Graymalkin

"Graymalkin"
Known for its trained hunting cats, and beautifully shaped "Panther Peak", the intrepid Graymalkin, is a large town, tucked away amongst the forest, between the Catslick River and Catsclaw Mountains. If not for its extreme isolation, this would be a much larger and more prominent town. All those who come here, remark on its diverse population and dedication to independence and self-sufficiency.

Demographics

Being a very self-sufficient community, Graymalkin has learned very quickly that all peoples are necessary contributors and must rely on and support one another in such an isolated place. As such all races are welcomed. All people are equals and all adults get an equal vote. Currently the population has about 1% half-orc, 2% gnomes, 3% halflings, 6% elves, 8% half-elves, 10% dwarves, and 70% humans. As word slowly spreads of the town’s tolerance and acceptance, more and more scattered people of various races join the town. In fact a vast majority of the townsfolk were not born in Graymalkin.

Government

The town is run by a council of nine, chosen and voted upon by the citizens of the town. All new changes to the laws are voted upon by the citizens and can be added or changed by a 75% majority.

Defences

Individual homesteads may have short, field stone walls or wooden fences surrounding their properties. The main town is surrounded by a wall made from hewn and fitted andesite stone blocks and intermittent wooden lookout towers. The town does have an old ballista and two catapults in storage. Adversaries are usually no match for the squads of trained hunting cats either.
Local enemies sporadically come in the form of a wandering ogres from the north or the occasional small goblin raids from the mountains to the west. While usually causing a bit of disruption and some panic at first, they are usually no match for the town’s defenses, in particular the trained hunting cats.

Industry & Trade

Being an out of the way town and very hard to get to, Greymalkin has become a very self sufficient community. Traders and visitors are always welcome. All excess town produced goods are available for export. Of particular interest are the rare trained hunting cats that Graymalkin has become known for. They are sometimes available during the annual holiday auction on All Cats Day.

Infrastructure

The bridge over the Catslick River was built by the town elves and paths are being cleared and constructed through the Catsclaw Mountains by the town dwarves. The halflings have even set up a few windmills to grind flower. The most noticeable feature is of course "Panther Peak", the enormous image of a sleeping panther carved from the hillsides just behind the main town area. Nature had weathered and eroded the main shape, but a few enterprising young artists took to clearing out the underbrush and put the finishing touches on the bedrock. Now it's a point of pride among the locals to maintain the cat’s image.

Guilds and Factions

There are no guilds permitted in the city and any allusions to creating one are quickly shut down and discouraged.

History

Graymalkin was founded during the dreaded “Ogre March”. When the ogres and their brethren of the northland began to expand, raid, and capture territories. Many races, towns, and villages fell to their ferocity. The original settlers had been captured and their homes burned, before being brought to a slave, work encampment near a swampy tributary of the Catslick River.
One fateful day during a dwarven counterstrike against the local ogres, the prisoners managed to escape in the confusion and flee into the swamp. Even though they were pursued by the ogres, the prisoners’ smaller and lighter frames allowed them to pull away and gain some distance from the ogres. At the edge of the swamp, where the waters joined into a small river, the escapees made primitive rafts and set out for freedom.
For days they floated on the river, and each day it became wider, and deeper, and faster, until after encountering particularly rough rapids, the rafts broke apart and stranded them on western bank. They continued to follow the river for days, until one morning, after a particularly fine breakfast of fish and berries, a child was heard crying. She was sad because a few of the older kids had gone to look for a cat they had seen at sunrise. Search parties were sent out in all direction and the children were found, quietly sitting on log in the forest, laughing and pointing at the hills in the distance. When the adult looked at the hillside, they also laughed, as the hillside perfectly resembled that of a sleeping cat. The sunrise had lit it up, magnifying it’s features and drawing the children to it.
A few party members took notice of the available resources of the forest, hills, and river and suggested making a more permanent camp at the base of the hills in order to make it through the oncoming winter. With a lot of hard work and dedication, they all made it through the winter and with no home to go back to, they decided to make the area their new permanent home. They named their new home “Graymalkin”, from their old word for cat and the color of the hillside stone it’s made out of. Due to the abundant resources of the area, the town has not only survived, but has thrived, and grown every year.

Architecture

Andesite stone and maple, beach, cherry, hemlock, and pine wood is used throughout the architecture here. Buildings usually consist of stone foundations and wooden wall and roofs. The walls of buildings are often painted white and have natural colored wooden shingles for roofs.

Geography

This town sits in a mixed forest at the base of a small dissected plateau. Years of weathering and erosion have carved the plateau into numerous hills and valleys with several small streams flowing into the forests beyond.

Natural Resources

Wood: Lumber from maple, beach, cherry, and hemlock, pine
Rocks and Minerals: andesite stone, rhyolite, quartz, clays
Crops: apples orchards, pear orchards, potatoes, sugar beats, wild grapes, wheat fields, beech nuts
Livestock: cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, deer, squirrels
Processed Goods: maple syrup, apple cider, pear hard cider, pear wine, vodka, sugar beat rum, wine, beer, pottery, yarn, cloth, leather, tanned hides

Type

Large town

Population

4,000

Currency
Graymalkin's currency initially began as wooden markers that were used to barter goods and services. After a few years and the town began to become more stable, clay pottery chips were used. As time passed and trading with other towns began, a more recognizable and reliable form of currency was needed. At first, captured metals in the form of weapons and goblin treasure, were melted down and recast as Graymalkin’s first coins. 50% of all captured and discovered items of value go to the towns coffers, which then turn specified items into coins.
All coins bear the iconic Graymalkin Panther on one side and an image of historical importance on the other. Graymalkin currency includes copper cats, steel streams, silver stars, and gold suns.
Some collectors outside of Graymalkin value the coins at more than their metals worth, sometimes 5 to 10 times the value, depending on age and rarity.
Copper Cats, have the Graymalkin Panther on one side and a depiction of a boy and girl child sitting on a log, on the other.
Steel Streams, have the Graymalkin Panther on one side and a depiction of their rafting ancestors coming down the Catslick River, on the other side.
Silver Stars, have the Graymalkin Panther on one side and on the other, a fruit tree surrounded by a semi-circle of 9 stars above it and flanked by a bow and a quiver of 9 arrows to its left and a garden hoe to its right.
Gold Suns, have the Graymalkin Panther on one side and on the other, a rising sun in the center with a windmill just below it and a hammer to its left and axe to its right.