Mechanicsburg

Mechanicsberg is the ancestral homeland of the Heterodyne family, a town of minions. After long centuries being used as the home base for House Heterodyne's savaging of the countryside, and of being 'in on the take', the population have become accustomed to venting their collective energies in serving their liege lords.

The people of Mechanicsberg, in return for their loyalty, served as minions, guards, troops and fencers of stolen goods; as opposed to everyone else, who served as experimental subjects, victims, sources of wealth and decoration.

Tucked into a particularly advantageous spot in what appears to be the equivalent of the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, the settlement eventually known as Mechanicsberg grew up around the castle that the Ht'rok-din's son, Knife, first built in 1042. The Ht'rok-din himself was the chief of a particularly brutal tribe which is speculated may have come from the east, predecessors of the Mongol armies which would eventually rule an empire of unprecedented size.

The castle, centrepiece of the town, was razed and rebuilt three times before the current structure dating from 1298. At some point, Faustus Heterodyne (the name has been westernised long earlier from exposure to the local dialects) created an artificial intelligence for the castle which allowed it to help with its self-defence and that of the town.

The town currently has a strongly-built curtain wall set with strategic gun placements. The gates have been built with visual intimidation in mind. One gate lets out onto the sharp drop down to the river bounding one side of Mechanicsberg, and appears to be the entrance for most casual and commercial traffic, as the bridge across the river allows two waggons to pass with plenty of margin. A well-paved road runs along the cliff margin on the opposite bank.

The Heterodynes deliberately left a large open plain free for potential invaders on the Black Gate (eastern) side of the town. The 'screamer gun' crews trained into perfect knowledge of every centimetre of the plain, and could precisely target any opponent on command. Watchtowers stand around the outside edge of the plain.

At some point, either during the time of the Heterodyne Boys or as a result of the attack on the castle, the screamer guns were disabled, leaving the castle and town in a precariously defenceless position. However, the Pax Wulfenbachia has kept Mechanicsberg from needing a full-scale defensive suite because currently, Mechanicsburg is a 'merely' magnificently-crafted machine designed to separate tourists and the gullible from their money. It is also the center of several thriving black markets and smuggling operations. Still, many of the older people fondly remember the Glory Days, when "Made in Mechanicsburg" brought terror to the world at large.

The town recently suffered an attempted takeover by the Knights of Jove in order to further the restoral of the Storm King's dynasty as rulers of Europa. Gilgamesh Wulfenbach installed his own experimental weapons system and foiled the attack spectacularly.