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Calendoris

Calendoris is a circular town set among forest and farmland, its four roads reaching into a wilderness gone rotten. The outer residential ring grows around living trees, with small shrines and narrow lanes where crime thrives in the shade. Its busy middle ring is all traders, inns, services, banners, and enchanted lights. At the center, government buildings and schools surround a great tree, the town's emblem and the source of its unnatural year-round bloom.

Settlements
Town

Calendoris

Four guarded roads lead out from a town where flowers never stop blooming.
Population
3,200
Rule
Oiva Rautala
Wealth
Comfortable and uneven
Defence
Moderate

Overview

Calendoris is a circular town set among forest and farmland, its four roads reaching into a wilderness gone rotten. The outer residential ring grows around living trees, with small shrines and narrow lanes where crime thrives in the shade. Its busy middle ring is all traders, inns, services, banners, and enchanted lights. At the center, government buildings and schools surround a great tree, the town's emblem and the source of its unnatural year-round bloom.

Atmosphere

Calendoris is genuinely cheerful, but its joy has a practiced edge. Flower sellers compete with bell-ringers, children race beneath lanterns, and even the guards know the festival songs. Beyond the last fields, the land is dead and crawling with things that should stay buried. Residents call their town a blessing; some know the flowers are being kept alive by a bargain no one voted on.

Culture

EthosPeople of Calendoris prize generosity, cultivation, and visible good cheer. A neighbor who shares seedlings earns more trust than one who gives a fine speech. The town's confidence is real, but it can turn defensive: residents dislike talk of the deadlands, and the council encourages the belief that their safety is simply a reward for good living.
Faiths
  • The Green Mother, worshipped in household shrines and the great church
  • Ancestor veneration, practiced in the residential ring
Peoples

Humans, Elves, Halflings, Dwarves

PastimesFlower weaving, noisy street plays, and competitive gardening are popular. Traveling musicians often find their songs adapted into procession tunes by the end of the week. The arena's contests draw families as much as duelists, though the crowd's laughter tends to stop when a contestant uses magic that resembles the strange force protecting the town.

Economy

WealthComfortable and uneven. Successful growers and merchant houses prosper; many residents have full tables, though the farms and outer ring bear the greatest risks.
Work

Farming and horticulture, Flower cultivation, Food preservation, Woodcraft and trade

Exports
  • Cut flowers and seed stock
  • Fruit, grain, and preserved foods
  • Dried herbs and medicinal plants
  • Carved living-wood goods
Imports

Iron tools and weapons, Salt and lamp oil, Cloth and fine paper, Stone and glass

ScarceMetal, salt, and reliable news from beyond the four roads are scarce. The town's forests provide timber, but deliberate felling is forbidden in most of the rings, so boards and worked metal cost more than visitors expect.

Geography

RegionA forest clearing surrounded by dead and rotten wilderness.
ClimateMild forest weather, with ordinary rain and seasonal winds. Within the town's rings, flowers bloom in every season, while the land beyond the farms remains sickly and cold even in summer.
TerrainCalendoris is laid out in circles. Farmland lies beyond the built rings, then four roads cross the dangerous outer country. Ruins and strange sites dot the outskirts, often hidden by dead trees or low mist.

Ways in and out

North Road, the safest trade route and the most heavily watched
East Road, which passes old ruins and a collapsed shrine
South Road, the main farm and grain route
West Road, a rough track used by hunters and smugglers

Places to see

  • The Quiet GroveA ring of unusually old trees grows beyond the farms. Their trunks are split by stonework, and locals say no bird nests there. Several paths vanish among them before reaching the ruins.
  • The Still PoolA shallow pond in the outer residential ring reflects the sky even at night. Its water is safe to drink, though every few weeks it briefly smells of turned earth.
  • The East StepsA broken stone stair descends into a low mound at the eastern edge of the farmland. The steps are carved with marks resembling the warding symbols used near the central tree.

Power

4 factions

Government

FormA council of elected and appointed members led by a chair chosen from among them.
LeaderOiva Rautala, council chair. Oiva is a patient negotiator who cannot admit uncertainty in public; she would rather delay a decision than let the town see her frightened.

Laws

Felling a living tree within the town rings requires council permission.
Carrying weapons is permitted, but drawing one in the central ring without cause brings immediate arrest.
All seed and grain exports must be recorded by the market clerks.
Entry into the central tree's root chamber is forbidden without a council writ.

Trouble

  • The tree's protection is failing, and the council is hiding why.The central tree's roots are darkening, and the council's wardens report that the protective magic is faltering. Oiva has ordered the reports sealed. The Green Mantles are close to learning that the town's year-round bloom is maintained by drawing force from the deadlands, and any public revelation could split the town before the next harvest.
    Involves

    Oiva Rautala, Sukei, Mira

  • A threatened road forces a choice between security and harvest.The four roads are becoming harder to defend as undead gather near the farms. Sukei wants authority to close the west road, but the Four Roads League warns that doing so will leave several farms without a reliable route to market. Oiva is delaying the order, hoping the threat will pass before she must choose between food and safety.
    Involves

    Sukei, Oiva Rautala, Pell

Factions

  • The CouncilGoverning body
    The council controls the town's laws, trade agreements, and military. Its members insist the central tree is a civic trust, not a religious object. Leader Oiva Rautala has kept the town prosperous but conceals the cost of its protection.
    GoalsKeep the root bargain secret and preserve the flowering town, even if that means limiting access to the central tree.
    Allies

    The Council, The Thorn Company

    Rivals

    The Green Mantles, The Four Roads League

  • The Green MantlesCivic reform movement
    Farmers, temple keepers, and residents who believe the central tree is being harmed. They are not united on what should replace the council's secret arrangement, but agree that ordinary people deserve a say before the next harvest.
    GoalsExpose the bargain and end the council's control over the tree, even if the town must endure a season without its unnatural bloom.
    Allies

    The Green Mother's Church, The Four Roads League

    Rivals

    The Council, The Thorn Company

  • The Four Roads LeagueMerchant organization
    A loose merchant association that coordinates shipments through the four guarded roads. Its members rely on stable harvests and fear that open conflict over the tree will close trade. They would rather bargain than choose a side, but their neutrality has limits.
    GoalsSecure a public accounting of the root bargain while preventing the Green Mantles from forcing an abrupt end to the town's protection.
    Allies

    The Council

    Rivals

    The Green Mantles

  • The Petal KnivesThieves guild
    The Petal Knives manage theft, smuggling, and protection rackets in the residential ring. They know which council messengers carry sealed orders and which farm lanes are weakly watched. Their leader claims the guild keeps worse predators from preying on the poor.
    GoalsSteal the council's root records and sell their contents to the Green Mantles, while keeping control of the outer-ring black market.
    Allies

    The Green Mantles

    Rivals

    The Council, The Thorn Company

Defences

ReadinessThe town keeps a modest standing watch and can muster farmhands quickly, but its guards are stretched between the four roads and the outer ruins. The council's wardens respond to undead or magical threats. Their defenses are strongest close to the central tree and noticeably weaker at the farms.
Walls and works
  • Four guarded road gates, each with a timber watchhouse and a signal bell
  • Living thorn hedges trained around gaps in the outer farms
  • Warded boundary stones whose light dims when undead approach
  • A central tree whose roots disrupt hostile magic
ForceThe Ring Watch and Thorn Company
SizeAbout 90 guards and 18 elite wardens
About the forceThe Ring Watch patrols the gates, roads, and inner streets. The Thorn Company is a small elite unit trained to handle monsters, undead, and magical breaches. Both answer to the council, though the company takes its field orders from Sukei.

Law and order

CrimeModerate, concentrated in the outer residential ring. Theft, smuggling, and intimidation are common; serious violence is less frequent but often goes unreported.
Who keeps the lawThe Ring Watch patrols the roads and main streets. In the outer ring, watch patrols are thin, and residents often settle minor disputes through shrine elders or neighborhood agreements. The Petal Knives exploit the gaps.
PunishmentFines, restitution, and temporary labor on the farms or road repairs are common. Serious assault, arson, and attacks on the central tree can bring imprisonment or expulsion beyond the gates.

People and places

10 entries
  • Commander of the Thorn CompanySukei

    Human Male

    A lean veteran with a stiff left hand, Sukei wants the west road closed before the dead reach the farms. He fears that the council's delay will cost his wardens their lives. He checks each gate latch twice and keeps his gloves on even indoors.

  • Farmers' representativePell

    Dwarf Male

    A broad-shouldered farmer who wants the council to let local growers inspect the central tree's effects on their land. He fears losing the fertile fields that feed his family. He carries a tiny wooden rake in his pocket and turns it over whenever he hears a council promise.

  • Ruin surveyorJiro

    Elf Male

    A quiet collector of fragments from the ruins beyond the farms. Jiro wants proof that the deadlands were once fertile, but fears that the council will confiscate his finds and call him a threat. He arranges his charcoal sticks by length before beginning any drawing.

  • Council memberNessa

    Human Female

    The youngest council member wants to publish the wardens' reports before the next public festival. She fears that disclosure will cause panic and drive families into the deadlands. When anxious, she folds paper into tiny birds and leaves them along the council chamber windowsill.

  • Seed and herb shopSeed and Soil

    Kept by Mori

    A narrow storefront among the middle-ring stalls, crowded with seeds, dried herbs, pressed petals, and small jars of soil. Customers bring samples from their gardens for advice. The shop's back room is kept locked, ostensibly to protect rare seed stock.

  • OutfitterFour-Road Outfitters

    Kept by Kest

    A busy counter wedged between cloth stalls, known for sturdy travel gear and careful repairs. The owner keeps a ledger of customers who travel beyond the farms, claiming it helps track lost orders. The ledger also records who has recently crossed the gates.

  • TavernThe Bent Bough

    Kept by Hana

    A broad, noisy tavern built around a living tree whose lower branches shade the back tables. Its stew changes with the harvest, and the owner keeps a public notice board for missing tools, lost animals, and people who have not come home.

  • Government hallThe Root Hall

    Run by Tilda

    The central tree rises through a broad stone square, its branches supporting lantern lines and small public platforms. Council clerks use the outer hall for petitions and records. Visitors may approach the tree, but its root chamber is sealed behind a warded door guarded by the Thorn Company.

  • TempleThe Green Mother's Church

    Run by Mira

    The great church stands on the main streets, its open-sided sanctuary woven among flowering branches. Offerings are food, seed, or labor rather than coin. Its bells set the daily rhythm of the market, though the clergy have begun holding private prayers for the central tree.

  • SchoolThe Three Rings School

    Run by Aino

    This compact school sits in the inner ring, where classrooms and practice yards share space with cultivated trees. Students learn letters, civic law, and practical magic. The school accepts a few outer-ring children without fees, an arrangement that has made it popular with families and unpopular with some council members.

Events

Lately

  • The west-road warding stones have dimmed twice in a single week.The Thorn Company has pulled guards from the market streets, and residents are asking why.
  • A shipment of seed stock arrived with dark roots and healthy blossoms.The Four Roads League wants to sell it; the Green Mother's Church has urged people not to plant it.
  • A farmer disappeared after reporting pale flowers in his field.Pell is demanding a search, while the council calls the disappearance a private matter.

Calendar

  • First thawRootwakeThe Rootwake procession circles the central tree, and every household ties a fresh ribbon to a branch. The council announces the year's planting allotments while the farmers quietly judge whether the tree's first blossoms look healthy.
    The twist · GM only
  • High summerThe Full Basket FairA three-day market fills the main streets with food, flowers, craft stalls, and visiting merchants. The arena hosts contests of horsemanship and spellcraft, with prizes paid partly in valuable seed stock.
    The twist · GM only
  • Last harvestThe Closing SheafFamilies bring their final baskets to the central square. The council gives public thanks to the farmers, guards, and temple keepers, then seals the year’s seed stores under military watch.
    The twist · GM only

History

Calendoris began as a farm settlement at a meeting of forest tracks. Its fertile ground and sheltered position drew more families, who built around the great tree at the center. When the dead country pressed close, the town flourished in a way that seemed miraculous. The official history calls this a blessing. A few old records instead suggest that the first council made a bargain and then rewrote its terms as a legend.

  • FoundingThe Four TracksThe first farms took root in a forest clearing where four old tracks met. Early settlers found the soil unusually rich and built around the largest tree rather than cutting it down.
  • The lean yearsThe First BloomAfter a season of blight and attacks from the surrounding dead country, the settlers made a pact at the central tree. The official account says the tree answered their prayers. A damaged ledger suggests the first council deliberately redirected a force already rising beneath the deadlands.
  • The ring settlementThe Bells at the RoadsThe four roads were gated, and the council created a permanent watch. It became a public tradition to credit the guards for Calendoris's safety, though the town's oldest wards predate the watch by generations.

Secrets

2 secrets · 4 rumours
  • Secret 1 · GM only
  • Secret 2 · GM only

Rumours

1The central tree's roots reach beneath all four gates.
2Someone in the Petal Knives has a key to the root chamber.
3A ruin beyond the east road still has a working garden.
4The council has quietly bought every black-rooted flower found in town.

Plot hooks

3
  • 1
    The Road That CallsSukei asks the characters to escort a patrol to the west road and identify why the dead are gathering there. The patrol has found no tracks leading toward town, only fresh tracks leading away from a ruin. The complication: someone has been carrying pieces of the central tree's root into the deadlands, and the undead are following them.

    Investigation and danger · Starts with Sukei · Reward: A council writ for restricted areas, a modest payment, and a favor from the Thorn Company.

  • 2
    A Mark Beneath the MossJiro asks the characters to retrieve a carved stone from an unexplored ruin before the council's surveyors arrive. The stone may explain the town's founding pact. The complication: the ruin is not empty, and its guardian recognizes the carved mark as a claim of ownership over the roots beneath Calendoris.

    Exploration and political choice · Starts with Jiro · Reward: Access to Jiro's maps and a share of any non-sacred salvage.

  • 3
    The Pale FurrowPell asks the characters to accompany him to inspect a field where flowers have begun to rot from the roots upward. He believes the council is hiding a danger to the farms. The complication: the soil is reacting to a missing root fragment, and restoring it may strengthen the town's wards while spreading the deadland's blight into the fields.

    Moral dilemma and investigation · Starts with Pell · Reward: Food stores, a safe place to stay, and the support of several farm families.

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