Axebreak

Around 5,000 residents, mostly Humans and Dwarfish, with Gnomish and Smallfolk craftsmen. But its true population shifts constantly. The transient come and go, unwilling to linger under the O’Donovans’ shadow. Those who remain are trapped by circumstance. Debts, generational ties, or simple lack of options.

Axebreak is governed by a mayoral system, but in practice, true power lies in the hands of the Timberfolk, a guild of wealthy lumber magnates who dictate trade regulations, oversee industry, and ensure that the town remains Everwealth’s leading supplier of wood. The mayor, while officially the voice of the people, is often a mere figurehead, as decisions that affect Axebreak’s future are made behind closed doors, within the halls of the trade barons. Law enforcement is handled by a well-equipped town guard, but crime is rarely an issue, not because of strict laws, but because those who cause trouble do not linger long enough to make it a problem.

Walls stand strong, guards well-equipped, yet these exist to protect the O’Donovans’ coffers, not the common folk. Trouble within Axebreak’s walls rarely lasts long, not because law is just, but because the family’s wrath is swifter than justice.

• Timber & Lumber - Axebreak is the largest supplier of wood in Everwealth, its forests providing everything from sturdy Boulderrain hardwoods to the bog-drenched blackwood of the swamps.

• Furniture & Carpentry - With such an abundance of raw materials, the town is known for producing high-quality furniture, wagons, and wooden goods.

• Toolmaking & Cobbling - Axebreak’s economy is not just wood but what is made from it, with skilled toolmakers and cobblers ensuring that axes remain sharp and boots remain sturdy.

Axebreak’s goods flow southward along the Snake-Tongue River, feeding the demands of Everwealth’s cities. In exchange, the town imports iron, fine cloth, and rare luxuries, though such goods are rarely seen among the working class, instead hoarded by wealthy timber barons and trade lords.

Axebreak is one of the few towns outside the capital with multiple schoolhouses, an abundance of well-maintained roads, and fortified defenses strong enough to repel any but the most determined of threats. Sawmills dominate the skyline, their wheels turning endlessly along the river’s edge, while workshops and smithies line the streets, their forges burning late into the night.

• The Timber Quarter - The beating heart of Axebreak, where sawmills, carpentry shops, and toolmakers ply their trade. This district is constantly alive with the sound of axes and the scent of freshly hewn wood.

• The Riverside Market - A bustling marketplace near the Snake-Tongue River, where traders buy and sell lumber, iron, and imported goods from the south. It is the most transient part of town, with faces that change by the week.

• The Old Ward - The oldest part of Axebreak, home to generational residents and those who have spent their lives working the timber yards. The buildings here are sturdy and well-kept, but something about the streets feels… still.

• The Outer Mills - A sprawling industrial zone on the town’s edge, where logs are stripped, shaped, and loaded for transport. The mills never truly rest, their work continuing long into the night.

Timber is wealth. The O’Donovans control it all, stockpiling hardwood, black bogwood, and Mire-Iron. Their tool forges export axes prized across Everwealth, yet most citizens never see a coin of the profit.

• The Timberman: In truth, a puppet guild, its magnates beholden to O’Donovan gold.

• The Axebreak Toolwrights: Respected, but tightly leashed, licenses revoked at a whim if they fail to appease their masters.

Axebreak was founded in 334 CA as a timber camp along the Snaketongue River, its early settlers drawn by the abundance of hardwoods from the Grandgleam and Boulderrain. The Bog of Lies, treacherous but rich, provided black bogwood that soon became a luxury export, prized by nobles and shipwrights. Within decades, Axebreak transformed from a cluster of saw-pits into a fortified town, its mills supplying Everwealth’s growing naval ambitions. It was during this rise that the O’Donovans first appeared, minor merchants who bought up failing camps and outlasted rivals through cunning, bribery, and ruthless efficiency. By the turn of the century, their fortunes had eclipsed all others, and their family banner flew above the Timber Exchange. Through calculated marriages, debts, and bribes, the O’Donovans positioned themselves as Axebreak’s indispensable stewards. When famine struck the north in 417 CA, the family hoarded grain and timber alike, releasing both only at inflated prices. Their fortune soared, and their influence grew unassailable. The monarchy, distant and distracted, accepted O’Donovan gold in exchange for silence, granting the family hereditary control over Axebreak’s governorship. It was during this era that the town’s strange reputation began. Outsiders spoke of an “unease” that clung to Axebreak. Yet the locals, bound by necessity and tradition, accepted the family’s yoke. The mills grew larger, the schools better equipped, but the people no freer.   Today, the O’Donovans’ rule has metastasized into outright monopoly, 'The Age of Fat and Fury' some call it, the some who have a tendency never to be seen again. The Duke sits upon a gilded chair that groans beneath his bulk, his obscene girth a symbol of his family’s excess in an age of want. His son, the Governor, is his enforcer, quick to rage, quicker to punish, his tantrums wielded like edicts. Marquesses, captains, even judges bow to their will, their silence purchased in coin or coerced in blood. Axebreak remains wealthy, its timber feeding Everwealth’s expansion. But its prosperity is poisoned, its stability hollow. The dread that drives outsiders away may not be magickal at all, but the stench of a family whose appetite has devoured everything that should have made Axebreak a home. The saws turn, the mills roar, and the river carries timber south, but those who labor to make it possible dream only of escape.

The River Gate - Fortified checkpoint on the Snaketongue River; Every raft, log-train, and barge tallied and taxed before the current carries wealth south. The Hollow Hearth Inn - The largest tavern in town; The place around which this town was built. Quiet tables, quick meals, rooms rented for a single uneasy night before travelers flee. O'Donovan Manor - The family’s walled seat overlooking the Timber Exchange; edicts whispered here become law by morning.

Axebreak should be a place where merchants and travelers linger, where adventurers stock supplies and traders rest between journeys. And yet, no one stays longer than they must. Even those unaware of its reputation feel something is wrong, a tightening in the chest, a creeping anxiety, as though standing on the precipice of an unseen disaster. The locals, those born and raised here, seem oblivious, their lives continuing without pause. But outsiders? They leave as quickly as their business allows.

Axebreak is rugged but well-built, its timber-framed homes and workshops standing strong against the northern winds. Smoke rises from a hundred chimneys, and the scent of fresh-cut wood and burning sawdust fills the streets.

Axebreak is positioned at the meeting point of three distinct landscapes, the Grandgleam Forest, with its towering ancient trees, the Boulderrain Woods, whose rugged terrain provides some of the strongest hardwoods in Everwealth, and the Bog of Lies, whose cursed depths yield the most uniquely colored, dense timber known to man. The Snake-Tongue River, winding its way from the north, serves as the town’s primary trade artery, allowing Axebreak to transport its goods southward with ease. The town itself is built on solid ground, but the outskirts quickly turn to mud and mist, a stark reminder of the unforgiving wilds that surround it.

Axebreak experiences cold, harsh winters and brief, mild summers, with the mist from the Bog of Lies often creeping into the streets on colder nights. Snow is common, but the constant activity of the mills and workshops keeps the town from ever feeling truly lifeless. Even in the height of summer, there is a lingering chill in the air, something that never fully fades no matter how warm the season. Rain is frequent but never torrential, with the boglands to the west ensuring that the air remains damp, the ground ever-so-slightly softened by moisture.

• Grandgleam Hardwood - Known for its durability and resilience, this wood is used in everything from shipbuilding to fine furniture.

• Black Bogwood - Harvested from the outskirts of the Bog of Lies, this rare timber is dark, water-resistant, and highly valuable, often used in the construction of luxury estates and high-end weaponry.

• Mire-Iron Deposits - Occasionally unearthed near the bog’s edge, this strange metal is said to carry a unique resistance to decay, making it a sought-after material for specialized crafts.

• Shadeberries & Burnbrambles - Though not abundant, these rare plants are sometimes gathered in the fringes of the wilderness, providing small but profitable alchemical exports.