Crag Harbor
"Following the coastline north from White Bay, the temperature drops noticeably. Eventually, the coastline juts out into a long, lone peninsula, and at the very tip lies the small town of Crag Harbor. The temperate forests gradually change into large conifers, swept by the the ocean's spray as it pounds the shoreline. Approaching the town, a large collection of hovels and ramshackle homes built by refugees and tents springs up in front of the town wall itself, the buildings a bleak reminder of the human cost of the terror. Passing through the gates and past the low stone wall, the town of Crag Harbor encroaches in on the narrow main street that leads to the keep and lighthouse at the very furthest point of the peninsula."
Demographics
Crag Harbor is dominated by a human majority, though there are small minorities of halflings. However, the community of Crag Harbor is more demographically defined by when its residents settled there rather than their race. Most of Crag Harbor's population is destitute or still extremely poor, living in the slum that was formed by refugees of the Terror outside Crag Harbor's walls, while the wealthy residents of Crag Harbor live within the walls. This population generally looks down on the refugees and their descendants, and social divide between the two groups is pronounced.
Government
Crag Harbor is run as a feudal county, and as such is led by Countess Hilde Pharus, who rules from her seat in the Grey Tower. She maintains a small group of retainers, including slightly more than a dozen dedicated men-at-arms, who serve as captains of the town watch and guard the gatehouse at the city wall. Although Crag Harbor has no citizen government, many of the refugees and former refugees who reside outside the walls operate an informal council of local leaders, but these meetings are usually discouraged by the town watch, as they fear if the lower classes become to organized they may agitate for better treatment, pay, or become violent
Defences
While the point itself is well fortified, the vast majority of Crag Harbor's population are vulnerable to attack. A large, albeit somewhat crumbling and worn stone wall runs the length of narrowest part of the peninsula. The wall is roughly twelve feet tall with small turrets, two wooden towers, and a small stone gatehouse. This wall leaves the settlement fairly well defended from conventional land attack, as the only direction to assault the town is from over the wall. From the sea, Crag Harbor is secured by a perilous rocks and unpredictable tides which can only be reliably navigated by local or extremely talented (or lucky) captains. Beyond its manmade and natural walls, Crag Harbor has very little in the way of defenses. The Grey Tower and its small keep can be fortified in times of emergency, but are not particularly well suited to resisting a siege or determined assault, and are only small enough to hold a small force of defenders.
Crag Harbor does possess a sizable citizen militia which it can call upon in times of emergency. The settlement operates longboats crewed by "Coast Guardsmen," who specialize in rescuing victims of the treacherous rocks, pirates, and shipwrecks, but who can also be called upon to repel seaborne attacks, while House Pharus' retainers provide men-at-arms, and the town itself can provide a large force of semi-disciplined militia armed to varying states of readiness.
Industry & Trade
Crag Harbor's main industry is fishing, and most people within the walls are affiliated with the fishing or maritime industry. Crews head out almost daily, navigating through the narrow passages in the rocks to the open ocean where they cast their nets, and Crag Harbor's fish market is justifiably well regarded. Those back in Crag Harbor support the industry. A few notable businesses include weaving fishing nets and building fish traps, smokehouses and salt refineries, mending sails and ropes, as well as various comforts for fishermen when they return, such as taverns and breweries. Beyond professions supporting the fishing industry, Craglanders work to support the commerce generated by the local baths (produced by nearby hotsprings), which people from around the Duchy visit to relax, taking their coin with them.
Infrastructure
Crag Harbor is fairly underdeveloped when compared with other settlements in Whiteport, and its infrastructure was ill-equipped to handle the massive influx of refugees that arrived at the height of the terror, and this strain still affects the town today. The core village of Crag Harbor remains intact within the walls, largely unchanged. The most apparent infrastructure, which gives Crag Harbor it's distinctive heraldry, is the Grey Tower, keep with a massive beacon on its top, warning ships of the treacherous rocks near Crag Harbor. Crag Harbor's roads are also limited, and even within the town none of the roads are paved, and carts frequently get stuck in the chronic mud produced by heavy foot and cart traffic and frequent rains. Crag Harbor hosts a number of small docks and wharves, used by the various fishing crews that operate in the waters surrounding the town.
Finally, within the walls, Crag Harbor's largest draw are the hot baths which use the natural hot springs welling up from the underdark and nearby geysers to create a spa-like atmosphere which wealthy individuals from around the duchy come to relax in. Beyond the walls, with the refugee shantytown, Crag Harbor's infrastructure is severely lacking. It lacks a formal sewer system, and while within the walls Crag Harbor's roads are poorly maintained, within the shantytown roads are almost nonexistent, and most foot traffic passes through the narrow gaps between the tents, hovels, and shacks refugees constructed after their immediate arrival.
Assets
Crag Harbor's assets are limited. The local population operates a number of small fishing vessels, with the upper class townsfolk operating the larger and better constructed ships, while some refugees try to operate their own or take contract work as deckhands. Beyond these vessels, Crag Harbor's material assets are negligible; predominantly smoked fish, stored crops, and sails.
Guilds and Factions
Crag Harbor's society is cleanly split across one social divide, those living within its walls, the old population of Crag Harbor (an area referred to as "Old Crag" and its inhabitants as "Old Craglanders"), and those living beyond them in the lawless shantytown, referred to by its inhabitants as "Crag Haven" and by the Craglanders derisively as "Outer Crag" The two groups do not intermix, and generally also represent the distinction between the haves and the have-nots in the town. The town watch does not allow residents of "Outer Crag," themselves often called "barnacles" to enter Old Crag without good reason on the orders of Countess Pharus. This creates a considerable amount of tension, as the Outer Craglanders resent the Olds for what they perceive as keeping them in poverty and hoarding food and supplies (or selling them at prices beyond their means) while they starve, while the Old Craglanders see the Outers as lawless, foreign, untrustworthy, and insidious.
While most of the Old Craglanders are employed, the Outer Craglanders struggle to find work, as many lack the funds, skills, or tools to create their own livelihoods and restart their lives, while many simply struggle to adapt to Crag Harbor's somewhat unique climate. Moreover, adapting to the fishing industry has been especially challenging for the Outer Craglanders, as they are untrained in navigating the treacherous rocks and currents that surround the settlement, and so every fishing boat is captained by an Old Craglander, often the head of one of the prominent Old Craglander families, tracing their lineage back through multiple generations of captain, treating the fishing vessels more like family patrimonies the way some noble families treat castles and estates. This creates a sizable social divide that leaves relations between the two groups almost always on the verge of an explosive confrontation.
History
Crag Harbor was once a fairly small fishing village on the far northwest corner of the Duchy. It may have once been founded on the ruins of some ancient watchtower or outpost, as some of the treacherous rocks around it seem unnatural (although not malicious), and seem to be part of some ancient ruin. The remains of its wall attracted inhabitants, who quickly built the Grey Tower, a large lighthouse and watchtower, and repaired the worst of the wall's decay, adding wooden towers as well. Over time, the settlement prospered through its fishing industry and modest tourism.
During the Drakehoff Terror, refugees from around the Duchy fled to the relatively isolated town of Crag Harbor, seeking the protection of its walls. The town welcomed these refugees, only to find itself under attack from within after some of the refugees revealed themselves to be infiltrators sent by Drakehoff and Drakehoff sympathizers who attempted to seize control of the town and were defeated at a heavy cost. This sparked a wave of paranoia, and after a rash of pogroms against the refugees due to suspicions of more infiltrators, followed by the unfortunate deaths of a few prominent Old Craglanders in apparently botched crimes, all remaining refugees were expelled from the town, most simply remaining in a makeshift shantytown outside the wall. After the terror subsided, those refugees with pasts and fortunes left to return to dispersed, but those unfortunate enough to have nothing left remained encamped outside the city walls, relying on the intermittent handouts and meager livings they could wring from the terrain to survive, and this refugee camp became more of a permanent shantytown just beyond the city walls, largely left to its own devices by the town guard.
Architecture
The majority of Old Crag Harbor's buildings are wooden and sturdy. They have steep roofs which often end in ornate carvings, often looking like the mastheads on the prows of their ships, and each major family has a home of their own decorated with their distinctive mascot. Crag Harbor's wall is a mixture of old and new, as the ruined old stone wall has been mended in most places and buffered by the addition of wooden towers and turrets. Some buildings have also scavenged the remains of the ruins and incorporated those stones into their own design, most notably the Grey Tower.
Geography
Crag Harbor has extremely distinct geography. The settlement itself is located on a rocky peninsula, mostly situated on the grassy top of the steep seaside bluff. On three sides, the town is surrounded by ocean, with only the southern coastline forming a gentle-enough slope to end in a narrow beach, expanded by small piers, wharves, and docks, while wooden stairs and narrow tracks rising up from the foot of the bluffs to the rest of the town.
At the very furthest westward point, the Grey Tower lighthouse rises above the bluff, illuminating the treacherous patches rocks which surround the waters near the settlement. In the east, where the peninsula eventually widens into the rest of the duchy's landmass. The rest of the coastline is comprised of jagged rocks and sheer cliffs, and further inland from the constantly eroding cliff-sides, small forests of conifers grow.
Natural Resources
Crag Harbor's natural resources are almost entirely maritime. The town is heavily reliant on fresh catch brought in daily by the various fishing crews which operate out of the harbor, and common meals utilize fish, crab, or shellfish in the town. Crag Harbor also possesses some wood, largely gathered from the nearby coniferous forests, but otherwise, Crag Harbor exists in a fairly desolate location. Its soil is too rocky and its climate is too inhospitable for it to be a viable agricultural power, and most of the crops that are grown in the town are subsistence crops grown in small family gardens, intended to supplement diets rather than support entire families on their own. Crag Harbor also lacks mineral resources, with little access to either precious or industrial metals.
Type
Village
Population
3000
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Craglander
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
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