Agolest
Set in a plain in central Jorlinum this small city sits on the junction of the road that leads north to Shemonen and south to Wolsnium and west to Tirochel and east to Evonen. The north-south road forms a part of the main overland trade route with Ticetia, and as a result can be a busy city packed with traders.
The land around the city is a flat plain that eventually rises along the road to the Evonen and the mountains of the east, but the journey west and north from here sees the plains extend for many long miles. There is no major river in Agolest but there are two small rivers here - the River Avrinen passes south of the city, while the River Bame passes to the north - and there are many small streams that flow through the plains.
Production
The city has some renown for producing plentiful food in the fertile plains and the city's food exports support much of the mining activity that takes place in the mountains to the east. The expansion in mining over the last generation has seen a growth in the farmed output of these plains, and a growth too in the size of the farms. The land in this plain is well suited to producing wheat and corn, and there is a strong livestock farming industry too.
The plains are dotted with small copses of trees and light woodland, and here a strong charcoaling industry survives. There are also many watermills away from the city itself and even two small windmills have appeared to the west of the city in the last generation, there are enough mills here to satisfy the demand from the numbers of farms in the plain.
A newer industry for the town is in the manufacture of cloth and clothing. There is a long tradition of tanners in the city, and there has always been a ready market for Agolest wool, but since the 1400's began several small businesses have appeared that take that wool and leather and use it to produce some of the finest garments in Jorlinum. There is a growing export market for these goods, and their reputation is growing. The cloth market is supported by a dyeing industry that is leading the way with some new alchemical dyes that have really helped put Agolest cloth on the map. The fledgling fashion industry in Malberina is driven by cloth and clothing produced in Agolest.
Demographics
The city population is estimated to be around 40,000 people, but the inhabitance is spread over the plains. There are over 20,000 people living and working in the city itself now, though - a number that doubled over a generation. There are fewer elves living here recently, the halfling community to the west of the city means they are populous here, they make up around 10% of the population. Elves make up around 5%, and there is now also a small number of dwarfs and even a few gnomes.
The city reflects a changes that have spread over Jorlinum over the last generation, the growth in the cosmopolitan nature of the population, the swell of people that have moved from the west of Jorlinum towards the mountains to the east, and the expansion of industry fuelled by the availability of natural minerals and metals from the mountains have driven this change. Dwarfs are ending up here although their skills are more in demand in the mining station towns of Evonen, Wolsnium and Sigiliem, and in the building industries of the richer cities such as Malberina and Francorum.
History and Significance
Agolest's status as a city is a recent development in its history. It became a part of the front line when Ticetia attacked in the 1330's, and as a poorly defended town it was defeated too easily. The Ticetians had not fully understood the city's strategic importance, at the time of the assault it was considered a part of the route to Malberina. But they soon capitalised on their conquest.
It became a useful food supply for the Ticetians who went on to attack and conquer Malberina, and because it had fallen quickly, it remain largely unharmed during that conflict. When it was liberated by Imperial forces in 1340 (as Ticetians retreated), Emperor Thomas II made it a city and appointed a Viscount to oversee the city defences. The new Viscount began planning for a substantial defensive wall, but the population was so spread out over the farmlands of the plain that there was much negotiation about where the wall should be built. Then war moved on northwards quickly, and the wall plans were dropped, leaving the town to sprawl further, with no clear divide between the main city and its surrounding suburbs and villages.
Following the end of the war, the newly crowned Thomas took extra interest in the place. With the remoteness of Reginum and Vortima, and the rumours of brooding problems in the mountain passes, he formed a new county around this city, handing control fo the lands up to Evonen into its control, and appointed a Marquis to oversee these lands. Agolest had become a city of some importance in the Kings eyes.
Geography
There are several villages that make up the greater area of the city - to the east is the village of Wheater's Bridge, which has a small stone bridge over the River Bame, which flows north from here. This village is five miles along the Evonen Road, but the land between the village and the old town is packed with smallholdings and tenanted farmers.
Twelve miles to the south of Agolest, by (and these days incorporating) the Imperial Waystation is the village of Sarrol's Way. There are two large coach inns here along with the standard Imperial Waystation, and there are other dwellings and businesses that support the local farming community.
North of the city, three miles along the Shemonen Road is the village of Gladement. This is a small village which has become popular with the Ticetian traders who pass through heading southwards. During the war of Unification this village became home to several Ticetian military units and picked up some of the Ticetian village style, most notably the low wood buildings with thatched roofs rather than brick buildings with terracotta tiling for the roofs which is popular across much of the former Empire.
Seven miles to the west of the city is a large settlement known as Tinneris, which is a hive of farmland activity. Travellers heading east from Tirochel often see this and think that they're in the city. The village has its own farms markets helping out the markets of Agolest itself. Tirochel, like Agolest, also produces and exports lots of food, and this heads out through Agolest to Evonen and Wolsnium and into the mines. Those goods are often traded here, away from the traders passing south on the trade route from Ticetia.
Half a mile or so to the southeast of Tinneris, back towards the city, is the halfling settlement of Currabal. This is really a collection of halfling villages, all closely situated and packed with farmers of their own. While they still farm wheat in this land, the halflings seem to produce a bigger proportion of root vegetables such as carrots and turnips than their human neighbours. These goods are traded mostly in the markets of Tinneris, although some also reach the main city, especially from the eastern stretches of Currabal.
Closer than these villages are the suburbs of Cheiler (to the north) and Maskan (to the west and south), these are located much like the districts of many other cities in the former Empire. If the city boundary was marked today, these suburbs would be (at least in part) inside it. The parts of these districts that are close to the old town of Agolest appear to be naturally a part of the city, but they become rural and spread out further from the centre.
Political
The current viscount of the city is Karl Agolest, the fourth viscount since his great grandfather Henner Stempel was appointed to the post and changed his family's name to reflect their new station. He manages the city with the help of several Barons:
- Baron Stefan Monks, Baron of Sarrol
- Baron Arnold Todt, Baron of Tinneris
- Baron Oscar Bartling, Baron of Gladement
- Baron Libben Pieper, Baron of Currabal
- Baron Neubert Hamling, Baron of Cheiler
- Baron Maxwell Hansmann, Baron of Maskan
There are dozens of Yeomen and Freemen assisting these Barons.
Services
Inns and Taverns
As the city sits upon the trade route with Ticetia, there is plenty of room here for travelling merchants. The rural nature also means that the highest quality accommodation cannot be found here - that's expected more in the cosmopolitan cities of Malberina and Francorum. The services here are good and generally secure:
Hendrick's Inn, one of the largest merchant inns in the city, in the Maskam district.
Bock's Tavern, one of the more seedy taverns, in the Cheiler district. Proprietor is Hubert Bock, assisted by his wife Gelda.
Dominic Polster's Fine Hotel, about as up-market a hotel as can be found, based in the old town right by the churches.
Cory Pudder's Halfling Inn, caters mostly for halfling farm merchants and based Tinneris.
The Trade Haven Inn, a very commercial, clean and uninspiring inn in the Cheiler district close to the old town. Proprietor is an Antauran, Artus Coltus, but he relies on a large staff of locals to run the inn.
Brian Ribber's Ticetian Tavern, a medium sized inn in the Gladement Village. Styled to attract Ticetian traders who want a taste of home while on the road. Brian runs the establishment himself; he is a Ticetian by birth.
Churches
The rural nature of the city is clear from the size of the churches. In the old town there are some very small worship halls, and some of the other churches are represented away from the heart of the city. These are the ones in the old town:
Pendaroch: the largest of the churches in the city, but still a small operation by the standards of many other cities, the church facility can handle up to about 200 people.
Anbartae: a small church and no paladin order. There is a very small monastery attached to this church.
Ascheinar's Cult: one of the churches that joined with Ascheinar had a large churches here; it is unusual for this church to be one of the larger ones in a city, but here it is so.
Others are out in the suburbs:
Danethrae: located in Gladement Village, they seem more keen to look after the Ticetian travellers rather than the Imperial population here.
Nature: supporting both the human farms population and the halflings, their glade is to the west of the city near to Tinneris and Currabal.
Suldurn: a very small lodge in the Maskan district, well away from the old town. Suldurn do not appear to be popular in the city.
Melas Uldonia: previously this was a larger group, but their numbers have tailed off somewhat as the elves have moved away, their glade is to the east of the city, towards Wheater's Bridge.
Consumer Services
Tailoring
There are many shops in the city supporting the traders, farmers and even miners heading to the mountains to the east. The city has a focus on cloth manufacture, though, so these are some of those unusual services:
Shoemaker Leather: Michael Shoemaker runs a family business which has traditionally manufactured boots and shoes, but has been supplying other leather goods such as armour, bags and belts for many years.
Forris Wools: Edward Forris is a wools wholesaler - he doesn't supply finished garments, but supplies fine wools and tweeds to the local tailors. He can provide rolls of cloth from the finest of wool (almost cotton-like) to thick blanketing and tweeds. He also has access to the dyers in the city, and most colours are not normally a problem (although purples and reds normally come at a premium, and blue can be even more expensive).
Tabarack's: a tailor of repute, Victor Tabarack is the tailor used by Viscount Agolest. He has a huge reputation among those that wear fine clothes in the city. His shop is in a large building, but the front office is reasonably small. He has a small shop-front and counter room, behind which are two private fitting rooms. Behind that is the larger office of his expert tailors. He has several people working behind the scenes. In the main shop Victor displays the coat of arms of the Viscount along with his 'By Appointment to' sign, of which he is extremely proud.
Pear and Cuttler: unusual as it may seem, Scobert Pear and Bargo Cuttler run a halfling tailors. Their business has been established for twenty years (founded in 1392) - originally they catered only to the halfling population, but they now handle orders for any size of person (provided the customer doesn't mind them standing on a chair when measuring up or during final fitting). They try to compete with Tabaracks, but come nowhere near in quality.
Brakeman Metal Tailor: standing on the back of the tailoring reputation of the city, Caldonacian Anton Brakeman produces tailored metal armour. The metalwork isn't particularly outstanding, but he does specialise in personalised designs and unusual finishes. He describes them as 'individual' suits of armour. Perhaps 'unnecessarily expensive' would be more accurate.
Magic
Of all the shops and services available in the former Imperial kingdoms, those that are not here are conspicuous by this absence. The Imperial Archaeological Society, The Imperial Library and The Imperial Academy of Magic are not here. Also there is no Pale Flame.
There are rumours that The Sect of Master Illusionists and The Cangannan Berethmore have facilities in the city - but there is likely to be little else.
Other Facilities
There are other facilities available in the city that may be of use, but which are not presented in any detail here:
- Livestock: the plains provide an excellent place for the rearing of many animals, and the horses here are notably of interest to adventurers. Like Tirochel, Agolest produces some of the highest quality riding horses (and draft horses) in the former Empire - although there is little focus here on war horses of any kind.
- Carters: these are well supported for the traders passing along the road - these are mostly repair and servicing rather than manufacture, though. The city also seems to have more farriers and smiths than many visitors would expect.
- Dining: the quality and quantity of the local food here means that the city is well supplied in quality taverns and restaurants serving high class local food.
- Cider: while beers and wines are common all over the former Empire, the vast supply of apples grown locally makes this part of Jorlinum renown for its cider producers. Good beers are produced here too, but vines struggle in the higher exposed plains this close to the mountains, hence most of the wine drunk in the city is imported into the region.