Zarash'ak
Zarash'ak, "the City of Stilts," is a small city in the Shadow Marches. It is the unofficial capital of the region and the largest settlement. There is no official government in the city though House Tharashk maintains a large amount of influence.
Anyone arriving at Zarash'ak can see in an instant where the city gets its epithet. Though the murk oaks that hold the city above the brown waters of the Glum River are a dozen paces across, they do seem like thin stilts set against the bulk of the trading port. The city has grown with the rise of House Tharashk over the centuries and today it is the best port of call for travelers to the Shadow Marches and a settlement with powerful forces almost as tangled as the walkways that bind it together.
There are two reasons that Zarash'ak exists. The first is that it is a foothold of the Five Nations in the otherwise wild Shadow Marches, or it was before the Treaty of Thronehold made them free lands. When the kings of Galifar claimed the Shadow Marches, they needed a seat of power from which the king's law and knights could spread from.
The second reason that Zarash'ak exists, and its purpose after the fall of Galifar, is as seat to House Tharashk. The House of Finding dominates the central region of the city and it is here that the triumvirate which rules the house meets. Tharashk makes its money from the dragonshard trade and they have many regions around the world that they gather the precious stones from. While Xen'drik, Argonessen, and even Q'barra are rich sources, they are far away and dangerous. There is no shortage of dangers in the Shadow Marches but it is a short sail from Zarash'ak to Sharn or Trolanport and the swamps are homeland to the half-orcs of House Tharashk. It is not only their dragonmarks that gives Tharashk heirs an advantage in the marshlands and where many in the civilized east see tangled vines and muddy death, Tharashk prospectors see familiar waterways and sympathetic cousins.
The city is divided into three areas, separated mostly by chronology rather than economics. The Heart was the original settlement, built above the swamp water by strong, supporting murk oaks. It started as a trading village but today the Heart is dominated by the central enclave of House Tharashk. Once established, the town quickly drew traders and travelers and expanded into the area known as the Ring, surrounding the Heart like a village surrounds a castle in the Five Nations. Some unimportant Tharashk heirs are forced to live in the chaos and bustle of the Ring's marketplaces but most live in the Heart. The patchwork of platforms and walkways which make up the Ring are most often home to outside traders, mercenaries, orc tribesmen, and others who live outside the structure of the House of Finding. Beneath the Ring lie the Webs, a collection of rope nests and hanging berths between the platform walkways and the fetid waters of the Glum River. Only the most destitute or those in hiding live among the Webs and travelers are warned to avoid them unless they want trouble.
Though the major geography of the city is relatively simple, navigating can still be a challenge for visitors. To start, there are very few major avenues in the city so walking around requires winding one's way through a maze of planks and rope bridges, and the lack of streets means that most directions are given via the names of buildings.
Humans, orcs, and half-orcs make up the bulk of the population in Zarash’ak. A few hundred goblins live in the Webs, along with a number of gnomes, halflings, and half-elves. Traffic with Droaam has brought monstrous creatures to the city; ogres and gargoyles work across Zarash’ak, and each of the Tharashk triumvirs has a medusa bodyguard. The Common tongue remains the standard language in the Heart, but many in the Ring and the Webs speak only Goblin. A significant number of residents speak a language they call Azhani, a blend of the Old Common of Sarlona and Goblin. People who speak Riedran or Goblin can communicate with those who speak Azhani, but nuances can be lost.
Traffic with the east has brought the coins of Galifar and Riedra to the city, and they are used interchangeably in Zarash’ak. Some merchants prefer to barter for goods, and many citizens use raw dragonshard crystals as a form of currency.
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