Bhutan
Bhutan is primarily a market city writ large. It thrives on trade, and merchants of every stripe can be seen here from time to time. Those from Istaflumina or Jaati usually arrive by caravan, while those from Baalthaaz, Khemit, or the cities of the far south or west arrive by ship. The docks can accommodate many ships at a time, and workers for hire are always available. Very little of the city is beautiful, but instead of parks it has marketplaces, and instead of civic buildings it has merchants’ guilds. Its crowded streets are confusing to the uninitiated, but logical to experienced buyers and sellers. The animal and meat markets are on the west, from the wharf out. Next come things such as wool and leather, which diverge into clothing or armor and weapons. So it goes across the city, with the things of highest value (such as the heavily protected Jewelers’ Guild, or the Moneychangers’ Hall where gold and silver are bought and sold) being to the east. Other nobles sometimes view the sultan of Bhutan as being slightly grubby for associating so closely with so much trade, but the wealth he demonstrates (received from his small share of every transaction in the city) is more than enough to show their criticisms are pure jealousy.
One flaw in this otherwise excellent city is the existence of the Zuma Qulldishi, a complex criminal organization. The Zuma mostly engage in smuggling operations and robbery, and occasionally branch out into banditry or take on contracts for murder. Any goods that arrive from less-than-reputable sources go into the Zuma’s network and make money in the markets in the underside of the city. The rumor is that the “Shadow Sultan” of the Zuma claims he has nearly as many people working to make money for him and his organization as Qusay al-Bhutani has for him. As long as the Zuma Qulldishi are not too blatant about their operations, the sultanate troops generally leave them alone; attempts in the past to squash the organization did not turn out well, so for now an unrecognized, uneasy truce exists.
Comments