Kennet: Difference between revisions

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Kennet is a small town in which the story of Pale is set.

Geography/Description

Kennet is located in Western (Northern) Ontario, within sight of Lake Superior.<ref>"Get a lift on the t-bar, or ride the lift for a view of the unspoiled scenery with a view of Western Ontario's hills and icy Lake Superior." - Brochure, ‘Experience Kennet’</ref> It is a small town with a population of about 5,000.<ref name=":0">She couldn’t put a name to the children, but she was pretty sure she could name the families one or two of them came from. Kennet was that sort of town. Five thousand residents, two schools, two gas stations, and a theater that closed for the summer months because they didn’t get enough customers. - excerpt from Blood Run Cold 0.0</ref><ref name=":1">The west half of Kennet was largely residential. There were a couple

of houses that had old people living in them that were nice, with

gardens that were tended to every day, but for the most part it was just

kind of sad.  There wasn’t anything metal without some rust on it, an

awful lot of the paint was peeling, gardens were barren after the winter, and lawns were only just seeing their patchy initial growth. Where lawns hadn’t been raked enough, the leaves formed dirt-like clumps

that made the lawns seem more patchy than they were.

Five thousand people lived here, and she was pretty sure there wasn’t one person who loved living here.

Well, no, that wasn’t true. As she put her mind to the task, she could imagine there might be some criminal types who would appreciate the ability to lie low. Or idiots. Or the stoner snowboarder types who

did almost nothing for half the year and then worked at the slopes the

rest of the year. If all you loved was weed and snowboarding then this might be pretty good. - excerpt from Lost for Words 1.1 </ref> Kennet was founded in 1935 as a company town and grew over time.<ref>“I was technically born in 1935,” Nettie said. “Or Ken was. Small company town, small company man, until we expanded into our niche. Literally.”

- Excerpt from Shaking Hands 9.11</ref>

The western side of the river is mostly residential<ref name=":2">The three of them stood on the bridge that connected the mostly residential western half of Kennet to the messier southeastern quarter.

Cars periodically whizzed by, knocking as they went over the metal bit

that was meant to let the bridge expand and contract. Avery had taken a

seat on the wide sidewalk, her back to the railing. [...] The river below wasn’t that much of a river, with what seemed to be more
bank than water, the banks gravelly and grey.  The water frothed as it

ran into and over the rocks. There were times of year where the water level and flow were much higher. The bridge had streetlights as extensions of the railing, but it had nothing else on it. - excerpt from Stolen Away 2.2</ref> and run down,<ref name=":1" /> while the south-eastern side is more varied<ref name=":2">The three of them stood on the bridge that connected the mostly residential western half of Kennet to the messier southeastern quarter.

Cars periodically whizzed by, knocking as they went over the metal bit

that was meant to let the bridge expand and contract. Avery had taken a

seat on the wide sidewalk, her back to the railing. [...] The river below wasn’t that much of a river, with what seemed to be more
bank than water, the banks gravelly and grey.  The water frothed as it

ran into and over the rocks. There were times of year where the water level and flow were much higher. The bridge had streetlights as extensions of the railing, but it had nothing else on it. - excerpt from Stolen Away 2.2</ref> with wide spaces between buildings.<ref name=":3">There was a corner store by the bridge that divided the western half of Kennet from the eastern half, and she hurried to do the shopping for the milk, bread, the jerky and the venison pepperoni.

Loaded down with schoolbag, gym bag, and the plastic bag with the milk inside, she crossed the bridge and navigated the winding streets on

the east side of Kennet.  Here, the buildings were spaced far apart,

with desolate lots and grass-less fields between them. A big box hardware store. A dismal car lot. The dance studio. The Christian school.

- excerpt from Lost for Words 1.1 </ref> To the south are hills, cliffs, and forest. <ref>Verona leaned against the railing beside her friend, but her back was to the railing, and she looked in the opposite direction, toward the trees, cliffs, and hills south of Kennet. Somewhere in there was the clearing where they had awoken. - excerpt from Stolen Away 2.2</ref>

The urban center of Kennet, where Goblins cannot tread, is somewhat mazelike due to having grown up unplanned over time.<ref>She and her hallucinated companions reached the heart of Kennet, where the houses were close enough together that people had to worry about neighbors, and there was actual separation between business and home. The shadowy figures stopped there, remaining just outside of the light from the streetlamps. Still following them, still hobbling a bit,

because her side hurt, she walked into their midst before pausing.

Looking up at the swaying, struggling beast, she pressed on alone. Streets were a maze, laid out because the houses had come first, individual cabins and fixtures that had been set up wherever was convenient, not far from the lake’s edge. The roads had come later, the

planners doing their best.  - excerpt from Blood Run Cold 0.0

</ref><ref name=":3" />

Map

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Kennet Brochure from Extra Materials

A. Monte Motel & Restaurant

B. Beer Market

C. Ontario Liquor & Cannabis

D. Bon Journee Inn

E. Kennet Cinema

F. Kennet Museum

G. Public School

H. Hospital

I. St. Victor's High School

J. Wavy Tree Yoga & Dance

K. ATV & Dirtbike Rental

Points of Interest

Concrete stairs lead up the mountain to Blue Gas, choked with litter from teens going up to the gas station.<ref>Underdressed for the weather as she was, she climbed out of the car, grunting at the pain in her back, shut and locked the door, and then followed the great beast on foot, leaning heavily into the railing that ran beside a set of concrete stairs. The stairs connected the straighter parts of the winding mountain road, so people in the town who

wanted to travel up to the gas station on foot didn’t have to zig-zag

their way up the lonely road. The fact the gas station was at the top would be why there was so much litter on either side of the staircase, including a half-full plastic bottle standing up on a stair that she nearly tripped over on her way down. She stopped herself mid-fall by catching the railing with both hands. - excerpt from Blood Run Cold 0.0</ref> Louise Bayer's house was up the road from the gas station, overlooking the town,<ref>Driven by impulse, she stepped off her front porch, and climbed into her car, wincing at the pain in her midsection. This wouldn’t be the first time she hadn’t listened to her doctors. She pulled onto the lonely mountain road that saw perhaps one car an hour, each property separated by a few minutes of driving. [...] It was eight in the evening, which meant most of the buildings in Kennet were closed. Below the mountain road, shops were dark, and half the lights across the main road through town were off. The gas station was the first lit building she came across, garish and bright in the dark. [...] “Louise Bayer. I live up by Blue Gas.” - excerpt from Blood Run Cold 0.0</ref> as is that of her neighbours Tom and Arnold.<ref>A group of twenty-something men were packing up from their game of hockey on the outdoor rink, including Tom and Arnold from the ski hills. They were roommates, sharing the house two minutes down the road

from her.  Back when she’d been healthier, she’d caught their runaway

dog and brought it back to them. They’d been good neighbors ever since. Helpers when she’d needed a lot of help, putting up a rod in her

shower, checking in. - excerpt from Blood Run Cold 0.0</ref>

The Kennet Cinema has to close in summer due to lack of customers.<ref name=":0" />

There's a single wide bridge between the two halves of Kennet, with road, sidewalk, and street lamps built into the railing.<ref name=":2" /> There's a corner store next to it.<ref>There was a corner store by the bridge that divided the western half of Kennet from the eastern half, and she hurried to do the shopping for the milk, bread, the jerky and the venison pepperoni.

Loaded down with schoolbag, gym bag, and the plastic bag with the milk inside, she crossed the bridge and navigated the winding streets on

the east side of Kennet.  Here, the buildings were spaced far apart,

with desolate lots and grass-less fields between them. A big box hardware store. A dismal car lot. The dance studio. The Christian school. - excerpt from Lost for Words 1.1 </ref>

The Kennet Arena is the second-largest building in town, after the Hospital, and is active almost constantly. It's nicknamed the K-A.<ref>The Kennet Arena or the K-A was like the gas stations, brightly lit at a

time the rest of the town had wound down.  Here, the parking lot was

filled with parents talking to parents, kids talking to kids. A good number of those kids were wearing hockey uniforms. The building itself was one of the largest in town, next to the hospital, hosting a full-size hockey rink and gymnasium. In a town with so little to do, there was usually a practice or a game at the K-A. This might have been

one of the last games of the season for the kids. - excerpt from Blood Run Cold 0.0</ref> During the winter, it serves as a naturally frozen outdoor hockey rink.<ref>“Hey, Louise,” Tom greeted her.  He was dark haired, with the stubble
kept even with a razor.  “Ice is a mess.  Everything’s thawing.”

“Yeah, too bad,” she said.

“Last outdoor skate of the season, I think.”

[...]

She walked over to the rink, bounded by wooden boards that held up badly abused sheets of plexiglass that kept the pucks inbound.

Yeah, the ice was a mess.

Across the rink, she saw, there was a loose silhouette shape stained into the ice, matching a leg and paw of the great beast. It extended, she realized, into the trees at the back of the rink, and onto the mountain of snow that had been built up over months of the parking lot being plowed and the ice of two rinks being cleared off. It could well be the very last thing in Kennet to fully thaw. On that mountain of snow, if she walked around, she could see the general shape of the thing’s ear and muzzle. More of the stain extended across the outer perimeter of the parking lot. - excerpt from Blood Run Cold 0.0 </ref>

After the Carmine Exile took the throne he created the Kennet Undercity, an inverted knotted version of Kennet filled with violent and unruly individuals.

Residents

Innocent s

Practitioners
- Trio
- Charles Abrams (forsworn)

Others

Post fall of the perimeter

Goblin Gangs

History

After the rise of the Carmine Exile Kennet started lossing population, everytime they lost a person or business the Undercity gained what was lost.== References ==