Jörðgarð Map of the Week #424 - Kingsgate

[Mark Oliva]

kingsgate_3000.jpg

Map of the Week No. 424 is from the forthcoming Jörðgarð Trails adventure "A Tale of 2 Books." The map shows the border entry town town of Kingsgate in the vampire-ruled North Kingdom.

Key to the Town Map:

1. Timber Creek. The fast-flowing creek has its source about 20 miles/30 km to the west in the Evening Hills Forest. Along the length of the town, it is dangerous at night, because swamp draugs tend to come upstream that far in the dark hours.

2. Timber Bridge. The wooden covered bridge keeps swamp draugs from attacking travelers who cross the creek in the dark hours.

3. Timbergate. Eight soldiers, including two members of the Iron Guard, always are on duty here. A pass coin is required to leave town here.

4. Timbergate Customs House. Random inspections are made here, but customs taxes are charged only at the Royal Customs House (Location 24) at the Fjörmgate (by Location 24).

5. Mahulena's Bakery. The only bakery in town. It is owned and operated by the master baker Mahulena. Mahulena also sells baked goods on the marketplace.

6. Swamp Refuge Tavern. The tavern is owned and operated by Rostislav. He buys his beer from the Evening Hills Gateway Inn (Location 10) and sells it at 5 copper pieces per pint/half liter tankard. He also sells domestic schnapps at 1 silver piece per shot/0.1 l glass. The only food available is a bread board with bread, cold cuts and a dill pickle at 1 bronze piece.

7. Emil's Smithy. The smithy is owned and operated by master blacksmith Emil. No products are made in the smithy, but it does shoe horses and repair all kinds of bronze items including weapons and armor. Emil's main customer is the garrison. He employs two journeyman smiths and two apprentices.
 
8. Royal Ministry of Trade. The ministry is the only office of the royal government headquartered outside of tnhe capital of Vladimir's Throne. The Minister of Trade Drahomira, is the highest-ranking person in the town and one of the highest-ranking humans in the kingdom. The Royal Steward Pankrác and Garrison Commander Jeroným, a human male warrior, both must bow to her commands. The ministry's employees monitor and keep records of all trade with outsiders, collect customs taxes and decide who can buy and sell which merchandise where. The ministry also buys, stores and ships all non-military goods ordered by the royalty and higher nobility. It employs 30 human males and females of varying professions.

9. Royal Ministry of Trade Warehouses.

10. Evening Hills Gateway Inn. The inn is owned and operated by Sylva, ahuman female native to Slovania. Her inn brews its own house lager beer, served at 5 coppers per pint/half-liter tankard, and she sells wines from the central duchy at 1 to 9 silver pieces per quart/liter bottle. She has 10 single guest rooms at 9 silver pieces nightly and two doubles at eight silver pieces per person night-ly.

11. Evening Hills Gateway Inn Brewhouse. The house lager beer is brewed by the brewwife Nadá.

12. Community Woodyard. The town's lumberjacks bring the firewood that they cut in the Evening Hills Forest here to dry for two years before it is burned. The firewood operation belongs to the town and is operated by the town government. All building owners are charged an annual firewood tax. In return, they may take wood from the yard whenever they need it.

13. Lubor's Wagon Works. Master Wainwright Lubor builds and repairs wagons, carts, wheelbarrows and the like. He employs two journeyman wainwrights and two apprentices.

14. Trade Halls. This complex of three buildings houses offices, shops and storage rooms of free merchants and service outlets. It also is the location where Blažena, the town's human female healer, and her aides offer their services. The biggest operation belongs to Pravoslav, the human male merchant who operates the biggest free merchant (private, non-governmental) store in the kingdom.

15. Market Square. The market is open to domestic and foreign farmers, traders and peasants. A wide variety of constantly changing produce and goods is offered here, depending upon who is in town on any given day.

16. Kingsgate Inn. The town's largest and most expensive inn belongs to the crown. It is run by innkeeper Abdon, a human male. The inn has 22 single rooms at 1 gold piece a night, six doubles at 8 silver pieces per person nightly and one suite at 2 gold pieces per night. Only sub-jects or guests of the crown may take rooms here. Foreigners may use the public room, but they are not allowed to stay in the guest rooms. Meals in the public room run between 4 bronze pieces and 1 gold piece. The house ale costs 5 copper pieces per pint/liter tankard. Domestic wines run from 5 silver pieces to 2 gold pieces per quart/liter bottle.

17. Kingsgate Inn Brewhouse. The alewife is Abdon's wife, Miluše, a human female brewwife.

18. Kingsgate Inn Stable. Abdon has two stable boys, both human males.

19. Kingsgate Inn Woodshed.

20. Town Hall. The two key figures are the royal steward Pankrác and Town Administrator Dita, his key aide. The town administration is in the two-story hall. Pankrác dwells in his own chambers on the second story. The town has 12 employees, human male and female merchants, scholars and commoners.

21. Town Hall Stall. The town has two stable boys, both human males.

22. Town Hall Woodshed.

23. Swamp Wall Garrison. Jeroným, a human male, is the commander of the 220-man garrison. The contingent includes a 24-member unit of the king's Iron Guard. They wear helmets and armor of iron, bear iron swords and can fire arrows with iron tips. The main duties of the garrison are police work and seeing to it that no subjects of the king escape the kingdom. The soldiers also keep a close eye on the draug-filled swamps that mark the kingdom's border.

24. Royal Customs House. Six soldiers from the garrison and two officials from the Royal Ministry of Trade always are on duty here. All traffic between the kingdom and the ruins of the Æsir Empire must pass this gate. Outsiders can obtain a three-day pass coin for the inner town here, but all other pass coins are issued at the town hall. The customs house inspects all goods brought into and out of the kingdom. Anyone entering the outer gate with goods receives along with his or her pass papers a list of all merchandise being brought into the kingdom along with an officially set value for each product. This is used later to calculate customs taxes.

25. Fjörm Bridge. This is the last surviving bridge from the Æsir desolation into the North Kingdom. The bridge is one of the monarchy's major concerns. The Fjörm swamps are rising and beginning to threaten this bridge too.

26. Fjörm Swamp. Some thousand swamp draugs are in the area along the town's banks.

27. Swamp Terrace. This area is a campground used by those who can't afford to stay in town or who are not allowed to enter town.

You can get this map in two versions:

1. The Fractal Mapper (TM) 8 version in FMP format (22 MB) from the Jörðgarð website.

2. As a JPG flat map of 3000 x 2250 Pixels (2.3 MB) above.

Both versions are released for personal and commercial use under the Open Game License Version 1.0a, which you can read on the Jörðgarð website at:

https://www.vintyri.org/joerdhgardh/

Next week: Evening Hills Gateway Inn Ground Floor

[DrWho42]

looks like an ideal overland map fit for adventure!