than the home of the Lord Warden. It is a jewel of dwarven craftsmanship, including its own stables, buttery, and servants' home. It appears to be at least 100 years old, and it can easily weather at least 200 more. The house is surrounded by a low stone wall with sturdy iron gates. The private guard of the Klausman family guard these gates at all hours.
* **Pale Guard Headquarters:** A squat stone building, the headquarters of the Pale Guard is a square tower with only two stories. A yard to the south of the main tower is for the Pale Guard to train. It is also where the town jail is located.

#### Blessed District

The Blessed District is actually not a proper "district", but instead is the name given to the bluff where the Restwell Haven monastery sits, overlooking the town.

* **Restwell Haven:** This ancient monastery was built over 2,000 years ago, to honor the elf hero Vandirion and the god he worshiped (the Dawnfather). With time a community sprang up around it, giving rise to Nordendell proper. The monastery is actually comprised of several different buildings: the "priory", which is essentially an entrance hall, dining hall, reception hall, kitchens, classrooms, and the audience chamber for those seeking an audience with the Bishop. The dormitories are found by the gardens, the Knights Hall is found by the cemetery, and the Cathedral--the actual place of worship--is seated on the bluff itself. A waterfall feeds a large freshwater pond on the ground where people can go fishing, and a greenhouse is kept here with herbs, vegetables, and flowers from around the world.

### **Rumors & Whispers**

* The Greenery is becoming more and more dangerous in recent years, and the Pale Guard is unable to keep up with it. Amos Klausman is offering his own private guard as protection for the farmers and ranchers, at a rate of 10 gp per month.
* Representatives from the Miner's Exchange have been coming in by ship for weeks now to meet with the local branch. Nobody is sure why, but rumors persist that new veins of ore or gemstones have been uncovered somewhere in the mountains near Nordendell and the Exchange is trying to keep it a secret until they can rightfully stake a claim.

## **Recent Events**

The most notable recent event in the town's history is the Goliath Attack. Seventeen years ago, the goliaths gathered under the leadership of Draken the Longfist and led a series of raids and attacks in the settlements across the Gladden Vale. His forces attacked Nordendell, and while they damaged the south gate badly enough that it *still* hasn't been repaired the goliaths were ultimately fended off when the Knights of Dawn clashed with them and Draken was decapitated.

## **Notable Citizens**

### Administration

The leaders of the city, at least in name. This section covers the local aristocracy and guildmasters of Nordendell. Most of the city administrators are wealthy humans, though certain notable exceptions exist.

### Belladonna House

The most infamous establishment in Nordendell, with a reputation as a den of inquity. The Belladonna House has been in operation for nearly a decade and Grinner, the woman who runs it, is just as mysterious now as the day she arrived. While it mostly catered to traveling merchants arriving to Nordendell by ship, it has seen a boom in profits and activity thanks to the arrival of workers for the Exchange. The place has many faces: a taproom, a music venue, a brothel, a casino. All of the waitresses are available for "private shows" who work for Grinner. The Belladonan House is either beloved or hated, with no real in-between. Few admit to patronizing it. Most of the girls who work here live in the Flats.

Little is known about Grinner herself, except that she is an elf and that she has a mesmerizing singing voice. While the rumors about her could fill several volumes, next to nothing is actually known about her. She rarely leaves her place of business.

### Farmers & Ranchers

While more than a thousand people live within or immediately around the city walls, many more live on free farms or small rural thorps within an eight mile radius. These hard working folk are the true heart of the community, producing the grain and dairy and meats that makes up a considerable chunk of the town's economy while seeing little of those profits for themselves. Regardless they are simple and humble folk who do not bemoan their situation and generally believe in the good of the community.

 **Lana Carmichael** | Human
 **Xavier Carmichael** | Human

### Laborer's Union

The Laborer's Union tentatively represents the number of crafts guilds in town; it is a consildated venture between the Carpenters, the Masons, the Builders, the Teamsters, and the Porters. However, it has a somewhat notorious reputation. The Chief Guildmaster, Garfield Stottenmyer, is rumored to take a cut from the wages paid to those in the guild, as well as intimidating merchants to hire his people for any construction work and for any transportation of goods within the Gladden Vale.

 **Catherine Rast** | Human
 **Carson Burgi** | Half-Orc

### Merchants & Craftsmen

The merchants and craftspeople of Nordendell are the backbone of the community, and seem to be providing the foundation of a burgeoning middle class. Merchants tend to operate businesses in the Coin District and the South Market. They are among the town's most well-known residents, given their positions.

### Nordendell Miner's Exchange

The Miner's Exchange is mostly made up of dwarves from Kal-Khazad and Kal-Barak. The Miner's Exchange has held a consistent presence throughout the region, with nearly a dozen different bases of operation throughout the mountains of the north, operating in Vanar, Slazka, Crait, and of course, Alfine. The local branch opened its door only two years ago, but it has already brought in prospectors and independent miners from across the Gladden Vale and northern Alfine. Multiple mines and mills have already been established, with more planned to open within the next few years. Local miners and millers have little choice but to work with them. The Exchange has brought with it prosperity and stability, but they are viewed with suspicion and distrust by the locals who still see them as outsiders.

 **Dorian Alessen** | Human
 **Douvan Von Gunten** | Human
 **Erik Armazak** | Human

### Religious Figures

The Monastery is certainly the central place of worship in Nordendell, but other religious sites exist in the area. While not as influential as the church of Pelor, they still cater to the needs of the population. Notably, the church of the Lady of Coin is quickly gaining influence thanks to the influx of businessmen and prospectors with the Exchange.

### Restwell Haven

This site has existed longer than the town proper, built in the hopeful days of the Silver Age more than 2,000 years ago. It once housed and trained the Knights of Dawn, and contains an entire campus; it is part fortress, part temple to the Dawnfather. Bishop Irina Ray has lived in the monastery for more than 50 years, and has become a beloved figure among the people and she holds as much influence to the people as the Arl in Gladdenburg.

### Other Residents

The following residents are notable among the masses, but do not fit in any other categories.