Porch Watch
"Don't you mind us, sugar. We're just enjoyin' the breeze. Though I couldn't help but notice you're walkin' with a limp in your left leg, and you've got red clay on your boots that you can only get from the widow Miller's land... so, you visitin' the widow, or you trespassing?"
Overview
To an outsider, the Porch Watch looks like nothing more than a collection of retirees enjoying their twilight years. They sit on the wide, wrap-around porches that line the main dirt paths of Thistlewick, rocking in creaky wooden chairs, whittling cedar sticks, and smoking pipes.In reality, they are the town's most effective surveillance system and defense network. They are the eyes that never blink and the memories that never fade. There is no official town guard in Thistlewick because the Porch Watch sees trouble coming three miles away.
What They Do
The Watch operates on a system of "Passive Omniscience." They occupy strategic choke points.The Porch Telegraph
The Watch has perfected a system of non-verbal communication. A rhythmic tapping of a whittling knife, or a nod to a neighbor across the way conveys complex information.By the time a stranger walks from the town edge to the General Store, the Watch knows their height, weapon loadout, and likely intent.
Social Policing
They act as the town’s moral compass and judges. If a local is acting out, the Watch doesn't arrest them; they "shame" them. A disapproving stare from a united row of elders is usually enough to correct behavior.Static Defense
While they look frail, most members keep a loaded heavy crossbow or a scatter-gun hidden beneath their rocking chair or tucked under a blanket. They are veterans of the forest, and they rarely miss.The Inner Circle: Membership & Hierarchy
Membership in the Porch Watch is not granted by application; it is claimed by attrition and tenure. It is the final stage of life for a resident of Thistlewick.
Prerequisites for Joining:
- Retirement: You must be too old, injured, or "bone-weary" to work the river lines or the lumber mills.
- The Chair: You must provide your own chair. The quality and squeak of a member's chair is a status symbol.
- The "Eye": You must prove you can sit in silence for four hours and notice a squirrel change trees. Fidgety people are not welcome.
The Hierarchy of the Chair:
The Rockers (Elders):
The leaders. They occupy the spots with the best sightlines (usually Ma Penny’s porch or the intersection near the mill). When they speak, the town listens.
The Whittlers (Mid-Rank):
Those who have joined in the last decade. They handle the "active" duties, like yelling at children to slow down or signaling the fishers when merchants arrive.
The Leaners (Initiates):
Those who don't have a chair yet and have to lean against the porch railing. They are often sent to fetch tea, tobacco, or verify a rumor physically.
Asset: The "Logbook"
It is rumored that the Porch Watch keeps a single, massive ledger known as The Black Book of Business. It is said to contain every transgression, secret, and debt owed by every family in Thistlewick for the last forty years. It is currently held by Grandma Bess, who keeps it under her knitting bag.
Location
The concept of a group of elderly people who watch the goings on in the town and keep an eye on strangers is simultaneously humorous and creepy XD
Hahaha thank you so much for your lovely comment :D I agree it is a little unnerving LOL
If I’m not revising, I’m probably rewriting a town for the third time.