Gladsheim
The town of Gladsheim is now a thriving community that
caters to the needs of the occupants of the University, but this has only come
around fairly recently. Up until
the Year 266, when the University was formed, Gladsheim was no different from
any of the dozens of small communities that are scattered around Shardar.
People survived by farming, hunting and trapping and logging in the
Sharwood. Then Matrix created the University and it all changed.
Now Gladsheim is
a thriving town with a population of more than 3,000 people and growing all the
time. It is second in numbers only
to Camber and is judged by all to be the second largest community in Shardar.
The Lord of
Gladsheim is Kator Danver, one of a long line of Danvers to rule over this area.
His father was Lord when Matrix started to set up the University and
Kator’s rule has always been overshadowed by that of Matrix.
In another Lord, this could have caused problems and friction, but Kator
is content to judge himself very lucky with the way things have turned out and
he is more than happy with Gladsheim being little more than a supply post for
the University. In fact, both Kator
and Matrix have a very good working relationship that both profit from.
Kator was born
in the year 250 and is a slightly over-weight man with short brown hair and
beard and brown eyes. In most ways he is completely unremarkable but he has a
talent for judging the truth in what people say.
There is nothing Magical about this ability, he is simply a very good
judge of people and this come in very useful when he is called upon to make
judgements or to keep the peace.
The Lord does
not agree with High Lord Calloway’s demands of the Mages of Shardar but he is
not in a position to do anything about it.
He has told Calloway that he thinks that it is a mistake but he has also
said that he will loyally back the High Lord in any situation that may develop.
Whether he intends to keep this vow or not is unknown.
Unlike many
Lords, Kator takes an active part in the running of Gladsheim so there is no
need for a mayor of any kind. Because
of the ever expanding nature of the town, there is no wall defending the
property, but there is little need for one.
Who would be foolish enough to attack a community that has the friendship
of the largest gathering of Mages in Shardar?
The laws of
Gladsheim are very straight forward and boil down to keeping the peace.
Anyone who breaks the peace will likely be imprisoned or perhaps banished
from the community in more extreme cases. The
penalty for murder is execution and it is generally very easy to come to the
truth of any matter. With Lord
Danver’s talent for judging people and the close proximity of so many Mages,
it is very difficult to hide the truth.
Gladsheim has a
standing militia of 100 warriors. They
are used to patrol the streets and to keep them safe more than anything else.
The head of this militia is Aemon Walker, a gruff, short-tempered soldier
who survived the battle of Vitmore Valley when Calloway fought against Verlie.
Walker fought on the side of Calloway and is very proud of this.
Walker treats Mages and non-Mages in exactly the same fashion and will
not take any nonsense from anyone. He
loves his town and will not let anything happen to endanger it.
Kator and Walker generally work very well together but do occasionally
disagree on Kator’s ‘open town policy’.
The town of
Gladsheim is surrounded by well tended fields and is bordered on two sides by
small streams. Although in recent
years the town has grown past these streams, they were once used to mark the
extent of the village. There are a very large number of taverns and inns in
Gladsheim both for the locals and the occupants of the University and for all
those visitors who come to use the libraries of the University or to talk to
Matrix.
Gladsheim is
divided into three sections, although there are no official divisions or
separating walls or fences. The Eastern half of the community is the more up market side
and it is usually here where visitors to the University will stay.
There are many good taverns and inns and plenty of shops and stables in
this section. The North-Western
section is mostly for those who make a living in Sharwood; the hunters, the
trappers and the loggers. It is by far the roughest of the areas and tends to be
avoided by those who seek to enter the University.
The South Western section is mostly for merchants and farmers and
virtually anything can be bought in this part.
It is not as smooth or well organised as the Eastern area but neither is
it as disreputable or dangerous as the North-Western section.
The Golden
Crown, run by Matthew Williams is probably the best of the inns and is also the
most expensive. A room for the
night will cost between 2 and 5 Hawks and a meal can be bought for between 5
Birds and 2 Hawks, depending on what is ordered.
The Crown is located in the area of town nearest the University and it is
a large, elegant building that is always kept scrupulously clean.
Occasionally Mages and Masters from the University will come down and
spend a quiet evening in the front room of the Crown but it is more often full
of people who are wishing to make use of the facilities of the University.
At the other end
of the scale is the Merchant’s Maid, a down beat tavern in the North Eastern
section of town. It is used by
trappers and loggers who come out of the Sharwood and by merchants who can’t
afford anything better. It is a
rough place but it is regularly checked by squads of the militia and Aemon
Walker himself will often go in to keep the peace.
A room for the night will cost between 2 Birds for sleeping in the
communal hall to 1 Hawk for the tavern’s best room.
Ale costs 1 Bird a tankard and wine 2 Birds.
The owner of the Merchant is Heather Adams, an old cantankerous woman who
will do anything for money. Whores
are plentiful in the Merchant and so are those who operate out-with the law.
Rarely, students on nights out from the University can be found in the
Merchant’s Maid tavern.
There
is no fee for entering Gladsheim but visitors may find that they are paying more
than the locals will for anything they purchase.
The difference in price will not be great, but it will be enough for the
town to make the money that they need from the visitors.
It is advised that anyone not familiar with the town and its ways keep
out of the North-Western section.
Kator Danver
does everything he can to make sure that Gladsheim is a peaceful, welcoming
community for any visitors and serious trouble is a rare event.
With both the militia and the Mages in force, there is no known organised
Thieves Guild.
The fields and
farms around Gladsheim provide more than enough food for the town and the
University and the surplus is sold off, normally to Camber, at a good price.
There are regular caravans between the two communities and the road that
runs between them is well tended and normally well guarded.
Relations between the two largest communities in Shardar are good and
Kator Danver intends to make sure they stay that way.