A quaint fishing village set upon a sleepy seaside vista

I would find this one by chance... a rare encounter indeed. There aren't many places that escape the tomes of the Erudition, or so I thought; I was thankfully proven wrong. I was making my way south, through the e̺̭̠̲͈͝n̩̠̭̠̼͞tṛ̛̱̝̥̪̖̫y̗̹ ͓̤̙̬͍͈́m̬͙̜͕̦i̱͕ͅs̱̮̀s͎͚͡i̝̙̘̗n͔̺̫̬͙͓͜g̴͚ valleys, I was planning to meet up with an old friend. Times as they were I had to take my chances reconnecting with long forgotten friends and allies, and so I found myself on horseback that mid-winter morning; until they jumped me anyway. Now i've had my fair share of fights and tussles over the years and sometimes I came out on top, while others I would end up a little worse for wear, this time however... they were far too many and far too vicious. I had become complacent and I would pay for it. I barely had time to pull my staff from it's strappings when they had tackled me from my mount, I hit the ground hard. The wind knocked out of me I clambared to my feet and got my first proper look at my assailants.
The skirmish itself is unimportant, I made it out with both my possessions and pride mostly intact; although a little bruised. It was who came to my aid that is truly noteworthy. The most unassuming of people are the ones that most surprise you, and indeed it would be on this very day that I found myself a-taken back. An older gentleman, a little younger than myself and perhaps in his mid forties would turn out to be my saving grace. He charged over the roadside hill as hard as his legs would carry him, holding his scythe aggressively above his head. Well if anything we were all surprised, this probably wasn't his intended effect but it would be effective nonetheless. I had my opening albeit small, I swept out with my staff getting a couple of solid strikes and it wouldn't be long before the situation was reasonably under my control. Thankfully my saviour wouldn't quite make it in time to get involved and thus he was spared any chance of being harmed. After we had reasonably dealt with the bandits he led me back towards the coast, explaining along the way that he had heard the commotion and come running to see what was going on. I gave him my thanks and as we exchanged our pleasantries a sight most pleasant would come into view. A sleepy seaside vista, one that was most comforting after the last week spent on the road alone.

There is a reasonably well off baron who resides over the township. There are many a story about him so I found out, some say he was once a brave adventurer who fought many a beast and foul creature. Others say he is the son of a wealthy king who abandoned his claim to rule, instead choosing to live out his days in the vast countryside. While the stories are unconfirmable, there is one true trait that everyone has come to understand. He is quite the recluse, so much so in fact that the township itself is mostly left to its own accord. In times of need they turn to each other, giving what they can and functioning as an independent society. Some still regard the baron with the right to governance over the township but most just ignore his existence as best they can, choosing to continue on with their lives and deal with their own problems. Lefen falls outside any cities region and because of that they do not have the support of any army nor guard.

Leyfen has no real defences, it has no walls nor barriers to protect itself. It is small but because of that reason it has the natural defence of being unnoticed. For that very reason alone it has existed for an age, hiding away in the corner of the map not really worth noting. That's not to say it doesn't get unwelcome visitors from time to time but when that occurs the townspeople have always found a way to rally together to either thwart the force or at least mitigate it as best they can.

A seaside town will always have fishermen, that's just the way of things. And so like all others Leyfen has a small but busy fishing industry that it relies upon for a great deal of its food and economy. Along with the fishing industry it has a small but thriving farming district. The farmers are small in number but wise and have carried down their teachings through family lines in order to preserve and ensure the best possible futures for their kin.

Dirt roads make up a majority of the paths that cut through the small fishing village. There is one small but well made cobblestone stretch that runs from the quaint town hall down to the coastline and docks. The village gets its water from a nearby river as it flows out to sea. For supplies there are a couple merchants that make a detour all the way out here but they are rare and unreliable. And so the village is rather self sufficient, making things that they need or fixing things that are broken.

To town is situated in a rather rich fishing location. The variety that they catch would astound most that would come to buy, but because of the towns remote nature they mostly consume their catches themselves and rarely have anyone to sell to.

The township isn't big enough to warrant the attention nor use of guilds. For the same reason it seems to have still yet avoided the creation of factions among its people. They band together as one and while they might have the odd feud they will seemingly always rise up against those who would attempt to effect their very way of life.

The towns homes are small but well built. The township has a couple talented carpenters who go out of their way to make sure that their work is as strong and withstanding as possible. The buildings are laid on a stone foundation, with wooden walls and about a half and half between thatch and wooden tiles for roofing. While they are nothing special the buildings themselves hold a certain charm that could captivate anyone, if they were to visit.
The baron's manor is a much grander home, perhaps four or five times the size of the larger homes within the township itself. It was constructed over many months and years with the baron's accumulated wealth being spent to ensure the most comfortable of accomodations. It has a small garden courtyard in the front and leads out to the seaside cliffs in the back. Surrounded by a few pickets of trees it is the only multi-story building within the settlement and being situation on the top of the hillside it can be an easily recognizable landmark from the surrounding areas. I have heard faint rumors that it was built atop some old seacliff caves but I haven't been able to confirm their existence.

Leyfen is situated in the far north west. On the coast of the e̗̟n̹̙̲̫̤̟͜ͅț̄ͫ͜r̲̬̱͛̈̌̿̀̔̾y̻͔͌͛ ͈̞͔̟̓̂͋ͫ̓̃͢m̤ͮ͂̔̃̉i̜̬͕̣ͥ̿ͪ͡s̲ͩ̆ͫs̤̲͉̭ͯͧ͌ͫ̾̈͢i̤̣̘n̝͋ͬ͜ͅg̬̺̤̓ region. It's weather is rather warm considering how far north it is, almost unusually so. It's seaside home makes it perfect for fishing all year round and it has access to fresh water and fertile lands. It is the epitome of a quaint village.

While the township itself is not rich in resources the surrounding area certainly is. The land is rich with fertile soils, the ground has been known to contain some valuable ores and minerals that are mined on occasion but not actively so. The forests nearby produce good strong pine trees that make for perfect construction materials as well as providing valuable firewood. The people are not rich, nor their home; but the area in which they have chosen to reside provides for all that they might require. Making it most valuable indeed.

• Human 69%

• Halfling 15%

• Elf 7%

• Gnome 3%

• Dwarf 3%

• Other 1%

• Half-Orc 1%

• Half-Elf 1%

Type

Village

Population

63

"... to be honest I haven't seen em' for weeks, he never seems to leave that veritable palace of his. I sometimes wonder if he's not actually a recluse, like he's maybe sick or somethin'. I dunno, you hear stories bout his past adventures you know ? Proper ones of fighting monsters and saving princesses but they're actually s'posed to be true. Every day that goes by I doubt 'em even more... makes you wonder how he really got all that wealth of his..." - middle aged Leyfen tailor/tanner and mother of two. 940YR