Glorium, the Gatetown to Ysgard
Glorium is one of the smallest of the gate towns, and is little more than a village perched within a valley formed from the same mountain ranges as the Dwarven Mountain. It can be reached in two ways, by water through the fjord or by land through a road that snakes its way through the rough mountains. Most folks travel by water to this town, because the mountain path is quite dangerous. It leads to the back entrances of Dwarven Mountain, but the road is rough and not well maintained along the way. In addition to the poor upkeep of the road, large predators roam the forests of these mountains, and there is always the risk of beholder petitioners of Illsensine or Gzemnid causing trouble along the way. The realms of both of these gods are somewhere within the tangled caverns beneath these mountains. The fjord is an inlet of the Oceanus, deep enough to accommodate most ships, and certainly deep enough for the longboats that are favored in Ysgard.
The populace actively fishes and hunts within this area, sustaining themselves on the fish and wildlife in the area. They also farm in the cleared spaces near the town, and cut lumber from the forest up the road. The village is isolated enough from outsiders that there is no need for walls, as the terrain itself provides plenty of security. The majority of the people here are human or petitioners.
This is a small place, where everyone knows each other, and visitors are welcome, though they will find few accommodations for themselves. Glorium has no inns or bars, and visitors who intend to stay overnight will need to make friends right fast with one of the residents. Luckily, these are a hospitable people and they generally have room to spare within one of the long houses of the town. Guests of the town though had better observe their manners, as these are not a people to put up with attitude. They are proud and self reliant, and expect to be treated with courtesy and respect. They will challenge others to a duel on insult, generally to first blood or unconsciousness whichever comes first. The petitioners and other people of Glorium do not resurrect the way petitioners of Ysgard do, so they tend not to fight to the death.
Outside of Glorium there are bariaurs who patrol the area and generally live on their own outside the confines of the town. Aside from their own personal aversion to living in settled territories, the tribe here has in the past had a dislike for the residents of Glorium. Their leader, Jek Thanol, has held a personal grudge against the town for decades after a falling out with the towns leadership Grim Flatnose. Rumor holds that Flatnose is responsible for Jek’s missing eye. Of late though, the bariaurs have been forced into a closer alliance due to pressure from beholders in the mountains.
As small a village as Glorium is, it doesn’t have much in the way of civic duties. The families here are generally self sufficient, and willing to help others in cases of extreme need. The people tend to be willing to leave well enough alone, and disputes are often worked out amongst the parties involved, often resolved with a gift (or payoff) of gold or similar trade goods in compensation for whatever slight caused the problem in the first place. This wergild is similar to that found in Ysgard proper, and it is considered an insult to refuse the compensation if it is offered. Laws within Glorium are determined by the once a year meeting of all the members of the village. The laws are voted on and decided upon by all, passing with a majority vote, and then memorized by their lawspeaker - currently, the local priest of Forseti. This lawspeaker is consulted later in the year whenever a dispute arises on how the law must be interpreted, or the correct value of wergild. Most of the laws are fairly simple and straightforward, defining the compensation for deaths within a duel, accidental or otherwise, injuries and other matters of property and insult. Since much of the town runs itself, little organization is needed save for situations which call for defense of the village as a whole.
When the village comes under attack, it is led by Flatnose Grim, a descriptive name earned in many a barfight. He is the strongest fighter of the village, with a temper to match and a gruff manner that is generally off-putting to most visitors. However mercurial his temper may be though, he is overall a good soul and will share his house with any guest of the village that he impresses him. He has his advisors, his wife Kostbera and friends Thoric Foolsgold and Harry Farwalker who moved to Glorium years ago after traveling from their own homes on the Prime. When the village comes under assault, it is Flatnose that calls all the able bodied to fight and leads them in the defense.
The Norse pantheon is actively worshipped in Glorium, as the town is very close to Ysgard. In fact, it is very possible that Glorium will soon slide into Ysgard, though few of the villagers here would have any objection should that occur. In addition to the Nordic pantheon, the Free League has a strong influence in this town. Since the Indeps emphasize self-suficiency and independence just as Glorium’s own people do, the alliance was natural. Flatnose and his wife are both members of the Free League, and Indeps and their friends will find themselves welcomed here eagerly. Harmonium may want to just keep their mouths shut, though the people of the town are nice enough not to toss them out on principle. The Indeps have an active trade through this area as well, finding refuge here as well as supplies and goods to carry to market in Ysgard and the Outlands.
In the past, Glorium has had to deal with few major assaults. They are in a secure location and isolated with little more than their Gate to bring interest to the town. The most trouble they have had to deal with is the proximity to the World Ash, whose roots may be found in nearby caverns, rising up from the Lower Planes. Local legends attest that over a century ago a great serpent, possibly a child of Nidhogg itself, made its lair within those caverns after crawling its way up the tree to the Outlands. The snake would make its way to the nearby village at night, killing livestock and any others that it could find in the darkness. The people of Glorium were forced to take shelter within the Great Hall, their most secure longhouse This serpent was eventually slaughtered by a hero of Ysgard, who later descended into the darkness of the cavern in search of the Mother of the beast he had slain. Unfortunately, he never returned and Glorium’s people know nothing of the rest of his tale.
Glorium is too small to really have much in the way of districts or other divisions within the town, and it certainly doesn’t have anything like a city planner to go by, but the place does have its own layout of a sorts. The town is nestled at the deepest part of the valley, right where the walls of the valley slope enough to provide a space for the town to grow. It consists of docks and shipyards near the fjord itself while further up the slope can be found more workshops for weaving, and other home crafts. Even further up the slope may be found the longhouses and halls of the residents of this little self-sustaining town.
The Docks
The docks of Glorium are wooden, and jut out into the water in a fairly unplanned pattern. Not all the docks have enough space between them to accommodate ships wider than a longboat, so captains visiting Glorium for the first time had best be careful as they make port. The docks are sturdy enough as much of the village industry is involved in fishing, and there is still space for new docks to be made if the town sees enough traffic to warrant it.
The Shipyards
Slightly downriver from the docks are the shipyards, owned by the Frelc twins Eric and Halldor, these yards have been in business for over two generations of their family. The twins are generally indistinguishable save that Eric is missing the tip of his left index finger - an accident in his youth while learning his craft.
The yards are housed in two buildings, with a dock and dry dock secured between them. Usually their current project can be found in its partially completed stage in the dry dock, once the basic cutting and shaping of wood has occurred in the neighboring buildings. The lumberyard is located behind these buildings, and the twins are the greatest users of cut lumber in the area. They also double as carpenters for the town, and when not involved in building a ship will craft furniture or cut wood for houses to order for the residents of Glorium.
The yards produce some of the finest ships that may be found on the River Oceanus. They are sturdy, an able to endure the roughest ocean voyage, and fast as the twins have decades of experience shaping wood and know exactly how to make a ship slip through the water like a fish. The twin’s prefer to make ships in the Nordic style, so their vessels are generally shallow draft longboats, which can travel deeply up river, allowing for trade much farther inland than most conventional ships. These are not cheap ships though, so a trader should expect to pay top dollar for their expertise.
The Fish Market
The fish market is located nearly on the docks themselves, as the fishers have no interest in carting the days catch halfway up the hill when they could simply set up shop in a convenient spot nearby. While the majority of large catches will be preserved, or turned into fish oil and sent out with the next Indep caravan to make it’s way through, the best of the catch will stay right in Glorium. The fish sold here are always caught that day, as the fishermen will take the rest home with them come sunset for dinner, or to be salted for storage for the winter.
The Blacksmith
Any blacksmithy has a chance that it will catch fire, and so the blacksmith of Glorium has taken care to place his workshop far enough away from the thatched roofs of the rest of the town to prevent stray sparks from catching and burning the whole place down. The building is made of old wood and is located near enough to the fjord that any fires can be quickly snuffed with water. The smithy produces horseshoes, bariaur shoes, and other household goods for the most part, though the smith himself, a solidly built dwarf named Thurgild Redgold, is certainly capable of turning out armor and weapons as well. Thurgild learned his craft in the halls of Dwarven Mountian, but found himself too restless to stay. Of course, his buildup of debt in Strongale Hall may have had something to do with it. He followed the road to Glorium a few years back and has since settled comfortably into the laid back village.
The Workshops
Found further up the slope than the fishmarket are the weavers, dyers, and other craftsmen of the town. The clothier is owned by an elderly woman named Regina, who receives the wool from the sheep raised locally and turns it into warm cloth dyed in shades of greens and browns for the town. Her daughter, Rachel, has recently returned from her travels with some of the merchants and has been trying to convince her mother to take on new dyes and techniques to create cloth worthy of trading with the outside world as well. In addition, these shops house a potter, Merry Goodkind, and woodcarver, Old Tom, whose works grace the kitchen table of most of the village.
The Longhouses (Residential Areas)
The long houses of Glorium are scattered further up the slope of the mountain side. These houses are generally built, as the name suggests in a long, narrow shape - with doors usually on the longer side of the structure. Within the house there may be a single hallway leading to the divided parts of the house, or simple screens separating it into living and sleeping quarters. The houses of Glorium are scattered, with ample space between them for kitchen gardens and work areas, or on the outskirts surrounded by the fields of their owners.
The Great Hall
Central to Glorium, in a commanding position at the top of the slope is the Great Hall. This central building is one of the oldest of the village, and is the largest longhouse in all of Glorium. It has been extended three times as the village grew, changes which can be tracked by looking at the weathering of the stone used to build the additions. Within the Great Hall, town meetings are held every year to determine new laws. The inside of the Hall may be divided by folding screens, allowing the Hall to be reconfigured for large meetings or sleeping quarters. This is also one of the most fortified buildings of Glorium, as it is made entirely out of stone and hardwood, so in times of need it also serves as a place of safety for the village. There is a cellar to this building which is stocked with kegs of beer and dried fish in cases of emergency.
The Farms
On the outskirts of Glorium, sprawled along the slopes of the valley one may find the farms of the village. There aren’t a lot of them, as the people of Glorium usually get by on fishing and hunting, but it’s hard to brew a good beer from bear meat. For the most part these fields are dedicated to raising wheat for the village, or sheep for wool and meat. Beekeeping is another regular habit of these farmers. The farming in this area is not widespread, only enough to maintain the farmers and their neighbors.
The Caverns
The Watergate is not the only way residents of Glorium have to get to Ysgard. The World Ash also runs right past the village, providing quick access to its Planar Path. The roots of the tree are sunk through some of the nearby caverns and locals can easily point a visitor up the road into the mountains to get to the caves. Like most caves, those near Glorium are cold and dark and a dangerous to wander aimlessly in, more so, because they are part of the same cave system that links to the Caverns of Thought and the realm of Gzemnid. Both of these realms are extremely dangerous to wanderers, as the beholder powers within them are aggressive and territorial. Lately even the caverns near the roots of the World Ash have been seeing signs of beholder activity.
The Gate(s)
Glorium’s gate to Ysgard may be found on the river. Just up the fjord from Glorium the valley takes a sharp turn, and it is at this location that the Watergate may be found. At this turn, is a maelstrom of mist and choppy water that forms the gate to Ysgard. It is large enough that a ship can sail right into it. It is advised to get a good grip on something before you take the gate, the trip is a little rough as the ship gets sucked down into the whirlpool. The current of the Watergate reverses twice a day, allowing passage into and out of Ysgard.
Plots and Rumors
Stangers who make their way to Glorium may find themselves lost in the high mountains surrounding the town. If so, they should be wary – there is an unknown entity called “Lemming Boy” by the residents of Glorium. He may introduce himself as ‘Kai’, offering to guide the lost to Glorium – but once he can convince a group of strangers to follow him, he will lead them directly into danger. They may find themselves under assault by beholders, lost in a tangle of ravines or caught under a rockfall while ‘Kai’ takes off into the wilderness laughing. The residents of Glorium know little about this entity, but they find the tales of those who survive his attentions amusing demonstrations of “Be careful who you trust.”
In recent years, the beholders of Gzemnid have become a real trouble. Rising from the same caverns that house the World Ash, they have made themselves a nuisance, destroying livestock and frightening the residents. Within the last few months Flatnose has been forced to once again to open the doors of the Great Hall as refuge to all. Even the bariaur, who before may have been willing to let the beholders take a few potshots at Glorium have found themselves under increasing pressure as the xenophobic abominations have taken advantage of the situation – and have entered into an uneasy alliance with Glorium. Flatnose and Jek have temporarily put aside their differences for the good of their people, but the two still tend to stay as far away from each other as is physically possible. Glorium has let it be known amongst their allies, both within the Free League as well as Ysgard, that they could use a strong arm to deal with the beholder threat on the village.