Tapatlan

At the edge of the lands of Otopan, far across the hinterlands, a small town marks the border of the Republic. Its wood-and-stone walls are surprisingly large for this remote spot, though the town still feels tiny compared to the imposing peaks of the Adira Mountains that rise in the distance. A small lake sits along the side of the town, an oasis in a land of grass and shrub. Farms surround the lake and are visible in the distance.
Around the gates of the town, a great mass of tents and makeshift hunts house desperate refugees - the first sign that something is deeply wrong. Otherwise, the town seems normal at first - a large square stone temple greets visitors in Sunekan style, and small log-and-adobe houses clutter the residential districts to the right of the Southern gate. To the left, a large market square moves with unusual bustle and richness. Tapatlan, needless to say, is more than meets the eye.

Demographics

1,500 humanoids live in Tapatlan. The population is 25% Human, 25% Prism, 25% Dryad, 15% Starspawn, 5% Kobold, and 5% other.

Government

Tapatlan is led by Mayor Kuretzin, a town elder who holds the position as long as they have the approval of the other town elders. These oligarchs meet every few years in the council of elders, to reconfirm the mayor and review town policy. Kuretzin is popular among the local elites and is something of a ruthless pragmatist. 
The local town priest is a charismatic mystic by the name of Itzinu. Itzinu has many acolytes and devotees, and is an elusive character who only rarely interacts with other priests of the Suneka. 
The land is technically owned by the Detelu clique, whose local representative and manager is the faux-aristocrat Kiretkil Detelu. Kiretkil does not live near here, though - rather, they live in an estate the town over. Kiretkil does own a nearby iron mine though, that employs a number of the townsfolk.

Defences

The town has wooden walls, with a few stone segments. A mountain just to the North also has a large watchtower that alerts the town of impending attacks, though the tower is outside of Otopan's official territory and no one is quite sure who operates it.

Industry & Trade

The three main industries here are mining, farming, and herding. The grassy hills to the West are excellent grazing land. Local farms produce wheat, buckwheat, and fodder, as well as dairy products and hemp. Some farms have previously been caught growing poppy flowers illegally, as well. The mines to the Southeast produce iron and Prism-food, and townsfolk regularly migrate between the town and the mining camps. 
The town has no trade license, but has a bustling market square anyways. The mountain pass to the North was once a bustling trade route to Inahng, but has not been in formal use for centuries.

History

Tapatlan was a thriving center of trade long, long ago: a great refuge and trading post sat operated here from 1305 to 1750. The trade slowly dried up, though, and with it died the town. When the Empire of Calazen occupied the region in 1870, they built an outpost here from the ruins of the old sanctuary. Over the decade, the soldiers stationed at this outpost struggled to extract taxes and resources from the surrounding area, so plans to forcibly settle surround peoples were put into place. A city of tents and huts cropped up around the outpost, as the locals had nowhere here to live - and the unsanitary conditions were more costly than profitable. In 1881, the soldiers used local corvee labor to build a town around the outpost. Local officials had plans to try and expand the outpost and town to better project power in the region, but these plans were never carried through. 
In 1900, a coalition of mountain tribes and heretics drove out the local garrison and seized the town for themselves. And in 1904, Sunekan troops claimed Tapatlan for themselves, and marked it as the limits of their territory. Over the last few decades, Tapatlan has been a punching bag for the Sunekan authorities. The town unfortunately gained a reputation for itself as an easy target after a 1987 raid by the Guardians of Hokzin found illegal opium production and sale as well as the presence of heretical materials. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Tapatlan was regularly attacked by militias and holy warriors seeking easy victories - but over the years, the raids grew less successful. Somehow, most the town's population and contraband would dissapear as the invaders arrived, and the town was never a valuable enough target to be occupied and investigated. These raids have stopped in the last few years, but the town remains prickly towards outside government authorities.

Architecture

Most town buildings are made of interlocking logs with an adobe covering and flat thatched roofing. Important buildings, like the temple or the armory, are built of stone and typically sit like large white-stone cubes with mostly-flat tile roofing.

Geography

Tapatlan is built on a plateau. While it seems to be quite low compared to the surrounding mountains, it is actually much higher above sea level than most of Ikatlan. The surrounding landscape is mostly grassland, shrubland, and rocky hills. Ominous mountains rise to the North. A very small lake, which dwindles to a pond during the dry season, sits at the Eastern edge of town and provides the water for local agriculture.

Founding Date

1881

Type

Town

Population

1,500

Inhabitant Demonym

Tapatlani

Location under

Ikatlan

Owning Organization

Republic of Otopan

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