East Point
The Green Isle has only one human habitation, this
being Eastpoint. The community is
barely more than a village but since it is the only one on the entire Isle, it
is worthy of mention.
The population
of Eastpoint normally stands at about 600 adults but this can vary greatly,
depending on both weather and hunting conditions.
After a harsh winter the population will drop sharply but in a good year
with plenty of wolves, wolvers and seals to hunt the population will rise with
more outsiders coming to the Isle.
The people of
Eastpoint have a hard, harsh life and this has bred a hard, harsh people.
They are generally very unfriendly towards outsiders, including the
hunters who come over in the spring and summer, and the majority of the
residents have as little to do with the mainland as possible.
They consider themselves to be a breed apart, of superior stock to the
common man of Shardar and they are very proud of their island heritage. This can lead to many arguments and even full blown fights
and deaths when the hunters come from the mainland to track and trap the beasts
of the Isle, but it has been going on ever since the community was founded and
it is unlikely to stop for any reason.
There is only
one store in Eastpoint and this has to cater for the entire community.
Jack’s Store carries most goods necessary for survival on the island;
blankets, tools, dried provisions, grain, but everything is at least half as
expensive again as the same goods on the mainland and it is very unlikely that
Jack will have anything unusual or not vital to survival stocked.
The one inn on
the island is called the Wolver’s Head and it is run by Alex Gardell.
Alex is also the leader of the Eastpoint community although he has no
official title or standing. Alex is
a short tempered man who is quick to use his fists, but he is the only person
who can keep the peace between the islanders and the hunters and he makes sure
that there is very little trouble in the Wolver’s Head.
The inn itself
has only six rooms and these are normally lying empty during the winter months,
only being hired by hunters or the occasional merchant who comes to Eastpoint in
the summer. It serves basic ale
that Alex brews himself and has a few bottles of wine hidden in the cellar.
Alex’s wife, Kandess, helps in the inn and she makes the meals and
looks after the rooms. Between the
two of them they manage to keep the place running and even make a profit, but it
is still very basic and has none of the luxuries that you might find in a
similar inn on the mainland.
The average
resident of Eastpoint will never leave the house without at least carrying a
hunting knife and many of them have short bows that they are proficient with as
well. An argument that would end in
a fist fight in somewhere like River Run or Camber is likely to end in death or
at least a serious wounding in Eastpoint. Strangers
should be very wary if they have to go to Eastpoint for any reason, they are
often seen as fair game and outsider bating is a traditional sport on the Isle.
The oldest
inhabitant of Eastpoint is Ameth Sherava, an ancient, ugly crone who has been
blind since birth and is regarded with superstitious awe by the Eastpointers.
It is commonly known amongst the islanders that Ameth has the gift of the
second sight and they will go to her with any problems that they might have.
Very rarely, mainlanders will come to Eastpoint with a problem for Ameth
to view and when this happens, the crone will charge highly for her services.
When she is helping an islander there is no charge but it is traditional
for them to bring along a gift of food or clothing or something that Ameth
needs. An outsider will be charged
a small fortune that will be shared amongst Ameth and her family.
The only way on
to or off of the island is by boat and a stranger coming to Eastpoint is going
to have to go to one of the small villages that lies on the coast opposite the
Green Isle and try to hire passage across to the island.
This is normally quite easy in the summer months but it can be more
difficult and more expensive in winter. The
channel between the island and the mainland becomes very choppy and rough in bad
weather and most fishermen will simply refuse to go to sea in that kind of
conditions. Many of the residents
of Eastpoint have boats of their own and will happily return a visitor to the
mainland, for a steep fee of course.