The Saltmeadow Marshes

Credits to Marthe Jonkers for the cover art!

Dominating the central portion of eastern Iotura, the Saltmeadow Marshes are a unique creation of the Saltmeadow River flowing down from the Severed Tops to the west into a dense web of inlets that flow in from the Obsidian Ocean to the east. Beginning at the base of the Severed Tops, the Saltmeadow Marshes begin as freshwater swamps, made soggy and murky with the dense lattice network of tributaries to the Saltmeadow River that flows through them, with their own fair share of small, remote settlements and communities, alongside various creatures and monsters. As the Saltmeadow River becomes more consolidated, it begins to reach the Kabruedor Lowlands, whose low elevation allows the Obsidian Ocean to flow unusually far inland, creating brackish marshes that are home to a much more diverse cast of characters and monsters. And finally, the Saltmeadow River finishes its journey into the Obsidian Ocean, where its massive delta forms the Coral Bog.
Largely let be, especially as they get further from the Severed Tops, the Saltmeadow Marshes are an uncivilized, savage swath of land that cuts eastern Iotura in half longitudinally. While there are great bastions of civilization to its north and south, largely, the powers that be leave the marshes alone. Many whisper of dark influences within the marshes, and some believe that the marshes unique size and length is not, in fact, a natural creation by way of the Saltmeadow River, but in fact a spawn of something much darker.

Aramore

Small Town <> Population: 584 (85% human, 9% halfling, 6% other)
Nestled on the mouth of the main riverway in the Saltmeadow Delta, Aramore is a small collection of ramshackle, soggy wooden shacks, all arranged on a handful of boggy islands split by murky waterways and stagnant ponds.
The village was first established after the Fragmented War by an aggressive venture capitalist from Aitreas named Khusad Bolol, and was intended to be a farming and shipping colony. He quickly discovered that the only thing sinking faster than the value of his investments were the cash crops he had tried to plant, and drowned the sorrow of his declining wealth in the affections of the various women that had accompanied himself and his hired workers. Despite its shriveled economy, the majority of those who had accompanied Bolol found themselves stranded in the workers' colony, and made it a permanent village instead.
Aramore shifted from its sinking farmhouses and plantation homes to become the network of stilted homes it is today, and the massive "noble family" that Bolol established in his many trysts slowly shrank as they died from both inbreeding and the harsh conditions of the swamp. Today, the family that holds Bolol only in title controls an overwhelming majority of the wealth in the village, and handles almost all business deals, while the drug-addled peasantry of the village handles brute labor, or subsists off loans, both monetary and favor-based.

Government

Aramore is, by technicality and by taxation, a part of the Theussau Protectorate. By governing and enforcement, the village could not be more isolated, and the Bolol family rules from their small plantation home, which may as well be a palace relative to the rest of the village. Within its halls (which are often filled with the smell of various drugs), the now small Bolol family keeps a loose grip on the village it rules, caring little for the abounding addictions to the drugs Trinity and Crisps, so long as labor doesn't stop. Rumors abound of payments the family receives from the King's Men criminal organization to maintain their black market arms deals that occur in the village, but some believe gangs from Aitreas are beginning an "invasion" of Iotura, and that its ground-zero is Aramore.
The Bolol family uses their relative wealth and status to employ a bare bones guard force, though corruption is rife. Whether its the Bolol family, crime organizations, or drug addicts providing the money, the guards can easily be paid to look the other way.

Crime

Given the tough, water-logged existence the people of Aramore endure, many have turned to the comfort of illicit substances to keep their days bearable. Trinity has gained a specific popularity among the people of Aramore, and the few people who don't regularly abuse it for its high are those who have to deal with passing merchants and travelers. Even the "nobles" of the village partake in illicit substances, though those with a modicum of wealth in the village much prefer sycathum root. And due to this high ratio of substance abuse and contraband, Aramore has begun to gain notoriety as a major King's Men base, where they can easily make deals with groups from Aitreas, Aasveig, and Drumis in a lawless port.

Geography

Aramore is set on the mouth of the Saltmeadow River, and is flanked by the long overgrown remnants of its failed farms inland, and boggy, murky water on all other sides. Tall reeds and rushes sprout up between the piecemeal wooden platforms bridging the various homes and stores, and, in rare moments of quiet, one can often hear the slithering and shifting of creatures in the dark waters throughout the village.

The Coral Bog

Created by the delta of the Saltmeadow River flowing into the Obsidian Ocean, the Coral Bog gets its name from the unique formations of strange, dark coral in many of its bodies of water. It is a dense series of brackish and saltwater tide pools crisscrossed by soggy patches of grass, land, and dark trees. Largely avoided by permanent residents, the Coral Bog is used as a pathway for river merchants and travelers, and due to this mercantile importance the small town of Aramore was born, nestled upon the mouth of the largest pathway of the Saltmeadow Delta. Beyond its greenish-blue, brackish shores, the Coral Bog becomes a labyrinthine network of dirty patches of land and dense swaths of swampy forests, from which few travelers return. Rumors abound of ruins and treasures hidden within the bog, whether by its surprisingly deep marsh pools or its dense, foreboding trees. Small villages of lizardfolk do call this region their home, and some even trade with Aramore, on rare cases. But for the most part, the sentient creatures of the bog leave the humanoid passersby well enough alone, while the more savage creatures and monsters create a frequent need for armed escort.

The Kabruedor Lowlands

The Kabruedor Lowlands are a vast network of swamps and bogs split by the Saltmeadow River that creates them. The Lowlands are denoted from the marshes to their west and the Coral Bog to its east by the presence of its dense network of weeping willow trees, giving the Lowlands a dark, shadowed appearance due to the vast web of willow trees creating a dense, impenetrable canopy which hide the many dark pools and secrets of the Lowlands. Rumors of snakefolk sightings have been cropping up recently, and some believe that the followers of the Cloaked Serpent are beginning to gather in the impenetrable shadows of the Lowlands, leading to increased patrols from the Saltmeadow Outpost nestled in the heart of the swamps.

Northeasterly Byway

The only major road leading through the marshes, the Northeasterly Byway is one long, dirt road leading from Camaerith in the Arakhor Tathra and into the lands of the Theussaun Protectorate in northeast Iotura while passing through the Saltmeadow Outpost. While many worse, smaller trails branch off the Byway, some heading to small settlements and villages and others coming to dead ends and deep pools in the swamps, the Byway is often denoted by its relative width compared to most trails (running around ten feet wide in most places) and its frequent use leading to a road not overgrown by the swamp. Its also the only road to bridge the Saltmeadow River, with the Camaerithian Concord having devoted resources to building a bridge by the Saltmeadow Outpost.

Saltmeadow Outpost

Fortress <> 728 (63% human, 12% goliath, 10% orc, 7% lizardfolk, 8% other)
A small fort nestled deep in the Kabruedor Lowlands, and maintained by the Theussaun Protectorate to the north, the Saltmeadow Outpost is helmed by a small garrison less to provide order in the marshes, and more to solidify the Protectorate's grip over the region. Helmed by Colonel Meldon Amberblade, who oversees the garrison of three hundred armed soldiers and fifty supporting technicians, the Outpost is the only solid bastion of civilization amongst the miles of bog surrounding it. The presence of the Outpost created a constant influx of resources to the garrison, which lead to the Northeasterly Byway expanding into the Marshes, and with the War Against Orakgra and the Camaerithian Concord, that same road now runs all the way through the marshes from north to south. The Outpost has also been increasing patrols outside of its walls, which used to be rare, given increased rumors of snakefolk presence in the Lowlands.

Saltmeadow River

The river that forms the Saltmeadow Marshes, and the river that gives the marshes their name, the Saltmeadow River is a slow-flowing, wide body of water that, in some places, is hard to denote from the swamp surrounding it. The river runs deep, with harsh undertows and currents that can catch creatures and people unawares, dragging them to their silent deaths in the murky waters. While these types of currents would create a good trade river, the superstitions and fears surrounding the swamps the river permeates, and the very real threats of the monsters inhabiting the river lead to its infrequent use.

Religions:
Majority: Syluru, Yamma
Minority: An'liceth, Kaedo, Lythaelos, Laaelum

Imports: Cloth, grain, stone, livestock
Exports: Lumber, fish