Lambsrest

“Last stop before the mountain’s shadow.”

Lambsrest stands as Everwealth’s final bastion of civilization before the rugged, iron-bound territories of the Ironclad Republic. A town of shepherds, merchants, and craftsmen, it thrives on the back of its vast livestock farms, abundant wool production, and endless trade caravans that pass through its roads. Unlike the hardened, battle-ready settlements that guard the kingdom’s borders, Lambsrest is not fortified against its neighbor, nor does it need to be, the Ironclad Republic and Everwealth remain steadfast allies, bound by their shared history in the Schism. Instead, Lambsrest fortifies itself against the lawless stretches of road leading north and the ever-present influence of the Dwarfish Cartel, whose shadow looms large over the town’s wealth. Despite its sizeable population of 8,000, Lambsrest is not remarkable for its grandeur but for its purpose. Here, mutton and wool sustain the economy, feeding and clothing countless Everwealthy citizens while grain and vegetable farms ensure the livestock, and those who raise them, do not starve. Its bustling markets are thick with the scent of smoked meats and dyed fabrics, its streets lined with tanners, tailors, toolmakers, and stablemasters, all working to serve the endless caravans that pass through its gates.
But for all its prosperity, darkness lingers beneath the surface. The Dwarfish Cartel’s grip on the town is a quiet but undeniable force, their hands in everything from protection rackets to whispered deals with the very bandits that plague the northern roads. Caravans vanish before they ever reach Lambsrest, their shipments conveniently replaced by cartel-backed merchants, while wealthier traders often find themselves ‘encouraged’ to pay for protection, whether they want it or not. And though the town boasts one of the few schoolhouses in Everwealth, offering education to its youth, even knowledge cannot scrub away the uneasy understanding that some forces in Lambsrest are beyond the reach of law. Yet still, business thrives, and life carries on. The people of Lambsrest know better than to ask questions, and as long as the coin flows, the wool spins, and the herds continue to graze, few dare to challenge the unseen hands that pull the strings.

Demographics

Lambsrest is an unusually diverse settlement for Everwealth, home to a wide mix of races who have carved out their place in the town’s thriving economy. Humans remain the majority, making up most of the town’s merchants, shepherds, and laborers. However, Dwarves hold significant influence, particularly in the textile and trade industries, with many prominent wool merchants and blacksmiths coming from Dwarfish families. The presence of the Dwarfish Cartel only solidifies their economic power, ensuring that key trade routes remain under their watchful eye. Gnomes, though fewer in number, are highly valued artisans, working primarily in textile production, dyeing, and weaving. Their precise craftsmanship and natural ingenuity have led to Lambsrest producing some of the finest wool garments in the kingdom. One of the most notable aspects of the town’s demographics, however, is the high Goblin population. Unlike in most of Everwealth, where Goblins are often viewed with distrust or outright hostility, Lambsrest has embraced them as essential members of its workforce. Goblins serve as skilled tanners, laborers, traders, and craftsmen, respected for their efficiency and reliability. Here, a Goblin’s worth is measured not by prejudice, but by their ability to contribute. Elfese and Orcs are rarer sights but not unheard of. Elfese, when present, often work in dye-making or fine crafting, drawn by the town’s thriving textile industry. Orcs, meanwhile, find employment in the harder labor jobs or as enforcers for various factions, particularly the Dwarfish Cartel. While the town prides itself on its relative tolerance, it is still deeply rooted in Everwealth’s pragmatism, one’s value is determined by their work ethic, and those who do not contribute find little welcome in Lambsrest.

Government

Lambsrest operates under a mayoral governance, though true power lies in the hands of its wealthiest guilds and criminal elements. Mayor Gideon Thorne, a well-fed and silver-tongued politician, publicly governs the town, ensuring that trade flows smoothly and disputes remain quiet. However, those who truly run Lambsrest do not hold official office. The Dwarfish Cartel, a shadowy network of merchants and enforcers, holds far greater influence than the mayor himself. Many key businesses pay protection fees, and those who refuse often find their storehouses mysteriously burned or their shipments lost to the wilderness. Despite this thinly veiled corruption, Lambsrest remains stable, if not entirely free. Laws exist, but they are enforced selectively. Taxes are collected efficiently, ensuring the Crown gets its due, but local disputes, smuggling, and backroom dealings often resolve themselves without ever reaching official channels. For most, this is simply the way things are, an unspoken contract between the people and the unseen forces that ensure their livelihoods.

Defences

Lambsrest is moderately fortified, though its defenses are built more for deterring bandits than repelling an army. Unlike many other border towns, it does not fear war, the Ironclad Republic is an ally, not an enemy. Instead, palisades and watchtowers serve to monitor road traffic and dissuade raiders from attacking merchant caravans. While an official town guard exists, their role is less about law enforcement and more about keeping trade moving. Many look the other way when it comes to cartel dealings, choosing to keep the peace rather than stir conflict. Despite this, Lambsrest remains a relatively safe place, for those who know how to play by its unspoken rules.

Industry & Trade

Lambsrest’s industry is entirely built on livestock, textiles, and trade. It is the largest producer of wool and mutton in southern Everwealth, supplying not only local markets but also merchants traveling deep into the kingdom and beyond.

• Meat Markets & Smokehouses – Fresh cuts and preserved meats are exported daily, keeping Everwealth’s soldiers, traders, and nobles fed.

• Wool & Textiles – Lambsrest produces some of the finest wool in the kingdom, highly sought after by tailors, merchants, and nobles alike.

• Tackmakers & Stablemasters – Due to heavy road traffic, there is a constant demand for saddles, reins, and quality horse care.

• Toolmaking & Blacksmithing – Though not a major smithing hub, the town produces basic agricultural tools, shears, and iron goods for travelers.

Though the town thrives, much of its success comes at a price. With smugglers and cartel-backed merchants controlling parts of the trade routes, there is a constant undercurrent of corruption beneath the bustling economy.

Infrastructure

Lambsrest boasts a well-developed infrastructure, built to support its thriving livestock and textile industries. The town’s roads are some of the best-maintained in the frontier, ensuring that wagons loaded with wool, mutton, and grain can travel efficiently to Everwealth’s heartlands or south to the Ironclad Republic. Windmills dot the outskirts, powering grain processing and textile preparation. The town features multiple large smokehouses and tanneries, responsible for curing meats and treating hides, their chimneys constantly releasing thick plumes of smoke into the sky. Bridges and stone walkways make it easier for shepherds to move their flocks without disturbing merchants, while the market district is well-organized to handle heavy trade traffic. The town also boasts one of Everwealth’s rare schoolhouses, an unusual luxury for a frontier town, offering education in mathematics, trade, and the basics of literacy. Unlike many smaller settlements, Lambsrest has a rudimentary sewage system, with stone-lined drainage ditches directing waste and runoff away from populated areas. While not as advanced as the capital’s, it ensures a cleaner environment than many towns of similar size. The town’s most notable infrastructure, however, remains its extensive stabling and storage facilities, ensuring that merchants, shepherds, and travelers always have room to house their livestock and wares.

Districts

• Shepherd’s Row – The heart of Lambsrest’s livestock trade, where sheep, cattle, and other animals are kept, bought, and sold. The air is thick with the scent of wool, hay, and dung.

• The Golden Fleece Market – The largest trading hub in town, where merchants gather to sell textiles, cured meats, and other goods. It is a loud, bustling place, controlled by the Wool & Textile Guild.

• Tanner’s Hollow – A rougher, more industrial district, home to butchers, tanneries, and smokehouses. The stench of blood and chemicals lingers in the air, and few live here willingly.

• Cartel’s Alley – A more discreet part of town, where backroom deals, smuggling, and illicit trades take place. It is not officially acknowledged on any map, but everyone knows where it is.

• The Longroad Quarter – The main residential district, where laborers, traders, and wealthier citizens live. The farther one lives from the market, the more prestigious the home.

Assets

Lambsrest’s greatest asset is its trade network. It serves as the last stop before the Ironclad Republic and the first sign of civilization after the untamed roads beyond. The livestock and wool trade make it one of Everwealth’s wealthiest border towns, ensuring its continued growth despite the lawless roads and cartel dealings.

• The Golden Fleece Market – The largest wool and textile market in the region, where merchants sell everything from raw fleece to fine garments.

• The Hollow Horn Butchery – A massive smokehouse and butcher’s guild, supplying salted meats and preserved goods for trade.

• The Longroad Stables – The largest stable in the town, catering to merchants, caravans, and messengers traveling south.

• Cartel Safehouses – While not publicly acknowledged, hidden safehouses and smuggling dens exist beneath the surface, ensuring the cartel’s grip remains strong

Guilds and Factions

Lambsrest’s economy and political landscape are dominated by guilds and shadowy organizations, with many of its wealthiest residents owing their success not just to hard work, but to knowing the right people. While the town operates under official governance, much of its power lies in the hands of the merchant class, the wool and livestock guilds, and the ever-present Dwarfish Cartel.

• The Wool & Textile Guild – The largest legitimate organization in Lambsrest, overseeing the shearing, dyeing, and export of wool. They ensure quality control, regulate pricing, and keep outside merchants from undermining their hold on the trade. Wealthy guildmasters own many of the largest farms and hold strong ties to Everwealth’s textile markets.

• The Butcher’s League – A collective of slaughterhouses, smokehouses, and meat merchants, ensuring that mutton, beef, and other meats are processed and sold fairly. This guild controls who can trade within Lambsrest, and unaffiliated butchers often find themselves without access to livestock.

• The Dwarfish Cartel – Less an official guild and more a silent authority, the cartel operates in the shadows, controlling key trade routes, running protection rackets, and influencing town politics. Merchants and caravans that do not pay their dues often find themselves robbed, or worse. Despite their criminal nature, they provide stability, ensuring the roads remain clear of rival bandit gangs and enforcing a strict, if unofficial, order in town.

• The Shepherd’s Brotherhood – A loose-knit union of shepherds, stablemasters, and tack makers, protecting their interests against predatory merchants and overreach from the Wool Guild. While not as powerful, they ensure fair pay for laborers and stable conditions for herders.

History

Lambsrest was founded in 367 CA as a modest livestock and farming settlement, originally meant to feed Everwealth’s growing cities. It quickly became a major supplier of wool and mutton, its open pastures and fertile land making it an ideal hub for shepherding. Over time, the settlement grew into a thriving trade town, its roads bustling with merchants, farmers, and craftsmen moving goods between Everwealth and the Ironclad Republic. However, its prosperity attracted the attention of less scrupulous figures, and by the early 400s CA, the Dwarfish Cartel had embedded itself into the town’s commerce, ensuring that no shipment, sale, or trade took place without their influence. Despite the underworld dealings, Lambsrest has never seen true collapse or violent unrest, unlike many other frontier towns. Its continued growth, steady economy, and strategic position have ensured its survival, at a cost. Those who prosper in Lambsrest do so under unspoken rules, navigating a delicate balance between lawful trade and illicit dealings.

Points of interest

• The Golden Fleece Market – The heart of Lambsrest’s economy, a sprawling marketplace where wool merchants, tailors, and butchers gather to sell their goods. The smell of freshly tanned leather, smoked meats, and dyed fabrics fills the air.

• The Harrow Horn Butchery – The largest slaughterhouse and meat-processing center, supplying Everwealth with fresh cuts and preserved meats. The interior is a blood-slicked maze of steel hooks and heavy cleavers, where only the strongest stomachs dare to work.

• The Longroad Stables – A massive stable and tack shop, providing horses, wagons, and supplies to traders crossing the Amber Hills. Many travelers rest here before the long journey north.

• The Cartel’s Counting House – An unassuming warehouse near the market, where Lambsrest’s most powerful underworld figures operate. Business is conducted in whispers, ledgers are kept under lock and key, and debts are settled one way or another.

Tourism

Lambsrest is not a destination for sightseers, but rather a necessary stop for travelers, traders, and caravans. Those journeying between Everwealth and the Ironclad Republic pass through regularly, stocking up on supplies, repairing wagons, and resting their beasts of burden. While there are no grand attractions, some scholars and merchants visit to study the textile trade, as Lambsrest produces some of the finest wool in the kingdom. Others arrive on more clandestine business, seeking the cartel’s services, whether that be smuggling, information, or discreet protection. At night, however, the roads grow empty. Even the boldest travelers refuse to press on after sundown, preferring to sleep under the watchful eye of town walls rather than risk what lurks beyond the hills.

Architecture

Lambsrest’s buildings are sturdy, practical, and built to withstand both time and weather. The town’s structures are mostly timber-framed with whitewashed walls, steep thatched roofs, and heavy stone foundations to brace against the winds of the Amber Hills. Wealthier estates, such as those owned by wool merchants and cartel leaders, feature multi-story homes with enclosed courtyards, while smaller dwellings remain low and compact, clustered around busy marketplaces. Smokehouses and tanneries dot the outskirts, their chimneys belching thick plumes into the sky, while market stalls line the central thoroughfare in organized rows. Many doors and entryways are adorned with old Everwealthy charms, bone talismans, braided wool cords, and silver-threaded markings meant to ward off bad fortune.

Geography

Lambsrest lies at the southern edge of the Amber Hills, its landscape shaped by rolling fields, rocky outcrops, and vast pastures. The land is fertile, with thick grasslands perfect for grazing, but the hills also hide treacherous ravines and narrow passes where bandits often lurk. The Ironclad Republic lies just beyond the distant peaks, and though the road leading there is well-traveled, it is long and exposed, winding through untamed terrain where few settlements dare to exist. To the north, the road to Twin Brother’s Pass is far less secure, with stretches of unpatrolled wilderness where entire caravans have disappeared without a trace.

Climate

Lambsrest experiences a temperate but often unpredictable climate. Spring and summer bring lush, green pastures, with frequent rains that keep the land fertile. However, autumn and winter transform the Amber Hills into a harsh, windswept landscape, where bitter cold and sudden storms can turn travel into a deadly gamble. Fog often rolls in from the lower valleys, covering the town in a thick mist during the early mornings. Despite the occasional harsh conditions, the land is stable enough to sustain its industry year-round.

Natural Resources

Lambsrest is a land of pastures and rolling farmland, rich in livestock, grain, and textiles. Sheep and cattle roam its fields in the thousands, their wool and meat forming the backbone of the economy. Smokehouses and butchers line the streets, preserving meats for long-distance trade, while mills and tanneries produce goods that are shipped across Everwealth and beyond. The fertile lands surrounding the town allow for stable grain and vegetable production, ensuring both the people and their animals are well-fed. Unlike many frontier settlements, Lambsrest does not suffer from scarcity, it has everything it needs to sustain itself. However, the wealth it produces makes it a constant target for thieves, bandits, and those looking to take their share by force.

Founding Date

119 CA

Alternative Name(s)

'Slaughtertown'.

Population

7,100.

Inhabitant Demonym

"Shepherds', 'Lambs'.

Owning Organization

The Monarchy