Whelker's Deep

Whelker's Deep is a small town on the eastern coast of Lenay, a dozen or so miles north of Warrenville (the largest town in the region), 7-8 miles south of Clamdigger Cove (a very small fishing village.) Whelker's Deep gets its name from its harbor - a nice, deep, sheltered harbor, big enough for oceangoing vessels to put in, though most of the traffic is smaller. It is mainly a fishing village, but there is a fair amount of coastal trade. The harbor is at the mouth of the Cardiff River, which flows eastward from the moors to the sea. After falling out of the highlands, the river runs through a small valley running west to east. South of the valley is there is a ridge separating it from the Calderon Valley, where the Calderon River runs down to Warrenville. The area between Whelker's Deep and Warrenville is rolling country, fairly low, scored by low, rocky ridges that separate fields, bogs, marshes, and small stands of trees. It is a land of small farms and hamlets, down to the Calderon Valley, which is fairly populated, being the most fertile ground in the area.

Dag's Moor rises north and west of Whelker's Deep and the Cardiff river. If you go up the river, you will climb into the heather, then into the moor itself, where the river runs fast and ragged. The moorland runs roughly parallel to the coast north of Whelker's Deep - the moors themselves are marked by steep hills or even cliffs, several hundred feet higher than the coastal shelf. The farther north you go, the closer the moors come to the coast. The road to Clamdiggers Cove runs straight north from Whelker's Deep. It runs a mile or so inland from the coast, generally keeping to the higher land between the moors proper and the coast. Several small rivers and creeks run out of the hills to the sea in this area - close to the coast, the land is very broken. There are deep river valleys, hills, ridges, but also marshes and fens as you approach the sea. This is very difficult country (close to the sea), generally avoided by decent people. The land between Whelker's Deep and Clamdiggers Cve is fairly empty - there are some small farms here than there - more toward the moors (which are more amenable to sheep grazing) - but not much. There are, however plenty of ruins - centuries worth of keeps and castles, farms and buildings, most long abandoned. The emptiness of the region has gotten worse in recent years, due to the troubles.

Whelker's Deep itself consists of a village built around the shoreline and along the river, plus a number of houses and farms around the outskirts of the town. The Cardiff valley is a reasonably fertile place - there are a number of hamlets and manors and farms along the river, though they tend to become more uncommon as you approach the moors. In the town itself, there is a fairly active downtown, along the waterfront. There is just enough commerce to support a fairly active economy there. There are three or four bars, a couple inns, boarding houses and so on located near the waterfront, along with a variety of the usual kinds of businesses. The economy is mostly from fishing, but there is some trade - this is something of a meeting place between the moors and the sea and the Calderon valley - the gateway between these three areas. There is a fair amount of seaborne traffic through the town - mostly coastal traffic (and the fishing boats), but some big ships come in once in a while. Along with sailors, there are often adventurers hanging around.

There are also some businesses outside the village. The road up the river is fairly busy, even now - there are a number of farms and such up the river, with a modest amount of traffic passing up and down the river. The river itself is not exactly navigable - small craft can move up and down these lower reaches, though you don;t have to go far up the river for it to become too fast for traffic. It is useful for mills and the like though. There are a couple taverns out along this road, some stores and the like. Going toward Clamdiggers Cove, the main establishment is The Gypsy Arns. This is a small tavern, with a couple rooms available for sleeping, off the northern road. It is a quiet place, removed from he main traffic, but still seas people coming in from time to time. The taverns and inns in town tend to be occupied by people associated with the sea - the Gypsy Arms, as ell as a couple places along the river, cater more to the inland side. Farmers, shepherds, and travelers down from he moors tend to frequent these places.

Bono has taken to hanging around the Gypsy Arms. He is a landsman, from the west of Lenay, who has come to the other coast seeking his fortune. He does not want to go to sea, exactly; he is hoping to find opportunities to go inland. The moors seem promising - he has heard enough of the stories of the trouble around here: the smugglers and bandits, highwaymen, pirates, outlaws of all kinds, monsters to have a good idea that men of his talents (a trained soldier, a pole arm specialist) can find plenty of employment.