Fobin

Established	345 TR
Location	Geshtei District, Gerium Province, Thardic Republic
Status	Seat of the District Legar of Geshtei, home of 4 Cohorts of the Gerium Legion
Population	625 + legionnaires

Fobin lies between Geshtei and Techen on the river Thard. It is a small settlement that gains its life from both the land and the soldiers stationed here. The surrounding towns are mostly populated by farmers and craftsmen as the river at this point is too deep and swift to fish. Traffic flows around the small towns and the caer seasonally by caravans travelling from Coranan to Golatha.

History

Lobir founded the town in 345 on an empty plateau near the river's edge. In 350 the river Thard flooded, destroying the crops south of the unfinished caer and eroding the natural harbour. The local fishermen moved north and south of Fobin. The caer was finished just in time for the harsh winter of 365.

Arosta, the son of Raelan, the fourth emperor, organized the men of the region and defeated the tribes at the battle of Osten in 367. Within two years of fighting the Hefiosa tribes dwindled to almost nothing. As his armies moved north, the men of Fobin returned to their cultivated fields and families. The attitude of an armed encampment never seemed to leave the area.

In 521 the river Thard flooded again and this time nearly destroyed the caer. Imperial troops moved quickly to sandbag the breach, wherein over 900 settlers were hiding. Two hundred drowned.

With the founding of the Theocracy of Tekhos, Fobin obeyed their new rulers in installing the religion of Morgath. Those who would not converted were arrested by the priests of Morgath. Most of the captives fled. That night the town burned to the ground. Only the caer the riverside Peonian temple survived the fire. Those that resisted the religious change were sold into slavery or sacrificed to Morgath. The horror ended along with the Theocracy in 588TR.

A large part of the caer's foundation washed away in the flood of 521TR. The caer remained in disrepair until 635 when the caer was attacked by Rethem forces. The town was put to siege, but was saved within a month's time by the arrival of a maniple from Geshtei. In memory of the fallen, the Red Guard Caern was built.

Lepral of Telen led the cohort against the bandits in the region. The legions began regular patrols along the roads and through various small towns. When the war with Kanday began, the legion stationed at Fobin dwindled down to a mere cohort of retired legionaries. Throughout the Five Year War taxes were raised twice yearly for the war effort, but soon dwindled back to normal rates after the Peace of Quivum in 666.

Fobin was one of the first caer-towns to swear allegiance to the newly formed Republic. A district legar was sent from Coranan in 710TR.

Government

The river valley is home to the District Legar and the commander of the Geshtei Cohort.

The District Legar, Braen Wytel, is in charge of all taxation and assures that the soldiers are paid on time. There are no legates, per say, for anyone accused of a crime. The guilty present their story and the investigating officers present theirs. All trials are held in the center of the caer. The District Legar offers his spin on the events and the ruling is taken either from a panel of citizens or from the District Legar himself. Trials tend to draw large crowds and merchants often hawk their wares nearby. Hawking during a trial without a permit is an offense punishable by a 50d fine payable on the spot or 10 days hard labor.

Although Horik Baral should be stationed in Geshtei, the local leaders prefer to have the legions leadership spread out. Officially the reason is that this makes it more difficult to destroy the legion, unofficially it also makes it more difficult to control the legion. Horik Baral tries to stay out of the District Legar's way. Any infraction against Legion Law is dealt with by him, or one of his underlings long before it reaches the District Legar.

Legion Outpost

The Thardic Legion has 4 companies (approximately 80 men) stationed at Fobin from the Gerium Legion. This large number is mostly to protect the caer-town and more importantly the road between it and major settlements from banditry.

Banditry is still heavy in the area, even with regular patrols and escorts. In the past five years the bandits have grown bolder and better organized. Most suspect either Rethem or Kanday are once more supporting troublemakers in Tharda. The rare incursion of gargun or other bizarre beasts make for good storytelling during the winter months.

In their off time the legionnaires are working to pave the roads around Fobin. Currently they are working at a rate of 65 man hours per 100 meters. Six days out of each tenday have 32 man hours each. The main road in front of the caer is nicely paved, but the paving ends at the mill to the east and the Wooden Tankard Inn to the west.

There are no tribal settlements near Fobin, but tribesmen do wander in to town to trade or exchange information. Occasionally they bring gargun heads to Fobin to cash them in at the rate of 1d/head. A queen, or princess's head is worth a gold crown. No one at the fort is willing to admit they have no idea how to identify a female head from a male head. The general consensus is that, should anyone ever bring in a female head, that person will be sent on to Geshtei, in the hopes that the district's headquarters can solve the dilemma.

Merchants are frequent visitors from the month of Nolus to Halane. Caravans often stop overnight in Fobin before entering Rethem. Occasionally soldiers will escort a caravan to the border, but will not enter Themeson's territory, much to the merchant's dismay.

Fobin has room for three companies in the best of circumstances. A fourth would have to contend with sleeping in storage rooms and doubling up with other soldiers.

Economics

The caer exports grains, apples and honey. The local produce (turnips, carrots, peas, beans, radishes and lettuce) suffices to feed the populace and the legion.

Fobin's apples are packed in large barrels and shipped to both Golatha and Coranan. The river currents are too fast in the area to make either fishing or polling reasonable.

Land Use

Gross Acres	1340
Village, Manor house	95
Freehold Acres	342
Unfree Acres	520
Demesne Acres	383
Unusable Acres	61
Woodlands	13
Orchard	18
Meadow	57
Arable Fields	234

Taxes

Property	6% per annum (residential), 3% business
Hawking	8% of goods value
Bonding	2% of goods value per month

Strangers in Town

As one of the last legion fortresses before the border with Rethem, it is a common layover for merchants, travellers, wanderers and mystics. A few visitors may come to Caer Fobin to pay their respects to the District Legar, but the majority prefer to stay at the Green Gate or the Wooden Tankard Inn.

Caravans park in the commons arriving in time for local festivals. Entertainers, actors and bards become common as the weather improves. Surprisingly the town is quiet during the feast of Halane. The majority of the caravans and those with free time travel to Geshtei or Coranan for the festivities.

Guilds in Fobin

The Guilds are well represented in Fobin. Temporary stalls and carts are doubly taxed. Non-guild workers are unwelcome. Members are expected to pay their dues yearly to the bonding house.

Two of the three taverns in town are also breweries. The best apple brandy in all of Tharda is made here. Kegs of it are shipped twice yearly to both Coranan and Golatha.

Religion in Fobin

Halea's worshipers consist of most of the local nobility. There is a large temple to her worship in town. Most of the locals accept the temple not as a den of drunken debauchery, but as a common place for meeting and discussing business. The temple keeps a subdued appearance to keep the locals happy. Most every soldier and merchant or craftsman pays at least lip service to Halea.

The Compound of the Scarlet Veil is treated as an Agrikan Monastery and many pay tithe to it. Its members are easily recognizable by their shaved heads. There is a small Agrikan temple in town, who's priest is also the local hangman. The religion of Agrik is accepted here because of its staunch opposition to Morgathianism. Agrik's staunch opposition to Laranianism is seen as a distrust not of the goddess, but of her Kandian worshipers. There are a few devout Laranians hidden in the legion.

The Peonian Riverside Chapel is more of a place to come and eat than a place of worship. It is said the Peonian chapel will never turn anyone away.

Naveh has its own chapel somewhere in Fobin town, so the rumors say. Morgath has no temple, neither does Siem, or Sarajin. These gods are not forbidden, just not openly worshiped by the locals. Morgathian worshipers tend to be attacked by the locals, or the agrikans, when they are discovered.

The Legionnaires

The legionnaires work and live in the caer. Their interaction with the villagers often causes more trouble than it may be worth. The legion tries to keep the peace with patrols - but the best results to date have come from shipping troublesome legionnaires to other fortresses.

Permanent Staff

There are 40 legionnaires and staff at permanent station here in Fobin. The legionnaire soldiers permanently on duty are those of the first squad of each company. This totals 30 men and women. The people who live and work in the caer are not all legionnaires. The servants are slaves, where as clerks and journeymen are freedmen. Masters must be citizens.

The staff of the Caer are: 5 clerks, 3 master cooks and 8 assistant cooks, 15 servants, 1 master ostler, 4 journeymen (all bonded), 1 master metalsmith, 1 master weaponsmith and 6 apprentices.

Reservists

There are a total of 135 reservists, roughly 1/4 of which is serving at any one time in Fobin. When the reservists are not serving their time in the legion, they are deemed out of season and thus can neither be pestered nor ordered about by the commanding officers (during times of peace). When the men are in season however, or if war is declared, every one of them is fair game.

Most reservist officers are mounted. A stable stall for their mount and the mounts daily feed is included in their daily rations. When an officer's tour of duty ends, he takes his horse with him. Each equestrian is responsible for his own horse. If it should sicken, die or otherwise be unavailable during the officer's tour of duty, he must replace it out of his own pocket.

There are:12 Sergeants, 64 Soldiers, 15 Calvary, and 64 (32 skirmisher, 32 archer) Reservist Soldiers.

The reservist soldiers come from the various towns and villages throughout Gerimost province. A few occasionally come from other neighboring provinces as the need arises.

Fobin has sufficient forces that each cohort has a unit in rotation. This helps keep the number of forces in Fobin constant.

Horses

A maximum of 48 horses need stabling, but only 24 horses would theoretically be in residence at any one time. Currently the stables can hold only 22 horses. The legion must provide 4 draft horses and a fleet of 24 mules when all four cohorts are on the move. Currently there are 16 mules and 4 draft horses in residence.

Saddles, bridles and other equipment is the responsibility of the equestrians. The Master Ostlers can shoe a horse, but will charge the equestrians for the duty and not the legion.

Food is provided to each horse who's equestrian is currently serving his tour of duty. Stabling fees are charged for each day that a horse remains in the legion's stables after the tour of duty is done.

Reserve Arms & Equipment

The legion has twenty gross of arrows, a dozen bows, five score javelins, two score hatchets, two score spears, a dozen low-quality swords, tower shields and bucklers. The legion makes each legionnaire responsible for their equipment. They rely on local guildsmen to be able to produce any new equipment as needed.

Food

Fobin has a maximum of 7,200 man-days of food and 3600 horse-days of fodder in storage. Taxes and tributes are often paid in kind to Fobin to help keep the legion fed. Wagons of tribute arrive once every ten-day through the spring, summer and fall. Bread and milk are delivered from town each morning year round.

The food at the Caer is free to all who request a night's lodgings. Unfortunately, while it is filling and hot, it tends to be quite tasteless. The soldiers add their own salt and spices to improve the meal. Sometimes they even provide their own vegetables or meat. The officer's are served a higher quality of food cooked in the same kitchen. The Wytel family shares the same fare as the officers.

Tour of Duty at Fobin

At Fobin, each Cohort has its own season in which serve. The year is divided into 4 seasons of 3 months each. A star in a column, means that members of the listed unit are serving during that season.

	Fobin I	Fobin II
	Spring	Summer	Autumn	Winter	Spring	Summer	Autumn	Winter
1st Squad	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
2nd Squad	X					X
3rd Squad		X					X
Calvary			X					X
Skirmishers				X	X
Archers	X					X

	Fobin III	Fobin IV
	Spring	Summer	Autumn	Winter	Spring	Summer	Autumn	Winter
1st Squad	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
2nd Squad			X					X
3rd Squad				X	X
Calvary	X					X
Skirmishers			X			X
Archers			X					X

Manors of Fobin

There are 22 manors who pay tribute to Fobin, of these eight are directly protected by the forces in Fobin. Each of these manors is looked after by either an equestrian clan member and/or a bailiff. There are four manors belonging to Knights of the Eight Demons along the border. While technically on Thardic soil, the knights are not currently taxed. Legionnaires on patrol are asked to give these lands a wide birth. In return the land-holding knights do not cause trouble. Still there are many horror stories about the freemen trapped on those lands and forced to work as slaves for their new masters.

Town	Clan	Acreage	Land Quality	Families
Wyne	Yemala	1010	1.07	24
Ianda	Yemala	940	1.07	20
Urdran	Yemela	930	1.08	20
Sipazer	Kosawhyn	1430	1.05	28
Evern	Wytel	1160	1.05	23
Terin	Wytel	1220	1.06	23
Dodna	Wytel	1330	1.07	26
Gemna	Wytel	1290	1.05	25

Laws

Fobin abides primarily by the laws and charters of the Thardic Republic. It is legal to own a slave in Fobin, but it is illegal to sell or barter slaves without a permit from the District Legar.

Type of Crime	Description
State Crimes	Brought to the court in Geshtei, or even Geminost.
Privilege Crimes	Tried by the District Legar of Fobin.
Social crimes	Tried by the District Legar of Fobin
Economic Crimes	Tried by head of the Guild against which the crime was committed. The District Legar of Fobin in association with the head of the guilds involved.
Temple crimes	Tried by the leading priest(ess) of the Religion against which the crime was committed. District Legar acts as an official witness.

Forts of Fobin

There are four outposts in the district. All are staffed by local reservists, but they are visited regularly by patrols out of Fobin and the physician at least once each month. These forts create a network that guard the roads that lead into Rethem.

Each outpost is assigned a list of nearby manors which they must protect. The commanding officer at the fort negotiates all problems. Those he cannot solve are brought to the District Legar in Fobin on the fifth day of every tenday. Tribute is always paid directly to Fobin and it is divided evenly among the forts in the Northern Geshtei district.

There are several sets of ruins in the Fobin region. The legion must keep special watch on these deserted areas for they are often used by bandits.

Sitarny

A relatively new outpost, Sitarny sits on the Rethem border along the High Coranan Road. As the first defense against bandits and raiders, they are slightly over manned. Locals are all either retired legionnaires, or family of retirees. Sitarny has an inn and one very small temple, but neither would hold visitors interest for long. Ruins in the area only add to the ghost tales that are, no doubt, used by raiders to hide their real activities.

Town	Clan	Acreage	Land Quality	Families
Rusna	Morlorn	1380	1.09	26
Onrein	Morlorn	1050	1.08	23
Loru	Morlorn	1050	1.07	23

Wellen

Wellen was rebuilt from the remains of a Kandian keep that fell to Thardic forces in 710TR. It now houses a maniple that is oppressed by bandits and Gargun.

Wellen is neither known for its cleanliness nor its adherence to discipline. Its troops always appear slovenly and lax. But no one can say Wellen's been unsuccessful. To date they have managed to repulse any attack or raid upon them.

The locals have fled the area for safer ground, the inn stands empty as do many other free craftsmen's shops. But the soldiers refuse to leave and their families now live in the cramped outpost. Two additional temporary fortifications are in the process of being built to provide further defenses against the current defenses. Horrik Barral has already sent two requests this year to the Senate for approval to increase Wellen Fort into a proper keep. The senate will debate the issue in the fall of 720TR. But general consensus assures the Senate will decline the request until Wellen becomes peaceful enough to provide safety to the workers.

Town	Clan	Acreage	Land Quality	Families
Oseme	Yemala	1150	1.08	22

Gemelot

Gemelot was built with the stone quarried from the nearby ruins. The people at Gemelot still tell tales of what a catapult can do to stone in its prime. The legionnaires at Gemelot are mostly reservists drawn from the region.

Off-duty soldiers from Fobin and other local forts attend carnivals at Gemlot and vie for the honor as well as the prize purse. In the past, a few Kandian nobles have attended and performed jousts for the amusement of the locals.

Town	Clan	Acreage	Land Quality	Families
Buzon	Baral	1440	1,05	28
Sadiz	Kosawhyn	1180	1.07	23
Edale	Kosawhyn	1320	1.06	25
Keddelis	Kosawhyn	1430	1.05	28
Vafeh	Morlorn	1130	1.06	22
Quarry	Morlorn	1130	1.06	22

Then

Surrounded by haunted ruins and close to the Rethem border this sleepy outpost never seems disturbed. There's a tiny inn and two small temples, a half a dozen shops and peaceful free-farms.

This outpost is almost completely slave free, with poor freemen doing the work of slaves wherever possible. Then is quite a contradiction in comparison to a standard outpost. Still it is the preferred serving place of most full-time legionnaires on rotation.

Town	Clan	Acreage	Land Quality	Families
Rasivar (+)	The Eight Demons	1540	1.03	26
Nom	Sosaldas	1430	1.04	27
Carmeny	Morlorn	1450	1.05	27
Kelmeinar (+)	The Eight Demons	1380	1.05	24

This page was last updated on January 23, 2002
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