Kaupobaurg

Kaupaborg was a Lake-folk trading town or village of one hundred and twenty or so inhabitants, many of whom once had resided alongside the Iach Celduin.

The small town stood atop a glacial ridge overlooking the valley of the River Running, along a broad stretch of that waterway. The settlement was about seventy-five miles downriver of Londaroth-by-Lindal, but just fourteen miles southeast of the Old Forest Road Ford and its nearby deserted post-Plague settlement ruins. Another lesser-used ford, the Garwaed, was situated just five miles downriver from Kaupaborg. lt provided a crossing at an even wider part of the estuary. Only good swimmers attempted the crossing there, however, for the height of the ford averaged five to six feet in depth. Because of its location along the well-travelled River Running, a large proportion of the towns inhabitants plied crafts other than farming and fishing. Nevertheless, the crops and animals of regional Veurs (No. "Protec- tors") and the daily catch of the towns Fiscers (No. "Fisherfolk") still provided the main attractions at the settlements monthly markets. Other items available at market times such as cloth, candles, metalwork, salt, baskets, pottery, fruit, and Elven wine arrived on ships from Esgaroth. Olive oil, wine, dyes, shellfish, and assorted luxury goods flew upriver from Dorwinion. The Aivathiuda of the Anthars tribe, who frequented Pastures southwest of the river, also searched Garwaed. They came with their horse herds each month to trade in Kaupaborg. The buildings of the town were typical Lake-folk Longhouses. Craftsfolk lived in the back rooms or on the second floor of their workshops. Most people kept both a small vegetable and herb garden in their yard and several animals in a stallur (No. stable) behind their dwelling. Some had bounded their family enclosures with either a withy fence or a hedge. Overall, the townsfolk were a tightly-knit group, for most were (at least distantly) related. Kaupaborg was located upon the southernmost ridge among a series of shale, sandstone, and limestone fells. These ridges overlay the predominantly limestone steppes south of the Running River and formed the northern edge of the river valley. The landscape was consequently fairly rugged north and east of the settlement. Here, the meadowlands, grasses, Shrubs, and Small copses of trees were interspersed with more dense forests of predomi- nant hardwoods (oak, elm, hickory, and ash).