So, with the third missed play session comes the third alternative blog post, this time curtsy of the Hestia Locator, a weighty tome created by the renowned explorer Marcus Poli-Poli and constantly updated by his descendants as they keep up their three times great grandfather's work.
The Encyclopedia of all the observations and information gathered by the clan, all the major public and private libraries have a copy that is updated as new revisions are added. King Tatsuya regularly refers to his own copy to better understand the players in the never ending game of international chess.
Hestia Locator
Lotton
Situated in the middle of the southern border Provence of Portasia, Lotton is notable for being situated on the Western shore of the Great Lake. This body of fresh water is one of the largest in the world. Myth would have us believe that it was excavated by the 'Watchers in the Water' to give them an inland strong hold. Legend states that it was formed during the dragon war, went those dragons, mortally wounded in one of their battles, fell from the sky and exploded. Men of science believe that it was formed in a long forgotten era when ice ground its way across the face of the continent and gouged out a deep trench in the softer layers of bedrock, which was larger filled and expanded by water. Men of religion state that it was a gift formed in the days of creation by the gods choosing this as the place to rest from their labors and thus sinking the land with their great weight.
No matter its origin the Great Lake forms a massive reservoir of fresh water so deep that the fishermen who plum its depths have spoken of discovering fish that have white eyes, so use are they to swimming beyond the reach of the light. Taking two days to cross by boat to Nether Wallop at its Eastern end and three to cross North to South, it is only logical that many of the locations near to the lake rely on boats for communication and travel. By these means Lotton has become a transport and trade hub of the region with goods being shipped back and forth across the lake from its docks.
Lotton is protected by a curtain wall that embraces three sides of the town, the fourth being open for the docks. The curtain wall is built of sandstone and studded with many guard towers that some times double as extra guard houses for the City Watch. The North side of the town is also protected by the Nayen River that runs within feet of the foundation stones of the curtain wall. However, there are no gates in the Northern wall as the attitude of the town council is that anyone with legal business in the town will use either Western Gates that allows entry to the Condessa Road or the docks. As the Dead Swamp on the North side of the River Nayen has an unsavory reputation, this attitude is perfectly understandable.
The docks stretch from North to South along the lake shore and have no less than three Watch Houses interspersed along that length. Internally the town is divided into four districts. The largest of these is the Warehouse district that back the docks and makes at least a third of the town. Warehouses closest to the center of the town are cheaper to rent but include the inconvenience of shifting the stock to and from the water front.
The North West of third of the town is the Residential District where many merchant princes have their mansions and not a few nobles maintain houses and travel here during the summer months when the heat and scent of the Capital can become rather noxious. These buildings are set back from pleasant, wide paved roads, surrounded by pale walls and landscaped gardens, some with water features, others with the panoramas of other Provenances of the country, or in some cases whole other countries, laid out around them. During the Session many parties, Balls and events are hosted at these residences.
The South West District is more unfortunate than its Northern neighbor. This District is the home of the laborer class in Lotton and unfortunately reflects the lack of care that many laborers face through out their lives. Streets here are narrow, often too small for a horse cart and over shadowed by the upper levels of the houses that crowd in from every side. If the streets were once paved that paving is now buried under decades if not centuries of rubbish and rot. The smell is often over whelming. The houses are themselves in less than optimal condition and there have been several attempts to improve the area but so far nothing has stuck, with efforts being hindered by just how many people are crammed per house and therefore how many would have to be rehoused until repairs could be completed. The buildings are often three storeys high and a whole family, if not two, can be crammed into each storey right up to the attic space, creating a nightmare for the town authorities who fear a fire ripping though the area.
The last district is the Central District and is the smallest, centering on the Town square, a clear space around the Cathedral and bordered by the official buildings of the town, including the Governors Palace, the courthouse, the residences of the town officials and the largest Watch House. The main streets runs from the Central District to the double Western Gate and is lined with most of the shops that actually sell within Lotton. The southern row of these shop/houses are what has been successfully upgraded from the South West District.
Places of Interest
Hognail's Wagon and Wheels
A well appointed shop set in row that separates the twin streets that come from the double gate and well located beside the Watch House of King's row (as it is known). Hognail himself is a sturdy dwarf of middle years, for his people, that has specialized in the ironmongery necessary for the construction of vehicles. Under him are several human partners who are not named on the business sign, for the simple reason that Hognail has out lived several human partners and constantly (in his eyes at least) changing the business name would be a fiddle he's not prepared to deal with. The current business partners are a pair of twins that Hognail sponsored through their apprenticeships in carpentry who handle the wood working side of the business, while Hognail handles the forge. A hard bargainer but his work is always of top quality. Well worth a visit for anyone in need of a new vehicle or who wishes to sell a vehicle. A word of advice, do not try to cheat him, his fist can hit like a thunderbolt and the local Watch is of the opinion that the injuries of someone who tried to cheat Hognail are self inflicted.
Sweety Rod's Enterprises
Opposition Hognail's Wagon and Wheels is Sweety Rod's Enterprises, a horse shop of some repute. Sweety Rod himself is a human of a nervous disposition, whose hair seems to have permanently been struck by lightning. Constantly anxious and shy to the point of paralysis, Sweety could be described as having more twitches than a bag full of cats, until he lays his hands on a horse. Once he is dealing with a creature that has fingers for legs all his twitches disappear and he becomes firm and steady, able to state his opinion without tremor or falter.
Not only does he trade in horse but he is also a horse doctor of some noted ability and has managed to save beasts that others would have given up on and left to die. This could be because he hates having to put any horse out of its misery. It is noted that he has had a miniature, spring powered crossbow created for this purpose, which can drop a horse in a fraction of a second without a sound and he is extremely competent when he uses it but his twitches come back worse than ever when he has too. All in all he is a gentle soul, that only bargains hard because he has to have the funds needed to lavish the care he does upon the beasts under his gaze. That and if someone has spent a fair amount of money on the animal then they are unlikely to mistreat it and waste those funds. Expensive but worth every penny as Sweety Rod does not sell dud horses.
The King's Sword Public House
A large Public House and Inn run by the dwarfs Berrum Stonebreaker and his wife Maggun, the King's Sword is reasonable priced and well appointed, with comfortable rooms with proper beds and a chimney system that runs from the kitchen up through the center of the house, spreading the warmth to every room. Berrum handles the tap room and locals have learnt to watch their intake if they are the sort to become rowdy on too much ale as he is perfectly capable of picking up a man many times his size and convince them to leave. Maggun has over sight of the kitchens and also runs a laundry service for those willing to pay. There is also a small suite of bathrooms available for hire and hot water. It is noted that the King's Sword has the cleanest floor, stable yard and front step of any establishment in the town and is probably due to the fact that the bath water has a second use as a solution to scrub down the aforementioned places. Both Berrum and Maggun economize where ever they can to keep the prices down so that the residents of the South West quarter can continue to afford to come in and use their facilities. The only issue with the King's Sword is that Berrum has strong feelings about orcs and orc crossbreeds, having lost many family members in several wars with the mountain clans, though this finally seems to be mellowing in recent years. Definitely worth a stay if you are traveling through.
Dippler's Pie Shop
A small, weedy, weaselly looking gentleman commonly dressed in a polka dot neck tie and a battered top hat, Dippler started his career as a 'from the tray' vendor of hot pies but has since moved up to owning a premises of his very own, complete with veil fronted counter to keep the flies off of his produce. Featuring both steady recipes and a seasonal menu, Dippler opens earlier and closes late, catering to the less fortunate of the town and visitors passing through with hot and filling pies and pastries, usually freshly cooked and still steaming from the oven. How he manages to keep up such a steady stream of baking while managing to front the shop at the same time is a mystery possibly best left unasked after but no one can argue with the flavors of his produce. He is also a friend of Sweety Rod, possibly the man's only friend and usually the only one who can calm him after a very bad day.
The Battered Bugle
Situated on the southern most end of the water front, the Battered Bugle is an unusual establishment in that it is the only one that serves a beverage of a non-alcoholic nature. Despite this sounding like a crazy business move for a dock side ale-house the Battered Bugle does surprisingly well on the strength of this drink, concocted as it is out of ginger root extract and the juice of Scots Bonnet peppers. Strong enough to strip the lining off your throat, burn your tongue off at the roots and build a bonfire in your stomach, the drink has become the subject of a dock side drinking game as sailors dare each other to drink enough of it to make them spit fire like a dragon.
The Armored Dragon
A larger ship than most that berth in the docks of Lotton, the Armored Dragon started her life on salt water, only coming to the shipping lanes of the Great Lake in recent years as her Captain fancied a retirement that didn't involve him giving up sailing all together. Captain is all the name you will pry out of him and he is as much part of the Armored Dragon as the ship is his. Broad shouldered and quietly spoken, Captain's steel grey eyes look out of a dark, weather beaten face with a unassuming power that makes you want to listen to him. He is never far from his ship and is usually accompanied by his familiar Risk, an albatross of truly immense dimensions that seems to understand more of what people say than one would credit.
