Post by Brandwyn on Aug 12, 2011 13:15:30 GMT -5
(OCC: Other than the name of the fief, the fact it is in the center of the country and that Gilan is the Ranger in the later books, the rest of this information is from the imagination of Brandwyn. Should John Flannigan elaborate in the future on Whitby Fief, information below will be adjusted accordingly.)
Whitby Fief
Whitby Fief is a large fief in the center of Araluen. It is a very important fief because it is the meeting of the major crossroads running north to south and east to west. They have a saying in Araluen, “All roads lead to Whitby” and it is not too far off the mark.
Just outside the castle there is a large fair grounds that hosts the Kingdom’s biggest annual fair known as The Harvest Faire which occurs in late October every year. Thousands of merchants journey to the fair and set up booths and thousands more people come to spend money and stock up for the winter. Foreigners can even get special permits to sell their goods directly to the Araluen subjects at this faire, but they must pay a rather steep import tax on any imported merchandise they sell as well as being taxed heavily on any merchandise, particularly raw materials, they purchase at the faire that they intend to take back to their own country. Foreign merchants that reside and live in Araluen pay the same taxes as local merchants, but they must purchase and display their merchant lisence to do so. A small portion of those taxes go to Whitby, but the lion’s share goes to the King of Araluen which he uses throughout the kingdom as he sees fit.
A huge city has built up around the fair grounds and the castle of Whitby and surrounding the city is a fief of mostly gently rolling hills filled with crops and grass pastures with a few good-sized deciduous forests dotting the landscape. The people are farmers and herders and the fief provides a lot of food for the rest of the Kingdom. They trade food for metals, leather, fur and wool for the most part with other fiefs, but other goods exchange hands all year round.
The city sports a great number of Inns and Taverns, it being the travel destination of the Kingdom, so there are dozens to choose from. One of the famous ones and the one most used by the rangers and knights who attend the faire is The Boar’s Head. It has a very large common room and over one hundred rooms on the floors above. There are some private meeting rooms on the first floor and only four suites on the fourth floor that are reserved for VIP guests. The Boar’s Head is not the nicest Tavern in the city, but it is far from the worst. Some of the booze is good and some is not so great; you get what you pay for. The staff is friendly and helpful, but frazzled, particularly during the Harvest Faire when the Inn is at full capacity.
The city of Whitby is a typical Araluen city that sprung up because of the crossing of the major roads through the Kingdom. It has its fair share of crime as well as a large market square in the center of the city that is open all year round and is the lifeblood of the city. Without the trade, there would not be anything here except the castle and a bunch of fields.
The surrounding countryside is fairly thick with small farms and larger hamlets and homesteads and even larger demesnes governed by Lords and other higher ranking nobles. Many of the commoners are serfs or tenants that work the land and pay their debt in the form of produce and other goods to their Lord. They are generally peaceful and simple folk and those in the rural areas farther from the center of Whitby are rather suspicious of foreigners and strangers and tend to keep to themselves except when at the market.
Generally crime in the fief is fairly slight except during the Harvest Faire and within the city around Whitby Castle. Poaching and theft being the most common crimes in the countryside. The rural areas tend to police themselves and deal harshly with horse and cattle thieves. They often have tried, convicted, and hung violaters long before any authority of the Baron's reaches their homestead to administer the King's justice.
Whitby City sports the usual crimes found in a big city and the Merchant Guild is both the cause of some of the crime and often the administrator of "justice" to those caught not following Guild guidelines. Merchants wishing to sell goods within the city must register with the Guild and pay a fee or face the consequences. On the other hand, any disputes or complaints involving those merchants can be brought before the guild for resolution which normally is far more swift than taking it to the Baron's Constable and the Merchant Guild will compensate lost merchandise to guild members should they loose goods or money through no fault of their own. Guild Membership has its privilages.
Whitby Fief
Whitby Fief is a large fief in the center of Araluen. It is a very important fief because it is the meeting of the major crossroads running north to south and east to west. They have a saying in Araluen, “All roads lead to Whitby” and it is not too far off the mark.
Just outside the castle there is a large fair grounds that hosts the Kingdom’s biggest annual fair known as The Harvest Faire which occurs in late October every year. Thousands of merchants journey to the fair and set up booths and thousands more people come to spend money and stock up for the winter. Foreigners can even get special permits to sell their goods directly to the Araluen subjects at this faire, but they must pay a rather steep import tax on any imported merchandise they sell as well as being taxed heavily on any merchandise, particularly raw materials, they purchase at the faire that they intend to take back to their own country. Foreign merchants that reside and live in Araluen pay the same taxes as local merchants, but they must purchase and display their merchant lisence to do so. A small portion of those taxes go to Whitby, but the lion’s share goes to the King of Araluen which he uses throughout the kingdom as he sees fit.
A huge city has built up around the fair grounds and the castle of Whitby and surrounding the city is a fief of mostly gently rolling hills filled with crops and grass pastures with a few good-sized deciduous forests dotting the landscape. The people are farmers and herders and the fief provides a lot of food for the rest of the Kingdom. They trade food for metals, leather, fur and wool for the most part with other fiefs, but other goods exchange hands all year round.
The city sports a great number of Inns and Taverns, it being the travel destination of the Kingdom, so there are dozens to choose from. One of the famous ones and the one most used by the rangers and knights who attend the faire is The Boar’s Head. It has a very large common room and over one hundred rooms on the floors above. There are some private meeting rooms on the first floor and only four suites on the fourth floor that are reserved for VIP guests. The Boar’s Head is not the nicest Tavern in the city, but it is far from the worst. Some of the booze is good and some is not so great; you get what you pay for. The staff is friendly and helpful, but frazzled, particularly during the Harvest Faire when the Inn is at full capacity.
The city of Whitby is a typical Araluen city that sprung up because of the crossing of the major roads through the Kingdom. It has its fair share of crime as well as a large market square in the center of the city that is open all year round and is the lifeblood of the city. Without the trade, there would not be anything here except the castle and a bunch of fields.
The surrounding countryside is fairly thick with small farms and larger hamlets and homesteads and even larger demesnes governed by Lords and other higher ranking nobles. Many of the commoners are serfs or tenants that work the land and pay their debt in the form of produce and other goods to their Lord. They are generally peaceful and simple folk and those in the rural areas farther from the center of Whitby are rather suspicious of foreigners and strangers and tend to keep to themselves except when at the market.
Generally crime in the fief is fairly slight except during the Harvest Faire and within the city around Whitby Castle. Poaching and theft being the most common crimes in the countryside. The rural areas tend to police themselves and deal harshly with horse and cattle thieves. They often have tried, convicted, and hung violaters long before any authority of the Baron's reaches their homestead to administer the King's justice.
Whitby City sports the usual crimes found in a big city and the Merchant Guild is both the cause of some of the crime and often the administrator of "justice" to those caught not following Guild guidelines. Merchants wishing to sell goods within the city must register with the Guild and pay a fee or face the consequences. On the other hand, any disputes or complaints involving those merchants can be brought before the guild for resolution which normally is far more swift than taking it to the Baron's Constable and the Merchant Guild will compensate lost merchandise to guild members should they loose goods or money through no fault of their own. Guild Membership has its privilages.