City of Karnesh
The City (or Port) of Karnesh is a settlement of some 18,000 souls, roughly 10,000 of which are Oshahni elite. The rest of the inhabitants are either Karni serfs or actual slaves.
Karnesh is a sprawling place, stretching for more than two miles along the north bank of the Karn River mouth. At the mouth itself is the port, a rudimentary series of jetties and docks stretching out into the sea for as much as 200 yards. Able to accomodate and serve up to 25 ships at a time, the port is busy place where ships can load or offload cargoes of nearly every sort imaginable. Treasures, produce, raw materials, slaves, weapons and wine are all routinely moved through the port.
Immediately adjacent to the port is the only walled section of the city, where large, well-appointed town homes allow the richest and most influential Oshahni citizens to live closest to their livelihood. This small neighborhood is as close to a nice place to be found anywhere in the city.
As one moves further upstream of the river mouth, the conditions in the city grow increasingly worse. Sewage and cesspits line the streets, animals (especially rats and other vermin) are seen everywhere, and living conditions are horrendous. Outside the walled portion of the city, the populus is almost exclusively Karni, with only the occassional Oshahni residing in stoutly built (and usually walled) villas with ample space between it and the rest of the neighborhood.
Demographics
10,000 Oshahni, the rest Karni and/or slaves.
Government
Directly ruled by the Corsair King, but no actual law an order actually exists. For a stranger to walk the streets of Karnesh at night is to truly take your life into your own hands.
Infrastructure
One small neighborhood of acceptable habitation, while the rest of the city is mired in filth, crime and disease. No functional roads exist, and during the rainy seasons, the streets are rivers of mud and filth. In the dry season, dust and grit fill the air and color the sunlight a dirty reddish-brown. No guards or watch protect the streets, and the only "official" agents of the King that can ever be routinely found are the gray-clad taxmen that randomly appear to collect the King's due several times a week.
Of special note is a rare and ancient stone road that leads from the city's center northwest along the east bank of the Karn River for more than 85 miles. Roads along the Arak Coast are quite rare and almost never paved, making this road nearly unique.
Districts
The Port, the Citadel , the Oshahni Quarter and Rivertown constitute the entire map of Karnesh.
Points of interest
About a mile upriver from the Port of Karnesh are two large stone quays on the eastern bank of the Karn River. These quays are exclusively used by ships unloading slaves. There are spiked walls on the landward side of the quays where armed men-at-arms ensure that unloaded slaves do not have an opportunity to escape or attempt to overwhelm their guards. From these quays it is a few hundred yards to the large slave pits where freshly captured slaves are kept until they can be auctioned off. These pits are basically strongly built corals, the largest of which are more than 50' by 100', the floors of which are dug roughly 5' deeper than the level of the surrounding city. These pits are unpaved and when the rain falls (which it frequently does in Karnesh) these pits become pools of thick, sticky mud that can become knee deep rather quickly. No sanitation considerations are made for these areas at all, so when the pits are full, conditions within them become horrific quite fast. When the pits are at capacity, they can hold as many as 600 men, women and children while they await their fates on the auction block.
Tourism
Karnesh has very few inns, and the few that it does have are so dangerous that only the most brave or most foolish would ever consider staying in one. At the furthest edges of the Rivertown District, one can find local Karni residents that are willing to let space and rooms to travellers for either coin (preferred) or food (accepted, but not preferred). Merchants and traders doing business in the city typically spend the night onboard their ships rather than risk staying in the town. At the far eastern end of the city expanse along the coast is an ancient stone guard tower and complex. No longer used as a guard post, it is now used as a small wine warehouse and a brothel that is as close to a "safe" inn as one is likely to find anywhere in the city. Known locally as the Stone Tower, it is located (literally) right on the seas shore. There are two remaining buildings of the complex with roofs still intact. One of these is used as a warehouse for barrels of wine and the other is used as a tavern and brothel. Both operations are owned and run by Matius, an obese Human of ebonos-descent from the Empire of Sellenia.
Type
City
Population
18,000
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
