Welcome to Waterwheel
This will serve as an introductory document to the fine town that lays along the river that wanders through this valley. Welcome!
Introduction
Near the base of a little-traversed, snowcapped, forest-skirted mountain range, there lies a thriving, hectic city surrounded by great walls and punctuated by sharp towers. It is the great capital and namesake of the Kingdom of Oor Yonder, and were it not for the ancient metropolis of Farway, the once-upon-a-time seat of power for the fallen Cloud Empire, it would be the largest. It sits astride the river Coldcurrent, the greatest highway of trade for many months of travel, and ferries goods of all sorts. Luxurious wonders from far away, exotic beasts and spices, people with bright eyes and big dreams, and adventurers hungry for a challenge all congregate in Oor Yonder. It crackles with potential. It is a place where legends lay nascent.
It is also not the setting of our story, though only the telling will see if it features.
On the other side of the Tallstone Mountains from Oor Yonder, a long way to the north, are rolling forested foothills with creeks and streams running amongst them. This is the land of County Whitestag, and tucked into one of its valley near the ancient border between the fallen Kingdom of Highwall and the aforementioned Cloud Empire is the Trouttrail River, which runs along the bottom of a pleasant valley.
This is where our story takes place - the town of Waterwheel.
Waterwheel
The common path into Waterwheel is to follow the river downstream. The Trouttrail River runs from roughly east-northeast to west-southwest with several bends, and the first thing a boat will come to is the waterfall. It is not great or deep, but it is enough to stop boat traffic entirely, which means the only way to get any further is via the well-engineered water locks that are the genesis of the town today. The house of the mayor’s family is nearby, as they’re responsible for the running and toll collection of the water locks. This is also where the first chairlift is, a tower with lines running to another tower, carrying chairs the whole distance in a circuit.
Near the base the waterfall is the Upstream Docks, effectively uptown Waterwheel, and the busiest part of town that is home to almost four thousand people, and hundreds more tourists at any given time. There are warehouses and shops, inns, taverns, and the docks themselves, where there are always various boats and barges moored for a break or to load and unload cargo. Some piers run directly up to business, like the Hook and Tail Tavern (the biggest and busiest inn in town) or The Tacklebox, a general store that offers fishing equipment rentals.
As one makes their way downstream, either by chairlift, raft, or just walking along the path, things spread out and calm down. There are still houses and buildings in sight, but as the scenery calms, so does the river until it opens out to the Widebend, the first major turn the current takes. It is nearly lake-slow, and a spot for watercraft to undergo repair on the south shore. A chairlift passes over the widest part, and a number of buildings admire the view from the hillside, such as The Frog and Moon Fine Dining and the Bathhouse, both popular spots for travelers. There is no finer spot for picnicking, if the heart so desires.
Further downstream, what one would call Midriver, is the Drawbridge, where the Waterwheel Watch and the Adventurer’s Guild are. Established in each one of the drawbridge’s towers, they’re central administrative locations and a de-facto meeting point for many folk, as it’s the most central part of the valley, and an easy place to cross the river. This would be the next most concentrated population in the valley, though it is still spread a ways. Directly north, near one of the lower hilltops is the Cemetery, and directly south is the Old Cemetery, a place so ancient none have any idea when its first resident was laid to rest, or even if such a person is even still there.
This part of the river is also the one with the most ruins - stacked stone buildings, low walls (largely parallel to the river), and the outlines of foundations that saw a much younger valley. Perhaps, though, ‘ruins’ is a misleading word choice, as they are still lived in, refurbished. Patched with wood, brick, and younger stone, many of these buildings still have a lively existence, warmed from within by hearths and hearts.
Then the center of downstream life is the Downstream Docks. The less touristy, more disorganized part of town, it is still a hub for life in Waterwheel. If the Upstream Docks are the fine, shiny tourist facilities, Downstream is the worn watering hole - no less friendly, and much more relaxed for better and worse.
This is not where Waterwheel ends, yet, though. There are still folk scattered further downstream in the valley, though most folk tend to call Echo Rock the unofficial border. It is a quiet place, a single, large, stone boulder peeking out from the water beneath a curved cliff face, and steps for a giant, or seating for an amphitheater, up the cliff face on the opposite side. Atop Echo Rock it is silent, and from anywhere else in the short canyon, whatever sounds on the boulder can be heard by all.