Syat
The town of Syat lies in a valley in the Zorinos Mountains where the waterfall that is the origin of the Odraga River pours out of a high, rocky face. Its isolation has caused Syat some growing pains as it has received sporadic support from the empire. While work was done on the Upper Sangre River, Syat had good population growth and trade with the cities downriver. When work moved to the vicinity of Lake Aur, however, travel to Syat waned and the people there grew disenchanted with the empire. Alcaldar had to exert a very firm hand for about 25 years to convince the citizens of Syat that a little distance did not absolve them of any of their responsibilities to the empire.
When the army of Alcaldar first arrived in the valley, the people of Syat put forth the ridiculous claim that the cozy little stone town had been built by dwarves hundreds of years before for the purpose of trading with humans in the surrounding lands. Despite some supporting evidence, this was not given any credence until 11 years later when a large delegation of dwarves marched out from behind the waterfall. They were quite put out to discover the changes wrought in the town in less than a dozen years. After some quick diplomacy, a different residence was found for the local archon and the mansion of the head of the dwarven merchants’ guild was reserved for dwarven use only. With dozens of months-long market days over the past two centuries, town leaders and dwarven merchants now usually maintain a cautious respect rather than hostility. This does not extend to humans doing any actual mining in the mountains, however.
Syat is home to some Alcaldrich traders who buy goods from the grassland tribes whether or not the dwarves are going to be trading soon. If no market day is coming up, the traders send the goods downriver to San Caseo. Some area residents mine the hills west of the Zorinos Mountains, being careful to stay far enough away from the mountains themselves to be within the letter of the dwarven restrictions. These prospectors have uncovered a little silver in the hills, but mostly they have found copper.
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