Porter's Bar

By Peter Gasgano, Librarian to the Earl of Galinia

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. In those days porters were required to carry goods destined for the towns upriver 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 and stop trade.

A prince technically rules Porter’s Bar, but over the years he has had to cede a lot of power to the council. The original council consisted of a few nobles who owned land locally - they demanded a council, and a place on it, when they had helped to fund building the port. Later, during the Banfor Uprising others, mainly the wealthiest merchants, pressed their claim for a place on the council and were invested as Lords when they helped defeat Galmor Banfor and his bands of pirates and bandits.

Although Banfor and his brigands were defeated the city’s trade has always been susceptible to the brigands and pirates from the swamps, and some of the City guilds have used this to gain a position on the City Council. The foremost of these are the Merchants Guild, who between them, control the flow of the rest of the goods though the city. There is also the Porters Bar Sailing Club, who represent the barge captains as well as the sea going captains and their navigators. And the Mages Guild, who represent the mages attracted to the city to help repress the pirates.

Now the council, under the prince, rules the city. The prince chairs the council and has the casting vote in all matters, and appoints 3 other members of the council (The Port Admiral, The Chancellor and The Chief Justice). There are the three Lords of the Land (as they are called locally) who all own estates outside the city and make their living supplying food to the city and ‘herbs’ for export. The four ‘New Lords’ each own fleets of ships and were instrumental in defeating the Banfor uprising. Although it appears that one of the new Lords managed to lose a number of ships in the conflict and never bought more with his compensation money. The guild masters of the Merchants and Mages guilds and the Commodore of the sailing Club makes up the final member of the council. Making a council of 14 with the Prince having an extra casting vote if required.

Each of the nobles employ tutors to educate their children, and the three major guilds run schools for the children of members, as well as a good general education they will provide training in more advanced craft skills for a small fee. Other guilds run similar establishments but do not generally provide more than a basic education for their members’ families. The Ordaire Paupaire, a religious order who follow the teaching of Saint Jane of Banitaran, run a school and an orphanage on the outskirts of the city.

There are a number of other religious establishments - but none are formally supported by the city - except the Brothers of Small Mercy (who run a dispensary and hospital for the poor) and receive a small annual grant from the city.

You first enter the city at the docks, 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 the fishermen, sailors, the trappers who visit the local swamps and the other workers who can be found in the city. Again there are a few tradesmen and hostelries here. Further Inland is the trade district, with its market, and established trades. Many of the more wealthy traders live in an adjoining area and you will also find the houses of the merchant captains and ships officers here. Further around the walls is an area known locally as Stink City– it contains the tanneries and other smelly industries like the fish gutting and processing factories.

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.

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 are a couple of roads that lead through this area on to further cities and to the outlands where the tribesmen and savages roam.

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. It is rumoured that one of these herbs is Gonjo, which can be smoked to cause strange effects in the head, and is illegal in many of the nearby states.