Hidden Village

Its hidden location and the surrounding countryside offer the village much protection, but the village is not without its own defenses. Every member of the tribe, from the young to the old, takes part in exercises designed to teach the ex-slaves to work together for the common defense. Specific locations and fortifications are under the command of experienced military personnel, either exsoldiers or gladiators, who direct the non-military-oriented members of the community in matters of defense. Scouts from the village constantly roam the land for miles around, serving as first-line defenders (with orders to act only against small groups) and to sound the alarm should danger approach too closely. In addition to the crater itself, with its natural wall that rises some 30 feet over the crater floor, a sturdy brick wall surrounds the village, rising to a height of ten feet and mounted with battlements to protect the defenders. Gates in the wall can be closed and barred. Within the walls, the village has been designed to offer fall back positions and hiding places for the defenders, while frustrating any attackers with its maze of low walls and ambush vantage points. If attackers do manage to break through the walls, they will have to fight for every foot of ground they gain once inside. The village itself is built upon a raised platform of baked mud, making attacks against it very difficult. Not only must attackers drop down into the deep crater or navigate the narrow ramp that is the sole accessway, but once at the bottom they face the raised platform and the village walls. If any attackers get this close to the village, they will find themselves facing concentrated attacks from the defenders' higher positions. The Hidden Village is a thriving community of exslaves working together to create a home. The building the village is proudest of is the Free Arena. Modelled after the gladiatorial arenas of the city-states but constructed on a much smaller scale, the Free Arena is an open air amphitheater in which tribe members can gather to discuss important topics and reach group decisions. While Bartras and his generals are not yet ready to give up their positions as leaders of the community, they have nonetheless begun to turn some community decisions over to the Arena. In the Arena, anyone who wants to voice an opinion can do so without fear of reprisal or retribution. Issues can be debated, and everyone participates in the decision making process. The village also boasts a respectable barter market where members of the community trade their skills and wares, a large artisan section full of all kinds of craft shops and studios, and a growing residential section where the children of the Free can grow up to be whatever they choose – with or without the permission of the owners or the sorcerer-kings.