Deshines
Bailiff: Reeve
Liege: Sir Garith Kaphin, Bailiff of Skáist
Déshìnes is a hamlet of fourteen households lying on the River Road approximately one-and-a-half leagues north-east of Jédes.
The hamlet is the largest reeve-held settlement in the hundred and is the starting point for the great Asólade cattle drive. In midsummer, excess cattle from across the hundred are mustered on the drovers’ common in the centre of the village and a great auction is held. Most of the cattle are sold to mercantylers.
The mercantylers hire drovers to drive the stock north to markets in central Káldôr. Many animals are driven as far as Tashál, where fresh meat is in huge demand at the summer fairs.
Some experienced travellers without business in the hundred use the Támorlan-Skáist-Déshìnes-Yeáshim route to pass through the hundred.
This journey, with an overnight stay in either Támorlan or Yeáshim (both of which have inns), can significantly reduce travel times through the hundred. The villagers of Déshìnes are used to strangers travelling through the settlement.
Yeoman
Shortbow (Beadle)
Tall and broad-shouldered with close-cropped black hair and beard, Olath of Rothlar is the village beadle.
Olath regards himself as “lord” of Déshìnes and expects to receive the deference and service due to the bailiff of Skáist.
He demands instant attention and absolute obedience both from the local serfs and from his family. He is a selfish, uncaring, and lazy man and the majority of the local serfs dislike him.
Olath frequently delegates the duties of his office to his 15-year-old son.
He insists that the serfs work his fields and he “supervises” while his wife and two young daughters toil alongside the serfs.
Miller £££
Rykal of Baxt is the younger brother of Petrys, the miller of Méminast.
He was fortunate to be granted a licence so near his birthplace. Rykal was apprenticed in Kolôrn and travelled across most of Káldôr when he was a journeyman. He often tells tall tales of his travels.
Married with two young children, Rykal employs a journeyman and has one apprentice.
Rykal’s wife, Cerys, is city-bred, from Tashál, and is the daughter of a clothier. Cerys is a fine embroiderer and seamstress.
She is often given work by Elen of Darion, the bonded clothier at Skáist. Cerys is a plump and, until recently, happy woman who loves the quiet country life. She was never happy in the crowded and often unsafe streets of Tashál. Her tales of the crime, violence, and squalor of the city are well known.
However, she has recently begun to suspect that her husband is having an affair.
Charcoaler £££
Derren of Cormen is one of only two charcoalers in the hundred, the other being his brother, Merrik.
The two men have fixed their prices, but work independently of each other: Derren supplies the guildsmen, Merrik the two mines.
Derren does not remove all of the unburned wood when making up a bushel, thus overcharging his customers.
A solitary man of middle years, Derren is rarely at home.
He makes most of his charcoal in stacks east of Skáist. Derren is married; his 11-year-old son, Keldis, is at home, while his elder son, Davveth, is apprenticed to his brother.
Derren expects to return the favour in a couple of years. Keldis often disappears to play with his friends Mirald and Mysha of Hald.
Under-Reeve/Herder
Jorj of Klevan is a commoner of Tarwyn. Tall, dark-haired, and clean shaven, he keeps a large sounder of swine, but no horses.
Jorj acts as herder for both Skáist and Déshìnes.
In addition he is under-reeve for Déshìnes. His duties keep him extremely busy and he is often in the fields of Skáist, half-a-league to a league from his home.
Jorj is a skilled swineherd. His wife, Lysha, makes smoked bacon and dry cured ham, both keep well. His two sons look after his fields and swine. The elder of the two, Hendryk, was married early last year, and his wife is pregnant.
Jorj is becoming increasingly concerned at the attitude of the beadle. He has already expressed concerns to Hannrik of Dorsh, the reeve of Skáist.
Unfortunately, Hannrik has enough troubles of his own and has shown no interest in the situation at Déshìnes.
Others
Half-Villein/Fisherman
Storban of Haribert is a short, wiry, and agile man with thick black hair and a long scar across his left cheek, the result of an encounter with some Kath tribesmen.
A widower in his late forties, he is the eldest grandson of the cottar Lyra of Haribert. Storban is often away fishing in his coracle with his eldest son, 17-year-old Bantar. These trips frequently involve the two men being away overnight.
On these occasions the men actually cross the Kald into Kath territory to snare rabbits. They sometimes hunt larger game. Storban has three other children. His eldest daughter, Alyss, is 20 and unmarried. She is taller than her father, slender, thin-faced, and has long black hair.
Alyss has cooked and cleaned for her father since her mother died eight years ago. Unknown to her father, Alyss has a lover, Rabyn of Moray (p58), the woodward of Yeáshim.
Alyss signals her father’s absence to Rabyn by hanging a red blanket from the cottage window.
Alyss looks after her two younger siblings, the 10-year-old twins Mirald and Mysha. Alyss’s mother never recovered from their birth.
The twins are inseparable and often disappear for hours at a time to “the bower”, a secret place they share with Keldis of Cormen.
The trio call themselves “the Kingfishers”. This place is no longer exclusively theirs.
It is used as a meeting place by three noble girls: Edora Ercamber [p58]; Ayla Kaphin [p49]; and Louran Hargalen [p22].
The three noble girls refer to themselves as “the Byrians”. See the bower below for a description of the location.
Cottar
Myrana of Balyn was widowed last autumn. She is in her mid twenties and has two young children to feed. Over the winter she began an affair with the miller.
Myrana believes he will leave his wife for her, but to the miller it is simply a business transaction.
Cottar Lyra of Haribert lives alone.
The oldest woman by far in the village, she claims to be over 90 years old. No-one knows how accurate this claim is. Many of the local serfs are her kinfolk.
They tend her 2 acres of land and make sure that she eats well. Lyra is a toothless old crone, frail and stooped by age, but she is sharp-witted and keen-eyed.
She knows everything that is going on in the village, but usually keeps her knowledge to herself.
The one exception is her great granddaughter Alyss. She has threatened to tell Alyss’s father of his daughter’s affair and has told Alyss that “it will end in tears, as these things always do”.
Lyra is regarded by many villagers as a witch.
She is, in fact, a well-practiced clairvoyant and often enters a trance to wander through the village, seeking out secrets.
Lyra is aware of the bower and often watches over the noble girls when they meet. She is experienced enough to know that should harm befall any of the three there would be a great deal of trouble for the villagers.
Lyra is close to the twins Mirald and Mysha and is convinced that both have some talents.
The Bower
There is a low mound, surrounded by thick gorse bushes, near the river Kald.
An ancient oak tree stands at the top of the mound. A single route, requiring a crawl under several bushes, leads to a pleasant clearing with the oak at one end and wild roses at the other.
The clearing is the haunt of both the Kingfishers and the Byrians. Both groups used to regard the place as exclusively their own.
The Byrians would laboriously drag cut logs and firewood into the site, only for the Kingfishers to remove them. Eventually Ayla Kaphin, who is ringleader of the noble trio despite being the youngest of the three, managed to discover the identity of the three peasant children and make peace.
The group now share the bower and have made an elaborate camp there.
The clearing contains six log seats, a small fire pit, a neat stack of dropwood under a waxed canvas sheet, an old pot and an ancient wooden pail.
A rope, which acts as swing and climbing aid, hangs from the oak tree, which also serves as a lookout post.
Liege: Sir Garith Kaphin, Bailiff of Skáist
Déshìnes is a hamlet of fourteen households lying on the River Road approximately one-and-a-half leagues north-east of Jédes.
The hamlet is the largest reeve-held settlement in the hundred and is the starting point for the great Asólade cattle drive. In midsummer, excess cattle from across the hundred are mustered on the drovers’ common in the centre of the village and a great auction is held. Most of the cattle are sold to mercantylers.
The mercantylers hire drovers to drive the stock north to markets in central Káldôr. Many animals are driven as far as Tashál, where fresh meat is in huge demand at the summer fairs.
Some experienced travellers without business in the hundred use the Támorlan-Skáist-Déshìnes-Yeáshim route to pass through the hundred.
This journey, with an overnight stay in either Támorlan or Yeáshim (both of which have inns), can significantly reduce travel times through the hundred. The villagers of Déshìnes are used to strangers travelling through the settlement.
Yeoman
Shortbow (Beadle)
Tall and broad-shouldered with close-cropped black hair and beard, Olath of Rothlar is the village beadle.
Olath regards himself as “lord” of Déshìnes and expects to receive the deference and service due to the bailiff of Skáist.
He demands instant attention and absolute obedience both from the local serfs and from his family. He is a selfish, uncaring, and lazy man and the majority of the local serfs dislike him.
Olath frequently delegates the duties of his office to his 15-year-old son.
He insists that the serfs work his fields and he “supervises” while his wife and two young daughters toil alongside the serfs.
Guilds
Miller £££
Rykal of Baxt is the younger brother of Petrys, the miller of Méminast.
He was fortunate to be granted a licence so near his birthplace. Rykal was apprenticed in Kolôrn and travelled across most of Káldôr when he was a journeyman. He often tells tall tales of his travels.
Married with two young children, Rykal employs a journeyman and has one apprentice.
Rykal’s wife, Cerys, is city-bred, from Tashál, and is the daughter of a clothier. Cerys is a fine embroiderer and seamstress.
She is often given work by Elen of Darion, the bonded clothier at Skáist. Cerys is a plump and, until recently, happy woman who loves the quiet country life. She was never happy in the crowded and often unsafe streets of Tashál. Her tales of the crime, violence, and squalor of the city are well known.
However, she has recently begun to suspect that her husband is having an affair.
Charcoaler £££
Derren of Cormen is one of only two charcoalers in the hundred, the other being his brother, Merrik.
The two men have fixed their prices, but work independently of each other: Derren supplies the guildsmen, Merrik the two mines.
Derren does not remove all of the unburned wood when making up a bushel, thus overcharging his customers.
A solitary man of middle years, Derren is rarely at home.
He makes most of his charcoal in stacks east of Skáist. Derren is married; his 11-year-old son, Keldis, is at home, while his elder son, Davveth, is apprenticed to his brother.
Derren expects to return the favour in a couple of years. Keldis often disappears to play with his friends Mirald and Mysha of Hald.
Officer
Under-Reeve/Herder
Jorj of Klevan is a commoner of Tarwyn. Tall, dark-haired, and clean shaven, he keeps a large sounder of swine, but no horses.
Jorj acts as herder for both Skáist and Déshìnes.
In addition he is under-reeve for Déshìnes. His duties keep him extremely busy and he is often in the fields of Skáist, half-a-league to a league from his home.
Jorj is a skilled swineherd. His wife, Lysha, makes smoked bacon and dry cured ham, both keep well. His two sons look after his fields and swine. The elder of the two, Hendryk, was married early last year, and his wife is pregnant.
Jorj is becoming increasingly concerned at the attitude of the beadle. He has already expressed concerns to Hannrik of Dorsh, the reeve of Skáist.
Unfortunately, Hannrik has enough troubles of his own and has shown no interest in the situation at Déshìnes.
Others
Half-Villein/Fisherman
Storban of Haribert is a short, wiry, and agile man with thick black hair and a long scar across his left cheek, the result of an encounter with some Kath tribesmen.
A widower in his late forties, he is the eldest grandson of the cottar Lyra of Haribert. Storban is often away fishing in his coracle with his eldest son, 17-year-old Bantar. These trips frequently involve the two men being away overnight.
On these occasions the men actually cross the Kald into Kath territory to snare rabbits. They sometimes hunt larger game. Storban has three other children. His eldest daughter, Alyss, is 20 and unmarried. She is taller than her father, slender, thin-faced, and has long black hair.
Alyss has cooked and cleaned for her father since her mother died eight years ago. Unknown to her father, Alyss has a lover, Rabyn of Moray (p58), the woodward of Yeáshim.
Alyss signals her father’s absence to Rabyn by hanging a red blanket from the cottage window.
Alyss looks after her two younger siblings, the 10-year-old twins Mirald and Mysha. Alyss’s mother never recovered from their birth.
The twins are inseparable and often disappear for hours at a time to “the bower”, a secret place they share with Keldis of Cormen.
The trio call themselves “the Kingfishers”. This place is no longer exclusively theirs.
It is used as a meeting place by three noble girls: Edora Ercamber [p58]; Ayla Kaphin [p49]; and Louran Hargalen [p22].
The three noble girls refer to themselves as “the Byrians”. See the bower below for a description of the location.
Cottar
Myrana of Balyn was widowed last autumn. She is in her mid twenties and has two young children to feed. Over the winter she began an affair with the miller.
Myrana believes he will leave his wife for her, but to the miller it is simply a business transaction.
Cottar Lyra of Haribert lives alone.
The oldest woman by far in the village, she claims to be over 90 years old. No-one knows how accurate this claim is. Many of the local serfs are her kinfolk.
They tend her 2 acres of land and make sure that she eats well. Lyra is a toothless old crone, frail and stooped by age, but she is sharp-witted and keen-eyed.
She knows everything that is going on in the village, but usually keeps her knowledge to herself.
The one exception is her great granddaughter Alyss. She has threatened to tell Alyss’s father of his daughter’s affair and has told Alyss that “it will end in tears, as these things always do”.
Lyra is regarded by many villagers as a witch.
She is, in fact, a well-practiced clairvoyant and often enters a trance to wander through the village, seeking out secrets.
Lyra is aware of the bower and often watches over the noble girls when they meet. She is experienced enough to know that should harm befall any of the three there would be a great deal of trouble for the villagers.
Lyra is close to the twins Mirald and Mysha and is convinced that both have some talents.
The Bower
There is a low mound, surrounded by thick gorse bushes, near the river Kald.
An ancient oak tree stands at the top of the mound. A single route, requiring a crawl under several bushes, leads to a pleasant clearing with the oak at one end and wild roses at the other.
The clearing is the haunt of both the Kingfishers and the Byrians. Both groups used to regard the place as exclusively their own.
The Byrians would laboriously drag cut logs and firewood into the site, only for the Kingfishers to remove them. Eventually Ayla Kaphin, who is ringleader of the noble trio despite being the youngest of the three, managed to discover the identity of the three peasant children and make peace.
The group now share the bower and have made an elaborate camp there.
The clearing contains six log seats, a small fire pit, a neat stack of dropwood under a waxed canvas sheet, an old pot and an ancient wooden pail.
A rope, which acts as swing and climbing aid, hangs from the oak tree, which also serves as a lookout post.
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