Ish, Bish and Fish - The Tri-Village in Vakante
Three villages in close proximity to each other in the far eastern state of Vakante.
Connected by a three-way crossroad.
The inhabitants are notorious for being a bit... odd.
Several centuries ago, the three villages set up a market together, at the junction of the three-way crossroads. They were supposed to share the profits. But they could not (and still cannot) agree on how to share the profits. So they built a large Counting House just by the market, and every day from then to the present, the coin of the day's profits is stored there. This worked, or rather the citizens of the three villages were satisfied with this solution. Of course, it was not long before they had to build a bigger Counting House. And then a bigger one.
Only once was the Counting House cleared, two hundred years ago, when the three village mayors (at that time) agreed to split everything equally three ways. Unfortunately, this made the citizens of the three villages extremely unhappy - each village felt it had been "cheated" somehow. The unfortunate mayors were beaten and banished from the villages.
The Counting House of Ish-Bish-and-Fish is a legendary target for thieves, rogues, bored mercenaries and scheming insurance agents. There are many stories about it- that it is full to bursting with riches, that gold and silver coins and precious jewels cover the floors ankle-deep, that gold and silver are melted into ingots and stacked floor to ceiling, that men have died in when mountains of bags of coin have collapsed upon them.
Someone is always trying break in.
Not long after establishing the Counting House, the village councils of Ish, Bish and Fish began hiring guards to watch the place, especially at night. But the village councils soon learned that the contents of the Counting House are a bit too tempting for most guards, even heretofore honest ones. (They also learnt the hard way to never, ever hire Lekvaarten sellswords as night watchmen.)
So, around a century ago, tired of hiring watchmen who themselves had to be watched, the village councils of Ish, Bish and Fish hired a Demon.
It is quite an economical arrangement. In exchange for guarding the Counting House, the demon receives such food and sundry necessities as its general needs dictate... and a steady supply of scrolls, codices and tomes. Subject matter is generally irrelevant as long as it is something it hasn't read before. (The Tri-Village of Ish-Bish-and-Fish therefore, ironically, also has one of the largest respositories of knowledge in the known World The demon doesn't mind if someone else reads the contents of the library, as long as (i) it is something it has finished reading, (ii) the item is returned to its exact place and (iii) nothing is taken away.
The demons sleeps during the day, then rises at night to carry out its duties, and once its obligations are met, settles down for a nice read through the night. It does NOT care to be interrupted in its reading. Particularly on cold evenings/nights, when it has its feet up in front of a nice fire, in a cozy robe with a nice cup of tea and a new scroll to read.
Most thieves break into the Counting House at night.
Generally, that turns out to be a regretful decision. Most are never heard from again. The villager councils do not enquire of the demon what happens to thieves and the demon does not share the details. And if every now and again, the still night air is pierced by screams of terror and pain coming from the Counting House, well, the villagers of Ish, Bish and Fish count it small matter as long as their riches remain safe and unmolested.
The Counting House Demon of Ish-Bish-and-Fish has become a bit of a legend around the World. Perhaps it is because it only stirs at night and has not been seen outside of the Counting House or the Library in several centuries, that leads most people in the World to believe that the Counting House Demon is a myth, a fairytale made up by the villagers to discourage thieves and frighten the children.
Stories say that only one person is known to have ever successfully stolen something from the Counting House Demon, from the Demon Library of Ish-Bish-and-Fish: the dark elf Vayon.
The inhabitants are notorious for being a bit... odd.
Several centuries ago, the three villages set up a market together, at the junction of the three-way crossroads. They were supposed to share the profits. But they could not (and still cannot) agree on how to share the profits. So they built a large Counting House just by the market, and every day from then to the present, the coin of the day's profits is stored there. This worked, or rather the citizens of the three villages were satisfied with this solution. Of course, it was not long before they had to build a bigger Counting House. And then a bigger one.
Only once was the Counting House cleared, two hundred years ago, when the three village mayors (at that time) agreed to split everything equally three ways. Unfortunately, this made the citizens of the three villages extremely unhappy - each village felt it had been "cheated" somehow. The unfortunate mayors were beaten and banished from the villages.
The Counting House of Ish-Bish-and-Fish is a legendary target for thieves, rogues, bored mercenaries and scheming insurance agents. There are many stories about it- that it is full to bursting with riches, that gold and silver coins and precious jewels cover the floors ankle-deep, that gold and silver are melted into ingots and stacked floor to ceiling, that men have died in when mountains of bags of coin have collapsed upon them.
Someone is always trying break in.
Not long after establishing the Counting House, the village councils of Ish, Bish and Fish began hiring guards to watch the place, especially at night. But the village councils soon learned that the contents of the Counting House are a bit too tempting for most guards, even heretofore honest ones. (They also learnt the hard way to never, ever hire Lekvaarten sellswords as night watchmen.)
So, around a century ago, tired of hiring watchmen who themselves had to be watched, the village councils of Ish, Bish and Fish hired a Demon.
It is quite an economical arrangement. In exchange for guarding the Counting House, the demon receives such food and sundry necessities as its general needs dictate... and a steady supply of scrolls, codices and tomes. Subject matter is generally irrelevant as long as it is something it hasn't read before. (The Tri-Village of Ish-Bish-and-Fish therefore, ironically, also has one of the largest respositories of knowledge in the known World The demon doesn't mind if someone else reads the contents of the library, as long as (i) it is something it has finished reading, (ii) the item is returned to its exact place and (iii) nothing is taken away.
The demons sleeps during the day, then rises at night to carry out its duties, and once its obligations are met, settles down for a nice read through the night. It does NOT care to be interrupted in its reading. Particularly on cold evenings/nights, when it has its feet up in front of a nice fire, in a cozy robe with a nice cup of tea and a new scroll to read.
Most thieves break into the Counting House at night.
Generally, that turns out to be a regretful decision. Most are never heard from again. The villager councils do not enquire of the demon what happens to thieves and the demon does not share the details. And if every now and again, the still night air is pierced by screams of terror and pain coming from the Counting House, well, the villagers of Ish, Bish and Fish count it small matter as long as their riches remain safe and unmolested.
The Counting House Demon of Ish-Bish-and-Fish has become a bit of a legend around the World. Perhaps it is because it only stirs at night and has not been seen outside of the Counting House or the Library in several centuries, that leads most people in the World to believe that the Counting House Demon is a myth, a fairytale made up by the villagers to discourage thieves and frighten the children.
Stories say that only one person is known to have ever successfully stolen something from the Counting House Demon, from the Demon Library of Ish-Bish-and-Fish: the dark elf Vayon.
Government
Village Councils
Type
Village
Population
3000
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