Alyeskan Gazetteer: Prospector's Reach

Nestled in the north-western corner of the Alyeskan Outlands between the northern coast and the eastern boundary of the Chillwynd Marches is the town of Prospector's Reach.

It was bit of a poor reputation, it is cold grey virtually all year round and occasionally the whispering winds of the Marches blow in the town's direction. The townsfolk themselves are somewhat isolationists, surviving either as ice fishermen out on the frozen sea to the north or as wilderness hunters and fur trappers ranging to the south and east of town. None of the townsfolk dare venture into the Marches, those living on the western or 'Marchside' of town keep their west facing windows permanently shuttered. Lying only a scant few miles from the Marches people do occasionally vanish during the night in town as they do out on the frozen plain, locals dubbed this as 'being taken by the winds'.

Every month a new expedition to explore the Marches assembles in town, a new of businesses has sprung up to cater to these adventurers. Hotels, taverns, stores and workshops offer their services to those intending to set out west. In addition there is a sizeable mercenary population in town of guns-for-hire who offer themselves as guards both for expeditions and the trade caravans that cross the wilderness from the town of Purpleflint. Prospector's Reach does, like most settlements, has its own airstrip but the winds from the Marches and blizzards that blow in from off the frozen sea makes life difficult for aviators and so its not a favourite destination for pilots. Travellers typically arrive overland via the weekly trade caravans, though there are proposals to build a railway line out to the Reach but as of yet nothing as materialized.

Prospector's Reach is not a place that anyone actually wants to go to, most folk are usually planning on heading into the Marches in search of Ancient Terran artefacts that are rumoured to lie within the towering spire known as the Monolith. A lot of them return empty handed, some bring something that may prove to be of worth and the rest never return at all.