Twilight of Empires

Tamwood Fork is a trading community in the Southern Fallow Marches on the Castella River. While in the past this strategic location has been held by the Elves, Dwarves, and the Asterian Empire, in its current incarnation it is largely independent.

Tamwood Fork is located on the Castella River where the Dwarvensluice feeds into it. The town is nearly one hundred miles south of Fort Sinister, 150 from Tinker Hall, and thirty miles from the village of Woodbilly downstream. It is also almost exactly two weeks by trade cart from the border of Boisnoir County, the closest Asterian breakaway state.

At one level, Tamwood Fork is one of the oldest populated locations in the Marches: a thousand years ago it was the northern, highly contested border between the Asterian Empire, the Elven Principalities, and the above-ground claims of the Dwarves of Tinker Hall. However, given the highly strategic nature of the location, all three sites for the town have been built upon, conquered, razed, and rebuilt countless times since then. The current incarnation of the town is only slightly older than Fort Sinister, and primarily serves as an interface between dwarven craftsmen and the logging trade.

The town is nearly a 50/50 mix of Humans and Dwarves, with a scattering of other races thrown in. In fact, it has one of the most stable populations of half-Dwarves in the civilized world. There are usually around 500 permanent residents in and around Tamwood Fork.

Trade is the name of the game in Tamwood Fork. The Dwarvensluice is the primary overland route from Tinker's Hall to the city of Shining Falls (The underground route leads through Thrall's Gate Hall to the southwest), and the key turnaround point for loggers wishing to provide their wares to the insatiable appetites of Dwarven craftsmen. The farms around the town are sufficient to supporting the populace, but produce no exports of any value. The three main powers involved in the town keep purchasing agents on hand to buy artifacts (and remains) dating back to the wars that once raged here.

• Calamity Waller: Half-Dwarf employee of the Mercenaries Guild. Youngest of her siblings. Student of the Forge-Lord mage school, specializing in runes, metal, and fire. Darling and troublemaker of the family.
• Drogar Waller: Half-Dwarf employee of the Mercenaries Guild. Middle of his siblings. Prefers axes.
• Durgan Waller: Half-Dwarf employee of the Mercenaries Guild. Eldest of his siblings. Prefers hammers.
• Estella the Lancer: A faunish woman of middle years who is the Mercenaries Guild leader for the town. A former merc herself, she is known for her spear and lance skills, and for breeding a line of green WAR chocobos.
• Melphys Estdaughter: Estella's daughter, operates the livery stable attached to the guild office. Sturdy looking for a faun, but her father was a dwarf.