Tourne
While the main trade route from Eber turns north from Tourne toward Streeth Ferry, a second, equally wide and well-maintained road runs south toward the fortress of Cailin Lee, down which provisions for the garrison there are regularly sent. Tourne itself, however, is little more than a stop along the way, a provisioning spot for merchant caravans and military supply trains. Few craftsmen are here, and most of the area is involved in farming of some type, with some vineyards farther out near the base of the Blackrock Mountains. The few taverns and inns do a steady business catering to the merchants and soldiers on their way to someplace else.
Positioned on a high plain not far from the foothills of the Blackrock Mountains, Tourne is in one of those locations where it is either uncomfortably hot or uncomfortably cold, and seldom in between. When it rains, it does so for days at a time, and rather than light showers it is usually subject to driving storms. Nearby farmlands and grazing pastures do well enough in the mixed weather, but few merchants or travelers prefer to endure it for very long.
The buildings, and even the people themselves, are a mix of old and new. Several stone homes and warehouses here are at least centuries old, built from sturdy stone that must have been quarried from the distant Blackrock Mountains. Other structures are newer wood-frame buildings or small homes made with clay bricks. Citizens range from young children to the oldest of the old. It seems that, barring accidents, people living in Tourne can reach a very advanced age. Lady Sarina White does her best to talk this up among the nobility and visiting merchants when she can, attempting to attract more money to the region she now controls in the name of the king, but her efforts are generally laughed away. Alas, there is no real reason for the present number of aged in the city other than a combination of luck and the fact that many of the craftsmen that once lived here have since moved to Streeth Ferry where the trade and profits are better.
One of the few interesting features of Tourne is an ancient temple in the northern portion of the city. The ornate stone structure has features similar to the sculptures hailing back to the Vast, but somehow seems both older and younger. Enterprising clerics have tried to consecrate the grounds to their own gods but have all met in failure. Covered with decorations geometric and abstract in nature, it is impossible to determine what god this temple was constructed for, but those investigating it have sensed no evil emanations, so the temple is simply left alone. It is one of the few ancient temples left intact during the brutal rule of the Singed Man.
Settlement
Tourne, City of
Type
City
Owning Organization
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