Coldpine

Icewracked and hemmed in by dense forests, a single pathway leading the long distance to Aesruk is the only way to approach Coldpine. The ocean nearby is choked with sheets of sea ice, with the regular routes only wide enough for small fishing vessels to pass through. Travellers will find that their welcome is as cold as the weather, should they make it to Coldpine in the first place.

Demographics

Species

Species	Number (%)	Male (%)	Female (%)
Human	59 (43%)	26 (44%)	33 (56%)
Elf	53 (38%)	38 (68%)	15 (32%)
Eladrin	27 (19%)	14 (52%)	13 (48%)

Jobs

Career	Number (%)
Clothier	14 (10%)
Lumberer	27 (19%)
Baker	5 (4%)
Guard	35 (25%)
Fisherman	28 (20%)
Apothecary	3 (2%)
Hunter	27 (20%)

Government

A gathering of the town elders works to guide the people of Coldpine, ensuring that they have enough resources to survive. The people follow their guidance, but they rarely enforce their decisions. Their enforcement of the law is considered brutish by visitors, where punishment and crime are of a more tribal nature.

Defences

Some crudely created defences exist, namely pit traps lined with sharpened stakes of wood. They're located away from the main path and serve as a deterrent against overly aggressive animals more than a true defensive structure.
The guards of the village have padded leather and sharpened stone or bone weaponry. Often, the guards are in fact fishermen or hunters who cannot perform their usual duties; as a result, when necessary, the number of guards for the village can easily double should all those capable of repelling attackers raise a weapon.

Infrastructure

With a number of small docks that fishing vessels moor against and a collection of smokers within a nearby hut, Coldpine is able to preserve and store a large amount of fish. While many grains are hard to farm and grow in the cold, nuts and other foods can be gathered from the dense forests nearby to support a small bakery.
Clothing and medicines are produced locally as well; made from hides and furs, the tanned leather side can make for a warm and waterproof shield against the weather despite the stink of the tanning vat. Medical treatment is performed through a combination of shamanistic poultices and chants. Wounds are cleaned and bones set, but scars are encouraged as a sign on strength and toughness.

Assets

The Smokery is an old hut near to the docks and is used when the fishermen return from the sea; gutted and scaled fish are hung from stripped and sealed branches by the gills, left for several days to dry and preserve. During heavy fishing seasons, the smoker is active for weeks or longer and the fish are stored in snow-filled barrels until they can be smoked.
Run by some of the Eladrin living in the village, Powdersnow Finish is a small bakery. Though flour is impossible to obtain from grains, they make use of the ever-available nuts and berries from the forests instead; acorns and pine nuts are prepared then ground into flour, with berries and cooked nuts further used for flavouring. They often make small batches of delicate, Elven-like pastries in times of celebration but their predominant goods are dense, heavy loaves or cakes which can be stored and taken by hunters or fisherman without concern of the rations spoiling.
The clothiers don't run a shop in the traditional manner; each of them is instead a hunter for the village. They can create and repair clothing, often doing so when needed with the hides and furs they collect from their hunting trips in exchange for other goods.
In a similar manner, the apothecaries do not run a shop, even though they operate out of one. The Crack'd Cauldron was once a large apothecary store, selling and buying various ingredients and potions. In the hands of the current owners, it is less of a shop and more of a healing house. There is no cost for treatment, and they are supported by the rest of the village as without their methods many would die to infections from hunting trips or animal attacks.

History

Pineclose was settled by Humans in the Planecross Cycle. Trade routes had initially been content to pass along the coast of Aesmaril, but pirate activity had become particularly troubling. To account for the difficulties, Pineclose was created founded with an agreement to the Elven leaders; it would function as a trade and port town once developed, where both empires could safely arrive for repairs and supply.

Pineclose never fully developed and was left in an unusual position between a village and a town when the Cataclysm arrived. Its population sustain on what they can and have shown little inclination or desire to further grow and develop.

Architecture

With wooden buildings, much of the village is snow-caked. The roofs of the buildings sag and groan under the weight of snow, with icicles as large as a man's leg clinging to the eaves. On some of the oldest buildings, the icicles have reached the ground and created uneven columns lining the walls of the structures; it's not uncommon to find charms and tokens strung to the icicles, half-buried or even entombed within the ice from decades of accumulation.

Geography

With the Windmourne forest to the south and Faewoods, The to the east Pineclose is enclosed on much of its boundaries by dense treeline. The northern border leads directly to the ocean, while a cleared pathway travels south-east to reach Aesruk, passing by numerous abandoned or squallid hamlets and trading posts along the way.

Natural Resources

With the ocean resources available and the lumber from the surrounding forests, Coldpine can survive with a level of confidence, if not comfort. The bones of the animals they hunt and rocks are hewn from where they jut out of the snow and ice provide valuable materials as well; knapped bone and stone provide effective tools and weapons, with padded leather serving as armour or clothing. Nothing is wasted; even the smallest of bones, removed from the ears of prey animals, are sharpened and repurposed into fish hooks.

Type

Village

Population

139

Inhabitant Demonym

Aesmarian

Location under

Aesmaril