P76 Longacre

Not more than a year after starting my service, my regiment was on patrol in the east Menador Mountains. A gang of brigands set off a landslide, then tried to pick us off while we dug ourselves out. We beat them back, but old Captain Kercerri caught a spear through his leg. We got out of there, but the captain never quite recovered—you could see it in his face, in the way he hunched when he walked. Months later, I woke up in the barracks one day and found the captain was gone—‘walking the Longacre,’ they said. From my bunkmate’s look, I assumed he’d died, passed on from some sick that takes old officers. ‘Worse,’ she told me. ‘Retired. Headed off to the fields of weak drink and regret.’ “That’s when I realized there are worse fates than dying in battle...Longacre’s one.”

—Viedman Linclair, Doomseer Company, Chelish Army

LONGACRE¶

• LN small town
• Corruption +2; Crime –3; Economy +0; Law +4; Lore +2; Society –3
• Qualities insular, rumormongering citizens
• Danger +0
• DEMOGRAPHICS
• Government overlord
• Population 1590 (1,401 humans, 138 halflings, 51 other)
• Notable NPCs
  Archbaron Darellus Fex (male human)
  Fifth Sword Knight Tileavia Allamar (female human)
  Retired Warmage Tealan Ruckleer (male human)
  Sheriff Rhona Staelish (female human)
• MARKETPLACE
  Base Value 1,000 gp; Purchase Limit 5,000 gp;Spellcasting 4th
• Minor Items 3d4; Medium Items 1d6; Major Items -

Carte de Longacre ¶

Longacre (map)

1. The Arch and Lark ¶

The least popular pub in Longacre—which is to say, the town’s only other pub after the Last Stand—the Arch and Lark caters to local and traveling nobility. As Archbaron Fex never socializes in Longacre and wealthy passers-through are a rarity, the Arch is rarely busy. Ale-hating owner Fordaneil Cembers (Human female) spends most of her time disdainfully selling watered-down wine to pretentious locals and travelers who don’t know any better. Cembers looks down her sharply pointed nose at Bolgart Caggan and his establishment, calling him an “oaf who caters to oafs.” Conversely, she fawns over anyone she thinks could enhance her establishment’s reputation or fulfill her dreams of receiving an endorsement from the archbaron himself.

2. Ash House ¶

Formerly Moragatalli Manor, home to one of Longacre’s pre-Thrune noble families, this burnt ruin lies on the outskirts of town. Ostensibly abandoned.

3. Castle Gate ¶

The westernmost of Longacre’s three gates, the Castle Gate is so named for its distinctive stone construction.

4. Church of Iomedae ¶

Fifth Sword Knight Tileavia Allamar and her twin sons oversee the local temple of Iomedae.

5. Gield’s General Store ¶

Sisters Immona and Olla Gield (female human) grew up among the produce stands and bolts of rough cloth that line the rows of Gield’s General Store. Their days of getting yelled at for playing tag between customers’ legs long past, the middle-aged sisters now run the shop. They maintain a modest selection of goods, and between the two of them the Gields know everyone in town. The sisters often match the goods and skills of locals with the needs of others, making their store one of the most useful gossiping posts in town. Additionally, Estabeth Gield (old female human), the sisters’ mother and the store’s uncompromising former proprietress, spends her days at the shop visiting with neighbors and infantilizing her daughters from a thronelike rocking chair. The old woman insists that, so long as she lives, local veterans will never pay full price in her store, offering generous discounts to anyone with known or provable military service—though she has to deem that service worthwhile.

6. The Jackdaw ¶

Formally known as Jackdaw Stables, the town’s livery also serves as Longacre’s post office and shipping company. Owner Dilman “Dilly” Fortmile (middle-aged male human) runs the stables and a local cargo delivery service with the help of his three strapping children, Bennie, Rianne, and Telas (male and female human). In recent years, what began as Rianne’s hobby has resurrected the business that gave the Jackdaw its name: a carrier crow messenger service. From the stable’s loft, Rianne can send and receive brief messages to and from Remesiana, Senara, and nearby Whisperwood lumber camps. Rianne hopes to grow her small side business, but recently she’s been trying to figure out what to do about the messenger crows bearing missives with royal markings that have begun stopping at her roost.

7. Kemmaino Market ¶

Dealing in fresh produce from the town’s outlying farms, the town grocery is named for its proprietors, Huxlam and Darlyne Kemmaino (male and female human). The couple’s 12-year-old daughter, Jemmy, helps out by carrying deliveries around town, but has a reputation as a troublemaker.

8. The Last Stand Tavern ¶

The most popular establishment in Longacre, the owner is Bolgart Caggan (male human).

9. Longacre Armory ¶

Despite the name, the armory has only the most tenuous connection to Cheliax’s army. More a museum to the achievements of Longacre’s residents than a true military institute, the armory enshrines the arms of local veterans.

10. Longacre Historical Society ¶

Mrs. Ilmerri Unero (female human) knows more about what once went on in Longacre—and less about what’s currently happening—than anyone else in town. As the curator of a small library of dry, locally written histories and civil documents, Mrs. Unero eagerly spends hours regaling visitors with details of centuries-old economic trends and the romantic gossip of long-dead local celebrities.

11. Longacre Jail ¶

Sheriff Rhona Staelish (female human) and her deputies maintain order in Longacre from their offices inside the town jail. The sheriff much prefers public shame and humiliation over incarceration, and the two pillories outside the jail see far more use than the pair of cells inside.

12. Longacre Notary ¶

The seat of civil bureaucracy in Longacre, the local notary serves as a go-between for Archbaron Fex and the townsfolk, ensuring that neither has to interact with the other overly much. Deeds, titles, family records, writs of passage, and all manner of contracts and receipts form mountains of clutter that only notary Wenbrade Brakenbol (male human) knows how to navigate. The archbaron keeps Brakenbol on a comfortable salary, making sure that records disappear or feature useful revisions when it suits him. The rest of the town finds the gaunt, long-haired 70-year-old selfish, but efficient enough if you slip him an extra silver.

13. Mayor’s House ¶

Formerly the home of Longacre’s last mayor, Julive Wotimmir, this prestigious home lies near the road to Archbaron Fex’s own estate, Scarlet Crown. Despite being one of the town’s largest and most impressive homes, the mayor’s house has stood empty for the past 8 years, ever since Wotimmir disappeared. None particularly missed the mayor or cared when the archbaron’s unapologetic flunky went missing. The townsfolk haven’t bothered to appoint a new mayor, and things have run smoothly enough without one, causing the archbaron to often forget about the vacancy. Now, the house’s interior is dusty, its few valuables undisturbed, while the basement’s hidden shrine to Mephistopheles quietly entombs the evidence of Wotimmir and her house cat’s semi-tragic end.

14. Odmer’s Tonics ¶

The painting of a rainbow-hued imp exploding from a bottle makes the gaudy wheeled storefront of Elish Odmer (male human), normally parked in one of Longacre’s town squares, look like the cart of a common snake oil salesman. And that’s exactly what it is. Elish Odmer claims to have ties directly to the Nine Wonders Conglomerate, a Thuvian corporation dedicated to bringing the secrets of their mystical medicines and revolutionary tinctures to the world at large. Few believe the Nine Wonders even exist, and everyone in Longacre knows the story of how Odmer was banned from town for a year after brewing a batch of bad moonshine in Natisha Howell’s bathtub. Regardless of the shyster’s reputation, he’s a charming flatterer who occasionally has useful items on hand.

15. The Old Lodge ¶

Longacre once hosted a small congregation of Erastil worshipers, but all that remains of their church now is four sturdy posts and a mossy roof hanging over a half-sheltered altar in an overgrown thicket just outside town. Now, only the most daring children visit the ruined lodge. Local stories give the place a reputation as haunted, claiming that the god of hunters guards his sanctuary until his faithful return.

16. The Rees House ¶

When her eccentric friend and neighbor Ogana Rees passed away 10 years ago, Karrio Rutsward (female human) took it upon herself to sell what she could of the spinster’s numerous and eclectic collections. She opened the Rees home, tagged every knickknack—from dozens of old books to a legion of whimsically carved pigs—with prices in coppers and let any interested buyer wander through. Since then, Karrio has raised hundreds of gold for Rees’s family, taking only a modest cut for herself. Her success has been such that locals have brought their own attic boxes, homemade crafts, unwanted furniture, and the like to the Rees House, letting Karrio install their goods. Now, every room of the cramped house has a theme—boxes, kitchen supplies, knitting, and woodcrafts among them. Metal sculptures, old plows, and scarecrows even lean in the muddy yard. Those who seem capable and like they have the money to pay might even convince Karrio to unlock the “armor shed,” a dusty, cobweb-thick shack filled with bladed farming implements, old metal weapons, and armor—mostly dinged but functional chainmail and breastplates of standard issue Chelaxian military design.

17. Rohalendi’s Hospice ¶

Fifteen years ago, Gerya Rohalendi (female human) opened her home to an elderly retiree who could no longer live alone. In doing so, she realized that dozens of Longacre’s elderly were struggling to survive and faced uncertain futures. Over several years, she transformed her home into a charity hospice, opening her doors to those in need of medical care and devoting herself to offering the heroes of her country and community dignity in their advanced years. Rohalendi currently shares her home with five local seniors in need of assistance. She finds her work in caring for them—as well as creating and delivering a variety of balms and poultices to others about town—richly rewarding but far from profitable, and she’s recently had to let go of her only assistant. Despite various small fundraising events, Rohalendi is struggling to make ends meet, making the future of her hospice and those in her care uncertain.

18. Ruckleer’s Home ¶

Everyone knows Tealan Ruckleer (male human) is a retired warmage who spent most of his youth in service to the Chelish crown. Ruckleer never speaks of his military service or uses anything but the most minor cantrips in public, his elusiveness on the matter heightening rumors of his explosive battle prowess.

19. Trellis ¶

A flower shop run by Abrammo and Dahdria Lieklan (male and female), Trellis displays an almost comprehensive assortment of local flowers, from delicate ivory auspices to black roses—a national favorite. The couple also cultivates a wide variety of restorative teas and herbs, which account for most of their income. The shop is currently closed.

20. The Wilmore House ¶

Indisputably Longacre’s oldest resident, Miss Nisra Wilmore (venerable female human) has a reputation for indulging strange superstitions and for keeping a small legion of identical white cats. Although none can say exactly how old Miss Wilmore is, most assume she’s well over 110 years old. Rumors swirl around the Wilmore House, most related to its guardian cats and the strangely colored smoke that frequently spirals from its chimney. She openly offers her curative magic to those who earn her good favor, but still charges a fee—she has a lot of mouths to feed, after all.

Outside Longacre ¶

• Fort Estazano: This abandoned fort once served as a staging ground for the Chelish army’s anti-bandit operations in the Whisperwood.
• Longacre Docks: Down the slope to the north of town, just a little over half a mile beyond Longacre’s border fence, a rickety gray dock juts out into the Whisper River. From a shack with a block-and-tackle crane at the dock’s far end, Ingoe Zoags (male human), known locally as Mr. Ingoe, oversees the coming and going of visitors and cargo to and from Longacre. More than a decade ago, Mr. Ingoe weaseled a commission out of the archbaron and has served as town dockmaster ever since. Most townsfolk loathe Mr. Ingoe, knowing his reputation for “losing” interesting freight or suddenly turning stickler about cargo weights and packaging.
  Most go out of their way to stay on his good side, though, never knowing when they might need him to pass along whatever might show up on his dock.
• Louslik Tannery: Located a mile west of town due to the strong, unpleasant odors issuing from behind its walls, this tannery is well regarded for the sturdy leather it produces. Proprietor Jabral Louslik (male human) is a respected businessman in Longacre, but has been known to butt heads with Archbaron Fex on more than one occasion.
• Lumber Camps: Several lumber camps are situated along the edge of the Whisperwood and the length of the West Iseld River. The camps have a dangerous reputation and are populated by clannish, half-civilized “lifers” and seasonal workers. The best-known camps are the Three Steels Camp and the Volmirren Partnership. Veteran lumberers call the camps by distinctly different names, though: Three-Fingers and Satyr Den, respectively.
• Scarlet Crown: Named for the device on the House Fex coat of arms, Scarlet Crown is the baronial manor of Longacre’s ruler, Archbaron Darellus Fex. A staunch supporter of House Thrune, Archbaron Fex views Longacre and its citizens as his personal property, which they legally very nearly are. Scarlet Crown is well protected by the archbaron’s personal guards, and the manor’s staff of halfling slaves see to Fex’s every need.