Stelton

A major trading hub, and the gateway between the East and West of Harodom, Stelton is a large port town in central Harodom. Famous for its steelworkers, from which the city derives its name, Stelton benefits from the rich iron deposits in the nearby baronies, refining the raw ore, and making tools, weapons, and armour. Stelton holds a large and storied temple to Callis, to which devotees of the god of fire and the forge visit as a part of their religious journey. Just as famous however is the Great Library of Stelton, the largest library in the country that is open to any who can pay a nominal fee for use.

Ruling House of Stelton

The City

Fed by fertile cropland all about, entering the city core of Stelton in a time of peace means walking through the intimidating iron gates that speak as testament to the city’s steelworkers. The main streets are lined with large stones, friendly to the trade wagons that rattle along them all hours of the day and night, carrying goods intended for the city’s grand market, forges and workshops, and port, as a next step toward their ultimate destination.

Once off the main streets, Stelton’s residential areas become a tightly knit weave of narrow roads and looming buildings, with overhanging builds and laundry lines all but blotting out the sun save at the highest point of midday. The public houses range from relatively safe and pleasant (The Weary Traveller) to perilous and pickpocket prone (The Empty Glass) to the downright dangerous (The Hangman), allowing the adventurous and unfortunate to find a downright insalubrious amount of excitement without the inconvenience of leaving the city.

The Great Library

Standing three stories tall, this large stone building is in one of the nicer parts of Stelton, and dominates the surrounding area. Within, fine woods panel the floor, and those parts of the walls that are visible, with a ceiling painted in clear adoration of the moon. Each wall bears built-in bookcases, heavy with leather-bound tomes of all descriptors, arranged to the exacting whims of the librarians that work within. In addition to being a library, this is a church of Fiona, as many libraries are.

The passion project of Lady Aurora Bellantino, even when she was married to the then Duke Jagari of Gelrich, the library is the largest collection in the kingdom that is freely open to the public (most other large collections being privately held, and available only to friends, allies, and by dint of owed favours to the owners). For a fee of one silver piece per day, or five gold pieces for a year’s pass, scholars, students, and seekers of wisdom that is written – somewhere – within may peruse the tomes, although the use of candles within is extremely restricted. The fees help with the maintenance and upkeep, but the expansion of the collection is clearly paid for by the revenue of the hulking, steaming city without.

The Gilded Flame

A massive temple to Callis has been erected at the heart of the industrial district; legend tells that it was once a private shrine held by one of the finest metalworkers in the city, now grown with the prosperity of the town, and the fervent belief of the faithful who live and work without. Whatever the truth, the supplicants of Callis burn carefully formulated incenses anywhere that the wind may blow, to take the curse from the smoke of burning coal, wood, and coke, in the neighbourhood all around. The faithful my find some accommodations within, but are usually steered toward the nicest public houses that they can afford; here in the heart of the workshops and forges of Stelton, every inch is precious.

Rumours speak to an ancient wonder of Callis, held in keeping within the temple, and shown only to the most devout. Whether this is true is a matter of some conjecture; certainly the faithful coming forth from the temple seem changed by the experience, but could this just be a sense of awe at the edifice itself? They claim that no such relic exists, which only spurs the rumours of its secrecy.

The Port

As a major industrial port on Lake Haro, the docks of Stelton are constantly abuzz at all hours of the evening. A dedicated but weary harbourmaster’s office sits at the heart of all of the action, with every available inch dedicated to warehousing of goods that barely have time to grow shadows before they are moved to their next leg of their journey. It is through this port that goods from all along the coast, as well as from the manufacturies of Michian, often enter the country.

In anticipation of conflict, a great sea-gate was designed to guard the harbour, but while much has been spoken of its completion, only the great carved pillars were ever built, statues enormous in height that would, should the money ever become available, hold a gate to stave off seagoing adversaries. Dotting the harbour are the much more financially practicable siege engines that require comparatively limited maintenance, and harden Stelton as a target unworthy of most invaders from the Lake.