Dead Mule re-write
by Marc SaindonBourg de Mulemorte ("Dead Mule")- Town - Population 1000 (Gnome and Human communities)
This busy mining town was originally named by a group of Gnome prospectors who settled at this site after one of their pack mules died, seeing it as an omen of sorts (other Gnomes were perhaps just tired to walk around, and found convenient to believe the omen). Surprisingly, the miners struck silver quite early in their endeavor. The camp rapidly evolved into a boom town as people flocked to the newfound wealth, earning the village its own charter as a Bourg from the Silver Palace. Having a charter enabled the Gnomes to self-rule through an elected town council, led by a Bourgmeistre (Mayor), build defenses (town walls), and for them to raise its own constables and militia to maintain order, as crime was on the rise, and vice was as rampant.
Eventually, the main silver veins of the mine had been depleted for the most part. While the town still produced a steady flow of ingots, the heydays of Mulemorte were over. The riff raff moved on to new opportunities elsewhere. In this economic transition, the Gnomes turned their attention to added value, either through exquisite craftsmanship as silversmiths, or in the more abstract world of banking. Seedy taverns upgraded into more respectable gourmet establishments. Mulemorte became gentrified, its militia disbanded, and the constable guard serving a more honorary role for the occasional parade, rather than act as a military force.
During the events of B3 (The Palace of the Silver Princess), the town is shocked to discover that a contingent of Gulluvian soldiers unexpectedly arrive overnight. They declare a state of emergency and immediately impose martial law, without providing any explanation for their actions. The soldiers, who have set up camp outside the bourg walls, claim to serve as protectors, but people of Mulemorte grow uneasy (some are terrorized), as the troops pass odd requests, costly requisitions, and their application of Gulluvian law is expeditive and heavy-handed. With each day passing, the soldiers resemble more an occupying army than defenders. The Bourgmeister and the Council are mute, providing no leadership. In whispered voices, some wonder if the constables - or even the old militia - couldn't reassemble to expel the freebooters; others are cautious, worried that violence would spill Gulluvian blood on both sides ("Civil war isn't civil" as they put it). Finding the Silver Princess could save the town from bloodshed, with the Princess lifting the emergency and disbanding the army.
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(Bourg or Burg replaces 'Shire'as Dead Mule's Domain name)
(art from: https://www.deviantart.com/daveyai/art/Medieval-town-with-houses-around-a-square-983581200)