Stables The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Dulwich’s stables occupy a broad, sheltered yard where the noise of passing carts gives way to the steady sounds of horses feeding and hooves shifting on clean straw. The buildings surround an old spreading tree, its lower branches rubbed smooth by generations of tethered animals. Wide stalls accommodate everything from merchants’ draft horses to fine riding mounts, while deep eaves shelter the grooming benches from the rain.

Tack hangs neatly along the walls, and the familiar smells of hay, leather, and warm horseflesh fill the yard. The owner, Jarrett Hayward, is soft-spoken, dependable, and rarely rattled. He believes nervous people only make nervous horses, and even a frightened stallion earns little more than a patient word and a steady hand from him.

His uncanny ability to calm frightened or injured animals has earned him a reputation as one of the finest horsemen in Ashlar. He approaches unfamiliar people more cautiously, watching how they handle their mounts before deciding what to make of them. Those who treat animals kindly and deal honestly soon find him generous with his knowledge. Jarrett provides boarding, grooming, feed, tack repairs, and assistance buying suitable mounts, though he refuses to sell a horse to anyone he considers unfit to care for it. A separate, quieter stable houses injured animals and those unsettled by travel, with wooden partitions that allow Jarrett to keep watch without crowding them. He records each animal’s feeding needs and habits on small slates beside its stall. Regular customers appreciate that he remembers which horses dislike thunder, which need a gentle approach, and which will quietly work a poorly fastened latch until it opens. Travelers preparing to leave Dulwich often seek Jarrett’s advice about their animals’ condition and how much weight they can reasonably carry. A sheltered bench beside the yard gives owners somewhere to wait while he examines a strained leg or adjusts an ill-fitting saddle.

Teamsters, couriers, and returning riders bring him news from across Ashlar, although he seldom repeats idle gossip. Reports of a washed-out crossing, missing travelers, or frightened horses returning without their riders receive his full attention, and he makes certain those heading along the same road hear what he knows.