Whitehorn

Description
Whitehorn, named for the nearby sharp, snow-covered crags, was a frontier trading and resupply town for prospectors, miners, and woodcutters North of the Moonsea and West of The Ride. It was a wall-less town that began as a temple-farm dedicated Chauntea, to goddess of the Great Mother, in the Favoured Fields of Chauntea, before it grew and was was settled by smithies and toolmakers and repairers. The muddy streets were lined with stone cottage buildings and there are dozens of wells.

Government
Whitehorn was governed by a merchant council who elected a steward to act as the local magister and to read the council's public decrees. The government levied a 1 sp "gate tax" on all departing wagons to fund the militia and an annual 2 gp "hearth tax" on all households, and an annual 4 gp tax on inns, taverns, and smithies to fund the government's works.

The town is represented by red banner that symbolizes the red blood of the orcs who attacked the town. A white triangle on the banner symbolizes Old Jaw, the tallest crag in the center of the town.

Defenses
The town was under constant threat of Orc attack. It was defended by steep earthwork fortifications and has a standing militia. In mid-1300s DR, a palisade, drawbridge, and spiked pit traps were added. Helmwatch House, a fortified temple and lookout tower atop Old Jaw, the tallest of the peaks in the center of the town, is home to clerics of Helm, whose worshipers and priests help kept order by patrolling the streets and they helped defend the town. In 1390 DR, ballistae were installed atop the tower.

Organizations

 * The Merchant Council, a five-member group, runs the local government.
 * Worshipers of Chauntea founded the town.
 * The Church of Helm's clerics and worshipers helped to defend and keep order in Whitehorn.

Inhabitants

 * The Askel family were notable residents of Whitehorn and seven generations of the family have run the local tannery.
 * Many miners from Melvaunt and Zhentil Keep call the town home during the summer months.

Geographical Features
The Favoured Fields of Chantea where Whitehorn was built rests in a valley between three mountain peaks. Volcanic rifts in the underdark beneath the town warm the area beneath the three peaks of the town.

Notable Locations

 * The Bright Shield, a well-regarded eatery of simple fare during the day that also serves as a festhall at night.
 * The Bowshot Moon, a cozy and rustic tavern and the nicer of the two taverns in Whitehorn.
 * The Seven Split Skulls, cheap tavern with poor accommodations that hosts fights.
 * The Storm Archer, a high quality inn known to be the most luxurious inn North of the Moonsea other than the finer establishments of Zhentil Keep itself. The rooms are heated by fireplaces and the inn offers heated baths.
 * Graelhund’s Warm Rest, a quiet inn with moderate accommodations. It doesn't offer finer accommodation like The Storm Archer, but it's clean and well-maintained unlike Blacktusk’s Lair.
 * Blacktusk’s Lair, is the cheapest inn in Whitehorn. The rooms are small and mice-ridden.
 * Askel’s Leatherworks, a reeking tannery that was located a mile downwind of Whitehorn. The tannery supplied boots, belts, weathercloaks, tack, and leather armor