Craghold
Sitting at the confluence of the Silver and Ruby Rivers, Craghold is one of the major cities of the kingdom. It is a walled city built on a bluff that towers over the confluence and provides a refuge when the local nomadic tribes attack, though with the border pushing farther out onto the Sea of Grass, these attacks are increasingly rare. Even so, the city remains ready to defend itself and the surrounding lands.
Craghold sends goods down the Silver River to Landisport and receives foreign goods for distribution to the nobles of the region as well as sending imports north to Cymilsport. The lords of Craghold traditionally levy a tax on all goods that pass through the city. Most of this wealth is spent supporting knights in the field to defend the border, while a small portion is set aside and donated to the Queen’s Own Marchers (who maintain a barracks here), and the rest goes into the coffers of the lord. Even though the percentage kept in the city is small, the amount of trade passing through results in a city of splendor that nearly rivals the capital in its grandeur. Towers of polished stone rise up from nobles’ homes, the streets are safe and clean, and the court is majestic in silk and samite.
All this wealth and the taxes that create it have led to crime. While the streets of the city are safe, smugglers have long used the many caverns beneath the Crag to hide and move goods. Blacked-out barges approach from the river and unload cargos in the dead of night. Hidden entrances lie beneath noble houses and merchant emporiums alike. For decades, the smugglers of Craghold have labored under the authority of the Purple Man, an underworld figure who makes sure that all illicit trade passes through his hands, and that crime never reaches the point where it hurts the city’s income. To deprive your protectors of what they need to defend the realm would be bad business. Smugglers operating without sanction are often found in the river with their faces cut off.
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