The smell of turned earth and river water carries on the wind, with distant smoke from the smithy mingling with the sweeter scent of grain. Morain is a quiet town, unhurried by the politics of the cities to the west — but every traveller heading for the highland plateau must pass through here, and the town has learned to keep its doors open.
Town Overview
Morain sits at the foot of the dormant volcano Titania, at the eastern end of the river Rhine that winds westward through the terrain to Chrysalis City. The town takes its name from the moraine formations of the surrounding landscape — ancient glacial deposits that left the soil rich and well-drained, giving Morain the finest agricultural conditions on Terra. Fields of grain, root vegetables, and orchards spread along the valley floor and up the gentler slopes of Titania’s lower reaches, and the town has always defined itself by what it grows rather than what it builds.
It is a small place — a fraction the size of Chrysalis and dwarfed by Port Town Malachite — but its position gives it an importance beyond its population count. Morain is the last settled town before the highland plateau where the Goliath tribes make their home, and the first one travellers reach descending from the heights. Adventurers, highland traders, goliath emissaries and mountain guides all pass through, and the town has grown just enough to accommodate them.
The river Rhine splits the town into its northern and southern halves, spanned by two bridges near the Old Ward. The western bridge drops you directly into the Old Ward Plaza — the open square where all three districts converge and the practical heart of daily life in Morain.
Population: ~350 (40% goliath, 35% human, 15% halfling, 10% other races)
Government: Ingram Warden serves as mayor. A pragmatic administrator who came to the role from a background in cartography and regional travel, Warden governs with a light hand suited to a small town that largely runs itself through tradition and mutual reliance.
Defense: Morain has no standing militia to speak of. A handful of town watchmen handle disputes and keep the peace. The town relies on its relative obscurity, its position away from major conflict routes, and — quietly — on the goodwill of the Goliath tribes above. There are few threats that a highland goliath clan cannot discourage.
Commerce: Agriculture, milling, basic smithing, and road-side services for travellers heading to and from the highland plateau. Morain exports grain, preserved foodstuffs, and modest quantities of highland goods traded down from the goliath tribes. The water-mill on the river Rhine processes grain for much of the surrounding region.
Town Districts
The river Rhine runs through Morain east to west, dividing the town into its northern and southern halves. The northern bank holds Old Ward and its younger extension Night Hook. The southern bank holds Silk Rock. Two bridges connect north to south — the western bridge landing directly at Old Ward Plaza, the eastern bridge connecting to Silk Rock’s interior.
Districts
Notable Locations
Old Ward
- The Old Ward Plaza
- Mildred’s Smithy
- Watermill
- Town Hall
- Yrelia’s Home
- Skurk & Co
Night Hook
- Bent Road Tavern
- Pale Antler Inn
- Highland Guide Services
Silk Rock
- The River Docks
- Southern Granaries
- Fishing Stretch
- Silk Rock Fields