Hamlet of Hammingburg
"Is this one of those 'town' thingies? Do I have to punch the doors before I enter them here, too?"
-Nessie, Wild Magic Genassi
The wild Hamlet of Hammingburg is a frontier town nestled on a hillside overlooking the River Whitten as it flows south out of the Western Cotnor Wilderness. A charming burg situated in the heart of the western wilderness, Hammingburg is a growing town that is set among the hilly lands along the banks of the River Whitten.Small as it is, Hammingburg is a powerhouse in the lumber and timber industry, shipping massive beams and trees all throughout Pax and the nearby islands. It is the very definition of "bustling", with people running hither and thither on (obviously) very important errands. The waterwheel-driven sawmill, and the lumber docks, are the busiest parts of the town by far. North of the town, the waterways are nearly choked with lumber being floated downriver to Hammingburg. Lumberjacks and fur trappers fill the woods surrounding the burg, as well as woodsfolk, who act as guides and scouts. Foraging for uncommon medicinals, rare mushrooms, and other unfarmable foodstuffs is a very lucrative vocation in these parts, and youngsters are often found with food bags slung round their shoulders, even as they run play. Freshly baked pies grace many a-windowsill, in rural Hammingburg. Aproned matrons cook epic meals as their rough-and-tumble partners leave the homestead for ten hours or more a day, working for a living with a humble resilience that belies their boisterous natures. Complaints are few and far between, here in Hammingburg, and crime even less so. Life has been relatively idyllic for the residents who, for the most part, are quite content with their lot in life.The burg is ostensibly "led" by an elected Burgermeister, who (for the most part) presides at parades and officiates weddings, that sort of thing. However, in times of duress, the Burgermeister must pull himself together enough to lead his people to safety, as the militia defends their property, should they come under attack. With the The Kobold Accord not so very long ago, this is a real possibiity, and true fear, in the minds of the local folks. The Burgermeister has an assistant in the form of an appointed Vizier, and finally an elected council of thirteen members fills out the bulk of the administrative arm of the burg. The militia is led by the Captain of the Cotnor Guard. It is comprised mainly of woodsfolk and skilled rangers, as well as thugs and large lads just itching to put their hands on another person. They tolerate no offence to themselves or the citizens of the burg, although there are strikingly few laws for them to have to uphold, and most of these rustic folks prefer to settle their own problems.
Demographics
Entirely human. Not that non-humans don't come through once in a while-it's a free kingdom, after all! This is the frontier, however, and people fear that which is not understood.
Government
The Burgermeister, his Vizier, and an elected town council of thirteen members. The government 'round these parts is refreshingly hands-off.
Defences
The militia built, and maintains, a huge timber stockade around the entire town, and seperately, around the Guard Barracks.There are:
- Seven mangonels
- Five trebuchet
- Thirteen ballista
Industry & Trade
Timber, lumber, furs, gold and silver mining and panning, exotic medicinals and fungii. There are taverns, inns, restaurants and bars dedicated to serving these rough and tumble folks as they come to town. The laborers come in to town twice a month, to collect their pay and spend all their money, often on the same day and night.
Infrastructure
Sturdy log cabins, built from the non-stop stream of timber floating by on the river, were at one time offered by the town to those hardy individuals who would make the trek all the way out here to Hammingburg, but that program was needfully ceased as the population steadily grew to over five hundred souls. They have raised roads made of thick timber, to keep carts and oxen out of the prolific mud puddles, and bridges over the many small streams and creeks that run hither and yon throughout the entire region. A town meeting hall, built like a large barn, has given way to a more urbane manor house for the Burgermeister, but that is about the extent of Hamminburg's gentrification. The 'burg, as the locals are fond of calling it, takes care of the roads (repairing the near constant washouts, for example) and maintains street signage. They have also dug wells around the city that they maintain and clean regularly. They maintain dockage for lumber and trade barges from down river, and they house and feed the work oxen that plod along the riverbanks, hauling the flat bottomed barges against the River Whitten's slow, but implacable, current. There is a town sawmill, powered by a waterwheel, a windmill for grinding grain, and the town supplies seasoned firewood to its residents in the form of lumber offcuts. They have a well trained volunteer fire department (everything is made of wood), and a small but highly effective police force.
Districts
A cut in the hill that the town is built upon, revealing a granite cliff face mid-town, points out the river's former pathway through the wilderness out here. It also, at the moment, splits Hammingburg into the two districts that people have come to embrace; the Upper, and Lower. Haimshanders are nothing if not imaginative.
Assets
The town maintains stores of grain and clean water, enough to bring the town through a year-long famine. This is due to the fact that the caves, located in the cliff face mid-town, are environementally perfect for storing food and water. The relative humidity is perfect for grain storage; the sea covers and opens channels from the caves to the sea, which causes more than adequate air exchange, and the ratters in Hammingburg are masters of their craft. The Hammingburg Militia maintains stores of weapons and ammunition to withstand an active seige of one year; longer, if they ration their essentials. They have mounted ballistae along the stockade fence, and the town is putting money aside to buy a flight of canon.
Guilds and Factions
The Merchant and Sailors' Guild, being the known world's largest consumer of wood and timber, have quite a large stake in Hammingburg, having invested huge sums of money in infrastructure and overhead to build and supply the bones of the settlement. It was they who built, and maintain, the ox-drawn barge system hauling laden rafts up river, against the current, to resupply the town. The townsfolk would then re load the emptied barges, and send them back down the river to Stilton Head, floating with the current this time. It takes skilled barge operators to work this simple system, people with the skill and will to work together. They are, one and all, provided by the Merchant and Sailors' Guild, and they actively work to expand the Guild's interests in the west of Pax.
History
Points of interest
Theater Green
Shelter Market
Greenbaum's
Eastman's Casino
Architecture
The architecture in Hammingburg is prevalently post and beam. Sturdy timber affairs, the structures within the surrounding stockade have been built, and are owned by, the town. There is very little metal in use in the construction of Hammingburg's shops and homes, which has resulted in structures with strong joints, that have only gotten tighter over time, as opposed to shrinking away from the metal of a hammered nail, for instance.
Geography
The town is nestled on a hillside in a temperate deciduous forest that is simply exploding with growth...of both flora and fauna. The countryside can be dangerous thereabouts, from roaming beasts of prey to environmental hazards that seem perfectly innocuous.
Climate
This is a temperate climate, bordering on a taiga forest to the north. The winters this far north can be harsh, temperate or no, however, and the Haimshanders have come to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, as the old saying goes, when it comes to their upcoming winter season.
Natural Resources
Timber, furs, and rare medicinals all hail natively from round about Hammingburg, as well as uncommon fungii treasured by chefs the world around called truffles.
Burgermeister Hammingburger
Rival Factions in Town
Founding Date
5403NG
Alternative Name(s)
Hamish's Tanning Post
Type
Hamlet
Population
700-900
Inhabitant Demonym
Haimshander
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Characters in Location
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