Elder Root grew around a water sawmill that splits the village with a roaring channel; longtimers live in timber-framed homes darkened by pitch, and sap-sticky children race along rails while the mill turns evergreen trunks into ship planks for the Republic's warships.
Where the river sings through a village of rings and scars.
A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.
Blacksmith
A broad-shouldered 65-year-old with silver hair and soot-lined fingers who trots to the anvil at dawn.
Mill Steward
A widow in her late forties with an iron stare and warm hands who keeps ledgers and gossip alike.
Innkeeper of The Blind Stag
A lean half-elf with a knowing smile, spectacles always perched on his nose and a ledger under the counter.
Carpenter-foreman
Scarred hands, a sawdust-streaked braid, and a voice that commands attention.
Republic Inspector
A neat-clipped man in a stamped coat who carries inspection ledgers and an air of authority.
Smithy and toolshop
A low-roofed smithy by the mill where sparks fly and tools are mended for immediate work.
Carpentry and repair
A long, saw-dark workshop where planks become boats and practical creations are prized.
Loggers, millhands, passing Republic inspectors, and the occasional smuggler
A timber-warmed tavern with a low hearth, crooked tables, and a carved stag whose missing eye is an old village emblem.
Local trade guild
A pragmatic assembly of millhands and foremen who handle quotas, wages, and mill discipline.
Criminal enterprise
Loose network of cutters and boatmen who hide planks in false hulls for sale beyond the Republic's books.
Imperial detachment
Small but efficient force that keeps order and escorts valuable shipments.
A damaged stone-and-timber sluice that channels water to the millwheel and hides a newly exposed iron ring.
A stand of ancient, dark-barked elder trees many believe are semi-sacred and hard to fell.
A low, camouflaged shed under reeds where smugglers sometimes stash carved planks for midnight pickups.
A curved, root-formed beam in the Mill House foundation that locals touch for luck before major work.
The iron ring washed up in the sluice is part of an ancient ship's keel with runes that slow rot in wood.
A small faction of villagers quietly keep a stash of premium planks promised to families during hard years.
Root Chapel's taboo pruning method can accelerate a tree's sap for superior planks but marks the tree with a slow blight.
Ring of the Old Keel
Investigate the iron ring's origin and the runes that may protect elderwood from rot, drawing scholars and naval officers to Elder Root.
Smuggled Planks
Track down the Smuggler Ring's hidden boathouse and decide whether to expose them, co-opt them, or let the village keep its secret safety net.
Sluice Sabotage
Sluice damage worsens under suspicious circumstances; determine if flood damage was natural or deliberate and who benefits.
The Blighted Beam
Root Chapel offers a way to strengthen a single tree at a terrible cost; choose whether to employ the taboo pruning to meet a crucial quota.
