Nesmé

This fortified trading town is a circular settlement of 6,000 inhabitants. It’s a well-defended haven for honest traders and adventurers who seek out fame and fortune in the abandoned dwarven holds to the north and east. On its west, Nesmé has a fortified bridge over the Surbrin River, fortified stables, paddocks, and stock pens; to the east, beyond the city walls, lie roughly 40 farms under the protection of the Riders of Nesmé. In the center of town is a spired building that once housed the temple of Waukeen and now serves as a boarding hall for merchants. The town inside the stern and ready fortress of the Citadel of the Riders is a busy, bustling place of square stone houses with roof gardens. The gently sloped roofs leak in wet weather and have meltwater cisterns for gathering ready drinking water.

Nesmé lives by its trade as well as farming, horses, livestock, and barge making; its citizens can’t attack everyone who approaches, so they’re often caught in ambushes by false caravans. Adventurers and merchants have been attracted to the security of Nesmé; the town is a base for trade and for exploration of the remote and perilous upper Surbrin River, where abandoned dwarf holds are said to be numbered in the dozens. Natural clefts in the rock and the plateau yield rich iron, so Nesmé is an important center for smelting and smithing. Blades made in Nesmé are solid, dependable swords; even more important to the local economy, vast numbers of pick heads and shovel blades are exported to just about every nondwarven community in the North.

Nesmé was ruled by the priests and priestesses of Waukeen in a spired temple, until ten years ago. With the apparent death of Waukeen during the Godswar in 1358, the priesthood lost its power and its hold over the city. With the dissolution of the temple and priesthood, the native adventurers and council used their riches to refortify the city and keep the Riders of Nesmé active in the protection of Nesmé. (Today, Nesmé has the best stone walls between Mirabar and Silverymoon. The fortifications bristle with arrow slits and heavy catapults.)

The Riders of Nesmé, based in the stables on the west bank of the Surbrin River, have adventurers counted in their members (including priests of various faiths). Unless the town is actually under attack, one-third of the 400-strong Riders patrol the Evermoors for two days’ ride on either bank around Nesmé. They police the population of the city (having higher attrition than most settlements due to the dominance of traveling trade), defend the city when the orcs or barbarians come.

Visitors planning a long stay can find rooms to their liking in dozens of rooming houses; everyone with space to spare rents their upper rooms. Of course, these are the ones that leak the most in wet weather. There are also forges, blacksmiths, finesmiths, scroll-crafters, locksmiths, engravers, and other metalworkers.