New Phosphor

Probably one of the most backwater Uplands towns you'll ever visit. New Phosphor is a little place that houses some pretty big secrets. Have you tried their mushrooms?

Geography & Overview
New Phosphor is a town that barely cracks the Lower Barrier, just barely avoiding being categorized as a Downlands settlement. It's seated in the primary mountain range that runs across the upper northwest of Aperion. The closest Noble City is Bolslav. Its population, according to the last census, is approximately 5,000 people. The town's primary religion is Solism, though due to its proximity to the Downlands there are a decent amount of Nameless within the town borders. Their chief export is mushrooms.

The town is primarily comprised of three steps carves into the side of the mountain. Its lowest tier is the mercantile district, where ships dock and merchants set up stalls. Most of the inns and taverns are established here, to catch the attention of what meager traders they get. The second tier is the residental district. Most of the town's residents live here, though there are a good number of small shops that rely on local business more than those in the mercantile district. At the top tier, built so far into the mountainside that a cliff of stone and earth hangs over it, is the gubernatiorial district. The city hall is here, as is an underfunded library, the post office, the press, and the local chapel.

Above the town, on the hilltop, are a few fields dedicated to the raising of draft rams. Below the town, in the Downlands, are a series of farms, many of which sell their goods exclusively to the town above.

Underneath New Phoshor is a series of caverns which end in an underground river from which the town gets its water supply. Generations ago, the caves were home to a colony of gryphons, who used to hidden tunnels as an aerie in which to safely hatch their eggs and raise their young.

History
New Phosphor is an unusually old settlement for its size. It was originally founded by a group of gryphon worshippers who protected the aerie below the surface of the mountain. The church was originally dedicated to the gryphons, though it was repurposed centuries later by the Solists that resettled the area during the Briar Era.

Since then, New Phosphor has enjoyed a quiet living only punctuated by the arrival of rovers and Vidbeli traders who make port, either for refueling or restocking. The town's become well-known among Aperion's foodies for its mushrooms, which are farmed in the shade of the shelf above the town.

The late Dread Aegis, Westley Roberts, made New Phosphor his primary port-of-call during the last fifteen years of his life. He owned an apartment in the residental district, the rights of which have reverted back to the original owner, Lucius Penbarrow, since Roberts' death. His daughter, Molly Roberts, now rents the rooms. Many of his crew made similar arrangements around town. Though this was kept secret during his life, rumors have spread since his death, and New Phosphor now tolerates a budding tourism industry from fans of the Dread Aegis.

Points of Interest

 * Mullohand's Books, a bookstore with a rising popularity among visitors
 * The Stalls, the temporary market that pops up every few weeks in town
 * The Sun Chapel, the oldest building in New Phosphor
 * The Draft Ram Fields, which are rarely in use anymore and act as a picnic spot with a lovely view of the countryside

Residents of Note

 * Molly Roberts
 * Riley
 * Lucius Penbarrow
 * Westley Roberts (deceased)