Cooperage

Cooperage is the regional capital of the Ranger's Reach in Talevir, and was once a city-state in its own right, controlling much of the surrounding area once known as the Kingdom of Reachland. Scholars and locals alike refer to the hill and grassland zone of the territory as "Old Reachland" when detailing historical accounts.


While Cooperage is the seat of governance for the entire territory of Ranger's Reach, its practicable control only really extends across the grasslands and hills of the territory south of the Mason and Gap Rivers. North of the Gap River, all lands west of the Mason River, and the mountains of the Spine are covered by the patrols from Rangefort. Only two of the larger settlements in the territory are truly governed by Cooperage: Candlekeep and Panrim. All other large settlements in Ranger's Reach deal with the Cooperage government office closer by at Rangefort.

Boroughs of Cooperage

The city is separated into several sections, each with neighborhood subdivisions:

Uptown

The ruins of Old Cooperage have been built upon over and over again. The deepest layers make up the foundations of the north half of the old city, where wealth is on full display.

• Highstave - The old settlement remains form the warrens and foundations under Highstave, giving it a slightly elevated position above the south bank. This neighborhood was built up originally for storage of drying staves for barrels. By the year 900 Post-Sundering, warehouses have been exchanged for museums, galleries, and university workshops mixed with apartments of lesser nobles, shipowners, and government officials.
• Archstone - The oldest ruins of the predecessors to Cooperage are found around and under a hill overlooking the city with a view of Fairharbor Bay beyond. Excavations have unearthed temples and a necropolis in the area, but the centerpiece relic sits exposed on the hilltop; the Archstone appears as a partially crafted, partially natural archway of rock at the crest of the hill. The function of the monument is lost to time, but by 900 P.S. the site has been used as a gathering place for athletic games and ceremonies for hundreds of years. The prominence of the Archstone Games has preserved the heart of the city as a zone of public gardens, houses of worship, and only limited housing for the elite. It is a point of pride (and a show of power) that even travelers with no pedigree or standing may freely marvel at the gardens leading from the docks to the house of government.
• Newmanse - Just outside the walls of the old city center is the gated neighborhood of the wealthiest in Cooperage. Many of the mansions sit empty for part of the year, save for servants and assistants tending the house, as the lords leave for court at Stagshead. Cooperage has a long history as a gaming city and major trading hub of the Crosswind Sea, making for a strong contingent of money changers and money lenders. While the city puts up a front of openness across all economic backgrounds, the neighborhood of Newmanse reveals the extreme concentration of wealth of the city's elite. The lords of Newmanse keep the Cooperage City Watch well funded for their own ends, but many employ personal security forces to safeguard their mansions and the sometimes powerful artifacts they have on display within.

Downtown

The south bank of the old walled city still has much of the industry that gave Cooperage its name. The downtown zone is the primary trading hub of the city, with roadside and dockside markets, and the old kilns and workshops devoted to barrel making.

• Hooperton -At the city center, just across the bridge from the houses of government, is the main business zone for overland trade. Two broad bridges connect the neighborhood to the merchant docks while the Center Bridge allows carts and caravans easy movement through the heart of the city on the Long Road north and south. The neighborhood is named for the metal works needed for making barrels, though many of the smithies in the area focus more on works for horses, carts, and shipwrights and a good number of them make a living exclusively as armorers and sword smiths.
• Oxbow - The main point of landing for finished goods and travelers to Cooperage, the Oxbow on the north bank is the main harbor for moving between land and sea. While on the north bank and immediately adjacent to the gardens of Archstone, the Oxbow is well-connected to the other neighborhoods comprizing the Downtown area and shares the business interests of the mercantile zone. A large open air market takes up half the area, with docks and stables taking up most of the other half. Most of the buildings here cater to room and board for travelers and merchants and have connected shops or taverns. The annual Archstone Games sees thousands of travelers pour into the city and the Oxbow is well situated to accommodate the influx of wealthier travelers.
• Caskway - The old enterprise of Cooperage lives on in this neighborhood devoted to producing barrels for shipping and storage. Wood is largely brought in from the west and north of Talevir, rather than harvested in the hills of Ranger's Reach, but assembly is done in the Caskway. Wine casks and shipping containers are certainly made in mill towns of the northwest of Talevir, but Cooperage is built for production and export, and the Caskway's kilns and workshops make quick work of construction.

Bayside

The earliest build-out of the old walled city, Bayside is a boardwalk expanse of docks, warehouses and woodshops dealing with imported raw materials.

• Fairharbor - The original port for larger vessels approaching Cooperage. Fairharbor is built of fill over the delta, allowing ships with deeper draft closer approach for direct loading and offloading. Most of the neighborhood is comprised of warehouses for reorganization and distribution. Hundreds of lower-income residents trek into Fairharbor every day to work the warehouses, loading ramps, and act as runners and assistants to shipwrights.
• Bridgeton - While lumber may be offloaded into Fairharbor, unprocessed timber is taken in here. The delta island is devoted to lumber processing, with most of the residents living in dwellings built along the tall, arched bridges leading in and out of the neighborhood.
• Woodworks - The craft works that the central city used to be devoted to has largely been relocated to this neighborhood. Production and storage of staves is built into the area, but many turners and cartwrights work here.

Westbend

The western arc between old and new city walls is populated chiefly by professional craftspeople and military personnel.

• Muster -Barracks and training grounds for local militia, visiting regular army, and city watch.
• Brickworks - Ceramics, tile works, and brick making is centered in this neighborhood.

Innsborough

The northern arc outside the city walls is dominated by lower income residents and services for people on the road. Inns and stables line the roads leading north and west with houses in-between. Poverty is generally not extreme in Cooperage, but the poor tend to be kept to the city's rim, where there do tend to be job opportunities for ranch and mining work.

Lionsburg

The south rim outside the city walls is mostly made up of hostelers, cheaper inns, and ranchers. The east end has a light but steady clay mining industry while most of the city's shipwrights and their assistants live along the southwest bay shore in this zone.

Connections to other Settlements

Cooperage is the main river crossing of the Cooper River that bisects the grassland zone of Ranger's Reach, making it a prime location for moving between travel overland and oversea. The Long Road connects Cooperage to Panrim and Rangefort in the north and south to Bitterlake and Dovetail Point. A seasonally available mountain pass through the spine connects Cooperage to Stagshead.

Type

Large city