Tucked away in the northern marches of Rhovanion lay a tiny but prosperous community of Northmen who had eagerly adapted to the urban way of life. The towns of Esgaroth and Dale had began in the Second Age as seasonal trading posts, where the migratory Edain and Northmen could trade their agricultural goods with the nearby populations of Dwarves and Elves. As the Northmen settled permanently in the area, Dale and Esgaroth obtained year-round populations and became the hubs of northern Rhovanion's trade network. The Northmen of the region throve in their new role as merchants, but the agrarian ways died hard, and many of the traditional practices were preserved, especially in the many tiny surrounding farms which fed the two towns. Despite the cosmopolitan nature of their towns, the urban N