Rosebriar: Bishopsgate

This week I present another district in my setting for You Can't Go Home Again. Rosebriar may be the name of the town but Bishopsgate predates it by over a century.

Rosebriar: Bishopsgate

You don't belong here anymore.

Description

This neighborhood of tight winding streets and aged multistory brick buildings predates the rest of Rosebriar by a century. Numerous churches and homes date back to the Colonial era. Many of the oldest families in the region still live here and this tight-knit community creates a very different feel from the rest of the town, especially the new developments to the north and west.

Everyone knows each other in Bishopsgate and outsiders can expect a cold reception. This goes for those who have been taken and come back changed. Changelings abducted from Bishopsgate can expect to find a fetch well ensconced in their place and plenty of people willing to belief the ‘local’ over them.

Physically Bishopsgate crouches on the southern side of the river, forming the southern border of Rosebriar (if one ignores Edgewood Mental Health). Two bridges connect it to the town center. Colloquially known as the ‘Old’ and the ‘New Bridge’ they are each rusty structures from a century ago (the New Bridge was built in 1946). To the north, it abuts Appleton and the community college. Local do not appreciate the college students encroaching on their neighborhood, even if many professors live within its borders.

Local Hedge

The local Hedge mirrors Bishopsgate with tight passageways through thick thorny hedges lined with hard cobblestones. An endless gloom hangs over the Hedge, casting it in twilight during the day and firefly punctuated darkness at night.

Athletics rolls to get anywhere suffer a -2 penalty as the winding paths slow down progress. The tight confines do help a single defender. A single defender gains +1 Defense if he only has to focus in one direction. The tight confines inflict a -2 penalty for multiple attackers however as the lack of space hinders attacks both melee and ranged.

Damnation City Stats:

Physical: Access -2, Safety 2
Mental: Information 0, Awareness 2
Social: Prestige 2, Stability 2

Bishopsgate’s street grid is the result of haphazard growth and historical legacies that none recall. However its buildings are built to stand the test of time with sturdy doors and strong locks. A stable community helps to keep an eye on things, even if they are less educated and talkative than most. The homes here, when they are for sale are either sad things to be nursed back to glory or elegant homes that cost a fortune.

Vice: Insularity. In the end the dark side of Bishopsgate isn’t that dark, just unfriendly. You either belong or you don’t. If you don’t, then the inhabitants will have nothing to do with you.

Virtue: Tradition. Bishopsgate remembers its history as evidence by the many small festivals , town legends, and historic markers that adorn the neighborhood.

Site: Bishopgate Lutheran Church

Type: Religious

History: This stately old building remains in pristine condition despite being over two centuries old. A narrow stone structure, its dark spire rises above the surrounding maze of buildings. The small cemetery to one side contains many notable citizens dating back to colonial times. The most illustrious member currently interred is former Mayor Maxwell Newman (1925-2006).

Sermons are still given every Sunday by Pastor Benjamin Albright. This friendly old priest is always willing to lend an ear or offer advice on any problems a petitioner has. Now in his 80s, he has served at the church since the 60s. His daughter Lucy, herself close to retirement, helps out with the services.

In addition to being well-preserved, the church has a further mystic quality. When the church bell is rung at the hour nearest dawn or sunset, all Changelings within a quarter-mile suffer 3 Bashing damage from the sound. Hobs suffer lethal damage. True Fae is so foolish suffer this damage as Aggravated.

Story seeds:

It’s in the Blood: The Witwevens have lived in Bishopsgate for as far back as any records go (a fire in 1734 wiped out many of the papers further back). They have a reputation for mystical powers, much like the witch-blood and devil worship of the Teesdales. It’s said that the women of the clan, always blessed with the palest blood hair and fairest skin, possess a secret power to mend wounds. They also say one a generation the eldest member of the clan is taken on their 29th birthday. Sarah Witweven, a doctor at Edgewood Mental Health, doesn’t believe in her family's legendary, though she has an uncommonly high success rate with patients. Her 29th birthday is coming up soon.

Oddities & Antiquities: This quaint little shop sits in an obscure corner of a tiny square accessed via a road that would be called an alley elsewhere in America. It also sits halfway into the Hedge. Here a miniature Goblin Market can be found, run by a pair of strange Hobs. Mr. Black is thin to the point of starvation and dressed almost a century out of style. Mr. White’s face is buried in his beard and long hair which also serves to hide many of the stains of the wrinkled suit he wears. Together they offer minor tokens, cursed gewgaws and snippets of things taken from nightmares. A troubling aspect is that they sell to mortals and Changelings alike.

The Bloodroot Trees: The Hedge of Bishopsgate boasts a strange grove of thick hungry trees. Raised on blood, they thirst for more. They demand a tithe of three drops of blood from all who path through their domain. Otherwise they will take it for themselves. But Changelings and Hobs avoid that area now and the trees grow hungry. Why are more trees appearing in the park areas? Why are pets disappearing?

NPCs:

Troll Bridge: An Ogre has taken up residence under the old bridge, stirring rumors of hauntings and dangerous homeless people in equal measure. Changelings find themselves confronted and shaken down for any Goblin fruits or Tokens. Who is this towering figure and what draws her to the bridge?

Ghost in the Hedge: Once upon a time, a man named Buck Gold found riches in the utmost north. He took along his childhood friend Lester Moore, but Moore came back different. Surly and arrogant, he got himself trouble his rich friend could buy him out of. Lester was buried in the cemetery between the Appleton college and Bishopsgate. Recently the real Lester has clawed his way out of the Hedge. The translucent Elemental has taken to haunting the site of ‘his’ grave. But this icy figure has come under attack by a dangerous poltergeist, a ghost of his fetch.

Mourning Willow

Concept: Evil Hedge Tree

Background: A century ago, a large tree grew near the edge of Bishopsgate. Fed a diet a supernatural blood by some undead horror, it grew fat and twisted. Its leaves fluttered in unseen breezes and its hanging branches seem to sway and writhe around those who drew too close. Thern one day the feedings stopped. The tree grew hungry.

The children of Bishopsgate heard the tree’s growns of hunger and felt drawn to its smooth trunk and massive branches. They claimed they heard faerie voices among its leaves. They played within its curtain of branches for hours at end. Then one day they were gone. And so was the tree.

Description: Dead brown leaves shroud this massive tree. A dark almost purple bark cover a trunk so massive it takes two men to encircle it. A small hollow in the tree resembles an open mouth. The interior is lined with small bones.

GM notes: Cruel, vindictive, manipulative.

Mental Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 3
Physical Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 1, Stamina 4
Social Attributes: Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Composure 3

Mental Skills: Occult 1
Physical Skills: Brawl (Grapple) 1, Stealth (ambush) 2
Social Skills: Animal Ken 2, Intimidation 2, Persuasion 1, Subterfuge 2

Willpower: 6
Virtue: Fortitude Vice: Gluttony
Initiative: 4 Defense: 1 (Armor 1)
Speed: 5 Health: 22

Wyrd: 5 (14/5) Size: 18
Contracts: Darkness 5, Dream 1, Hearth 3, Stone 2

Possible Pledges: Pledge of Blood: I will leave the children be and you will water my roots with man's blood on the new moon, For this I will be made full and you cunning and quiet, But should I kill a child may you rip me from the earth, And if I lack your fill you shall lay within my power,
[Forbiddance-Medial -2, Glamour +2, Vulnerability (Violence) -2, Month +2]
[Endeavor-Medial -2, Adroitness (Survival/Stealth) +2, Pishogue-Medial -2, Month +2])