Cragmire
Cragmire situated in the province of Manifield crouches in the lowland between three hills and the lake itself, a splotch of mud, smoke, and blood smeared across uneven terrain marked by countless irregular mounds and massive rocks. The oldest buildings pack the lakeshore, where fishing vessels once docked and stored their impressive catches. That commerce has abandoned the town entirely, for the shining waters that once gave Cragmire its name are now so polluted as to make fishing impossible. Many old warehouses have been converted into cheap housing for miners and laborers, and no one is safe outdoors after dark. As one walks north along the streets of Cragmire, the buildings become sturdier and the spirits of their inhabitants likewise improve. A great earthen road called the Vein bisects the town. With few exceptions, those living north of the Vein enjoy a much better life than the wretches living below it.
All of the town's social classes congregate in the Vein's central square. Roughly every two weeks, someone in the town upsets someone else so greatly that the only recourse is a duel to the death at the center of a ring of cheering miners. The bookmakers of The Emporium and The Feral Dog do brisk business on such occasions, which tend to draw huge crowds. On less violent nights, the square is still home to a thousand pleasures and poisons; if Cragmire is a creature, the Vein's central square is its excitable, irregular heart.
Demographics
- 96% human
- 2% halfling
- 1% gnome
- 1% other races
History
Cragmire has seen better days. Once, it was a prosperous mining boom-town. Iron, Silver, and even more precious metals seemed to pour out of the ground. The glittering water of Cragmire Lake (from which the town derives its name) was full of fish, the farmlands in the hills were fertile and abundant, and the town became one of the most prosperous in the region. When the first tomb was discovered in the hills outside town, it was an oddity, but as more and more ruins were found, word spread. Explorers of these sites faced terrible danger but gained fabulous wealth, and before long it was said that there were as many treasure hunters as miners in town. No one knows for sure, but it is suspected that one of those reckless glory seekers broke into the wrong tomb and brought the plague known as the Red Death to Cragmire.
In the cramped confines of the mines, the disease spread like wildfire. Two out of every three died, and the survivors were often left in crippling agony as the disease warped their bones into unnatural shapes. Cragmire only recovered after a contingent of soldiers from Cloudbreach instituted a brutally effective quarantine of the entire region, burning huge swaths of countryside to eradicate any trace of the plague. After years of pollution, the once sparkling waters of Cragmire Lake have become a poisonous sludge, and with most of the arable land burnt to cinders, the town had neither the means nor will to resist when Cloudbreach officially annexed it in 720 NE. Some, in fact, welcomed the change, as even a corrupt government is better than anarchy. Cloudbreach appointed a series of Mayors to oversee the town’s recovery and ensure a steady supply of metals for the resource-hungry Cloudbreach during the Civil War of Broken Laws. After decades of pain, it is now possible- though only just- to make a decent life for yourself in Cragmire.
In the cramped confines of the mines, the disease spread like wildfire. Two out of every three died, and the survivors were often left in crippling agony as the disease warped their bones into unnatural shapes. Cragmire only recovered after a contingent of soldiers from Cloudbreach instituted a brutally effective quarantine of the entire region, burning huge swaths of countryside to eradicate any trace of the plague. After years of pollution, the once sparkling waters of Cragmire Lake have become a poisonous sludge, and with most of the arable land burnt to cinders, the town had neither the means nor will to resist when Cloudbreach officially annexed it in 720 NE. Some, in fact, welcomed the change, as even a corrupt government is better than anarchy. Cloudbreach appointed a series of Mayors to oversee the town’s recovery and ensure a steady supply of metals for the resource-hungry Cloudbreach during the Civil War of Broken Laws. After decades of pain, it is now possible- though only just- to make a decent life for yourself in Cragmire.
Maps
-
Cragmire
Settlement Level
2
2
Alternative Name(s)
Cragmire Lake
Type
Town
Population
1023
Location under
Included Locations
- Allustan Neff's Residence
- Church of Otarr
- Cragmire Abandoned Mine
- Cragmire Able Carter Coaching Inn
- Cragmire Boneyard
- Cragmire Garrison
- Cragmire General Store
- Cragmire Old Observatory
- Cragmire Smelting House
- Deepspike Mine
- Dourstone Mine
- Dourstone Residence
- Gransworth Residence
- Greysmere Covenant
- Jalek's Flophouse
- Lakeside Stables
- Lazare's House
- Menhirs
- Moonmeadow Residence
- Neff Manor
- Old Piers
- Osgood Smithy
- Parrin Residence
- Smenk Residence
- The Captain's Blade
- The Emporium
- The Feral Dog
- The Midnight Salute
- The Rusty Bucket
- The Spinning Giant
- Tidwoad's
- Tilgast Residence
- Venelle’s
Owner/Ruler
Additional Rulers/Owners
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Related Reports (Primary)
Related Reports (Secondary)
Comments