Re: Bryggia
Cassandra had no real plan beyond "get here". Sometimes she can be very smart. When discussing the lore of the Infernal Powers she can wise well beyond her years. But just as often, she acts her age, or maybe a little less. She realizes quickly that she'd be at a disadvantage just wandering a strange town at random, and she takes up on Valerie's offer.
The Connicus estate is on the west side of the town, screened by a tall hedge of rose bushes, with an entrance through a marble arch. The grounds go all the way from Rozehedge Road to the encircling canal, where a small boat lies on the family's private dock.
The grounds are arranged in classical Roman style. A walkway leads through a garden, between sculptures, to the main building, a sprawling two story villa enclosing yet more gardens. Art and gardens seems a major concern here.
With no instant communication available, Valerie was unable to send an "I will be here on this date" message, but they knew that she would be here at some point, and the servant who comes to open the front gate, a boy in his early teen years, takes only a moment to figure out who the visitor is.
"Oh," he says, "you look like your sister, please follow me." Beyond that he doesn't speak unless spoken to- he is a young servant, and is cautious.
He leads them through the front garden- Cassandra's head swivels back and forth, taking it all in. It is spring, and the flowers have begun to bloom.
Valerie's sister Adelaide, and quite a few members of the family- some of which Valerie recalls from the wedding some years ago- meet them in the main hall.
And they want to know.. who is the companion Valerie brought along?
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What follows is a rough guide to Bryggia. Your character does not know all this, but the information would be easy for her to get, and some, she would pick up just walking around.
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Geographically, the Duchy of Ganda is an approximate rectangle 26 miles wide and 52 miles long, with the long axis oriented southwest to northeast along the North Sea coast. Bryggia is at the north corner of this box, connected to the sea by an inlet.
A belt of higher ground, (not hilly, just higher) traverses the north side of the Duchy, from Ganda, to Bryggia, and then along the coast. Bryggia is at a break in the this high ground, while inland of the high ground is a region of frequently flooding marshes. The coast is marshes and sand, stabilized by the belt of high ground.
Bryggia has a small but good harbor, and is the secondary town of Ganda. It is the second biggest town in the Duchy after Ganda, and as densely built. The buildings are chunky affairs of brick and stone, with a central tower that affords a good view. It has solid protective walls, with an outlet to the sea. In fact, the walls look better than many of the towns around here they've seen- the Romans set it up as a coastal fort during that "Canenfati" war, and kept it up to guard the coast against piracy. The wall surrounds the town completely, except where the “sea channel” passes through into the harbor, providing an outlet for the town’s canals. A ring canal also surrounds the town completely. As towns of the era go, Bryggia is fairly new. Although it has an older history as an unnamed “fishing settlement”, Bryggia as a town goes back only to the third century. After a century and a half of Roman development, it was taken over by the Franks.
To many people, Bryggia is the fun, more eclectic “trade town” of the Duchy, even though by the standards of the great port cities, it is rustic and conservative place. Where foreign trade exists, though, there tends to be more than the average of fun, novelty, news, and exotic imports from other lands. Here, there aren’t many ships. Bryggia is only a minor port, not like Anteverpia. And they are usually small. But they still give Bryggia more of a cosmopolitan, connected, “world” feel than the other towns of the Duchy, which seem almost entirely sheet oriented.
There are three families here that could be considered “aristocracy” but the town is ruled by a council and appointed Magistrate. The three leading families are the Rosseums- traders, who have already demonstrated their loyalty with the visit of; the Memlins, who own fields and workshops and a tavern, and the Connicus family of old Roman stock. With three families and no noble lord of the town, politics in Bryggia can be complex, but traditionally, the town council sorts things out quietly.
There are several notable taverns. In the main part of town is the one best known by overland travelers. It is called the Mars House, and it is a large and respectable looking building facing the main square. It seems an odd name for a tavern; the god of war? But like much of the "hospitality industry" in the world as it is, it is an adaption to the changing times: once, when the town was a coastal fort, the building was the temporary quarters of Roman officers traveling here. The servants who fed and kept house for Roman officers had to find alternate means of income when official support ended. With the end of support from Rome, eventually, the servants simply declared themselves owners. And the emblems of Mars, god of war and patron of the imperial legions, stayed in place.
Bryggia has never been a great holy center (Viroviacum served that purpose for the Duchy) but it does have a few minor temples. Among priests it has a reputation- it’s where priests went if they didn’t want a great challenge, ministering to and serving a sleepy, peaceful coastal town. The religion here is Roman, even though some of the inhabitants are Frankish (a Germanic people) and even more are of the old Belgican (Celtic and mixed) stock. The Romans seem to have won this place over, spiritually- although the gods called upon here seem to be the kind a Celt might appreciate. The temples here are pragmatic, modest, and "service oriented". Bryggia lacks the kind of great classic cathedral so many other towns do, that serve the entire pantheon. They have four temples, each served by a cleric and one or more assistants: There are temples dedicated to Pan, Diana, Mercury, and Vesta. Pan and Vesta’s temples are located near the Atheneum in the north-central area of the town between the harbor and the main square. Mercury’s temple is small and in the market, but off the main square, and the temple of Diana is on the main square and hosts the Watchtower.
There is also two old temples that are no longer used- one is the Temple of Mars, close to the tavern and therefore close to the main square. It has become simply a meeting hall for the town guard. The other is in the Atheneum. Though Minerva is the Roman name for the goddess of Wisdom, her Greek name has come to signify institutions of knowledge, and the temple to Athena is a relatively small shrine inside what was once Bruges’s school- the large building has been unused for over a century.
On the main square, there is a town hall, and nearby, Diana’s Watchtower, which offers a view for miles around. It makes a fine calendar as well- there are marks around the square and elsewhere indicating where the shadow will be at noon at various times of the year. A few other taverns, and guild halls of important commercial associations surround the square as well- the guilds of the bakers, candymakers, painters and gilders, and spiciers are here. The Fishmongers, a large group in Bryggia, have their guild a short distance away. There were complaints about the smell.
The agrarian families of Bryggia tend to live inside the town (outside it floods too much) but along the periphery, where they are close to their fields.
Bryggia is close to circular, and although there is no formal interior structure, can be divided into the following neighborhoods- the Main Square, the Forum, and the Atheneum make up the heart of the town, and working clockwise from the top we find The Harbor, the East Crofters, the Hide Tanners, the Almhouses, the Swan Park, West Crofters and Rozehedges.
The Main Square and the nearby Forum are the social and commercial centers of the town, with the Forum (and the Harbor) taking in most of what can’t fit on the Main Square and adjoining streets. On Market Days, both squares have booths and carts set up in the middle, and there are often street performers.
The Forum, which is usually quieter than the Main Square, is also home to the Connicus Gallery. In the last two generations, the Connicus family has taken an active stance against what they see as the decline of advanced civilization. To promote appreciation for art, culture, and skilled craftsmanship, they turned a row of shops into a gallery where they exhibit fine art to the public. Much of it is from their own collection, but they also badger and cajole other wealthy families into lending their own works.
North of the Main Square and West of the Forum is the Atheneum, the old, abandoned school (including a shrine to Minerva). Surrounding it are streets with homes. Once, this was the place for wealthy professionals, scholars, experts, etc. But the value of the neighborhood has dropped considerably with the school being closed and empty.
The Harbor has shops, warehouses, and a few businesses aimed at the sea-going community, and on the east side along a canal, the fish market.
The Crofters (east and west) are districts of peasant farming families, most including small lots where vegetables are grown, and the “crofts”, homes for the sheep.
The “Hide Tanners” is the industrial quarter. It includes a tannery, and several other businesses, such as pottery kilns. Most of what is made here is sold in the market. On the south and east sides of this district, the two largest cemeteries can be found. The town cemetery is an above-ground necropolis, because of the high water table. They are overseen by the temples, each of which owns large tracts within the cemeteries, and of course, charges for burials in their tracts. Unlike many older towns,
The Almshouses are the homes for the poor supported by the temples of Bryggia.
Swan Park is a tree covered grassy area, fading in marsh in places, used as a picnic and play area by the town. Some homes face the park, and others are on shady tree lined side streets.
Rozehedges is named for the walls of tall, interlocking rose bushes that surround the properties of the wealthiest families here. It is also the street that leads to the front gates of these luxurious properties. Aside from the three very wealthy leading families of the town, there are about a half dozen "second tier" rich families.