The Village of Iosyne

Statistics

Iosyne
LN Hamlet

Settlement Modifiers
Corruption: No adjustments.
Crime: -3 Sense Motive checks to avoid being bluffed, -3 Sleight of Hand checks to pick pockets.
Economy: -1 Craft, Perform and Profession checks made to generate income.
Law: +1 Intimidate checks, +1 Diplomacy against the Tribune, +1 Diplomacy to call on guards.
Lore: -1 Diplomacy to gather information, -1 Knowledge checks to research requiring library.
Society: -2 Disguise checks, -2 Diplomacy checks to alter mood of non-government official.

Quality: Insular
Danger: -5
Government: Colonial
Population: 75 (62 humans, 6 dwarves, 4 halflings, 3 oreads)

Notable NPC: Crathis Kallimachos (Imperial Tribune)
Base Value: 200gp
Purchase Limit: 1,000gp
Spellcasting: 2nd level
Magic Items: 200gp base, 2 minor items.

Important Features

1. Salt Road Gatehouse: This is a 10' x 10' x 10' brick building which grants all access in and out of Iosyne, via a thick pair of wooden double doors which are opened throughout the daylight hours, then closed and barred shortly after nightfall. At least one solider from the Imperial garrison is present at all times, watching for merchants and drivers in off the Salt Road, who are then welcomed and ushered in to the Stables and Shipping Area. The village builders had the foresight to install two murder holes in the gatehouse, as they did at several other points along the village walls, but these usually have to be covered up in the case of a salt storm.

2. Iosyne Stables: The stables are large enough to host up to two dozen oxen, llamas, or horses, some of which are owned by the miners, the others belonging to traders. Hay is shipped in as often as possible to provide bedding and freshness, and the rainfall duct provides plenty of nourishment; offal and refuse are buried outside in pits around the Salt Road as it winds westward. As well as they're trained, if the stables become too heavily stocked, they can create a lot of noise and smell, especially when the tarps are up to protect the community from a surging salt storm. In rare cases, excess animals can be penned up out in the Gatehouse or in a makeshift pen outside the village walls. Some of the young men and women of Iosyne who don't accompany the miners are expected to tend and clean the pens, but there is no 'official' stablemaster as of yet.

3. Salt Shipping Area: The most important area of Iosyne, this is where the rock salts off the Marrow Flat digs are broken down, refined, packaged and loaded onto the wagons which will carry them far and wide across the Ekrysian Empire. Roughly 70% of the Empire's salt is supplied from this very location, so the workers are kept busy all year round, and a steady stream of Imperial coin is arriving to fill out the laborers' pockets. There are a few warehouses and lots of stacks of wooden crates that are wheeled in by merchants for distribution. The local engineer, Gavia, is currently building a small mill wheel which can help with the refinement, and machinery has been requested that can one day expedite the export process. In any case, there are usually around a dozen villagers here at any given time during the daylight hours, with at least one Imperial soldier in attendance.

4. Imperial Garrison: A network of medium-sized tents are propped up along the eastern and southeastern inner walls of Iosyne, and in these reside the small detachment of Imperial soldiers under the guidance of Tribune Crathis. They've got their own food supplies, armory, a kitchen tent and gaming den, and there is enough space that most of them can sleep in their individual structure until such a time that the ranks swell up. The locals have discussed the establishment of more permanent buildings for the Imperials, but they have held back, since they might require room for more salt miners, in which case the Imperials will have a small fort or tower constructed nearby.

5. Protective Pylons: A series of thin but strong stone support turrets, these are laid out so that they increase in height closer to the center of the village, all topped off by a series of hooks. In the four corners of Iosyne, there are massive tarps of greased leather which can be slid along hooks on the walls and stretched with poles to attach to the pylons, creating a taut tent covering to the entire community, which can offer shade in the harsh summer months, and even more importantly, create a line of defense against the frenzied salt storms which can arrive at a rapid pace through the Saltspine valley in which the village is located. This covering is consistently maintained by engineer Glavia and several of the locals that she has trained for that purpose. To lose it would seriously hamper the operation's production, and endanger the residents.

6. The Bath and Tap: A two story structure, the Bath and Tap dominates the roof-line of Iosyne, and stands slightly taller than the surrounding walls, but not so much that it can't be covered by the tarp in times of desperation. The bottom story features a large tap room suitable for up to 50 customers, a sizable kitchen, and a set of baths out back that are fed by the rainwater duct. Upstairs are over a dozen single and double occupancy rooms, most of which can be rented by merchants and visitors, although a few are used by the Bassa family themselves. Themis Bassa is quite a cook, and keeps the seats filled, especially for suppers, while her husband Aristan tends a bar that is as well-stocked as it can be through imports, and regales the customers with friendly banter and rumors from abroad.

7. Rainfall Duct: A low, covered stone structure, the Duct is about 5' wide and 10' high, and set at a slope, where fresh rainwater pooled up in the nearby Saltspine mountains can make its way down into the mouths and bellies of the villagers. The duct is large enough that a man can fit in there to clean it and deal with any problems, and often the runner Thravian Sura does just this to visit the pools and check the water levels up in the heights. The Duct feeds into a narrow channel around the interior walls and through the center of Iosyne, which can later empty out in a ditch south of the village if it is ever too overfilled. The engineer Gavia is constantly thinking up new ways to use the system, from hooking it up to the Bath and Tap to building a water wheel in the Shipping Area. Villagers are not permitted to use the channel for waste, under punishment from the Imperial soldiers, but a few small fish miraculously end up there from where a mountains stream might feed one of the highland pools, and the children enjoy pursuing these endlessly about the village.

8. Iosyne Commissary: The general store of Iosyne, the Commissary is run by the Dewfoot halfling family and sells mostly domestic goods, clothing, rations, and other supplies that the villagers can't or don't provide for themselves. It's a large building with a second story balcony, and the halflings only occupy 1-2 small rooms in the back for personal living space, so the rest of it is choked out with all the items locals might need. While a lot of Iosyne's tools and weapons are created or repaired by the dwarf Gori Flintcoat at his home-forge, the Dewfoots still have their share brought in as a backup. Taslo has also hinted that his mother keeps a closed off-chamber on the second story, full of rare baubles, charms, and other exotic items, at higher premiums, that might interest certain parties, if they can 'convince' her to grant them access.

9. Office of the Tribune: A trio of tents sectioned off for the Tribune himself. One is used as his private bedchamber and living quarters, which nobody is allowed to enter. Another serves as his personal armory, in which he cleans his armor and sharpens his weapons. The last is a 'war room' of sorts, in which Crathis keeps maps, compasses and Imperial correspondence, and often meets with his subordinates to plot out duty shifts, local patrols, and disperse pay. In addition, there is a large, covered object just east of the Tribune's tents, which is only attended to by Crathis and Alektryon, and seems to be some sort of anti-siege device, though it's never shown to the public and does not appear to be functional for the time being.

Other Businesses: The Flintcoats have converted the lower story of their residence into a foundry and forge, just north of the Commissary, in which Gori and several of his younger family toil away to produce many of the tools and weapons used in Iosyne. The dwarves' sleeping quarters are accessed above in a loft by ladders. Ventor Sylo, along with his wife and apprentice, offer hospice and healing to the best of their abilities, right out of their own home in the northeast corner of the village. Gavia Tertula has part of her home set up as an engineering laboratory, with a lot of charts, blueprints, books, tools and devices strewn about.