The Lonely Tower - a homebrew 'territory', for lack of a better term

[Cronatos]

Some time ago, a band of adventurers led by a half-elf named Tasha traveled the land, exploring remote regions and destroying enemies. Their travels brought them far away in search of a potent necromancer. They tracked him through a mountain range, to a cliff by the sea. They found a modest stone tower there, one connected to an underground lake, and surrounded by undead.

They successfully destroyed the necromancer and his undead and continued their adventures. Over the following years, they encountered a number of castaways, outlaws and others without homes. The adventurers themselves had a few disputes with national authorities, and most of them found their way to the tower in the mountains by the sea, now dubbed 'the Lonely Tower'.

Some time later, they retired and called the Lonely Tower their permanent home, along with dozens of others who had been brought there for one reason or another. They have made a few improvements since they found the place, and now it's a cozy little home.

The underground lake has been used to cultivate a farm for underground flora. Soil has been gathered on the surface for a few terrace farms. A new building has been constructed through both magical and mundane means that serves as a living quarters, storehouse and stables. A number of tents have also been set up. The tower itself holds an alchemical lab and crafting tools for several other professions.

Tasha himself spends most of his time studying, planning and teaching and training the other folk. As a powerful magus, he teaches anyone interested in the martial or arcane arts.

The is no real government to speak of, and there are not enough people for that to be a problem. A meeting is held every week to discuss changes, or play games if there's nothing to discuss that week. Any major changes - such as new construction - are required to be mentioned at this meeting so that everyone is aware of it and objections can be raised.

It has been four years since they retired, and under Tasha's influence, most of the population has some level of martial and/or arcane expertise.

Several plans for improvement have been put forward, and some of them have been started. Among these plans are: a platform with railing on the cliffside, a wall or palisade (because, hey, walls, why not?), personal homes, a smithy, general underground expansion and a few other things.

The Tower is also used as a hideout, occasional base of operations and home away from home by a few still-active adventurers.

[VRMH]

They'll need to hunt and/or keep domesticated animals (mountain goats?) to supplement their diet: mountains make for poor farmland. And who do these people trade with to acquire the goods they cannot produce themselves?

[Cronatos]

Somehow I hadn't considered the meat side of things. Yes, they'd hunt. I'm not sure what they'd hunt, exactly, since I've tried to keep the location of this tower from being any more specific than it already is, and some things in one mountain range may not be in another.

The domesticated animals I'm not sure of, and it seems unlikely. The idea is these guys had persistent problems with established authorities, but wanted some land of their own to work with. Instead of dealing with those authorities, they went where their eyes don't follow. It may be that nobody in the area has ever had need of domesticated mountain animals, and you can't exactly get them with just a half a decade or so of work. They might be working on that, though.

Despite their proximity to the sea, it's not very accessible, but there's at least one mid/high level arcane caster among them, so fishing trips via fly and feather fall are possible. That's another project they may be working on, actually: some kind of lift.

As for farming, Incan terrace farms were very effective. As to how they got that technology is another question. But if they have at least one person around with 20+ int, maybe they figured it out, at least well enough to be lived with.

As for trading, the distance is fairly prohibitive, so trips are made rarely. However, they brought quite a lot with them, and again, spells like overland flight and magical holding items make things easier. They would likely visit mining settlements most often.

I'll also note that things are kept rather vague as a part of this exercise, to leave room for other's imaginations.