Livadin
The town of Livadin is a moderate sized settlement in north western Acaria. Its position near the Greinar chain has meant it has long been the site of a large military encampment.
The town is loosely divided into four regions. To the south west is the crowded "slums". Narrow streets lined with irregular, low quality wattle and daub houses with cheap tiled roofs (most of which leak at least a little) house a disproportionately large section of the population. The people who live here are poor, mostly the wives of footsoldiers who are not at home. They attempt to balance raising their children with working for the nobility in the fields surrounding the town. As such, they are easy targets for the Shrikes and many owe them money or favours of some description. There are quite a few older retired men who live here too, tough veterans of the army who almost inevitably have some relationship with the Shrikes. In this region there are three taverns - The Thin Tusk, The Flowing Barrel and The Second Turnip (The "First" Turnip was burned to the ground some years ago, and this is its replacement. They are commonly frequented by all the local residents, and can be quite the raucous evening. All three are of course controlled by the Shrikes, with access to their main headquarters below the Second Turnip.
If you enter Livadin from the north west, you quickly find the main commercial street, lined with several key establishments including shops for weapons, armor, clothing, jewellery, wine, a general store and the alchemists guild store. These establishments are independent businesses, and are pretty much the only enterprises not run by either the nobility or the Shrikes. They are clustered around the main travellers inn - the White Rose - behind which is the alchemists guildhall. This northern region of the town is also home to pretty much all immigrants to the town, who comprise a small number of Narlanders, a handful of dwarves, and a Lassan by the name of Lucas who runs the wine shop.
Slightly west of the centre of town stands the castle of the Baron Ataan. It's by far the largest structure in Livadin, and even the churches of Daizall are dwarfed by its outer wall. To the east and south of the castle are half a dozen larger manor houses, the greatest of which being Vural's residence just south of the castle. These house the noble families of Livadin, and in their midst lies the infamous Dark Horse Tavern. If you can afford to drink there, you can be guaranteed a very good time. To the west of the castle, in its shadow early in the morning, is the market square, where thrice weekly sales of essential goods are held on behalf of the nobles' estates - selling the produce the serfs grew back to them.
Filling in the rest of the area between these major landmarks are a large collection of more middle class homes, quite a number of which have workshops attached. Their residents typically work for the nobility, either as servants in their homes or in vital skilled manufacturing and professional roles - everything from making barrels to documenting laws.
Demographics
The bulk of the population are Acarian humans, ranging from the powerful noble families right down to destitute serfs working on their farms and living in the overcrowded slums.
Defences
Livadin is surrounded by a stone wall, wide enough to walk along but barely two stories high. The wall is low enough in places that the rooves of the buildings on the other side can be seen clearly from outside the town.
As with all Acarian towns and cities, a group of military soldiers are assigned to the town guard. This is considered the lowest of roles within the army, so they are often far from professional and barely fighting fit. Life as a guard is pretty miserable in most cities, as they are typically understaffed and haven't a hope in keeping up with any local organised criminal activity, but this is doubly true in Livadin with both the shrewd operations of the Shrikes, but also the continual reminders from soldiers from Livadin Camp that they are the "inferior" role in Acarian society.
Maps
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Livadin
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Livadin Local Area
A Map found in the camp of Sargeant Furkan, showing the area local to Livadin.
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