[center][sup]art by [url=https://www.artstation.com/artist/josheiten]Joshua Eiten[/url][/sup]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/7NymcLV.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/R9KuNuf.png[/img][/center]

[indent][i]The Village of Winding is just the latest bit of civilized society to be built upon the Marsh of Dragons. The clean cobbled streets, the whitewashed stone houses and the flowers and tapestries of bright blues and yellows all sit upon the foundation of princes and giants of old. The ruins now are little more than tourist attractions and bedtime stories, destined to be forgotten among more important issues, like new velvet hats and lost pocket watches.

But when the orchards sprouted fruits of strange color, the clockmaker went mad and the cats disappeared, the soothsayers and grandmothers began to whisper: something's not right in Winding.[/i][/indent]

[center][url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/3743988]Interest Check[/url][/center]
[h3]Gameplay[/h3]
[indent]Your character resides in Winding or in the surrounding lands within view of the village clock tower. Through exploration and investigation the greater plot will unfold -- but until then, this is simply a slice-of-life RP.

The GM has creative and manipulative control over all things except the characters themselves. Nothing is an exception. Should the player desire a NPC or location or racial history that is off-limits to interference, changes or play by the GM, please consider an alternative.

The posting speed may eventually crawl to an excessively slow pace. One mod post every two weeks may be common, depending on the life of the GM and the lives of the players. Please keep this in mind if you're considering joining.

This is a closed, small-scale RP. The [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/3743988]interest check[/url] will be updated if and when slots open.[/indent]

[h3]Characters[/h3]
[indent]Characters may know of the existence of magic through historical records of flora, fauna and minerals with strange properties, as well as the alchemists of old who used to tinker with such things, but magic does not now exist as far as anyone knows.

The technology level is Renaissance-era. Clockwork and Da Vinci-esque contraptions are as common as you like.

Characters do not necessarily have to be entirely human, and creativity is encouraged, but simplicity is key. Keep character sheets and proposed world ideas fresh, clean, colorful, precise, and as unassuming as possible.

There is no formatted character sheet, at least for now. Use what you like, be as brief or verbose as you wish. Please post applications in the OOC for approval first.[/indent]

[h3]Winding and the Surrounding Lands[/h3]
Accepting ideas for locations! Discuss here in the OOC, if you like.

[i]Within Winding[/i]
[indent][b]THE WATCHMAKER'S SHOP[/b]
Old Man Skilton, as the youth are apt to call him, lived his life as precisely as clockwork. He could be found at seven and two with his tea-and-two-sugars at the Glass Key Cafe, and the rest of his day was spent laboring over tiny sprockets and springs. But recently the shop door has been shut without a peep of light from within, and Old Man Skilton has missed his tea.

[b]THE CLOCK TOWER[/b]
The Tower, as the villagers know it, stands to the north of the village square and belongs specifically to the village hall. It is made of white clean stone and polished wood, ornamented with fantastic sculpture and relief, and painted with a sunset of blue and violet and red and yellow. It keeps impeccable track of the minute, the hour, the day, the month, and the astrological sign of the moment in profoundly beautiful symbols of sun and moon and stars, though no one is quite certain who is charged with winding it.

[b]THE CURIOSITY SHOP[/b]
Miss Agatha runs a little shop full of trinkets and rarities, illuminated books of unknown origin and clocks with unknown makers. There are stuffed animals once alive, polished baubles found in the Marsh and bottles and vials full of powders and teas. Miss Agatha is a self-professed expert on the ghosts and stories and magics of old, hosts tea in the attic room every Tuesday, and will read your fortune for a small fee.

[b]THE CASTLE WILLOW[/b]
The Mayor of Winding now lives in the restored castle that had once belonged to the kings and queens of the Marsh, located to the north of the village, at the center of the Prince's Garden. It is open for tours every Wednesday and Friday, with parties every feast day.

[b]THE PRINCE'S GARDEN[/b]
The watery, marshy garden at the northern side of the village is colorful with little flowers and shimmering grasses, dragonflies and singing toads, and white marble bridges and stepping stones that overlook the mossy bones of ancient Giants, their broken spears and notched armor half-submerged in the marsh.

[b]ANZO'S GUARD TOWER[/b]
Anzo's tower is an unshowy tower comprised mainly of wood caked with dung for later use. The defensive structure is about 20 yards tall and has a ladder made of the same kind of wood to allow access to the top of it, and at the top is a small roofed structure armed with a mounted telescope to allow for observation in addition to a mounted crossbow Anzo has never used. There are small bins for guard's possessions mounted on an interior wall along along with a chair in the center of it all, Anzo's favorite resting spot. Said big bug can be found there eating sandwiches or sleeping most of the time. In the scenario in which the village is in danger, one of the bins has arrows locked within it while another bin is full of fireworks meant for letting everyone know about their safety status: yellow fireworks means possible danger, red means we're all going to die, and green means it's all good, one of the other guards took care of it.

[b]THE MESSAGE TREE[/b]
Situated in the middle of the woods is the Message Tree, a towering oak with a mismatched puzzle of a building situated amongst its boughs. With its shabby red roof and confusing architecture, it's a miracle it's managed to survive storm and time. It is here that letters and packages gets sent or delivered. Always on time, no matter it be rain or shine. Such is the way of the Tree, and the many couriers who dwell in it.[/indent]

[i]To the North: The Forests, the Mines and the Mountains Beyond Them[/i]

[i]To the West: The Fishers, the Shipwrights and the Ocean Beyond Them[/i]

[i]To the South: The Petrified Wastes and the Desert Beyond Them[/i]

[i]To the East: The Farms, the Fields and the Long Road Beyond Them[/i]