Rooks and Kings
Rooks and Kings is a large settlement surrounding the Rooks and Kings oasis and ruin on the Amnari border, approximately three miles from Amin Duum. It is comprised of a medical clinic run by the Rooks and Kings Clinical Provision Team, a customs depot, and a settlement of caravanserai run by the Union of Nurish Clans for goods exchange at the western end of the Nurish Camel Express. While not technically a residential settlement, Watchers stationed at the clinic reside in a dormitory facility attached to the clinic, while the caravanserai provide tent accommodation for passengers on the Nurish Express either arriving in or departing Rooks and Kings.
Name
The name “Rooks and Kings” is derived from the distinctive ruins close to the oasis, which Amnari archaeologists believe may date to either the early Five Empires period, or even earlier. Very little is known about the purpose and nature of these ruins, but their resemblance to chess pieces, and their situation in one corner of the Field of the Red Queen, gave them what was originally a nickname. Any original name given to the oasis itself, given its apparently permanent nature, has been lost.Ownership and Management
The first people to set up any kind of permanent encampment at the oasis were members of the Union of Nurish Clans. The position of Rooks and Kings is significant, lying at a crossing point where three of the six Nurish Camel Express routes crossed. The route from the Salt Sea, known as the Salt Road, bringing salt south along the line of the Duum Canyon and River Duma from Tir Daala meets the Dust Road between Amin Duum and the Long Sea Coast to the east. A third road, called the Dead Road, leads south along the upper River Duma, across the Dead Sands and into the Southern Caish Nur, also connects at this point, bringing precious minerals and metals north from the mining regions there. Given that the Nurish were the first to establish any kind of formal settlement at Rooks and Kings, management of the settlement has generally fallen to them, and the Committee of the Union outpost in the area. A group made up of one member of each of the six main Nurish clans acts as a delegate to the Committee, which acts semi-democratically to ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the caravanserai and goods depot. The Amnari clinic at Rooks and Kings is run by the Rooks and Kings Clinical Provision Team, which liaises with the Committee of the Union over goods import and export links with Amin Duum and the High City in particular. For the purposes of decision-making, the two are considered separate entities, although when referring to “Rooks and Kings”, most people, whether they are Amnari or Outsider, mean both.Government
Governance is split between the Union of Nurish Clans and the Rooks and Kings Clinical Provision Team, which liaise with each other over any decisions that affect both the caravanserai and the clinic. Following the advice of the Guardian of the Outer Mortals, the Senior Master Watchers running the clinic must inform the Committee of the Union at the caravanserai of any decisions or changes to the management of the clinic which would have a direct impact upon them. A general meeting is held regularly to discuss issues arising, especially relating to anything that might affect both, in particular the arrival of large numbers of refugees or travellers following an incident elsewhere in the The Eastern Desert.
Defences
Being on the border with a major Amnari city state makes Rooks and Kings relatively safe from bandits or marauders from the Eastern Desert. Its key threats are natural in origin, either from venomous wildlife, sandstorms or kata-storms. Desert cats and howling mice, known to be particularly resistant to the effects of poison, are mostly used to defend against the former, and large sand-sails protect against sandstorms. Defence from kata-storms is more complex. A warning system provided by the Amnari and supported by the AP Towers is used for particularly dangerous events, although given the distance from the Gap itself, severe storms are thankfully rare.
Industry & Trade
Rooks and Kings is primarily dependent on trade to and from the Long Sea Coast (a range of food and other goods that can be transported across the desert), a booming salt trade from the Salt Sea and its hub, the city of Tir Daala, and minerals and metals from the mining areas of the Southern Caish Nur. In the early 4600s, as Amnar became more open to occasional visitors and even external migrants, it also developed a secondary business in providing accommodation to travellers. As Amnar sets very strict limits on those it will allow entrance to the Bubble (based on refugee status), those using such services are rarely affluent and so they tend to be very basic. There is, however, a small trade in providing forged documentation to enable individuals to enter Amin Duum, and schemes which promise either riches or easy access to Amin Duum are frequently investigated and policed by Watchers working in the clinic.
Infrastructure
The caravanserai was originally composed of a series of large tents, which could be broken down during slack times, and easily repaired after a storm. However, the effects of kata-storms from the nearby Duum Gap eventually led the Committee of the Union to approach the Amnari for their assistance in constructing more permanent residences close to the oasis. As a result, the Nurish were able to take advantage of recent developments in water and sewage management to ensure the oasis itself was kept clean, as well as providing domiciles for Watchers working at the clinic.
The caravanserai is now divided into six large compounds with a shared outer wall that connects to the clinic. Solar arrays and a kata hub provide significant power, although this is used sparingly in order to prioritise the medical needs of the clinic, communication back to Amin Duum AP Towers, and partly in deference to the preferences of Nurish culture. There is also a goods exchange, a marketplace known as The Agora, and an informal encampment of travellers seeking entry into Amin Duum itself.
Natural Resources
Rooks and Kings first and primary resource has always been fresh water. Fed by a spring, the oasis is one of the largest in the area, especially given the hyper-arid environment of the Field of the Red Queen. There is also an abundance of date palms and various other fruit trees and shrubs which grow naturally in the area. This has increased with the establishment of the hub at the clinic. Various wild animals large and small still make use of the watering hole, despite the increasing presence of humans in the area.
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