Karant

The eponymous capital of the Earldom of Karant, Karant is a rather squalid reflection of its former glory, with decrepit decaying buildings lining poorly maintained streets which are regularly inundated with floodwater from the surrounding Alm’Izra marshes.

Demographics

Though Karant is officially a mixed species settlement, the vast majority of its populace, around 75% are Humans, with most of the rest being made up of Dwarves, Goliaths and Half-Orcs.
In addition, almost all of the city’s inhabitants lie within sight of destitution, and even the noble house of the Earls of Karant would barely register as being middle class in most other places on Kelbonnar’s Material Plane.

Defences

The city has two primary defensive features, a curtain wall which completely surrounds it, save for the opening of the harbour to allow for ships to come and go. There are three gated entrances to Karant, at the north, west and east, all of which have small fortalice gatehouses to provide extra defensive capabilities.
In the eastern section of the city, on the highest ground in Karant is the city’s castle, which acts as the main garrison point for the Earl’s Guard who defend it, and which also contains the ruler’s residence of the Earldom of Karant.
Both the curtain wall and the castle are in a poor state of repair. The situation is so bad with regards to the curtain walls that some sections have already collapsed due to the ravages of time and disrepair and it is unlikely that they would be able to withstand the deprivations of a concerted siege for more than a few hours.

Infrastructure

When it was originally founded, the city had a well laid out road system, a purpose built sewer system beneath it and a network of public wells and fountains to provide clean drinking water to its people. Whilst these features do still exist, they are a shadow of what they once were.
The roads are cracked, riddled with pot-holes, have weeds growing up between their cobbles and in some places have begun to subside. The sewer network is regularly flooded by an ingress of water from the now poorly managed land of the Alm’Izra surrounding the city, which leads to stinking overflows of raw sewage being carried back up into the city’s streets and few people now trust the wells, which are likewise contaminated by the overflow of sewer water.
Beyond the walls of the town, there is no road access to Karant, save for what remains of legacy roads that used to lead to communities deeper in the Alm’Izra, though most of these have been swallowed almost entirely by the surrounding swampland now.
The city does have a small port, which used to be the beating heart of trade in the Earldom. But now its rotting piers and jetties only see traffic from local fishing boats, save for a once in a blue moon visit from a trading vessel.

Guilds and Factions

As there are no major industries in Karant, there are no guilds to speak of, and most its people are too concerned with staying alive to try to ally themselves to a particular faction. However, two large factions worth mentioning do exist in the town:

• The White Fangs have established a presence in Karant, taking advantage of the poor economic state of the Earldom of Karant to try to take advantage of the local population for their own gain. Whole areas of the city are now under the de facto control of the White Fangs, and the Earl’s Guard not daring to set foot within them.

• In addition, although the clergy of the temple of Menella, which now stands as nothing more than a ruin in the town square, were banished from the city and the Earldom after the start of the Divine War, a small group of acolytes refused to leave and insisted on staying to provide Menella’s care to the people. This group has gained some numbers and has received enough support to continue to exist, but they are still regarded as being outlaws and must remain in hiding, despite the fact that they only wish to help people, such is the Earldom of Karant's abhorrence towards the works of the Divines now.

Architecture

Many of the city’s building were once built in a grand style incorporating numerous towers and steeples reaching up to the heavens. Now, however, all of the buildings are in a state of disrepair, through neglect and also the increasingly regular floods of the town. Many building owners have actually abandoned the ground floors of their buildings and moved their homes, shops and workshops to upper stories to avoid the incursions of the floodwaters and sewage which regularly wash through the town.

Geography

Karant sits in a natural bowl in the ground, with the open waters of the Malcont Ocean to the south, the wetlands of the Alm’Izra to the west and north, and a steep cliff, which marks the dramatic end of the Stiletto Mountains in the east.

Type

Large town

Population

c.6,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Karantites

Location under

Alm’Izra

Owning Organization

Earldom of Karant