Coldwater Crossing
Coldwater Crossing sits on both sides of the Coldwater river, in the foothills of the Spine, at the end of the Great West Road which bisects Ardheim. Smaller roads run north and south, connecting Coldwater to other settlements in the foothills.
It was originally a collection of houses and forest farms around the manor of one of the God-Queen’s barons. After the War of Hubris, the Republican authorities made treaties with the dwarfs to reopen the mine workings just north of the old Darkwater caves, and over the last century the quarry has become the economic focus of the area. The farms are controlled from country estates, and much of the Oldwood has been cleared to provide additional arable land.
Demographics
Humans - Humans live throughout the districts of Coldwater Crossing, although those in Silvertown have very little in common with those of Oldtown. Elves - Although not common so far from the cities, high elf families hold the manor farms, and a small number act as advisers or own property in Silvertown. About 40% of the Coldwater Mining Corporation is held by high elves. Most of the wood elves left the district when they were betrayed by the Union and lost the battle for the Oldwood. Those who remain tend to keep to the trees of Oldwood as is. There are a number of half-elves in the village, mostly in Silvertown. Gnomes - Forest gnomes have always lived alongside the human and elf residents of the village, but with the growth of the town, many have moved out into the woods. There is a growing city gnome community in the town itself. Few live in Quarrytown, and those who labour on the farms rarely reside in the dormitories, but otherwise they are well-distributed across the district. Halflings - There are very few halflings who live in the village, but many of those who walk the paths up and down the eaves of the mountains pass through regularly, and may take up temporary residence in Oldtown. Dwarfs - Hill dwarfs in the district live almost exclusively in Quarrytown or – for the very rich – Silvertown. A handful of mountain dwarfs live up at the mine. Orcs - There are Orc labourers and their families living in Quarrytown. They have their own community within the community, where they revere their forefathers while paying lip service to the Sword of Heaven. There are also a few half-orcs living in Oldtown, and their is a hard lot. With the mixing of the cultures being very new, the stigma against them is high on both sides, and very few are raised among their full-blood orc kin in Quarrytown. Goliath - A small number of half-giants live in the west of Quarrytown, where the land rises up towards the mountains.Districts
Bridgetown
The oldest part of the village lies on either side of the Coldwater River. Much of the housing is original and well-preserved, and now occupied by well-to-do, middle class families with trade and mining interests. This includes much of the local service industry (butchers, bakers etc.) This is also home to the forge and the temple minor of the area.Oldtown
Built to the south of the crossing during the reign of the God-Queen, the once-comfortable housing of Oldtown has slipped into disrepair, and the district is now a slum, occupied by the poor of the village, including many of the day labourers from the farms, and former tenant farmers displaced by the expansion of the manor farms. On the outskirts of Oldtown, the Watch Hall is a mustering point and armoury, which sits next to the Muster Ground, where the militia train.Silvertown
The latest phase of civic development is a gated district, incorporating the houses of the Guild leaders and gentry, and the baronial hall (aka the Big House.) The Baron is the local magistrate and one of the village electors, returning a representative from among the lords of the surrounding estates to the Barons’ Council in Galbriga.Quarrytown
The quarry is a mine working, from which a labour force under the authority of the Cult of Crafts extracts stone, tin and silver in reducing quantities. Great machines of artifice stand sentry over the pit and the labour houses, while hill dwarfs, orcs and goliaths labour deep underground. The community surrounding the quarry and mine in the foothills, composed almost entirely of labourers, is known as Quarrytown. Once a shanty town, the original dwellings have been replaced by idiosyncratic, patchwork structures, crafted with care and skill by the mine workers. The town is headed by an Overseer, elected by and from the residents, and the Factor, a Guild official representing the commercial interests of the Coldwater Mining Corporation. A shrine of Ilmar stands as the centre of the community.The Outcountry
The village is flanked to the north and east by farmland, where once the great Oldwood pressed close. Scattered fields and pasture extend to the south. The two great houses in the farming district are the manors of the landsholders, the two remaining electors of the village, as well as their families and servants. Coldwater Manor and Coldwater Grange control almost all of the farmland in the region. Smaller farm buildings, once tenant farms, have been left to stand as dormitories and storehouses for the manor farms.- Coldwater Manor - Home to one of the local electors, ‘the Manor’ is a large house set in a sprawling estate of gardens and farmland.
- Coldwater Grange - The second of the electors’ estates, just lesser in scale to Coldwater Manor, the Grange is associated with a temple of Aster which is one of the oldest religious structures in Coldwater Crossing.
- Coldwater Mill - Downstream of the village stands the mill which services the farms of the Outcountry. Doubles as a stockyard and a tavern for freight carriers.
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