The
Merchant's Republic, like the
Confederacy of Traders, is divided into regions called counties. The name harkens back to Imperial times when actual "Counts" ruled over large regions of Imperial kingdoms.
Today, the term county signifies a coalition of parishes who choose to operate certain business transactions as a single entity, giving them more power than any single parish. The
Merchant Barons and Princes of the individual parishes continually jockey for positions of greater power, but generally all conflicts within a parish are judged by a local parish Brehon. The name Brehon is an ancient term for "judge", which comes from the tradition of the
Clans of the Men of Old.
 |
| County Carr, Merchant's Republic: 1" = 3 miles |
Lying between the Greenwood and
Woodbury Forest, County Carr contains the southern portion of the Dire Bogs, and controls trade passage on the Mern River. The county gets is name from Carr, a legendary Centaur who is said to have perished while leading his kinsmen to victory in a war between Man and the Monstrous Races in the days before
The Shattering.
Calabria's largest monument to the
Centaur race sits atop Carr Peak, some twenty leagues north of Carr County.
Carrnach and Carrdech are the two most strategic towns of the county. Both towns are fortified, and are perched upon hilltops, allowing vantage points from which to surveil nearly the entire breadth of the county from the Greenwood to Woodbury.
There are some half dozen villages in the county, each situated a league or two off of the main trade route of the
Via Imperium, allowing for a level of privacy to the villagers which is greatly valued. In addition to the villages, there are also smaller hamlets scattered about, with some farmers living in near isolation. Villages typically host a smith, a carpenter, and a chapel, with some providing masons, cobblers, coopers, butchers to nearby villages and hamlets. Villagers may travel up to three leagues to have their grain milled, an undertaking requiring an entire day's investment.
 |
| Hubert Robert |
A fortified bridge spans the Mern between the sister towns of Carrnach and Carrdech, which lie less than two leagues to either side. The bridge was greatly damaged in The Shattering, and in times past the bridge's tower served many purposes, from home to prison. Today, the restored bridge and tower loom imposingly over the Mern, and control traffic up and down the river with support from the nearby towns.
Travel north on the Via Imperium is treacherous, as the paved roadway has sunk into the Dire Bogs in several places. The river is commonly used by traders to circumvent this portion of the Via Imperium.
Woodbury Forest and the Greenwood are rich sources of timber, and many a woodcutter makes his living on the edges of the county. However, tales of things best left undisturbed are common among the more isolated villages.
