Rockwater Steading

[BackworldTraveller]

1. Village Shrine
This is a shrine to Ernalda with altars to Orlanth, Barntar and the Rockwater Spirit. The shrine is attended by a Initiates of these cults with regular visits from Priests of the Temples in Pavis or elsewhere.
The main resident is a young woman - she used to be a Priestess of Voria but is now an acolyte of Ernalda.
Two temple orphans are also resident, the offspring of a local family killed in a Broo raid - and spurned as unlucky as a result.

2. Village Barn
This includes the Threshing Floor for the village, hay and straw storage, etc.

3. Village Plough Shed
This is a space in which the hamlet's communal larger farming equipment (ploughs, harrows, etc.) are stored. The right-hand end also acts as the hamlet's animal pound.

4. Village Granary
This octagonal building contains multiple niches for storing grain containers and pots and jars of various preserves. The building is raised off the ground to try and reduce the access that vermin can obtain.

5. Midwife/Healer
This cottage is the residence and workplace of the village healer/midwife/vet. She is an initiate of Chalana Arroy. One of the elder members of the community she is well respected. She is the Mother of the Wife of the Brewer's Son

6. Carpenter
This residence and workshop is that of the village's builder and carpenter.
This workshop is also the residence of the carpenter's wife, mother and children (the eldest of which are his son: carpenter's apprentice and his daughter (Eda): a lay member of Babeesta Gor when not working in various roles about the steading.)
The Carpenter is a newcomer to the village having arrived in 1611 following the death of the previous Carpenter (Harmast) in the Battle of Moonbroth.

7. Captain's Hall
This hall includes the residence of servants and retainers. It is the grandest building in the hamlet and is constructed on two stories. The area enclosed by the two wings and facing the market is paved with a black-and-white patterned mosaic.

The Hall includes:

• Steading Captain (An Initiate of Orlanth) - Almost an Elder at 30
• His Wife (An initiate of Ernalda) - Slightly younger at 29
• Forazi: Steward & Butler (Lay member of Lhankor Mhy, Son of a riverman)
• Groom (A surly Nomad with lay connections to Waha - Unacknowledged Son of the Steading's Herder)
• Karan: Housekeeper (The Character's Mother; An initiate of Ernalda) - One of the steading's Elders. Aged about 45.
• Andra: House Maid (Whether she was born odd or became odd is unclear but she's said to be a non-practicing shaman.)
• Jaram: Eldest Son (An Orlanthi Lay member) - Just turned 16 in the last Sacred Season
• 5 Younger Girls (All lay members of Voria)

8. Farmer/Brewer/Maltster
This family supplement their income through brewing. Barley brews can only be made during the cooler months.
The residents are

• The Brewer's Mother - The Steading's Ancient
• The Brewer
• His Wife
• His Son
• His Son's Wife - The Daughter of the Healer
• Their 2 boys.

9. Farmer/Basket Weaver
The most precarious building in the village with the slope of steep street to one side, the slope of Terrace Street to the other and a precipitous drop behind.
This building's occupants are skilled basket weavers in addition to their field tending - which includes land by the river set as willow beds.
Occupants include:

• Aged Father: Now somewhat childlike and no longer taking part in Steading affairs - but still a skilled weaver
• Farmer: Owns 4 of the village's oxen.
• Farmer's Wife: The most skilful Weaver. "Can weave a waterproof basket" it is said.
• Eldest Daughter: Unmarried and likely to inherit the farm
• Youngest Son: Just 17 years old. Specialises in shield-backings and form-work. Also a thatcher.

10. Farmer/Dairy
This is a one story building at the northern end with an under-story at the southern end. This extra space is used as a dairy for cheese making.

11. Farmer
This building was originally intended as a tower but was never completed as such (the thick defensive walls stop at 1m high) and has been converted into a farmers residence.

• The Farmer's Wife's Mother. Nearly 60 and one of the Elders of the steading although still seen as an incomer despite having been resident for a decade!
• The Farmer: Son of the Basket Weaver - 27 Years Old
• His Wife: A Linen Weaver and Bee-Keeper when not farming or running the house. Also 27 years old and born in far-off Pavis.
• 5 Children under 9 years old

12. Farmer
Viewed from Terrace Street, this is a single story house much like the others in the village. But the ground behind drops vertically and viewed from the pool it is four stories high!
The lowest floor is the pen (a cave with a door) where the geese are kept at night.

13. Farm Labourer/Gardener/Swineherd
The smallest (and poorest) residence in the village. Home to 9 people across three generations.
n.b. The Herder also has an unacknowledged Son working at the Hall as a Groom.

14. Hunter
The home of the village's hunter, his wife, their children and his mother.
Jargian is apprenticed here.
The building has three floors, connected by ladders:

• Kitchen (Jargian's sleeping space is by the hearth when he's not hunting)
• Family's Room (Includes a grand bed occupied by the Hunter's Son and his Wife and an alcove bed for the Hunter plus pallets for the children and gra)
• Roof (Mostly Storage, skin-Drying Racks, etc.)

Summary of residents

Building	Ancients	Elders	Adults	Children
1. Shrine			1	2
5. Healer		1		2
6. Carpenter		1	4	1
7. Hall		1*	6	5
8. Farmer/Brewer	1	2	2	2
9. Farmer/Basket Maker	1	2	2
10.Farmer/Dairy			2	3
11. Farmer		1	2	5
12. Farmer			1	3
13. Herder		1	2	6
14. Hunter	1		3**	3

* Mother to the characters: Housekeeper
**Includes Jargian, Hunter's Apprentice

[BackworldTraveller]

West Street
The trees lining this road were planted when the first settlers started construction of the village as a reminder of their old home. It is one of the jobs of the Keeper of the Shrine to provide each tree with a bucket of water from the sacred pool daily.
This street leads to the upper plough-fields.

Arch
This is all that remains of the gate that once stood here.

Market
This space is used for the various gatherings of the village including the Issaries' Markets of Clayday of each Season's Harmony and Movement Weeks. The centre of the space is a stone stelae surrounded by 5 flat rocks. The space is edged with stone images if Issaries carved into the corners of the surrounding buildings which can be activated to create a protected market by visiting Issaries traders.

The markets can easily double the number of people of the Hamlet - and the first Storm Season market (often attended by Nomads) can see over 500 people present.

Regular stalls include:-

• Vegetables Stall
• Dried Goods Stall
• Dairy Produce (Local Produce)
• Dairy Produce (Nomad Produce)
• Livestock: Pigs
• Livestock: Cattle
• Livestock: Praxian Beasts of Burden/Riding Beasts
• Cooked Food
• Cooked Food
• Cooked Food
• Wine and Ale
• Wine and Ale
• Wine and Ale
• Wine and Ale
• Metalsmith
• Potter
• Issaries Trader from Pavis
• Leather Worker

Steep Street
This street is stepped and wheeled conveyances need not attempt it. It has been laid with stone blocks from the Market to the Shrine - but there is an unpaved section down the last 3m to a flatter triangle with shading trees overlooked by two of the houses of Terrace Street. This area is provided with a stone animal trough. Allowing your animals (Geese excepted) to wade into the waters of the pool is dangerous due to the steep sides and uneven bottom and viewed as disrespectful.

Terrace Street
This is a sloped (less steep than steep street) access from the village to terraced fields immediately below and the lower plough-fields. Loaded carts need significant extra draught beasts to traverse the slopes - and the twists limit the length of such teams - thus this slope is impassable to larger wheeled loads.

Rockwater Pool
The southwest side of Rockwater Pool is a vertical stone face surmounted by three large trees. The main Shrine building is fully 4m above water level. The pool has water all year round, and is fed by a spring that bubbles up from the bottom at a near constant rate and a small spring higher up that cascades into the pool amongst the rocks. Runoff from the pool is led (via hewn channels) to irrigate the terraces below the village. Water from the spring that reaches the Wash is mingled there with the flood waters (when present) or soaks into its sandy bed at other times.

[BackworldTraveller]

Rockwater Spirit
This spirit is associated with the Hamlet of Rockwater and resides in and around the pool at Rockwater.

Wide Wash Spirit
The spirit of the Wide Wash valley. A capricious and sometimes deadly spirit that needs careful management. The greatest centre of its power near Rockwater is the feature known as "The Drowning Pool". Even when the wash is at its lowest, this pool is dangerous and its inviting (even seductive) aspect belies the deadly nature of its waters.
This spirit is closely associated with Zola Fel.

[BackworldTraveller]

Animal	Male	Female	Geldings
Oxen	3	11	6
Ox Calves	4	6
Swine	2	34	4
Piglets	67	64
Geese	8	19
Dogs	2	2	1
Shadowcats	2*	3
Mongoose	1	2
Riding Zebra			1

*Includes Jargian's cat
Other creatures are present near the village, but these are not domesticated.

[BackworldTraveller]

Tarar's Head
The carved head of an ancient hero named Tarar (or so it is assumed as legend has it that "Tarar" is carved on the base in Dragonspeech). Whoever this head represents, it is clear that any associated spirits are long-gone. At 4m high and situated on a promontory overlooking the valley. The top is both hard to access and spectacular to view from.

Prince's Leap
There is no record of which Prince lends its name to this impressive cliff-edge but at some time a prince was being chased by the beasts of chaos and was backed up against the precipice that edges the wide-wash. An escape was engineered by leaping clean across the valley. As the valley is about 5000 paces across at this point, the story is believed apocryphal or mystical or both.

Giant's Chair
Another cliff-side feature that resembles nothing more than a huge chair. The occupant would have to be over 30m tall though.

Knife's Edge
Found at the far west of the Steading's Grazing, this formation of limestone resembles a series of knife-shaped holes reaching down into the ground like the ground has been stabbed. It is said that if you place your ear on these stones that you can hear music - or the sound of running water - or the voice of the wind. in 1583, a pair of Griffons nested here and half the steadings' animals were lost. The nest was destroyed in 1584.