The frontier nation of Q'Barra, settled within the past seventy years and recognized by the Thronehold Accords, remains a dangerous, unstable place. Even so, more than a hundred thousand settlers call it home and fight to keep it. , despite the dangers and troubles that surround them.
The tiny settlement of New Eston is precariously perched between the lizard tribes of the Q'Barra Jungle and the kobold and ogre clans of the Endworld Mountains, in a rocky, green, box canyon at about 7500 feet. While only around a 150 miles north and west of Wyrmwatch, it is still usually five days travel on horse because of the altitude gain, and rugged, unfinished roads...especially the high point, Junkite Pass.
On the far side of the valley, a small waterfall flows over a few hundred feet, leaving mist in the air, and a fairly faithfull rainbow. The thin mountain stream below winds through the village, supplying water to crop, herd and humanoids alike.
Consisting of only a few small fields, a neatly built rock lookout tower, and a 20' rough timber wall surrounding a small cluster of small houses, including, The Bunkhouse, New Eston has survived three tough years. The Bunkhouse is the only large building and dominates much of protected area of the settlement. It happens to be town hall, feasting hall, jail, and home to about half of the town's citizens, including the founding father and leader, Sergeant Mercil d'Cannith (Fighter 4/Ranger2).
The day of mourning took more than country and home from Mercil d'Cannith. Father, Mother. Wife and children; his entire family perished on that fateful day. After the war, he wandered for awhile, unsure what to do. He heard the stories of a "New World" beyond the Endworld mountains and came to Q'Barra, another lost refugee of the last war.
His father was a disciple of the Old Galifar ideals, and Mercil tired of the politics and the wars between brothers and sisters. Some of his family were content to live in other's lands, while Mercil found the wilds of Q'Barra to be more welcoming to his new political ideals. He dedicated his life to building a new country, despite some of his family scoffing at his ambitions.
His military background gave him a strong grasp of leadership. His family gave him warforged troops during the war, and he admired their focus and resiliency. Now, he realizes their worth more than ever in this dangerous area, and so has welcomed quite a few of them in his new community. While he wasn't fond of shifters as a younger man, his more recent life and ranger training have opened his eyes to their natural abilities in the wild, and so he welcomes any that aren't causing trouble to join him as well. There may even be a few Valenar elves, Lahzaar pirates, and/or Changlings in the settlement. You can't have too many friends in the tough frontier land of Q'Barra.
He runs a tight, militant town, but this far into the Q'Barra wilds, it is a neccessity. Every one of the 137 inhabitants is expected to contribute to society and, most importantly, do whatever possible to help the other 136 continue living as well. Children are expected to listen and comply. They are trained to get out of the way, and into a hiding hole when an attack occurs. Everyone has a duty to perform. And, with the closeness of a small community, everyone knows everyone. Or, at least thinks they do.
Nearly every male, and most of the women as well, above the age of 16, are trained and participate in the acting militia that guards the settlement. A regemented schedule exists, and the thin wooden walkway running around the inside of the wall is well manned and marched 24 hours a day.
The group is lucky enough to have most of a young dwarven family among its inhabitants. This, combined with the usual house Cannith abilities, makes well-crafted arms and armor rather common. But, New Eston's best defense, and saving grace, is Watch Tower.
Watch Tower was carefully crafted along the edge of a rock cliff, some sixty foot up, as the settlement's first building. The rooms below house twenty full time soldiers, and the multiple decks above offer a commanding view of the countryside, both in valley, and out, most of the way to Junkite Pass. The walls have cleverly designed battlements, offering excellent cover to defending archers. The rock and mortar walls extend another 20 to 40 feet above the cliff, for a total climb of 80 to 100 feet. The easiest access is climbing one of the retractable rope ladders, or flying, but they do have a pulley and crank system set up for supplies and heavier equipment.
