Linnom
Linnom is a northern Cerlain town, situated on the westward road from the town of Mellinara. It is near to the stopover village, Ponte Allodola, on the route to Selbern, it is just north of the road just after the fork where the road splits south-west to Miellias.
This village is the home base for a party of adventurers. It will be from here that the 3rd campaign set in this land will begin.
The Town
As you walk along the high street in the centre of town, the mud of the street wraps around your ankles and the smell of the skinners and tanners away to the north mixes with the smell of the cattle, sheep and other nutrient-rich fertilizers dug into the fields to the south. The town is small, homely place, this main street being the only major road where the shops and services cluster, the ring of hammer on iron from the smithy, the yelling of horses to the crack of whip from the carters. This is a bustling and lively street.
Children dart in and out of doorways and skip between the hard working artisans and craftsmen. There is a rural charm, a down-to-earth solidness that seeps out of the ground and covers your knees it its brown, muddy love.
The locals are pleasant, but often plain speaking. There is a common disdain for the town, and an undercurrent of mistrust of the local neighbours in Ponte Allodola. And whether it is fuelled by envy that exotic trade passes that way, or whether it is that folk mix with the traders who make that journey (people who are not from round here), none would readily admit.
Yet there are many that are very familiar with the big city. Most of the towns folk, the artisans and the craftsmen at least, have spent time in Mellinara. Those that have been taught well have, more often than not, been schooled in the city, whether they're priest or smith, politician or road-mender. Without Mellinara, perhaps Linnom would be a bigger town. Or maybe it wouldn't exist at all.
Commercial Services
Searching for an inn is an unpleasant experience. The only place locally to stay overnight - other than by bribing the local farmers - is to hole up at large home of Americus Otho. His place has six rooms available, and a bar serving locally produced foods, wines and ciders. And they even supply beers - although these can be quite expensive. He struggles to compete with the traders inns of Ponte Allodola, but is so typical of the folk who inhabitant the town. He'll tell you if you have mud on your britches, or if you're leaving his place looking a bit of a dandy. Or if you've had too much to drink (although seldom stops selling it to anyone). His reputation as a friend to the community is well earned. His heart is every bit in the right place, even if his tongue sometimes lets him down.
Local services, though, are excellent - especially if you require the kind of help that oils the wheels of trade. The most outstanding trade of the town is the smithies. There are four blacksmiths spread down the main road, and at first they all seem so quiet. But their best selling service is provided in the village on the trade route; Ponte Allodola. It is they that keeping the wheels of commerce turning, and the feet of commercial horses shod. The smiths take turns to earn good money in the village. The most easterly of the smiths is that of Callo Lintus, and the most westerly is the mercurial Cassius Merlus who is well known locally for his intricate works. Between them are the smithies of Donald Smithson, a Ticetian artisan, and Gilberto Toppen, who is a giant of a man who stands over six feet six inches tall and is almost as wide.
Political Structures
The town is governed by the Baron of Linnom, Baron Ernesto Espaldaverde, who reports to the Viscount of Mellinara, Viscount Corello Manichio. Day to day management is handled by a mayor elected by the senior people of the town, a position held in early 1412 by the Jorlinian Boris von Obler.
It is von Obler that co-ordinates development of the city and the activities of the Guard and the Militia. He is well known and liked by many of the local traders.
Local Economy
The local economy is founded mostly on farming and the trade in animal hides. Beyond the local farmland, especially to the north, the land is made of of rolling hills rising towards the mountain ranges of the north. The land contains huge supplies of small and medium animals that are exploited by trappers, hunters and rangers. Rabbit, badgers and foxes are trapped here, while the hunting of deer, wild horses and a wild, hardy sheep-like creature (the 'Ovela') is popular.
Religion
The church of Danethrae is well supported in the town. Their senior priest is Otto Carrath, originally from Jorlinum, who has several assistants, although most only help at the town's small Orphanage sponsored by the church. Otto is well schooled in his church's dogma and practices, and is most capable of rousing speeches from the pulpit. But he is prone to worry about all kinds of matters beyond his control.
Alongside Danethrae there are smaller representations from Pendaroch and Anbartae. Pendaroch share premises (a small meeting hall) with Danethrae on a side road north of the town's main street, and are lead by their senior priest Grahone Puto who is a pleasant chap but now advanced in years. His gentle nature and friendly demeanour, while being an unusual and welcoming addition to the town, is considered to be (at least in part) the cause of dwindling support for the church in the town. Locally, Pendaroch have worked often alongside Danethrae in supporting local causes (despite the two organisations' frostier relationship in the big cities).
Anbartae meet in the house of Eduar Panat, a local dignitary, who is also an assistant and friend to Boris von Obler. Panat works as an administrator for the town, and has responsibility to ensure boundaries of farmlands and the town's defences are kept intact. This is an easy job, and something he receives harsh criticism for locally (money for old horse manure some call it - the polite ones at any rate). Yet he's not been criticized to a point where he gives up the job. He's a pragmatic man.