Windpeak

Windpeak is located at the foot of The Windpeak Range and east of the Azure Sea. It is known for its hardy people who have dealt with terrible monsters emerging from the mountains since the towns founding. Fortunately Windpeak has its own defense against the Monsters of The Underdark; an elite force of hardy warriors known as The Windpeak Rangers. Windpeak is governed by The Pontarius Family, a noble family with a militaristic background.

Demographics

The inhabitants of Windpeak are not as varied as in many other cities of The Kingdom of Illargos as it is likely the most threatened city in the kingdom, facing terrors emerging from The Underdark on a regular basis. The predominant species are humans and tieflings who have sailed from The Arid Nexus for mercantile purposes however, due to the presence of the Rangers Academy in the city, dragonborn and orcish people are not uncommon either.

Government

Windpeak has been governed by the The Pontarius Family since its founding my Earl Bastion Pontarius. The current patriarch of The Pontarius Family, Darius Pontarius serves on the king's council in Illiad so the current governor of Windpeak is his eldest son Krem Pontarius. Krem delegates the day to day running of Windpeak to the lord-mayor Tixiebixy Ditziedee, an ex-adventurer who now sees to the needs of Windpeak's citizens.

Defences

Military

The military defences of Windpeak consist of a well trained city guard similar to that found in other cities of The Kingdom of Illargos as well as members of The Windpeak Rangers who are specifically trained to undertake detective work and ensure the safety of Windpeak's citizens. In the event of an attack on Windpeak, the Town Rangers from the Rangers Academy assume authority over the city guard and implement effective defensive measures to repel the attackers. The two main entrances to Windpeak are each guarded by an outpost located to the north and east of the city, both of which were built high on top of a hillock overlooking the  valley floors with a small contingent of city guards on the lookout for approaching dangers. In addition the northern and eastern walls of Windpeak were built to withstand giant attacks, measuring 50 ft high and 25 ft thick. These walls have platforms built on the uppermost layer from which siege ballistas can be operated by defenders. The gatehouses are doubly protected with a smaller curtain wall extending from the main wall to form a primary protective obstacle for attackers to break through before they reach the true entrances to Windpeak, there are two such fortifications built in front of the northern and eastern entrances to the city. The southern wall of Windpeak measures 20 ft high and 10 ft thick, it was built smaller than the rest of Windpeak's curtain wall because most of the attacks Windpeak comes under are from monsters crawling out of The Underdark and coming down through the mountain valleys to attack Windpeak from the north or east due to the difficulty in the terrain to the south. 

Natural Defences

Windpeak sits at the edge of the foothills of The Windpeak Range and as such the mountain valleys which lead towards Windpeak act as a funnel to creatures approaching Windpeak from the east, the valley sides are steep inclines which provide a difficult challenge for those seeking to climb over them to approach the city from another direction, particularly to the south. To the north, Windpeak is protected by thick woodland and a small hillock which acts as a natural barrier to creatures moving toward Windpeak from that direction, in addition the defenders of Windpeak have cut back an area of woodland in front of the city creating a large open kill zone where invading enemies would have to navigate hails of arrows and siege ballista fire before reaching the thick curtain wall of the city.

Industry & Trade

Imports

• Food
• Stone Building Materials
• Metals
• Manufactured Goods

Exports

• Furs
• Windpeak provides a 'service of safety' to The Kingdom of Illargos which, while not a typical export, does afford Windpeak financial benefits which allows the city to continue

Guilds and Factions

• The Windpeak Rangers - The most prominent faction in Windpeak, The Windpeak Rangers are a faction of highly trained warriors who defend the city and its surrounding regions from monster attacks.
• The Owls of Athena - Every city in The Kingdom of Illargos has an embassy within where agents of The Owls of Athena, a faction of defenders who work proactively to dismantle societal threats, can be found. The Owls work closely with the Town Rangers to keep the peace within the city of Windpeak.

History

In 1153, Earl Bastion Pontarius took it upon himself to take a contingent of soldiers down to Hagclaw Bog in order to investigate the evil presence which suffused the bog with twisted magic and eradicate the source. They set up an initial outpost on the small hillock where Fort Uthald is now located and used it as a staging area for scouting missions into the bog. The men quickly discovered that this task would be more difficult than initially assumed. Each time a scouting party came back with a map of their movements, the bog's twisting paths seemed to warp and change the next time they went in rendering the maps useless. At this point the outpost had come under attacks from monsters to the east many times and Earl Bastion had been forced to call for reinforcements before making any further headway into the bog. With fresh men, Bastion set about fortifying the small outpost. Two more watchpoints were built to the north and east of the outpost which were able to provide warning for the soldiers and with the addition of reinforcements, more structures were built around the base of the outpost. As the years passed, the Windpeak Outpost finally grew to the size of a small town and for a short time the expeditions into the bog were forgotten. Earl Bastion ordered a stone curtain wall built to surround the town which stood 15ft high and 7ft thick, the addition of the wall and ramparts behind it gave the advantage of the high ground to the defenders of Windpeak which significantly increased the defensive capabilities of the town. Bastion also put out a call for aid, asking for monster hunters to travel to Windpeak in order to combat the frequent attacks and to venture into the mountains to put down the monsters before they reached Windpeak. This call for aid set about a legendary sequence of events which shaped Windpeak's future. One of the adventurers who answered the call was a ranger by the name of Viego Mortensson, a man famous for descending into the depths of The Underdark alone and emerging with a myriad of monster trophies. Soon after Viego's arrival, he and Bastion came up with an idea to found a faction of warrior who were specifically trained to handle monster threats and would defend Windpeak from danger inside and out. They built the Rangers Academy and with the help of two more skilled adventurers of the time; Odyssian Tiiv and Aria Oakenheart, founded The Windpeak Rangers in 1176. Windpeak continued to expand despite the ever-present monster threat and in 1219 was officially dubbed a city by The Kingdom of Illargos. In 1304, the huge curtain wall which currently surrounds Windpeak was completed after years of importing stone and builders to complete the gargantuan project.

Points of interest

• Fort Uthald 
• The Rangers Academy
• The Merry Ham Tavern 
• The Drake's Horde 
• The Long Rest Inn 

Architecture

As a consequence for the lack of variety in the materials accessible to the city of Windpeak, the cities' builders have had to come up with a way to make housing out of cheap materials but that will last a long time. The resulting architecture are half timbered cruck-houses made out of oak wood harvested from the woodlands to the north of Windpeak. These houses have a ground floor split into three separate bays (large rooms), with the two outer bays having a loft accessible by a ladder which residents use for sleeping. The main rooms have a chimney in them at the base of which is a stove which can be used for cooking and typically heats the home, while the outer rooms are used for whatever the residents decide they need; extra sleeping space, storage, a workspace (for a wealthy enough resident), etc. These houses usually have a small larder built underneath them which is accessible by a trapdoor usually found in one of the end rooms. The inhabitants of the wealthier district are able to pay for the import of stone so the houses usually have cobbled walls and a second storey, with multiple rooms spread throughout the building and a larger larder underneath the structure.

Geography

Windpeak is built on the edge of the foothills of The Windpeak Range at the point where the land gives way to hilly rises and eventually the mountain valleys of the range. The gradient of the land is flatter at the edges of the city but inclines upward towards the hillock in the center of the city upon which is built Fort Uthald, the fortress of Windpeak and home to Earl Krem Pontarius. The city is built close to the mouth of hilly valleys to the north and east, the valley ends are guarded by two watch posts built on high points to overlook the valleys from which they can easily spot approaching threats. The land to the south of the city is flatter and fertile enough for Windpeak to sustain a small patch of farmland.

Natural Resources

Geographically, Windpeak is situated near woodland, foothills, and The Azure Sea, giving it a wide range of potential resources to harvest. Unfortunately due to the threat of monsters, most resource harvesting operations are very limited. Windpeak is built on the coast and as such has a dock which allows it access to The Azure Sea for fishing and travel to other dock cities. The woodlands north of Windpeak make a good hunting ground and are also great for oak tree logging but still present a danger to workers and merchants often have to pay for their workers to be accompanied by guards, which cuts into profits leading them to set up shop elsewhere. The foothills to the east of Windpeak are rich in coal and copper veins but are incredibly hard to mine due to the threat of monsters crawling forth from The Underdark. Each time a mine was set up in the past, the miners would dig out a few shafts before breaking through to a monster nest or the mine would be raided by goblins or some other such disaster would occur where the mine would be rendered inoperable after a short time and so the government of Windpeak has decided to try their luck elsewhere instead.

Maps

• 

  Windpeak

Founding Date

1153

Founders

• Bastion Pontarius

Type

City

Population

11,000

Location under

Central Midasfjall

Included Locations

• Rangers Academy

Owner/Ruler

Krem Pontarius

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Illargos