The Kennel
When the world started to burn, a firehouse crew brought their families to their hall for safety. Their natural inclination to help overcame their concerns about the outside world, and they started venturing out to rescue survivors. The community expanded beyond the original firehouse, eventually encompassing a large neighboring kennel. The name stuck from the acquisition and the community's habit of taking in strays, and the Kennel has been a beacon of quiet hospitality in the dangerous Barrens wilds ever since.
The settlement sits in the hills above a small lake, far enough north and west of Aysea that even the Pine Baron's influence is minimal. Originally formed by Accensorites, the Kennel now boasts residents of diverse faiths and nationalities, along with a few "part-time" residents who make regular extended stopovers on their travels. There is enough clean water and fresh food to keep the small population comfortably fed, and enough defenses to discourage all but the largest hordes or most fanatical raiders.
No formal ruling body governs the Kennel. Doc Rowe, an Accensorite with rare formal medical training, serves as nominal leader, while different individuals oversee different aspects of daily life: Professor Templeton Barnes handles mental health, Misty Light ministers to spiritual needs, Maggie Fallon oversees morale through entertainment and festivities, Dross Roman manages business, security, and patrols, and the odd-couple pairing of Alex Pope and Justin Case handles practical engineering. More than once, travelers set upon by zed, raiders, or Pine Baron thugs have been rescued by a small group in old emergency response gear, offering food and shelter as though the apocalypse had not changed a thing about what firehouse crews are supposed to do.
The settlement sits in the hills above a small lake, far enough north and west of Aysea that even the Pine Baron's influence is minimal. Originally formed by Accensorites, the Kennel now boasts residents of diverse faiths and nationalities, along with a few "part-time" residents who make regular extended stopovers on their travels. There is enough clean water and fresh food to keep the small population comfortably fed, and enough defenses to discourage all but the largest hordes or most fanatical raiders.
No formal ruling body governs the Kennel. Doc Rowe, an Accensorite with rare formal medical training, serves as nominal leader, while different individuals oversee different aspects of daily life: Professor Templeton Barnes handles mental health, Misty Light ministers to spiritual needs, Maggie Fallon oversees morale through entertainment and festivities, Dross Roman manages business, security, and patrols, and the odd-couple pairing of Alex Pope and Justin Case handles practical engineering. More than once, travelers set upon by zed, raiders, or Pine Baron thugs have been rescued by a small group in old emergency response gear, offering food and shelter as though the apocalypse had not changed a thing about what firehouse crews are supposed to do.
