[Collective Creation Game] Stone Wing fantasy village

[The Final Door]

Since the Endless Haunted House seems to be a fair success, I wanted to see if this kind of forum game could be expanded beyond the creepy creativity of the horror genre. The rules are the same: If you post anything, your post must include one original piece for the game. This goes even for a "hey I like that post!" or a question posting; you post something, you add a piece :)

This time, however, it's a village. A fantasy village, to be exact, with one major twist: No overt magic! There are no magical items, no spell-casters, no mythical creatures running around. There are mysteries, however. People do strange things, there are mysterious places (ruins and standing structures alike!), and something is definitely going on. But the only magic seen is folk-lorish tradition and local superstitions; no spells, no artifacts, no dragons. The entire population of the large village seems to be humans, and other races are not mentioned in here. If you use the village in a Fantasy campaign, the villagers will probably know of the races, but they will be very foreign to them.

The village is called Stone Wing. When you post, you must add one of the following kinds of pieces: An interesting person living in or frequenting the town, or a location of some interest (to someone, you pick!)

I'll start off with two of these, just to get the ball rolling:

The town has its name from a local rock, shaped apparetnly by nature into an imposing form, a 12 foot tall shape that looks like a cresting wave or a large bird's wing. It is almost atop a hill just outside town, with three local roads or wide paths merging at its base. While the rock looks horribly unbalanced, as if it might tip over and crush anyone beneath it at a momentøs notice, it is impossible to tip over through any common means. Some say it is only the top of a larger rock that goes beneath the soil, and anyone trying to dig at its base will indeed find that they cannot seem to get under it. Others simply say the rock wants to stay upright.

A lot of local superstition and lore surrounds this odd rock. The shadow it casts over the town from late evening to sunset can look from the hill like a stubby hand trying to grab at the town houses, and it moves across town as the sun sets in a very disturbing way. Anyone looking closer at the base of it, on the side turned away from the town, will find scratchings in it, small letters and numbers clustered in groups of less than half a dozen each. They have clearly been edged into it with great effort and close attention to detail, and are not of same age. In fact, anyone knowing how to deduce it will find that some are less than a month old, while others go back several decades. The young and presumed clever of the town have a habit of noting down the letters and numbers, hoping to figure out their meaning. At least five different people have been seen trying to edge new ones in, at night, but none of them have eben identified clearly yet. Many older townspeople suggest the scratchings are but a joke.

[The Final Door]

And the second example, to get Stone Wing off the ground:

Rukoll appears to most to be a typical slightly mad hermit. The townsfolk never bother him, and the young are told not to pester him. Those who nonetheless do tend to get spooked by his dramatic manners and often surprising wild talks. He never threatens anyone, but his occassional ramblings to people who annoy him describe horrible "big birds" that will come for them in the night. He never makes any indication those horrible things have anything to do with Rukoll himself; quite the contrary, he seems disturbed and bewildered by them, whatever they may be!

When not catching small game in the local woods and trading their meat or pelts for bread and assorted minor things, Rukoll walks around town and the local countryside, seemingly looking for something. He never peeks into houses or inside other people's things (like wagons, market stands or the like), but seems to be looking for something on the ground. He mutters to himself as he does, and often seems worried by what he finds or does not find. If asked, he will start talking about the "big birds" and their "eggs". He cannot give a clearer description of the birds, but he will deny them to be any breed of bird described to him. He only knows that they are big, as big as a man, and they lay their eggs when nobody is looking.

What makes some villagers nervous is that whatever those birds are, Rukoll learns weird things by looking for them! He will, from time to time, ask someone (local or not) if they have done something recently, being pretty specific in his descriptions. It is always fairly harmless things, but things that he could not possibly know that they have done, and he is always at least partially right. If asked how he knows, he will start to explain something about eggs that he thought he saw, and that those eggs would mean that whatever he asked about was true. He just asks the people about these things "to make sure". Nobody knows how he truly figures these things out.

Anyone listening to Rukoll long enough is bound to find out little things about the locals, or about people who have come through. Rukoll is in his late 40s, and remembers quite a few people passing through, even just once, and he has egg-stories about many of them. Picking the facts from the egg-aspects can get tough, though, and Rukoll prefers to talk about the eggs.

Rukoll lives in a small hut built inside an old collapsed barn on the outskirts of town.

[Rocket Man]

Sooner or later, any stranger in Stone Wing will be directed to the Shattered Pike, the town's principal inn. On first glance, it seems to be a roadhouse like any other: stone and wood, a fire in the wintertime, a reasonably lively common room. The beer itself is good, though nothing that would gain a wide-ranging reputation.

Its keeper, Ruddy Mikhol, is one of the best-known men in town. He can size a person's character up at a glance, along with their place of origin, likely profession and favorite drink. He's a decent source of information, but unlike many an innkeeper, he can't be bribed. His respect has to be earned, usually by taking part in the Dare: a nightly contest to see who can pull off the most outrageous stunt without waking the neighbors or summoning the Watch.

And occasionally ... no one can say just how often ... a stranger to town will come to the Shattered Pike and not be anywhere to be seen the next morning. Only a determined searcher would find the tiny room behind the beer barrels in the cellar, and only a lucky one would see Mikhol's contact arrive in the dead of night to collect his newest "merchandise."

No one in the town bothers to search. They're only strangers, after all. And Ruddy Mikhol pays the Watch well.

[Dalillama]

Haeman Smith owns, unsurprisingly, the village smithy. He is a large, burly man, with burn scars on the exposed skin of his face, shoulders, and back, area uncovered by the leather apron and gauntlets he wears while at work. If asked, he wil explain that they are the result of smithing accidents, such as anyone in the trade will acquires over the years. He will not describe any of these accidents in detail, and the overly inquisitive will get a cold shoulder, and be thrown out entirely if they have no trade for him. Those wo study the scars closely, and don't inquire, will find that after a while the eem to from paterns, just on the edge of vision. After a while, they seem to writhe and crawl over his skin, altough that may be a trick of the firelight from the forge. He is an excellent smith, and offers locals very reasonable rates, although outsiders will be asked whatever he thinks he can get. HE usually has no swords for sale, but keeps a small backstock of axe, scythe, and bill hook blades. He is perfectly capable of repairing most sorts of armor and could probably help an old sword out somewhat, but will not do either unless offered a very good rate.

[ladyarcana55]

Right off the beach is a tiny hut. It is made of old leaves and grass. When someone enters the hut it is nothing memorable about it, it is just an empty hut about 15 square feet. But it always catches a nice breeze from the ocean so it is an ideal place to stay during the day. Even at night it is a peaceful spot.
But, on the days following a new moon, footprints leading to the ocean from the hut can be seen but who, or what, made them remains a mystery. Upon closer inspection the footprints are that of a man and it is unusually deep, as though he was weighed down with something heavy. The footprints only lead one way and anyone who stays in the hut the night of the new moon has disappeared the next day, never to be seen again.

[alexondria]

Samuel Ruttger lives in a small hut by the edge of town. He's tall and strong- especially for his age. He's an older man that has known work all of his life and it has left his skin dark and leathery but still each morning he gets up and goes out to the beach and his boat. Each day he brings in a decent catch of fish- even in the worst of times it's enough for him to live off of and in the best of times he has all he needs to trade to get the other things he needs to care for himself, but he's getting older and some of the villagers are beginning to wonder how much longer he can keep going like this. If you listen to the other villagers there are a verity of whispers about his past. They all agree that his young wife and their strong son was out with him one day when a storm rolled in. They all agree that he was the only one that made it back alive. What they disagree on was whether or not it was an accident. Anyone that asks him about what happened will get a sad tale of a storm that he hadn't seen coming- a wave sweeping them overboard and how he tried to grab them- tried to save them but couldn't reach them in time. Other than his lost family that leaves no one to look after him in his old age he knows the currents of the water, the signs of storms, and all the best places to catch various types of fish and would be willing to teach his trade to an eager apprentice.

[The Final Door]

Nice to see the village picking up pace, hope it will be able to match the haunted house soon :)

Thaddy Coller and his brother Brent are somewhat renowned around Stone Wing, but they are far from loved by all. There are plenty who think that they are nothing but criminals excused by sentimental fools, while just as many find them to be simply amusing little troublemakers.
Thaddy is 13 years old, Brent 11. They are very quick and nimble, and practice their skills at snatching people's belongings at every opportunity. They are already very capable pickpockets and minor grifters, and even the townsfolk are often surprised to find their belongings suddenly gone. What sets the two brothers apart from common thieves is that they really have no intention of stealing things, but simply enjoy the act itself. They do not want to actually keep things.
Most strangers will come to know the brothers when one of the town's adults come to the strangers with some belongings the brothers swiped. Quite often, one or both brothers will be dragged along to provide an apology for the theft. A scolding is common, if not by the owners of the loot then by whoever the adult that knows the brothers and brought them forth is. Their parents, both local minor merchants, sometimes do this, but it is known about town that they do not mind someone else catching the two rascals and making them return loot and apologize.
There are two obvious situations the brothers can become interesting is when things start missing, or if someone gets wise enough to challenge them to steal things they need. The brothers are playful and nosy, and will enjoy people who share those traits. They will not partake in mischief that will clearly hurt someone, and they do not want to steal something for someone to keep. They are slightly gullible, though, and can be tricked by someone they will trust.

[alexondria]

The well has been there for generations- now it's in more or less a corner of the large village but at one time it was likely the center. Today though you can often find the young women of the village- the newly married and the yet unmarried collecting at the well in the morning to get their water for the day and share any gossip that they might have. Someone who could make a connection with these women could likely find out much about what is going on in the village.

[LemmingLord]

Samuel Ruttger walks the beach in the early morning before the sun has come out. Though his eyes have seen some terrible things, and though he sometimes closes them tightly to forget, somehow they still open up every morning for work - the quarter moon is all he needs to make his way to his new fishing boat.

"Steven" is a small boat, a piroque, perfect for two man fishing operations up the Serpent's Tail coast all the way to the mouth of the ever-receeding Severn River.

Unfortunately for Samuel, he was just a single man and hadn't had great luck finding a second man he liked.

Javier "The Castle" stood at the beach at "Steven."

Samuel said simply, "I told you you are too old to learn to fish."

He pushed on to his boat like Javier wasn't there at all.

Javier was big tallsways, 6'6", but lanky as he continued to lengthen through his teenage years. He moved to the other side of the boat, "No sir, though you may be too old to teach me."

Samuel stopped a moment. He shrugged, "I've brought lunch just for me and you'll get no share of the spoils."

Javier nodded.

Javier was the son of the village mayor. He failed to thrive at the school of honor and had returned to his father's village without a path. His father expected Javier to stay busy and had tasked him with finding a job if he wished to remain living at the village watchtower.

[Johnny Angel]

In contrast to the worrisome whispers which accompany sunset's shadows, the glittering golden reflection of sunrise upon the nearby sea brought with it a picture of peace and a feeling of serenity to even the most troubled soul. Neither closed nor blinded eye can shut out the vision of this place; even without sight, the warmth of light upon the skin, the scent of salt in the air, and the song of a gull's song upon the wind during the summer months weave a majestic tapestry flowing from the east. Ironically, most people in the settlement never fully notice the majesty because nature contends with another suitor for the crown of most beautiful presence in Stone Wing.

On most mornings, shortly after the sun sheds its rays across the sand, a young woman can be found kneeling upon a thin dark violet rug as the sounds of her ivory traverse flute seem to summon the morning. The darker complexion of her skin compared to the typically lighter residents of Stone Wing and the long straight jet black hair falling down across back mark her as being Orokee; a semi-nomadic tribe of people hailing from the large open plains far to the North of Stone Wing; this woman is Kajika Tokala-Stunevelder. Even among her own people she would have been considered pretty, but here in Stone Wing -where her looks are considered somewhat exotic- many a man has felt the stern slap of an angry wife for having a head that turned too much or an eye which lingered too long.

Upon completion of Kajika's song, the woman rolls up her rug, places it in a container she slings across her back, and turns just in time to meet the over-eager embrace of three small girls carrying small wooden buckets. Kajika and the girls then fan out with the buckets. The two smallest girls use their buckets to collect various shells and stones found along the beach; Kajika and the biggest one of the three girls collect sand with their buckets. Although obviously her daughters based upon facial similarities, the young girls seem somewhat lighter of tone than Kajika, and the darkness of their long braided hair is tinged with auburn.

A man named Dareios Stunevelder is Kajika's husband and the father of the girls. An intelligent and cunning man, Dareios discovered that it was possible to make glass using the sand along the beach. He made quite a handsome living for himself and his family by making somewhat basic yet very well crafted windows. Most of the older buildings were updated to include the newly introduced item, most of the newer buildings were designed to include them, and the richer inhabitants of town took as many of them as they could get for their structures as well as spurring Dareios into discovering how to craft various colors and shapes of windows. Through working with such a variety of structures and buildings, Dareios' intelligent mind also picked up bits and pieces of civil engineering and building design; he was a smart man who did a good job of using his intellect to provide for his family. Sadly, at this point, Dareios has been missing for nearly seven years.

Dareios wasn't a soldier, but the mayor drafted him into Watch service during a period of time in which the settlement was having a rather significant problem with a band of brigands and raiders. Needing more numbers to suppliment the local force, many members of the town were called upon to defend their homes as well as to help the Watch strike back at the brigands and drive them out of the area. It was a miniature war of sorts.

Well viewed as one of the more intelligent and cunning members of the supplimental civilian force, Dareios was put in charge of a squad. As might be expected, the force deployed by Stone Wing suffered casulties during the final push to eliminate the brigands. Many of the prominent single men in town maintain that Dareios must have been among those casulties even though the strange truth is that his body was the only one never found. Kajika strongly believes that he is still alive, though what would keep him away for so long if he is alive can't be guessed at.

As for the sand, shells, and stones... Dareios showed his wife many of the methods he used to make glass and windows. She combined that knowledge with some of the artistic ideals from her Orokee background into something different. Though not quite as good as her husband in the industry of window making, Kajika has developed into quite an accomplished glass blower and excells at creating various artistic vases, lantern pieces, trinkets, and jewelry. Her skill at this craft combined with the loosening effect of her looks on some wallets help her to maintain a rather good standard of living at the price of sometimes being annoyed or bored by the things said by some of her male customers (and once or twice even a female customer) in an attempt to sway her into accepting that Dareios is dead and take them in his place. Strong in her belief that he's alive and that he will some day return home, Kajika has thus far rebuffed all suitors.

Early in the morning, every morning; before her daughters are fully roused from sleep, she looks to the east as is custom among the Orokee people for prayer and asks if today will be the day that her love returns home.