Odin's Folk Outpost OF#3
Map: K23
Built on the shore and Island of Bûrskadekdar, OF#3 is the Southernmost of the line of outposts across Palisor, the great steppe of Eastern Arda.
There were a great many herders and farmers in this area, surviving well in fortified burhs, and the overgrown ruins of a burnt out fortress city on the island in the center of the lake, connected by a series of partially broken causeways to a ring island, and then by elevated roads to the shore.
Ancient local legends said that if the Bûrskadek people reunited and recliamed their capital it would be destroyed again and they would be scattered in the outer darkness beyond the stars. No one living could number the generations that they had been scattered as separate peoples or remember the name of the capital.
Odin's folk raised a tree to Odin on the island and began restoration. The more waves of orcs and steppe raiders they beat back, defending the nearby burhs, the more local Bûrskadek villagers moved in. Today the island temple is the biggest outside of Black Rock or Vestrhelm, and perhaps 3/4 of the population is Bûrskadek, though only perhaps a quarter of these have fully converted from the local syncretic animism.
Huge amounts of farming and herding of diverse stock happen here, and fishing on the lake is excellent. Waterbirds stop here in great numbers in Spring and Fall migrations. Very competent smithwork, leatherwork, and carpentry is also available.
Some Nithian converts have settled here to help with restoration of the stonework, and several useful quarries have been established. In addition to fermented mare's milk and a variety of local beer, they make a number of good barrel aged whiskies, and their rye is widely famed.
Today the largest portion of the city is in a fortress-town on the Eastern Shore, with the island fortifications serving as a religious and cultural center capable of sheltering the population in crisis.
