The Port Village of Huggle

Northeast of Cat Tree City, Huggle clings to a high white cliff above a rough sea. The village is partly cave-dwelling: most homes are cut into the rock, while ordinary houses line the top, some spilling over the rock face. The whole has a chaotic look.

Stairs, ladders, walkways and suspension bridges link the top to the harbor, then to the pebble beaches, through the cave-dwelling quarter. Birds have perches and take-off ledges.

Travelers on foot arrive by a small, steep and winding road, the Lacet. One can also arrive by sea or by air.

The harbor is tidy, and its quays are imposing for so small a village. It allows passage to Corktown, the biggest customer of Huggle's salted ale, and some set out from it on a treasure quest to a dangerous place like Crimsonfief.

On a nearby islet stands the Flambeau lighthouse, linked to the harbor by a sturdy wooden jetty. Its keeper is Jacob, a huge, taciturn walrus.

The villagers brew lightly salted but refreshing ales and lemonades, thanks to a technique that makes use of the swirling currents of the sea inlet. Their fame reaches across the Kingdom, all the way to the top floors of Cat Tree City. Huggle's wealth comes from this trade and from its position at the crossing of a busy sea route.

The weather is capricious: frequent rain, impressive storms in winter, but also fine sunny days. One meets more Animals capable of supernatural powers than elsewhere, and few Cats.

The Salt Council

An assembly of five notables runs the village. They are elected every five years from among the wealthy traders and craftsfolk of the place.

The Council sits in the Town Hall, a small manor at the top of the cliff. Its current members are:

• Madame Gavroche, a goat, owner of the Mille Chevreaux, the town's only and enormous inn
• Sardine, a dynamic young cat, owner of several harbor warehouses
• Bernadette, a venerable seagull, who represents the fishing sailors
• Augustin Philibert de l'Horizon, a highborn lobster whose ancestors founded Huggle
• Chouff, a massive ox, owner of the village's largest brewery

Notable figures

Captain Buttercup hires out her services for a perilous mission, a lost cause or an unexplored region. Her ship, the Summer Solstice, is moored in the harbor.

Two very old white Crows, Hugo and Milo, live in an immense cave dwelling dug into the heart of the cliff. To the villagers, they are two old eccentrics, fond of books and ale, who are rarely seen. They seldom leave their lair and only come to the meetings of the Salt Council, to give their opinion.