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====== Esten Town ====== {{ http://grimpilsretrogress.com/images/vdc_aquaduct.jpg?300}} Esten Town is the second largest settlement on [[comack_island|Comack Island]] after [[lockenport|Lockenport City]], with a population of roughly 6500. It is sometimes said that Esten Town is really two towns located uneasily next to each other. The lower town consists of the docks, warehouses and working class residences. The "high" town is nestled in the wooded hills on the west of the settlement. It is here that the traders and merchants keep houses and mansions. One of the most prominent features of Esten Town is the pervasive aqueduct network. A project of an enthusiastic mayor a century or so back, the aqueduct provides fresh water to both the lower and higher portions of the town. To some, the aqueduct serves as a reminder that Esten Town has had visionary mayors in the past, a quality not associated with the current occupant of that office, Mayor Tullen Roon. Roon is widely viewed as ineffectual, and more interested in his own inflated ego than the well-being of Esten Town. It remains to be seen if Mayor Roon will made any effort to deal with one of the town's most significant current problems -- the safety of the Estenwood road. While that road remains under threat, goods are being transported to [[stitch|Stitch]] via Lockenport, increasing the costs to local merchants and taking business away from them. Rumors have begun to circulate that a dragon in the Estenwood is the cause of the problem, and the citizens of Esten Town are rightly concerned. Although they are still influential in Esten Town, [[guilds_of_lockenport|Lockenport's Guilds]] don't play quite the same role in matters of governance as they do in Lockenport. The town is run by a mayor, who is -- in theory -- chosen by all the residents of Esten Town, but who is -- in practice -- usually determined by politicking between a few of the most affluent families and influential citizens. Travelers looking for a reasonably priced place to stay in Esten Town often end up at //The Flying Fish//, a large and sometimes boisterous establishment in the center of the lower town.