Porter's Bar
Porter’s Bar stands to the west of the Caranto river delta. For some reason the main flow of the river comes down the west-side of the delta and separates the city from the swampy hinterlands beyond. In the past the channel did not connect cleanly with the ocean but turned along the coast and then seemed to empty back into the swamp again, and porters were required to carry goods destined for inland across the land bar - hence the city gets its name. Since then things have moved on. Under the auspices of Regimar III a canal was cut giving direct access to the main channel, and a fleet of sailing barges now plies the river carrying goods upstream from the sea docks in Porters Bar. Life isn’t quite that simple, of course, the people from Porter’s Bar employ a squad of men to continually maintain the canal, run the locks and to patrol the main delta channel to ensure that reeds don’t encroach too much and stop trade.
The Princess Alicia technically rules Porter’s Bar, but over the years her family had to cede a lot of power to a council of lords. The original council consisted of a few land owning nobles but various others have since been elevated - giving a council of 15 lords, with the Princess Alicia as the most influential.
The main temple of the city is dedicated to Arth the patron of the city, and it gets a small regular income from the city. The Arthians support the Ordaire Paupaire (a school and orphange) and the Brothers of Small Mercy (a dispensary and hospital). There are also Temples dedicated to Shan a sea and wind god, and Yama, a local god of the dead. The final sect worhip the ancestors of the Royal family, and their alleged Draconic blood Worship of other deities is permitted, and there are a couple of other small temples in the city, but they only attract a small following.
You first enter the city at the docks, where a huge lighthouse sees you safely into port. There are separate areas for fishing boats, ships and the river barges and the area is filled with warehouses and offices for the various traders. You can also find quite few inns and taverns as well as brothels and gambling dens hidden in the warren of streets. Further around are small houses occupied by fishermen, sailors, trappers and the various other workers who can be found in the city. Further Inland is the trade district, with a general market, and a number of established shops and stores. Many of the wealthier traders live in the adjoining areas, where you will also find the houses of the merchant captains and ships officer.
Moving further into the city is the administrative area with the guildhalls and a major church or two, and the homes of the nobles and wealthiest of the inhabitants. It abuts the Citadel, which is home to the prince and his family.
On the wrong side of the canal is an area known locally as Stink City– it contains the tanneries and other smelly industries such as the fish gutting and processing factories.
Leaving the city by the land gate there is a caravanserai and a few more houses for the poorest inhabitants and then out into the countryside. There you will find occasional agricultural villages and the estates of the ‘Lords of the Land’. The Lords' estates grow food for the city, as do the villages, but also grow herbs for drying and export. There is one major road that lead onto the city of Lysteria and to the barbarian outlands beyond.
The city lives off its trade connections and the ports are very busy. There is also a shipyard and a thriving market in new and used ships here. There have been occasional complaints that ships sold here had been taken by pirates earlier, but the dealers always seem to have the proper paperwork for the ships for sale.
Although you can find many delicacies here, the staple diet of the area consists of those foods grown locally as well as fish from the fishing fleet and a little game from the surrounding areas.
The city also exports some skins taken from the delta, and excess supplies of some herbs, which grow like weeds locally, but are seen as a delicacy elsewhere. These are dried, and then packed in small barrels for export. One of these herbs is Gonjo, which can be smoked to cause strange effects in the head, and is illegal in some of the nearby states.