Crossfeld (crohz-feld)
Crossfeld is a small farming and trade crossroads town located northwest of Everyn on the other side of the Mercer River. It functions as a meeting place for trade and travel from all western and northern parts of the continent, joining those areas to Everyn and the rest of the southern region. The main trade road from Riverford meets the western edge of Crossfeld, while the trade road that runs to Zennfield, the Enlightened City of Kort, and Tallstag lies to the north of the town. Across the river, the outpost of Camp Bodwyn is only two days' journey, while Everyn is about three or four days to the east-southeast.
Until the founding and buildup of Camp Bodwyn, Crossfeld was the Dumein Dominion's main settlement to keep Everyn in check. There was always a small military garrison in Crossfeld, just in case Everyn broke its famous vows of pacifism and tried to expand westward. The location of Crossfeld meant Everyn was sandwiched between it and Dumein Keep, the capital and main city of the Dominion. Crossfeld has seen exactly zero formal invasions by neighboring nations in its history, and the only threats to the town have been wandering beasts and very occasional raiding gnolls out of the Dumein Hills.
Demographics
Humans make up about 45% of Crossfeld's population, while halflings represent about 25%. Dwarves, gnomes, and elves each represent around 10% of the population, while the remainder are people of various other races that have moved and/or grown their families here over time. Most people work agriculture or other manual labor jobs that provide steady - if relatively low - income, while a few wealthy families control the trade companies and most of the caravan service industry (cartwrights, carpentry, ferriers, breeders, etc.).
Government
The town is ruled by a Mayor who is appointed from within the town's noble families and other prominent entrepreneurs. The monarch of the Dumein Dominion, now the Everyn Federation, makes this appointment when the position becomes vacant. The mayor is appointed for life or until the monarch decides to remove them for one reason or another. The title is not hereditary, and the heir of the previous mayor theoretically has no better chance of being appointed than the previous mayor's greatest enemy. The mayor is supported by a small council of advisors, the makeup of which differs from mayor to mayor. Some prefer to choose prominent citizens who are experts and well recognized in their fields or certain areas of town administration, while other mayors use the council to nepotistically appoint their friends and family to high government positions.
Defences
The town proper once had a thick stone perimeter wall surrounding its most vital areas, but that was dismantled about 60 years ago when the population was somewhat booming and more building supplies were needed. The mayor at the time - supported by the Dominion thegn - bet that neither Everyn nor Riverford would ever actually attack the town, and thus they were safe to deconstruct the wall and use the stone to help build houses and businesses that were badly needed at the time.
Presently, the town is defended by a network of 15 Watch garrisons spread throughout the town and out into the outskirts farms. Each of these garrisons is the headquarters for between ten and fifty troops, with the main central garrison also serving as the town's prison and courthouse. The garrisons closer to the edge of the town are equipped with roof telescopes to help the scouts get a better look at potential threats on the town's periphery. Every garrison building has an arcane bell that connects all the towers in town and can be used to request reinforcements from other areas.
Infrastructure
All major roads through Crossfeld are paved and well maintained. The climate of the town is mild enough that the paving rarely has a problem with ice or rain, and the fairly even and durable surface makes it much easier for the carts and draft animals to travel. In the middle of town, where all roads meet, is a massive cart servicing store that has several smiths, carpenters, cartwrights, and even a draft animal merchant. Nicknamed "The Caravan Bazaar" by merchants, this is a one-stop shop for any repairs or improvements one might want for their cart. And because it is right on the crossroads, carts and caravans can pull right into a stall from the main road, making everything very efficient and easy for the merchants to navigate.
Though Crossfeld exists near the Mercer River, it is not quite close enough for the town to use as a source of freshwater. Irrigation channels diverted from the river provide water for several farms in the region, but most rely on wells - as does most of the town. The very outskirt neighborhoods on the south of Crossfeld are able to use the Mercer as a freshwater source, but the town itself has about three dozen wells to provide clean water to the citizens.
History
At the dawn of the Second Age, wandering nomadic peoples founded small towns across the eastern part of Ayndrinor, and within a few decades trade began to develop between these towns and villages. Some of the settlements faded into nothing, while others were founded along the new trade routes. Crossfeld was a case of the latter, along the trade route between the quickly burgeoning city of Everyn and the northern part of the continent. The early decades of the town were very quiet, with very little conflict apart from wandering beasts and the occasional gnoll raid.
Then in 153 2A, the Dumein Dominion began a campaign of expansion across the continent - the first of many to come. The sought to establish an outpost that could watch Everyn with their capital in Dumein Keep, and they determined that the small crossroads village at Crossfeld was the perfect place to serve this function. With very little fight, the Dumeiner army took control of the town, and they have held it solidly ever since with no threat of outside invasion or attack.
Like most plains towns, and especially those near the hills, Crossfeld had its share of gnoll raids over the centuries, as well as the occasional dragon attack. The small military garrison that was permanently stationed here was able to defeat all of these threats with varying degrees of ease. Though the town itself has grown slowly over the years, the number of farms has increased dramatically over the last 300 years as people from other parts of the world resettle here, happy to have found fertile land and a relatively mild climate.
The most excitement Crossfeld gets usually involves the somewhat secretive political machinations of various merchant companies and guilds across the land. Occasionally, local taverns and gambling halls will turn into impromptu fighting pits where merchants from competing firms duke it out to establish dominance or settle some petty dispute between themselves. The Watch has taken a very hands-off approach to these confrontations over the years, though they do keep a few guards on hand at all taverns, just in case the fighting gets out of hand or someone tries to get too violent. Fights are allowed - attempted murder is not.
The only other interesting thing of note for this crossroads town is the movement of military troops in the Dominion's various wars over the centuries. Most recently, the Everyn War saw units moving through Crossfeld one direction or another somewhat frequently. At the beginning of the war's second phase (when the bolstered army marched from Everyn to other parts of the continent) mercantile traffic in Crossfeld was halted for over a week while three of the four Dumeiner armies passed through the town on their way to their respective theaters of war. As troops would get restationed or moved to reinforce other fronts, many would pass through Crossfeld for at least a day or two, providing the citizens some amount of curiosity if not just annoyance at having their usual lives disrupted.
Architecture
The buildings of Crossfeld are somewhat varied in their forms, though most are built of stone with thatch or straw roofs. The last century has seen many homes built out of the remnants of the town's deconstructed perimeter wall. For some, this is a quirky thing to celebrate, making their houses look like miniature turrets or castles, while others prefer to stick with the simple house/shack design. The farms and estates on the outskirts of the town tend to be more sprawling, though their construction and overall style is much the same as the buildings in the town. The larger buildings of the government and temples tend to be more Byzantine in their construction, made of stone and sometimes brick with a few windows and other adornments.
Founding Date
153 2A
Type
Town
Population
13,514
Inhabitant Demonym
Crossfelders
Owning Organization
Comments