Cromlin

Originally a trading post created by House Shorn, the village of Cromlin has prospered despite the decline in its founder's fortunes. The silt sailors of Cromlin have charted hidden paths through the treacherous dust of the Bay of Maray, giving them easy access to the villages on the bay's northern shores. Light cargoes bound for Raam or Draj (or heading southward to Nibenay) can go by silt skimmer, shaving weeks of time from the normal journey. As one of House Shom's last profitable outposts, the authorities here tend to turn a blind eye to the shady practices of anyone who remains to do business with them. Elf merchants from the Sky Singer tribe, nomads, and other traders such as those from Tenpug's Band all bring their wares to Cromlin. Stealing from Shom's emporiums brings harsh punishment, as does raiding a caravan heading to or from the village, but it's fair game to rob unaffiliated travelers or attack caravans that pass through the Black Spine Mountains. These lax laws make Cromlin a haven for smugglers, slavers, pirates, and elves – rogues and scoundrels of all sorts call the place home. The prices are extremely inflated, for a tenth of all earnings must be given to Shom's Master Trader, Hurdll Crost. Of course, reported earnings are considerably less than actual earnings. Crost realizes and ignores this discrepancy, as it helps lure business opportunities to the village. If a trader's reported earnings are too low, or if a merchant has gotten on Crost's bad side, then Crost's overseers will audit the offender's transactions for several week to collect Shom's share. The people living in Cromlin are a strange mix of exiles and folk too untamable to live under the dominion of the sorcerer-kings. Cromlinites dress much like the other people of the Tyr region, though they have developed one habit peculiar to Cromlin. To protect themselves from the thick, choking dust of the nearby Silt Sea, the locals always wear scarves over their noses and mouths. To remove a scarf while outside is a sign that you have been grievously insulted. To apologize, the offending party is expected to remove his scarf and give it to the insulted party. The principal source of entertainment in Cromlin is the inn known as the Dirty Lizard. Jaksot Han, a thickset mul of middle years, owns the place. Han is a former silt pirate, and his common room attracts a similar clientele. Bar brawls occur daily at the Lizard, and according to commonly held wisdom, a patron isn't considered a regular until he's been through a fracas.