Bubbling Brook

## History

Before the Crystal Blue Lake decided to open up its borders to outsiders, the merfolk of the underwater settlement decided to take a gamble with a social experiment meant to gently ease themselves into interacting with air-breathing races. Initially a xenophobic town, only the bravest and most curious of merfolk volunteered themselves to the task of integrating with the land-walkers. What began as a series of unfortunate misunderstandings between a few drunken halfling fishermen and a couple merfolk tailors (involving no shortage of screaming and stripping…ask Bolir, he’ll tell the story), eventually evolved into a full-blown friendship between the merfolk pioneers and the halfling fishermen. With the merfolk volunteers finding their time at the brook to be some of the happiest in their lives, they were loath to return to the Crystal Blue. So it was that when they returned to their home city, they stated their wishes to return to the brook as representatives of merfolk everywhere. The council was shocked, but agreed, and in short order the original volunteers trekked down river with their families, more volunteers, and supplies to begin construction of a small settlement. The settlement was a huge success, and as time went on, the village was split as half of their population moved further downriver to establish another outpost even further out; a place that was once known as Casper’s Creek. When The Stain swallowed the settlement, the refugees from Casper’s Creek made their way upstream towards Bubbling Brook, where they are currently working towards rebuilding their lives.

## Geography

Located along the Anemone River, Bubbling Brook exists at the deepest and widest portion of the river, with part of the settlement being wholly underwater. There are dozens of piers that reach out over the river, connected to riverside homes and businesses that thrive during salmon season. As both edges of the river have a gentle incline for several miles, there’s little in the way of flat land upon which to build, so many of the resulting structures are dug directly into the hillsides, similar to other peaceful halfling shires. The trees that take root along the rivers’ edge have been, over the course of several years, been gradually bent towards the opposite riverbank, so as to keep as much of the local flora alive and intact as possible while still creating arching bridges to connect both sides of the river. As it stands currently, the river is well-shaded by the overhead trees, still a good few years away from being properly made into living bridges.

## Inhabitants

The people of Bubbling Brook, a misnomer that many point out, are an extra-ordinarily laid-back, fun-loving and gregarious community of people bridged between two worlds. Potions of Water Breathing, along with other gear that enhances underwater movement and orientation, are sold more commonly here than anywhere else in Skyreach Forest, and typically, at a much lower cost than normal. Due to the popularity of diving, swimming, and land-based foot-races, there is a fairly competitive spirit between the merfolk and the halfling communities. So strong are the bonds that they’ve built, they’ve endeavored to construct the first joint merfolk-halfling community school; the barge that floats in the middle of the river, strung between two cables on either side of the river, is where the younglings of the settlement gather to learn. Most recently, refugees from Casper’s Creek have made their way into Bubbling Brook, survivors from the horror known as The Stain. They’ve been welcomed back with open arms, and the villagers have been working to rehabilitate those who have suffered the worst, the head priests of Kurgess and Gozreh doing their best to ease the pain the best ways they know how.

## Religion, Magic, Technology & Military

### Religion

There are two main churches that exist in the village of Bubbling Brook. One to Gozreh, and one to Kurgess, both of which represent the coincidental interests of both the merfolk and the halflings of the village. Most of the inhabitants of the Bubbling Brook worship one of the deities, and pay respects to the other, with both chapels located on opposite river banks. Worship of other deities is acceptable, so long as neither Gozreh or Kurgess are impinged by other deities.

### Magic

Most magic that exists within Bubbling Brook exists to help bridge the gap, both figuratively and literally, between the merfolk and the halflings. There is a prominent alchemist’s shop that’s half in the river, half on the shore, where the local herbalists and alchemists work together to develop a means by which air-breathing folk can exist for longer periods of time under the water. There are a pair of clerics from the riverbed, both of whom enjoy the occasional stroll along the beaches to revel in the duality of their existence. Finally, there is a human ranger who occasionally sticks around the village for a week to enjoy the company of others before disappearing into the woods for extended periods of time.

### Technology

There’s not much in the way of technology to be found in the village of Bubbling Brook, though they do make extensive usage of vine-burning techniques to bend the giant sequoia trees towards the river.

### Military

There is little to no military presence within the settlement of Bubbling Brook, with the village enjoying an unusual peace and prosperity tucked away from most of the rest of the Skyreach Forest. Those that do have some combat experience don’t make a big show of it, and are typically drawn from the ranks of the hunters.

## Law & Crime

Bubbling Brook harbors little in the way of crime to the point where there is no designated sheriff. The mayor, along with the voices of the prominent citizenry at the time, typically settle things with an informal gathering of peers.

## People & Places of Interest

### Places

* **Booker’s Bubbling Books:** A rather peculiar sight in the small village, the small building dug into the eastern shore is stacked from floor to ceiling with books, parchment, and paper, with pots and vials of ink scattered all over the ground. The stacks and stacks of books surround a single table in the room, stained with candle-wax and inks of various colorations. There’s just enough room for someone of small stature to walk around the table with their arms spread out, and with just enough head-room for gnomes and halflings to touch the ceiling with a slight hop. Strips of leather hang over the backs of chairs that have been pushed away from the table, and a short figure scurries around the cramped area, picking sheafs of paper from between the stacks of books and scooping up random vials of ink from the floor while moving. That figure is a tiny grig wearing a paint-stained top hat; the grig in question seems to be different every time someone enters the book-binding/scribing/library, leading the village to believe that there’s a grig community burrowed even deeper somewhere in the shop. There’s always a pleasant fiddle-tune playing from somewhere, providing a relaxing atmosphere as the grig wearing the top hat deals with customers. As long as they’re wearing the top hat, each grig requests that they be called ‘Booker’, regardless of gender, which seems to provide them no small amount of amusement, especially since a small number of the grig colony don’t speak common. Or, at least, they pretend not to.

* **Salva’s Salves:** Most villagers visit the local alchemist’s shop for one of two reasons; to acquire some form of brew, liniment, or oil, or to chat with the village’s primary alchemist, Salva Swift, the elderly (and retired) merfolk adventurer. She was the mother of the original merfolk expedition leader from Crystal Blue, and to nobody’s surprise, decided to accompany her son on the second voyage downriver. Having lived a full life outside and away from the large settlement of Crystal Blue, Salva has many daring tales of excitement, danger, and mystery that she shares openly with anyone who comes to visit. Rather than indulge in the overly loquacious nature of her nephew, Wave, she only tells her tales to those who show interest in such things. As the most popular stop in town, it’s been made rather clear that her business model of ‘storytelling then selling’ is likely one of the more successful ones.

### People

* **Wave Rider Callahan:** Cleric of Gozreh and head priest in the village, ‘Wave’ as the merman prefers to be called, can be found anywhere within town most evenings, only tending to the altar and surrounding structure of the church within the town as needed. He prefers to spend his mornings out in the forest, and accompanies the hunters in the town whenever they set out to catch game. His evenings are dedicated to tending to the people’s health and wellness within the village, having been an alchemist in his previous life before he became one of Gozreh’s flock, using both his knowledge of herbs and salves and his divine gifts to keep people in town in good health. He’s rather talkative, and is definitely one of the more gregarious members of the village, always eager to meet and greet new faces. Currently, he’s been rather entrenched with a number of survivors from Casper’s Creek, tending to their physical ailments as much as their psychological ones, his deep, calming voice one of the more soothing aspects of his treatments.

* **Hucksley Mistmarch:** Cleric of Kurgess and second priest in the village, ‘Huck’ as the halfling prefers to be called, can be found anywhere within the town most mornings, preferring to rise early and ring the morning bell in town to make sure everyone has an alarm to wrest them from their slumbers. Huck, much like Wave, prefers to spend as little time as possible in the church dedicated to Kurgess, preferring to be out and active around town; escorting children to school, helping lift heavy sacks of flower, heft large barrels into rafts and carts, and generally just be a general help around town for anyone that needs assistance. He says it ‘keeps him fresh’, doing his best to train daily for the annual Bubbling Brook Race so that he can once more reclaim bragging rights over Wave, who has thus far bested him three years in a row. In the evenings, he likewise does his part to care for the health and well being of the villagers, leading group exercises, evening stretches, and helping people with their dietary requirements. Between his preventative approach to medicine and Wave’s expertise in herbal and divine healing, they’ve been rather successful with helping the refugees of Casper’s Creek settle back down into their day-to-day lives.

* **Bolir Mistmarch:** Older sibling to Hucksley, Bolir was the original fisherman that encountered the merfolk from Crystal Blue, and has no shortage of tales to tell from his time in the early days of the settlement. He fancies himself a bit of a prankster, always teasing the kids who swim in the lake who attempt to one-up his own pranks with their own ideas. Mostly though, he just tends to spend his evenings lazing around in his lotus leaf boat, floating on the river with his fishing rod, tackle box, and couple bottles of warm ale. If anyone knows the history of Bubbling Brook and its sister-village, Casper’s Creek, it would be none other than Bolir himself.

* **Mick Garth:** The ranger human ranger that passes through town occasionally can be founds a few times a month for a stretch of three-to-four days as he stops in to pay his respects to the priesthood, talk shop with Salva, and inform the community leaders of the ongoings beyond the borders of the village. He has a gruff attitude and a deep, scratchy voice to match his rugged exterior, rarely spending time on typical formalities. The image of a wild woodsman comes to mind anytime anyone mentions Mick, and anytime he stops in at Salva’s, he’s guaranteed to leave smoking a thick, pungent cigar. Despite his outward appearance and his ornery manners when dealing with the children in town, he cares deeply for the people of Bubbling Brook, and is considered to be one of the main guardians of the settlement.