WOODWIND PASS
Founded: 365
Lawful Neutral
Village
Corruption: -3; Crime: -1; Economy: 0; Law: 0; Lore: 0; Society: -1
Qualities: Holy Site - The Stones of Alarant, Tourist Attraction - The Weeping Willows
Danger: 0
DEMOGRAPHICS
Government: Autocracy (Mayor - elected by village elders)
Population: 175
140 Humans
16 Halflings
9 Gnomes
8 Half-Elves
1 Dwarf
1 Half-Orc
Notable NPC's:
Postill Antinnish - Mayor (LN male human expert 3)
Gennis of Alarant - Keeper of the Stones (N female human druid 7)
Kirth of Aluhs - Bronze Tear (LG male human paladin 4)
Notable Sites:
The Stones of Alarant: A circle of stones to the northwest of the center of Woodwind Pass. Meeting place for druids of the Starla Forest and the Northwood. Natural festivals are held here.
The Weeping Willows: A grove of trees to the southeast of the center of Woodwind Pass. These trees are a tourist attraction due to the belief of supernatural interactions among their boughs and those overcoming despair, anger, or other extreme emotions.
MARKETPLACE
Base Value: 600gp; Purchase Limit: 2,500gp; Spellcasting: 5th
Resources: Lumber, Farming, Woodworking, Tanning, Fletching
Taxes/Fees:
Business license: 20gp/year
Use of Wellspring: 2sp
Income tax: 10% of yearly income collected on the 1st of Crossan every year.
Magic Items (Base Value: 500gp)
Minor Items: 2d4; Medium Items: 1d4; Major Items:
SOCIAL
Religions: Alarant, Aluhs, Fineral, Soleral, Taris
Celebrations:
The Crossing - Crossan 1 – crossing of the suns and beginning of the calendar year. Druid of Alarant holds festival of light in honor of the sun goddesses. Town fills with population and attracts tourists to see the Stones and Weeping Willows.
Harvest Fall – Harven 20 – when the crops are ready for harvest, homage is paid to Alarant, god of earth and nature.
Planting Day – Festival Alarrin 15 – when farmers have finished planting their crops and celebrate a season of hopeful good weather and prosperity.
History:
With the expansion of Aluhs continuing inland, the small settlement located between the Northwood and the Starla Forest was the next to become a frontier town. The small farm community is a close-knit community that was founded near a holy landmark that became to be known as the Stones of Alarant in dedication to the god of nature and the druids that have protected it over the years.
The residents of this small village elect their mayor each year and the current mayor, Postill Antinnish, is the son of the first Mayor, Hintis Antinnish, elected by the elders of the village to make decisions regarding the village's growth, laws, and any disputes. Postill has kept the the small farming community together these last ten years, especially when the Weeping Willows were discovered during a logging expedition just south of the farming village. His connection to Aluhs is good and protection from the High Priest has been solid as a Bronze Tear heads the local militia and military.
With the supervision of the druids of the Stones, the village has been very diligent in logging and replacing the trees used for lumber with a replanting. Surprisingly close to the town, the loggers discovered a small grove of willow trees that sound like weeping women when the wind blows through their boughs. This sound has a calming effect to those who are angered and it is rumored they contain the spirits of elves who were slain in an orcish invasion years before Aluhs was even a thought.
Now, people pay homage to these willow trees when they pass through Woodwind Pass. Oft times, one can find flowers at the foot of some of the willows and many rumors of gemstones and other precious baubles have been left as memorials to loved ones lost.
For the past few years, Woodwind Pass has not grown much due to more opportunities in the frontier towns of Vestid and Blackwood Springs to the east. The townsfolk don't seem to mind as they have enjoyed their quiet life of farming and worshipping their nature gods.
Location:
Located approximately 160 miles east of Aluhs, Woodwind Pass is nestled between two great forests, the Northwood to the north and the Starla Forest to the south. It is a resting place for people traveling further to the east from the trade hub of Dekoll to Vestid on the Copper Basin and Blackwood Springs in the Blackwood Forest. It marks the center of the Kingdom of Aluhs.