Chulchester

60% humans, 15% orcs, 15% dwarves, 10% other (halflings, tieflings, Elves)

Most decisions are made in Chulchester Keep. The Baron has a few very good advisors and generally acts according to the town's mood, but he does have final say. His seneschal, Danzeth Hendra, handles taxation and information.

The keep is on an island and has two drawbridges, usually one raised at all times to let boats through. On the west side of the river, a stone wall protects the older part of town, but the east side is still fairly protected by sturdy buildings built side by side along the outskirts. With a few good barricades at major streets, the majority of Chulchester could be defended against a large force - as long as the river is still under control.

Milling, Farming, Fishing

There is a lot of milling in Chulchester, and a good percentage of the town is employed by the clever owners of the Mill Hill Company. There are docks both inside and outside the town walls, with the outer ones serving the millers and fishers, and inner docks used by traveling merchants so their goods can be inspected. On the east side of the river, a charming town square has many workshops and stores, and the overgrown East Road leads out from the festival grounds. On the west side, two gates in the wall open onto the West Road and the Coast Road.

The town is too small to have real districts, but some identity is tied to whether you live "inside" as a protected and valued artisan or merchant, vs "outside" in the company-built row houses of the millworkers.

In the rush to colonize Dorend, the Duke of Lozenge sent his strongest rival, Baron Gribley Chulchester I, to get a piece of the pie. Shortly afterward, Lozenge fell to its neighbors, but the culture of Chulchester still reflects their history. Through a few generations, the town grew and fought off a few rivals, suffering a major setback when Baroness Ingaret Chulchester II (the current Baron's grandmother) tried to establish another settlement and was wiped out by the armies of Kirohyne.

Make sure to stay at Griselda's if you enjoy a comfortable environment, or the Elephant if you don't. Griselda is a wonderful host, while Sulgha, the Elephant's proprietor, allows any chaos short of broken bones in the common room of his inn.
There's usually a festival for the summer and winter solstice, where people make special treats and dance (in summer) or skate (in winter).
If you pray to the Sun or Berronar Truesilver, you will likely do so at the two major temples in town. Ereshkigal also has a small chapel near the cemetery. Of course, some folks venerate the entire Founding Pantheon, or even devote themselves to a demigod. While they're welcome in the temples, there's no dedicated priests of other deities in Chulchester.
If you want something done off the books, need a place to hide, or have a need for some kind of illegal item, visit the Falling Star. It claims to be another import/export business, but the manager, Zarmus Nowhere, is the entire criminal underworld of Chulchester. Nobody's been able to prove anything against him.

Townsfolk use a mix of timbers, bricks, and wattle-and-daub for a very old-fashioned, pioneer kind of building style. The central keep is built up on an enlarged island, controlling river travel.

Chulchester is built at the meeting of two rivers. Iron River comes down from the mountains to the west and runs into Green River as it comes from Lake Ghadira in the east. There are gently rolling hills all around the town, with small woods and copses of trees. To the south, however, the combined Irongreen River begins to descend into valleys as it seeks out the marshlands of the coast.

Chulchester has mild summer and winter seasons, but they usually get plenty of rain and snow.

Chulchester has rich grasslands and fields nearby, which means their cattle are notably delicious. The hills have a few good mines for copper and coal, but the coal is not terribly valuable yet - perhaps it could be traded with the dwarves of Ironburg, who always need fuel for their forges.