Karolis - The Haradelan District

The Haradelan District of Karolis occupies the northwest corner of the town from the Bazaar west and Baker Street north. The Mahnlin Gate opens along the northwest wall. From there, Outpost Mundar is visible close by, and the constant hoofbeats from its Patrollers can be heard on the road heading to Mahnlin and Castle Vasilar.
Haradel has its share of merchants, but merchant society is less developed than in Thormenal, and merchants are held in different esteem than in Thormenal. The Merchant class sits squarely below the nobility, though not with the peasantry. Merchants are a growing force in Haradel, especially in places like Mahnlin, where a growing community of merchants and merchant goods fill Mahnlin’s many markets.
Outpost Mundar is primarily a Patroller fortress. Patrollers have mounted troops tasked by the King to keep Haradels’ roads safe. The Patrollers in Outpost Mundar go regularly but have no regard for the merchants traveling the road. They have no orders to escort them anywhere, a task they leave to mercenaries or freeblades hired from town.
Shafra Erkan - Patrol Captain - Saria Rilk commands the outpost. It consists primarily of stables, tents, Patrollers that come and go, and a few militia troops provided by the local Thael, Lady Niria Kirn.
The Haradelan Caravansarai lies on the north side of the road as you enter the Mahnlin Gate. Many Haradelan goods come into Karolis and are sold immediately from the Caravansarai. The few Haradelan merchants who live and work in Karolis are always keen to purchase goods sold by traders and craftspeople who want nothing more than to get back home after the long trip.
Many Haradelan merchants have deals with local makers back down the Soremna Dakel to Mahnlin. These goods are made and transported inside the gates of Karolis, where the merchants pay for them, relieve the transporter, and then sell them in the Bazaar or through pre-arranged deals with another merchant.
The stables in the Haradelan District are extensive. One of the items most in demand by the Haradelan merchants is Trilian hoofstock. The trade is brisk, and the endless grasslands of the Trilian Reach are home to many horses sold into western Haradel and beyond.
At the very south end of the Haradelan District is the Varanic Temple, a relatively large complex of several buildings where the Faelers of Karolis worship their pantheon. The main chapel will hold several hundred people but is only sometimes complete on Holy Days and Festivals.
The Temple complex at Karolis is assigned a Bishop who presides over the area. In 1008 the Bishop is Viris Toren. She oversees several Kantors who serve and preach in the smaller temples of the complex. She also teaches in Karolis’ only established school.
With so many merchants in Karolis, it is little wonder that Barek, Glareyn, Jeyna, and Orva are favored deities. Each has a shrine and Temple in the complex, but they are minuscule compared to the main Temple.
Despite its size, the coffers of the Temple are overflowing due to the generosity of the Merchants in Karolis, who often subsidize their absence from the Temple with large sums of money and gifts to the many outreaches of the Temple and its workers.
The school has enough money and teachers to ensure every child in Karolis has an education. Education in Faeler cities only sometimes reaches children of every class. Often it is the domain of private tutors and religious schools. However, with the plethora of money, Bishop Toren has offered every child in Karolis the opportunity of an education.
The Trilians have ideas about education that do not involve gods and goddesses. The Kandorans also have their own educational agenda. They do not often send their children to school at the Temple.
Because the Haradelan military takes little interest in escorting goods and merchants along the roads west into Haradel’s heartland, the task falls to hired muscle and mercenaries.
Karolis is known for its Freeblades. The Bored Raven is where you can hire anyone to accomplish any task, whether fighting a war for you or seeing your goods safely to Mahnlin.
The Bored Raven is a seedy tavern with sprawling great rooms and a smoky atmosphere. The ale is cheap but watery, and the food is barely tolerable. Still, you won’t find more out-of-work mercenaries hanging out in one place anywhere else in Karolis.
The Bored Raven is owned and ran by an enigmatic Chaler couple named Hemrik and Adar Jabal. No one knows where they come from and they don’t offer any explanations. The Jabal’s are not only great tavern owners, but provide their own entertainment as well, thrilling tavern patrons with stories from the ancient world, songs of love, betrayal, and power, and poems that make even the hardest mercenary shed tears
The Bored Raven is constantly crawling with Freeblades you can hire to help guard your goods, provide a bodyguard, or even hire an entire freeband if you think you’ll need that much security to go wherever you are going. New Freeblades come into town regularly, which is necessary considering the attrition rate that these mercenaries suffer.
Many of the same freebands have been in town for some time. The names of these groups of warriors are well-known around town. They include The Sunshields, Noor’s Unbreaking, Tolgehr’s Terrors, The War Wolves, and the Sedge Stalkers.

Type

District