Westinon is located at the base of the Chaos Mountains, along their northern reaches, and just south of the great plateau. It is occupied by both herdsmen and miners, who produce a large portion of Suspin’s wealth. As such the barony is respected for its hardworking individuals and the wealth which they have accrued. This is one of the few baronies in the kingdom where the peasants are relatively well of, and there has not been a peasant uprising recorded in the region at any time within the past century.
This may be due to the fact that Baroness Lisa Vail and her family have insured that the standard of living for the people has always included brick or stone homes, and that most of the people are emploed in skilled trades rather than farming. Indeed, only a very small percentage of the locals have been recorded in the Toevass census as being farmers. Perhaps even as little as twenty percent of the population. This means that a great deal of the food is either imported or supplied through meat products, such as sheep, yaks, and the famous shaggy highland cows.
In addition, families are encouraged to have multiple professions within the family group, so that each can provide a variety of skills and garner wealth based on their own resourcefulness. The settlements of Westinon are closely nit groups consisting of a few hundred peasants and a handful of freemen working in a region. Most of the settlements are located in small mountain valleys and are walled to prevent the intrusion of brigands, who are constantly on the prowl for additional money to supplement their raidings from the caravan routes.
Of the dozen or so settlements located in the highland valleys in this manner, only about four have been named. These have populations greater than five hundred, and have been around more than two generations. In other valleys, the settlements shift every twenty years or so to follow the mineral deposits and find quality pasture land. Land ownership is a relatively limited concept due to the need for mobility, and there are also several abandoned settlements which have become inhabited by various critters, bandits, scoundrels, and even wild dwarves.