EDJ#7: Truaga'ar: A Town of Trolls

Truaga'ar: A Town of Trolls

by Dan Allard

originally published in Earthdawn Journal #7

About the Town

On the northeast side of the Throal mountains, a growing town lies at the base of the foothills. This is the town of Truaga'ar, inhabited mainly by trolls from many parts of Barsaive. Truaga'ar is different in many ways from other troll settlements; both their architecture and lifestyle could almost be described as dwarven, though trollish culture certainly has a strong influence here.

The Founding

A troll by the name of Tueg Na'hak was born in the Throal kaer a few years before the end of the Scourge. He was schooled with other youths, mostly dwarfs, and at an early age showed exceptional skills in mathematics and engineering. As he grew older he became an architect and participated in the design and construction of the cities of Oshane and Yistane in the kingdom of Throal. Unfortunately, his attempt to make parts of the cities more "troll-friendly" were met with resistance from the more conservative dwarven engineers; after several years of frustration, Tueg finally quit and left the kingdom of Throal for good. Driving him along was his vision of a place as civilized as any dwarven city yet where all races, even the largest ones, could be comfortable. Of course, he new no such place existed, so he figured he would have to build it himself.

He traveled with this wife Tesseg and his best friend, the dwarf Alavelus. Alavelus was a fellow architect who admired Tueg's skill and his somewhat odd ideals; as a dwarf, he was a little eccentric himself, for he had a continuing urge to leave the underground and live under the open sky. The trio spent several months searching for the proper place to build a town fit for trolls; along the way, they picked up a variety of otherwise homeless name-givers who were inspired by Tueg's vision.

Finally, Tueg settled on a small valley at the base of the northeast side of the Throal mountains. Some mountain dwelling troll clans had been trading with local dwarven villages with some time, and many had already started to move down out of the mountains into the more comfortable foothills; Tueg found it easy to convince them to participate in his project. Many small ork families were also scattered through the hills, and some of these were also inspired at the idea of a better lifestyle.

Alavelus and Tueg planned carefully while trolls, orks, and a few neighboring dwarves started to excavate stones and clear out some of the surrounding forest. As the town began to take shape, more trolls moved out of the mountains and joined them in their task. While Tueg worried more about the actual layout of the town, Alavelus used his skills to design a rather dwarven irrigation system to be used in the valley below the town.

Truaga'ar and the Lands Surrounding

The town itself is set up into the hills overlooking the valley; in the morning, farmers travel down from the tend the fields, while herders tend to the flocks of sheep and goat up in the hills. For most of the year, a stream runs along the south side of Truaga'ar from the mountains, though during the rainiest seasons, this stream becomes a small river. Much of this stream is diverted into the fields for irrigation; for this reason any tampering with the stream is severely punished. The town is surrounded by a partially built stone wall; as the town continues to expand, the wall is torn down and moved farther and farther outward. About two miles to the south, a river runs out of the Throal Mountains and down eventually to the Serpent River; most trade to the town is brought along this river.

Defense of the Town

For many years, the town had few outward defenses, for the citizens relied upon their brute strength to keep out any intruders. However, some ten years before the current, a scorcher band heard rumors of the developing town and decided to pay a visit. The scorchers attacked and managed to burn down about a quarter of the town before they were driven off by the enraged residents. As a result, the Truaga'ar council decided to build a stone wall surrounding the town and also had two stone towers built, one on the north side and one on the south. Each tower is manned by four crossbow wielding guards, usually all trolls; they also have a large gong available to alert the town of attackers. A troll scout named Hekku is the current captain of the guard and has been for some time; he is well respected among the town guardsmen, though they would prefer that he take a more relaxed outlook towards his job.

Though a few other guardsmen can be found in the streets, the residents of Truaga'ar do most of the policing here; they are quite proud of their town and are not pleased when the peace is broken.

On the Architecture of Truaga'ar

Upon entering Truaga'ar, a non-resident might feel like he was entering a town of giants. All doorways and archways are tall enough to fit a tall troll comfortably; ceilings are at least a foot higher. As a rule, the cobbled streets are wide enough to fit two large carts side by side; most main streets are even wider. Few buildings are over a story high; the few that do sit at the south edge.

Truaga'ar regulations state every building must have at least one room with dimensions fit for a troll. Anyone who does not wish to abide by this policy must build outside of town; however, if the town expands into an area where a smaller home is already built, that home will be considered exempt from this policy.

Despite its size, the architecture shows a simplified dwarvish style with plenty of arches and pillars around. Most buildings are made of wood, though along the west hills more stone buildings can be found set into the hillsides.

On Business and Agriculture

Truaga'ar is supported largely by farming in the valley and herding up on the slopes of the foothills. The forested regions around the valley are also ripe for hunting, but this only supplements the food supply of the town. Truaga'ar also keeps the main road to the nearby river open to encourage trade from more distant lands.

The main export good from Truaga'ar is wine. The lower hills are ripe with grape vines; for years these were picked and the grapes eaten fresh or dried into raisins. About thirty years before the present, the Pelegri family moved into town; this was a family of dwarven vintners seeking to expand their business and take advantage of the wild grapes of the foothills. The Pelegri family taught the art of glassblowing to some of the residents and hired others to help pick the grapes and crush them. Soon, others would start to ferment their own wines, and the wine market became competitive. Truaga'ar now exports wine regularly; while almost all wine from this town is considered good, Pelegri wine is acknowledged as the best of the bunch. Not surprisingly, it is also the most expensive. Other wines tend to be a bit stronger than Pelegri wines and are more suited to trollish tastes.

An obsidiman called Shaleside lives permanently in Truaga'ar and is the local representative for Overland Trading Company. He has the final word for which wines go out on Overland trading caravans; he is considered the chief expert wine taster of the region and is often called upon to judge wine tasting contests. He is also widely respected for his honesty; attempts to bribe him have been met with a hard, stony fist.

Layout of the Town

The Quarters

Truaga'ar can be divided up generally into four quarters that surround Truaga'ar Circle, though the term "quarter" has fallen into disuse. Generally, a resident will describe a location in town as being "south of the circle" or "in the northeast corner" or something similar.

Truaga'ar Circle

At the center of town is Truaga'ar Circle which serves as the town's square and central meeting place. At the very center of the circle is a four foot high, twenty foot diameter stone slab called the Standing Stone; four sets of steps lead up to the top, and four pillars support a domed roof. Officially the Standing Stone is used for town meetings and the like; however, it is more often used as a playground for local children. It is occasionally rented out by traveling troupes of actors and musicians, though these must register with the town council and pay a small fee.

Most of Truaga'ar Circle is lined with cobblestone, though the Standing Stone is ringed with a garden, and four fountains sit at the north, south, east and west edges of the circle, also surrounded by garden. Making up the outer rim of the circle are a variety of store fronts, mostly dealing different crafts. Some store fronts include a blacksmith shop, a tailor, a glassblower and a pair of wine-sellers.

Circle Inn

The Circle Inn sits at the east side of Truaga'ar Circle. The inn is a large, sprawling building which houses many of the travelers who come to Truaga'ar; as such, it is a center for information and gossip. The tavern is always busy and occasionally rowdy; fights are often only kept in check by the proprietor, Terek Na'hak, and his assistants. Name-givers of many races can be found here; it is one of the few places where t'skrang and elves are found in any numbers.

The Northwest Quarter

This area is the oldest section of the town and is almost completely residential; unlike the Northeast Quarter, most homes are built above the ground and arranged in an orderly fashion in east-west rows. Homes of many important members of the town can be found here, including the sprawling residence of Tueg Na'hak and most of his extended family, and also several members of the town council. Most homes are built simply with additions added on seemingly at random; the house of Tueg has a more planned appearance and dwarven style of architecture.

The Southwest Quarter

This area is made up mainly of store fronts and residences; the quarter boasts a higher percentage of orks and dwarves than the other quarters. The widest east-west running street boasts a free-standing market; sensibly the street was renamed Market Street after a few years of this sort of activity. Most types of food and clothing can be found here; dealers in crafts such as blacksmiths and potters tend to work from established store fronts.

The Northeast Quarter

This area is largely residential and rather hilly. Several dwarf families can be found here, including the Pelegri family which has a sizable estate enclosing an acre or so of grape vines. Dwarf homes include a front room built large enough to be comfortable for trolls; the rest of the house is often completely underground and built for a dwarf-sized family. Trolls living in this area have also adopted this architectural style; of course, the back rooms of a troll home are large enough for troll comfort.

The Southeast Quarter

This area has been expanding eastward for some time and is home to many of the newer residents of Truaga'ar. The town walls to the south and northeast of this quarter have been torn down and rebuilt several times to make room for expansion; at any given time, they might be in any state from completely torn down to fully built. Much of the Southeast Quarter was burned down during the scorcher raid of thirty years before the current, so even the oldest part of the Southeast Quarter is made up of mostly new buildings.

Blerkha Inn

One of the older establishments of the southeast quarter is Blerkha Inn, a smallish inn with some very unlikely patrons. Blerkha is an Orkish word which translates roughly to "outcast" and refers to the main customers of the inn.

Blerkha Inn caters mainly to outcast trolls; while there may be a few other non-troll patrons of the inn, all of the trolls that frequent the inn have been outcast by their tribes. The tavern of Blerkha Inn is typically quiet; the outcasts who frequent the place do not normally talk to each other at all. The proprietor and main barkeep of the inn is Muebblharg, an ork of tremendous size and strength. Surprisingly, bar fights and other problems are almost nonexistent in the tavern; the outcasts who frequent the place are quick to defend the place that they consider a home.

Since most outcast trolls only really wish to be left alone with their drinks and their thoughts, Muebblharg encourages certain protocols when people wish to talk to or deal with the outcasts. If a person wishes to meet an outcast, it is suggested that he buy the outcast troll a drink; if the outcast is interested in dealing with the person, he will drink his drink and join the prospective patron for another; if not, he will drink his drink and push it away. Muebblharg typically steps in when a patron is too persistent and will not send a drink from a patron to the same troll twice in a night.

Politics of Truaga'ar

When the town was near completion, Tueg was the obvious choice of town leader. However, he refused, for he claimed he was not interested in politics; instead he helped to put together a council of residents to make decisions on town matters. There is only one named position within the council: "Arbiter" is the only appropriate Throalic translation from Trollish. The Arbiter's job is to maintain peace within the council and to arbitrate disputes within. Decisions are made on a majority vote; therefore, the council is always kept at an odd number. Currently there are fifteen members of the council. The vote for members of the council is an interesting event. Once a year, the town gathers in Truaga'ar Circle and the old council plus anyone else who wishes to be on the council is brought up on the Standing Stone. Each council member and potential council member is paraded in front of the rest of the town, who either applaud or jeer that candidate. Election is based entirely upon this crowd response, so most often the popular, charismatic candidates will win. Normally, old council members will be re-elected first, especially if little has happened over the past year; however, sometimes a council member will leave willingly and thus leave a spot open for a new member. Membership on the council is generally uninteresting, so there have even been times when the council has shrunk due to a lack of interested residents.

Though Tueg is no longer the Arbiter for the council, he has been on the council since it's conception. He is not particularly active on the council these days due to his extreme age, but is always consulted on matters of zoning and new construction.

On Races in the Town and their Relations:

Trolls make up about %75 of the total population of Truaga'ar. Orks and dwarves each make up another eight percent or so, while humans make up about five percent. The remaining four percent is made up of t'skrang, obsidimen and elves; windlings are almost unseen here, and there are no windling residents. There are several notable obsidimen residents; they tend to appreciate the large living spaces and simplicity of trollish architecture.

Trolls being a generally testy bunch, it is inevitable that inter-racial conflicts will occur. The most common inter-racial problems are between the trolls and advice-giving dwarves who don't understand trollish privacy; fortunately for the peace of the town, the trolls have found a way to maintain their honor and still chastise the offending dwarf. When a dwarf shoves his nose into a troll's business, he will soon find himself hanging by his feet and being shaken severely until his face turns a light purple. The dwarf is then dropped solidly upon the ground among the clatter of loose objects dropped by said dwarf. The sight of an indignant, purple faced dwarf struggling to rise after such an ordeal is enough to send any troll into gales of laughter; as payment for this amusement, the troll will usually drag the dwarf off for a round of drinks. All in all, these events lead to greater understanding between dwarf and troll.

The worst problems are between different trolls who maintain their old clan alliances. Usually, old rivalries spring up between hot-headed younger clan members and may even result in street fighting; other residents normally sweep down before the guard can even arrive and break up the whole ordeal. Combatants are then dragged off to be dealt with by the council. One particularly violent clan picked so many fights with other residents that it was driven out of town for good; needless to say, members of this clan resent their treatment at the hands of Truaga'ar and forever plan revenge against it.

Views of Throal

Residents of Truaga'ar are an independent lot and most are suspicious of Throal and the motives of the Throalic government. However, they are also a fairly well informed and educated community and keep their ears open when merchants and other travelers arrive from Throal. Tueg Na'hak spent many of his aging years decrying Throal and their treatment of him, and much of his attitude rubbed off on other residents of the town. Despite this attitude, Truaga'ar would support Throal over any invading force (such as a Theran one).

Troll Views of Truaga'ar

For trolls living in Truaga'ar, the town is an important achievement; it is a shining example of trolls living on their own terms alongside their fellow name-givers. However, trolls living outside of Truaga'ar have rather different views of the town. While some trolls look up to and try to emulate the relative success of Truaga'ar in their own communities, many trolls, especially highland trolls, consider Truaga'ar to be the greatest abomination to trollkind; they feel that the residents of Truaga'ar have sacrificed all of their values for the comforts that other name-givers enjoy. Some are simply enraged by the name of the town which is a corruption of the Trollish for "trollhome". These negative attitudes have so far led only to the occasional street fight between residents and visiting trolls, but some believe that it is only a matter of time before some troll clan decides to launch a full scale raid upon the town.

Events and Holidays

The Smashing of the Grapes

This annual event falls on the 15th of Raquas during the height of the grape picking season. The whole town gathers in the center of the southwest quarter where a large pit has been dug out of the ground; the pit is six feet deep and fifteen in diameter, and lined with wooden planks. In the morning, the pit is filled a foot deep with grapes; for the rest of the day, volunteers wrestle in the pit in pairs until one or the other is tossed out or both are beaten to unconsciousness. Winners are later paraded around the town and filled with liquor until they pass out. This particular event has been used by many a troll to settle a variety of disputes; others participate for the simple joy of unarmed combat. Non-trolls occasionally take part in the event, but this is is typically against their wills or better judgment. The pit used in this event is called the Smashing Pit and is covered by a semi-permanent wine-selling establishment for the rest of the year. The small building covering the pit is dragged a dozen yards or so away from the pit the morning before festivities commence; the building is ceremoniously dragged back into place the day after.

The Breaking of the Casks

This event coincides with the new year; all residents of the town join in for the festivities. At dusk, the town gathers in Truaga'ar Circle where two dozen casks of wine are set to hang in mid-air by gallows-like structures. At the signal of the Arbiter of the town council, the casks are broken open with axes and participants in the event catch the falling wine with mugs and open mouths. When these casks are empty, another two dozen are hoisted up and smashed again. Local musicians perform on the standing stone while much of the rest of the town drinks for the rest of the evening and late into the night.

Some Important Residents of Truaga'ar

Tueg Na'hak

Tueg, the founder of Truaga'ar, is in his late 60's and is showing his age both physically and mentally. Though Tueg's wife died ten years earlier, Tueg often forgets this and talks to her as if she was still around. Somehow, his architectural expertise has survived his senility; he is often conferred with on building plans and is quick to catch any flaws in a design.

Terek Na'hak

Terek is the second son and third child of Tueg Na'hak; his older sister was slain adventuring in the mountains of Throal, and his older brother is married and raising troll children elsewhere in Truaga'ar. Terek is quite involved in the daily happenings of Truaga'ar; he is the proprietor of the Circle Inn and is also a member of the town council. Though Terek did not inherit his father's interest in architecture, he is still quite educated and an excellent judge of character.

Shaleside

This obsidiman has been a resident of Truaga'ar for the last 20 years and many assume that he is a permanent resident of the town. He does not actually consider himself a permanent resident, though this may have more to do with him being an obsidiman than anything else. He is often found in the Circle Inn catching up on the latest gossip and news from the outside.

Araan Pelegri

This dwarf is the current head of the Pelegri family and as such is quite wealthy and influential. Araan is the eldest brother of the Pelegri family and for nearly a century he battled with his father over the management of the family business. Upon his father's death some thirty years earlier, he moved the entire clan into Truaga'ar where he took advantage of the better growing conditions for grapes and the greater availability of trade. Now nearing two hundred years old, Araan is quite set in his ways and is becoming a bit difficult to deal with. Araan leaves most of the daily management of the family business to his sons; his brothers and sisters are still quite active in the business, though he keeps them busy with the daily business of wine-making and away from management of money and trade. He is forever suspicious of them wanting to take his place at the head of the family and does not trust them with financial matters.

Hekku, Captain of the Guard

This aging troll scout is highly disciplined and also highly respected by a majority of the local populace; he takes his job very seriously. Anyone causing trouble in town will very likely be brought before him for a summary judgment; for most minor crimes this usually means being run out of town. Major crimes such as murder or arson usually are usually brought to the attention of the town council for judgment; Hekku's judgments for lesser crimes are almost always backed up by the council, so appeals are rarely made.

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