Fristad

The Valley & Village of Fristad
The village of Fristad lies within a valley (of the same name), closed off on all sides. To the west stands a great range of mountains, their tops capped in snow, their foothills extending around the valley. The Klarvatten River emerges from the forest that dominates the western end of the valley, flowing down the centre of the valley before disappearing through the low hills at the eastern end.

The village itself is situated closer to the western end of the valley than the east. It appears to be the product of a bygone age, and is obviously a shadow of what it once was. The houses, many of which stand empty, are largely made of stone and are warm in winter, cool in summer. The craftsmanship used in the buildings is extremely fine, beyond what anyone in the village is now capable of, with barely a sign of the joints between stones. It is also unclear where the stone to build them came from as there is no sign of a quarry in the valley. This, along with what happened to the population, is one of the mysteries that surround the village. Those mysteries may be related to the ancient abandoned keep.

Winding through the valley is the King’s Road. It enters at the far eastern end of the valley, crossing the Klarvatten over an ancient stone bridge, passing through the village, before ending at the closed gates of the keep on the hills at the western end of the valley. Why the keep is here is unknown, for it seems an odd place to build such a fortress (as there appears to be nothing to protect against), but those who have ventured near (children are generally warned away on the basis that the building is no doubt dangerously unstable after all this time) are sure that it was made by the same craftsmen as the rest of the village.

The Populace
Visitors to the village are extremely rare. Not even a peddler has been to the town in several years, and the King’s Tax Collectors haven’t been seen in at least a generation or two. This means the village has to be self sufficient and the populace comprises primarily farmers, herders, crafters (including a blacksmith and physician), plus a few hunters who venture into the forests surrounding the town. No villager has left (and returned) in your lifetime although it is rumoured that Ardit, the village physician, once left and returned after studying at some great university elsewhere in the Kingdom. Ardit has always been reluctant to talk about his travels however, and none of the youth of the village have ever managed to get the truth of the matter out of him. (See Character Creation - Characters).

Customs
The village has a couple of customs that have survived the generations.

The Tithing Celebration: According to the legal code of the Kingdom, each year each village must gather the tithe for the King’s tax collectors. The tithe is comprised of goods (rather than coin, although coin could be substituted if available), and is calculated according to various old algorithms in order to ensure a fair tax. That tithe is collected together in a single place to each year to await the King’s tax collectors who are due to arrive at the beginning of October. As noted previously however, no one has seen the tax collectors in at least a generation. Given that a tradition has now grown up around the tithe. Every year the tithe is collected and stored in a barn (the so-called “Tithing Barn”) for the 1st of October. If, after three days, the tax collector’s have not visited, then the Tithing Barn is opened and the contents distributed. This is typically accompanied by a celebration of the ‘King’s generosity’ in returning the items to the village.

The Threshold Sword: An ancient tradition, no one knows where this tradition came from. Regardless, each household hangs a sword in a bracket above the main door of their home (each house has the bracket built into it as part of its design). It is unlikely that anyone in the village actually knows how to use these blades as they are of little use in their day to day lives. In fact, very few villagers know much in the way of weapon skills. See Character creation - Weapon Skills