Midway

The village of Midway has never been anything special to outsiders but, to the folk who live there, it has been a safe haven and provided them a meager existence. The village was named for the simple fact of its position at the foot of Midway Mountain, halfway between two large allied settlements. Many decades ago, it’s central location rendered it a good place to stop for those traveling along the main road running east to west, and citizens eked out a small income from their mines to the north. They had a steady, long-standing trade agreement, so caravans heavily burdened with goods were frequent along the road. Midway Mountain was a logical stop as it provided a reprieve from the harsh weather coming out of the west and it was close to streams where fish could be netted easily. Since then, larger, more well�equipped settlements have been established nearby with better accommodations, so most travelers find they need not visit.

The mountain holds many mysteries. For hundreds of years, it’s been mined by locals, explored by visitors from far and wide, and been home to multitudes of creatures both strange and mundane. Legends tell of a whole civilization of dwarves who inhabited the mountain many centuries ago, but were driven out by creatures from the underworld. It’s certainly true that a contingent of dwarves lived in Midway for a time but, nowadays, there is but one left. He is old, and mostly blind, but he continues daily to explore a small, independent mine shaft just north of the village, leaving each morning at sunrise and returning before sundown with a bucket of precious things. Precious to him, that is. The old dwarf won’t allow anyone a close enough view of the bucket’s contents to determine their actual value.

Life for the locals continues at a slow pace, much as it always has. The population is slowly aging as the majority of children grow up and leave, whether out of a desire for something better, or just simply something different. Those who stay do so out of stubbornness, habit, fear of the wider world, or concern (or responsibility) for those they would leave behind.