Donnington

Geography and Description

Donnington is a small town located to the southwest of Port Karn, and acts as an agricultural support settlement. It sits on a major crossroads of the area. Most of its population is Human, although there are almost as many Orcs living there. The other races make up the remaining small percentage.

Economics

It is only slightly larger than Meke Larnis or Avondale. However, five of the major roads in that made up the network of byways in the Port Karn agricultural area emerge from it. It definitely fits the description of a “crossroads”. Wagons pass up and down all along the major roads.
In the center of town is a square, surrounded by the various shops and services that small towns needed. In the square are several merchants, in tents and under awnings to keep the sun off of their goods. Most are farmers, usually groups of them, selling portions of their harvests to the residents of the town. But others are selling threads and yarns, or knitted goods, or pottery.

Notable Locations

The alchemist’s shop is a small shop simply called “George’s”, if the hanging wooden sign is any indication. There is no other indicator that it is the alchemist, or that it is even a shop. George is a dark skinned man with greying hair and a well manicured, short beard. He has bright blue eyes.
On the other side of the market square from the alchemy shop is a shrine, which also acts as a makeshift town hall. They keep the town records there. It is the only shrine in town, although there are several more much smaller ones scattered here and there among the farmed fields. The shrine in town is a largish one, with alcoves along both sides, each containing an idol for a god. Port Karn is large enough to have a great many shrines, each one devoted to a separate deity. Donnington doesn't have the space for that.
The Rural Watch has an office in the market square, for local coordination. There is usually only one officer on duty here at a time; there are other Watch officers affiliated with this branch, but they are typically out on patrol in the surrounding areas.
The village has a single inn, next to one of the two taverns, in the market square. It is simply called "The Donnington Inn". Being at the crossroads, it does pretty good business. It doesn't have an attached tavern, but it does have bread, cheese, and beer available for a modest price.
There are two taverns, on opposite sides of the market square. One is the Green Frog (it's sign shows a green frog on a lily pad, with a pink lotus flower the other is the Tumbled Wench, which has as its sign a tipping stein with liquid spilling out. Both are about the same in quality, although the Green Frog also has spirits available, which the Tumbled Wench doesn't.
Near town is a nectarine orchard.
On the outskirts of Donnington, on the southern side is a cemetery. Adjacent to the cemetery is the mortuary; the mortician (Fandral Lambert) and his wife live upstairs.

The houses near the center of town tend to be wood framed, with wooden siding. The ones out towards the edges of town tend to be wattle and daub, with thatch roofs. Cheaper materials, and with less endurance, but it's likely all that the inhabitants can afford, or what their landlords will pay for.

Lennerd Fountainsmith's neighborhood
Outside of town, there is an abandoned farmhouse. It had been used as a lab by Lennerd Fountainsmith, a necromancer, but he had been run out of town.

Demographics

56% Human, 30% Orc, 5% Hobbit, 5% Goblin, 2% Elf, 2% Dwarf

Government

City Council, headed by the Mayor (subject to the local feudal heirarchy)

Defences

The town does not have a wall.

Industry & Trade

Primarily agriculture, although its location has made warehousing a strong industry.

Infrastructure

Most roads within the town's limits are paved with cobblestones or bricks, crowned with gutters. Roads out from the town to the outlying hamlets are dirt roads. No sewers, but the gutters drain into 8"x6" channels of mortared stone that dump into the local rivers.

Districts

Just the Market Square, and residential areas. Surrounding the town are fields, and the occasional hamlet.

Guilds and Factions

PKAC has some presence here, although it's only one representative. He acts as the guild's interface with the locals, and has some power to make local decisions. More complex decisions, or ones that might affect areas beyond the town, he kicks up the chain of command to the PKAC offices in Port Karn.
There are also two rather weak thieves' guilds, the West Side Hydras and the Eastern Dawn. They run protection rackets, unlicensed gambling joints, run drugs, pick pockets, and steal. Neither really does wet work, although if one offered a high enough price, they'd be able to get some of that done.
There is also a local Trade's Guild, a combination of all of the major trades, all rolled up into a single guild that interfaces with the larger guilds in the big city.

History

Donnington grew organically as the area around Port Karn spread out as more and more space was devoted to farming. Like most of the smaller satellite towns around the big city, Donnington started as a cluster of farmhouses. As more and more houses were built, other services were deemed necessary, such as a small smithy for tool repair and horse shoeing, taverns, an inn, and a small marketplace. Things grew from there, as they are wont to do.

Points of interest

Market Square, where the inn, taverns, and shops are located.
Cemetery, at the south end of town.
George's, the alchemy shop. George mostly makes mundane mixtures, such as glues and varnishes for local use. He also spends most of his brewing time making healing elixirs to deal with farming accidents.
Rural Watch office.

Tourism

There isn't much tourism; most of the traffic goes through the town, rather than stopping in it. There aren't any really nice destinations around the township, either, that might have attracted visitors; it is mostly just a town providing shelter and services to the local farmers.

Architecture

Most buildings are wood framed, plastered wattle and daub structures with thatch roofs. Some have stone foundations, and some are sided with wooden planks. Some roofs are wooden shingles. Most buildings are one or two story structures, although there are few with three stories.

Climate

Similar to Port Karn's climate: tropical and often wet. Rainfall isn't usually a problem and droughts are rare. Fungus blights on the other hand....

Natural Resources

Good soil, plenty of water. Farming is usually pretty good, especially with the occasional mage assisting growth, seeding, or harvesting.

Founding Date

354 AFE

Type

Town

Population

4021

Location under

The City of Port Karn