Tratai
Rolling hills covered with fields of corn, wheat, barley, cotton and other crops surround the city of Tratai, which is spread across the top of a wide, flat hill. The city stands on the main trade road between the Free City of Brookmere to the south and Mose and the heartland of Olduvar to the north. Crumbling stone walls and structures on the outskirts of Tratai hint of a larger city in the past. Many of the buildings here are ancient and reminiscent of some of the old structures found in Brookmere. Newer buildings stand atop ancient stone foundations and crumbling catacombs. The larger streets are well-maintained cobblestone, while smaller alleys and side streets are simply dirt or gravel.
The outer walls of the city are only indifferently maintained, though guard patrols man the towers and walk the tops of the walls, alert to any potential attack from the nearby Harwood Forest. The central portion of the city is also walled, these being tall, broad, well-maintained, and constructed of heavy stones clearly cut and dressed by dwarven masons.
The wealthy nobility of Tratai live in almost palatial mansions on the northern side of the city. Militia and guardsmen are quartered in clean, comfortable barracks scattered along the city walls. Laborers and the poor are generally relegated to poorly maintained buildings that receive little or no services from the city. The poor here are truly poor, and often desperate, but the militia and ruling nobility show little or no mercy to the lower classes. Due to the imposition of high tariffs (both official and unofficial), few merchants or artisans choose to live in Tratai, so there is little of a middle class in the city.
Religion
A small, ancient shrine to Freya stands just outside the outer walls of Tratai. While it has no active clergy, local women spend a great deal of time cleaning and maintaining the shrine either in hopes the goddess will bless them with a child or in thanks for children they have. Lady Agacia Crossthain is a bitter woman who lost all her children and grandchildren to accidents, disease, or violence. She turned to worshipping Demogorgon in secrecy. Several of her top assistants and advisors also worship Demogorgon, but their celebrations and rituals are kept very quiet and private.
Trade and Commerce
Produce from all of the nearby farms is routed through the city and all wood from logging in the Harwood Forest is expected to pass through Tratai. A combination of heavy tariffs and a high markup sees most of the money made here going straight to the nobility and city coffers.
Officially, there are no tariffs on goods that are simply passing through Tratai, but the simple reality is that there are always small “fees” to be paid when passing through the gates or simply parking wagons in the city. There is little in the way of skilled craftsmen in the city as most of them were driven away long ago by the heavy burden of tariffs and the constant corruption of the guardsmen. Those few who remain work for one of the noble families. Cotton, wheat, rye, and corn are the main cash crops here. While these don’t sound exciting to some, the volume of produce from the nearby farms is enough to bring in substantial wealth.
Government
Although in theory elected as mayor by the nobles in Tratai, Lady Agacia Crossthain maintains her position through a combination of blackmail and simple raw power. Frankly disliked by most of the region’s nobility, she is tolerated as a “necessary evil” because few would want to spend the amount of energy it requires for her to remain in power, and many fear the disclosure of the information she possesses on their family businesses. She exchanges some information with Lady Karyn Greenheart when it benefits her. Both women distrust each other but have different enough business interests and goals that they are willing to work together toward their own ends.
Guardsmen and government officials are under the strict control of Lady Crossthain. Judges, prosecutors, and guardsmen are all easily bribed, although Lady Crossthain is the final arbiter of any court decisions that involve a capital crime, crimes between nobility, or civil disagreements between nobility. Her decisions are considered final. The local nobility control all of the business operations here, whether it is stables, inns, farms, or warehouses.
Settlement
Tratai, City of
Type
City
Owning Organization
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