Crescent Valley
- This article is about the geography of Crescent Valley. For the game of the same name, see Crescent Valley (game)
Crescent Valley is located in the northern end of the Red Hills. Filled to overflowing with halflings it is both a cheerful place as well as an important place. The inhabitants have great heart and are some of the most kindly in The Wold.
There are three towns in the valley: Hovel, Humble's Ford, and Angel Springs. Hovel is a small, somewhat traditional halfling village and was the first settled in the valley. This is where most of the militia plays out extended war games, which indeed are more like games than real combat training. Hilly, the village serves as the burrow home for most of the oldest families of the valley. Humble's Ford began as a trading post where the giant-kin from the south would come to trade. Now trading posts have been established further south. It still is home to many halflings, especially those interested in the various divine and arcane arts. Angel Springs is the largest of the three and is more of a city than a town. At times, it is looked down upon by the more traditional of the halflings because of its party atmosphere and modern viewpoints. It is also where the Baron lives. Here is a map of Angel Springs.
The Baron is charged with the defense of the valley. If anything is required to protect the citizens of Crescent Valley, the Baron is authorized and charged to provide it. He can make laws, issue edicts, and make judgements toward this goal. The job is traditionally held for life; however, if the two of the three Mayors (one for each town including Angel Springs) in the valley agree on the need, the Baron vacates the position and an election is held to replace him.
These elections are wild affairs with "political parties" (think literally) being thrown by each candidate. The parties last for at least a week allowing all in the valley to attend each and hear what the candidates have to say. On Election Day, each citizen of the valley attends the "political party" of their choice and by attending, they express their vote. The mayors declare the winner and thus the new Baron is chosen.
Independent of the Baron, but allied with him in purpose, are the Defenders of the North. This adventuring group loves the valley and its people. They have settled in the valley and living in a Manor House south of Angel Springs. They have been a huge boon to the area in every way. They are very interested in bringing more adventurers into the area because the halflings refuse to maintain a regular army. Instead, an untrained militia serves under the leadership of a few generals who serve their valley for life -- however, it seems most of their time is spent under a tent in Hovel playing war games.
The need to protect the Crescent Valley is great. Its location is right smack in the center of several overwhelming threats. First, to the North is The Scab, the homeland of the giants. Every spring, the Hill Giants raid the valley. Every summer, the Fire Giants come for a visit. And every winter, it is the Frost Giants' turn.
About 100 years ago, a young mage named Shafbaffum changed all that. He took what he called the "essence of giants" and made a series of towers. He then interlinked the towers with magical forces and then finally added the "essence of giants" to the mix. When the giants came, they were repelled. It was not easy. There was still a need for a standing militia, but things were much improved. The militia was infused with a core of engineers, mages, witches and clerics whose job it was to repair the towers, ley lines, forces of interlocking magic, etc.
The mystery of the towers is that to this day, Shafbaffum, now mostly a recluse denies doing the work. Moreover, the young mage who did create the towers, provided instructions for upkeep, left and was never seen again
Up in the mountains, a mental asylum used to exist until recent years. Great evil was done there. Some former patients of this institution live with a druid/ranger nearby in the Valley of Four Peaks, a range visible from near Crescent Valley. He now treats the insane with nature, teaching them to feed and care for each other. The druid's name is Graeff. He comes to Humble's Ford on a regular basis to trade for medicine from an alchemist named Leyman.
To the west of the valley and across the Peaseblossom River, there is a Circle of Druids who are at odds with the halflings. They are known as the Yoke of Culver. The Yoke believe in keeping the forest "pure" in every respect. Some are Monstrologers, while some have ranger training and work to hide trails and remove sings of civilization.
Needless to say, there is much hunting done by the halflings, along the borders of Culverwood, and the Peaseblossom Rivers are the main means of transportation in the Red Hills as well as Culverwood. More than once, a posse of hunters has tried to force the druids out after a hunter is caught in a trap or fed to the monsters by the druids. Who has the right to do what they do in the forest? That depends upon your disposition.
Another dispute the Yoke have with the halflings is the ongoing trade between them and the elves of the forest. See if a halfling is born within the confines of the forest, then it is born with the ability to navigate the magical forest without becoming lost. The forest has the ability to fool all who are not native to it. So halfling families, who hunt and trade will travel west, attempt to birth their children across the river. The skill thus granted is called Forest Walking.
Finally, there is a threat to the south. Tribes of the larger type of Demikind live in the Red Hills. These include ogres, trolls, ettins, and cyclopses. Rather than fight with these giant-kin more than necessary, the halflings set up trading posts for them on the river and a tenuous truce exists because of it. True, attacks and altercations occur, but the halflings have developed a group of druid Monstrologists who specialize in working with these large monsters. Most halflings believe that these beasts were not created alongside the halfling race just to be fought, hunted, and killed. They have their purpose.
The halflings of Crescent Valley are very traditional in some ways and innovative in others. For instance, all old families have a family burrow, which is usually hundreds of years old. This is where the head of house lives with his family and anyone else who needs a place to stay. Usually, however, upon reaching adulthood, young halflings will leave the burrow and move into a more "standard" type of dwelling above ground as burrows are expensive and within burrows, all kinds of cultural and traditional customs must be met.
There are two main castes of halflings: the rotund or "thinkers" and the "fit" or workers. Each are respected, but once put in a category by reputation, it is hard to get public opinion about a person to change. "Yeah, he's slimmed down some working at the mill, but he's still a thinker at heart."
A halfling generation is longer than that of humans lasting about 50 years, but they make up for this by having very large families with close to a dozen children.
