Confederation of Halfling Shires

The Confederation of Halfling Shires is a nation on the continent of Pherosum.

The Halfling Shires are located to the South of the Kingdom of Emeron and the Brokenback Swamps and

range from the Uphigh Mountains to the Jagged Knife Sea.

The Long River bisects the shires, effectively separating the country from the rural west and the comparatively more urban east.

The Shires are one of the few points where trade from overseas can come in, although it is extremely difficult. Trade along the Plains Road passes through Bandit Woods, which is aptly named as a number of highwaymen and outlaws (as well as some monsters), live here and prey upon trade caravans to the north.

There are eight shires that makeup the Halfling Shires, their capital is the shire of Home.

## Organization

The Shires are a loose confederation of villages and towns (which the halflings call Shires) whose mayors come together for a council to discuss issues that affect all of the shires. Each of the shires elects their own mayor but is otherwise independent and responsible for the surrounding lands. Disputes between one shire and another are handled at the councils, where the High Mayor (who is elected from among all the mayors) ultimately has the final word in case of a tie. In times of crisis where gathering a consensus is not feasible the High Mayor can make decisions, though they are subject to review once the crisis has passed and it could lead to his or her removal of office if it was deemed unnecessary and/or handled badly.

## Shires

There are several hamlets and villages throughout the rather rural Confederation, however there are eight large major ones that tend to be trade and political hubs for their immediate regions.

### Home

Home is the capital of the confederation and as a result of that and it's central location it's a major trading point as well. Home collects a modest tax on passing goods and moves them through. Though homey and cozy like most of the shires, Home is about as cosmopolitan as the shires get. There are a couple of three story buildings and the Mayor’s home is a stone three story affair.

### Roadshire

Roadshire is one of the most important shires to the entire confederation, and one of the most put upon. Located right at the end of Pains Road, it is the primary point where all trade and travel to and from the Kingdom of Emeron and the Kingdom of Thorgain come. Roadshire is is also located right near the Bandit Woods though, which live up to the name. The Halflings of Roadshire not only have to keep vigilant against any attack but they are also responsible for patrolling the road through the woods. As a result Roadshire is the only shire to have a full time military force, a small but dedicated band of pony riders who call themselves Drezzen’s Destroyers patrol the Plains Road and protect the town.

### Rivershire

Rivershire is situated in the crook of the Long River and their main economy is fishing and trade. Business attempts to send and receive supplies up and down the river to and from the elves of Glave Woods and the Humans in Emeron sometimes fail because it passes through the monster infested Brokenback Swamps and along the banks of the Bandit Woods so it is a dangerous venture. As a result the people of Rivershire primarily fish the river. There have been attempts to send boats downstream to meet with sailing vessels in the Jagged Knife Sea for overseas trade, but these ventures also failed since sailing through the sea results in more shipwrecks than not. There is some farming in the area as well. Rivershire also has the only ferry across the Long River to connect the eastern and western Shires.

### Townsville

Townsville is a pastoral farming shire halfway between Home and Rivershire. Surrounded by lush farming fields and gentle hills, it is a beautiful and laid back village, even by Halfling standards. The people here are salt of the earth and enjoy farming but are just as likely to take the pace of life very easy and nap in the middle of the day. Their economy is almost strictly agriculture.

### Drezzenville

Drezzenville is a pastoral farming shire on western side of the Long River. Most of the trade coming from the western shires passes through here and the locals tend to farm the earth though there is some limited mining in the hills to the north.

This shire, named for famous Halfling hero Eddie Drezzen, was renamed after him after he returned to the shires when the Battle of Unity ended. Although it was learned much later that this Eddie was actually an impostor who had taken his shape and personality, which explained why he taxed so heavily and spent so lavishly on his own home. Those who tried to run against him abruptly changed their mind or suddenly or vanished.

Decades later the ruse was discovered by some of his fellow Heroes of Unity working with the Heroes of Prophecy returned to slay the creature. The real Eddie was found a short time later kept in stasis by the creature and was reawakened. Since then Eddie sought the chance to fix the damage done in his name and was elected Mayor. He kept his word and undid the damage done in his name and Drezzenville is now an incredibly pleasant place to live. Eddie lived here the rest of his life.

### South Point

South Point is located only a short distance south from Drezzenville. This town has occasional hopes of being a port town, but the Jagged Knife Sea makes such hopes quite limited. There is a small fleet of narrow bottomed sailing vessels that, with a skillful captain, can make it out of the Jagged Knife Sea to the west (the eastern shoals are sheer folly even for the most skilled of captains). This allows some limited trade with Dilibarth and Pronia however the sea travel is still very dangerous and few sailing captains actually wish to enter South Point because of the danger of the Jagged Knife Sea. Mostly the area is one of the major open sea fishing towns, however. The area and the sea view are all very picturesque and beautiful.

### Cliffshire

Cliffshire is located at the base of the Uphigh Mountains. The mountainside facing the town ends in a sheer cliff, as though some huge warrior cleaved part of the mountain off. The shire performs mining in the base of the mountains and a fair amount of agriculture. It is a relatively rural community, but the ore they pull from the mountains supplies most of the rest of the shires with their metals.

In 1056 the Heroes of Unity Eddie Drezzen, Taltharian the elven fire mage, and the pixie mage Dandy Lion emerged from the mountains with an infant hill giant after some adventure. Evidently they had slain the babe’s parents and were not content to abandon the creature to certain death. The community of Cliffshire agreed to raise it as one of their own. The giant grew to become Lucky Bigfoot who was considered part of the community and helped them constantly with infrastructure and defense.

Lucky has long since passed of old age but as a result of his efforts Cliffshire has excellent infrastructure, several stone towers, and excellent mining facilities above the ground as Lucky had performed a great deal of the labor. The enormous burrow/house that Lucky lived in was made the mayoral estate after Lucky died.

### Nowheresville

Nowheresville is the shire to the farthest west, just south of the Uphigh Mountains. It is a rural location populated by a small amount of miners who dig ore from the hills south of the mountain and farmers who tend the somewhat harsh land. The shire is fairly isolated and while travel to and from the other shires is certainly not unheard of, the people of Nowheresville tend to be homebodies even more than most Halflings.