Stagmoor

Stagmoor is a market town, in a strategic position on The Coast Road. The local moorland isn't particularly fertile, but it is good for grazing sheep, cattle and goats. Unsurprisingly, it exports wool, cheese and some preserved meats.

There isn't much in the town itself, a farmer’s market, a few crafters and a small garrison. Most people live out in the country, tending their herds and small fields. These country folk are tough, most are members of the militia, they can often be seen, carrying a spear and sling, as they graze their stock.

Administration: You will find the Mayor's Office and local Garrison inside the stockade of an old fort.

• The garrison is quite small, consisting of a sergeant and a 'hand' of guards, although there is accommodation for ten guards if required. The Garrison Commander acts as the Deputy Governor for the town, but the guards have little to do apart from patrol the town and marketplace occasionally.
• The Mayor, is 'appointed' by the various Business Owners in the town and is responsible for collecting taxes, running the market and liaising with the guild officers in Westhaven.
• The town court consists of The Garrison Commander, the Mayor and the Senior Priest from Maruma's Chapel. Most cases are resolved in the Mayor's office, although one of the warehouses might be used for a case that attracts a lot of attention.

Religion: The chapel is dedicated to Maruma (Patron of Women, the Countryside and Community), the shrine in the middle of the market square is dedicated to Azan (Mistress of the Market) however, ‘The Green’ is the most commonly followed Philosophy/faith among the people who live here.

Shopping: This small run of shops covers the necessities of life. There is a shop selling farm supplies, another selling countryside gear (including a few minor weapon ammunition and armour). A blacksmith's workshop (which is often busy repairing farm equipment or shoeing horses) A tailor (who sells material, as well as making simple clothes for men and women) and a Herbalist (Selling pot herbs, potions, lotions and other herbal solutions)

The Inn: The unimaginatively named Stagmoor Arms, sells simple food and drink and has a few basic rooms for visitors. It isn't particularly inviting, or busy, except on market days.

The Market: Normally has a few people selling farm produce, such as milk, cheese, jam, pickles and fresh meat, for sale to the town's residents for immediate use. On Market Day, almost every hamlet sends a few people to trade - so you might find Knife Sharpeners, people selling three-legged milking stools (and other minor furniture), homespun cloth and just about anything else that be made on a farmstead, when work is done for the day. When the trade caravan in town, you will also find a number of itinerant traders, selling all sorts of imported items. The only permanent structure is the Shrine to Azan.

Kavan House: A small merchant house overseen by Zachary Kavan, Zachary stocks wines, ales, imported materials and goods to sell to the wealthier farmers. He can also order things for delivery on the next caravan, he serves as an agent giving the people of Stagmoor access to imported goods at items.

The Warehouses: A couple of warehouses (overseen by The Mayor) hold wool, cheese and preserved meats ready for sale to merchants from Westhaven. One of the warehouses is used for the town's larger gatherings - such as The seasonal barn dances or well attended court cases.

The Caravan Ground: is really just a patch of open land, where the scrub bushes are kept under control, which is handy for the Market and the Warehouses. Caravans park there when they come to trade, but might also be used for the summer games, as an impromptu camp site, or used as a playing field by the children.

The Hinterland: Hamlets, composed of small farms, dotted the landscape, often accessed by smaller lanes branching off of the main roads. Each hamlet has a communal barn (Sheep shearing, wool & crop storage) and a communal workshop (cheese and preserving meat, according to season), while the farms are, generally, small family run affairs - a couple of small fields, a few chickens - and a few animals (mainly sheep and goats) that graze the surrounding scrubland.

The moors are dotted with communal herds and flocks overseen by small groups of herders - all armed with spears and slings to drive predators away. There are occasional disputes over grazing rights, between the different hamlets, most are resolved peaceable, although some are taken to the town court for resolution.

Absentee Landlords own a number of small 'estates' around the town. Often forming a small hamlets with a single business at its center, they provide the backbone of the Stagmoors finances. Three or four smallholdings gather around a small agribusiness - a shearing shed, a dying craft shop, a cheese making workshop, are overseen by a steward, with the small holdings rented out, and the businesses working for the community as a whole, rather than just to make profit for the owners. Sir Peston owns the cheese factory, the wool shearing sheds are owned through a state intermediary, and the dying plant is owned (communally) by a consortium of local farmers.

Main exports are:

• Stagmoor Cheese - hard, mature cheese that will serve as trail rations or can be stored as winter provisions. The 'wheels' are all coated in a crust of heather and pine dust, making a slightly preservative rind.
• Stagmoor Sausage - each farm makes their own, a salted, dried, preserved sausage, liberally 'spiced' with Heather and Pine flavourings - both slightly antiseptic and help the sausage last longer, as well as carrying the distinctive flavours of Stagmoor.
• Homespun Yarn - once the has been shorn and sorted, it is distributed to home spinners to produce yarn using a drop spindle. Homespun, is the heaviest and simplest category, often unwashed, good for knitting hats, socks and shawls.
• Died Yarn - the better quality woll is sorted and sent to the better home spinners with a spinning wheel. The yarn is dyed grey, green or brown before export to the weavers in Westhaven.