Trading ======= Kadesh is a province of Sind, only loosely allied with the Rajahirajah. The bandits (who tried to join Tess' followers) were based up in Kadesh. Route Sayr Ulan <-> Baratpur. Buying goods in Baratpur: Arts (price high); Common Woods, Fish, Tea - these prices low. Prices in Sayr Ulan for Arts have gone up. We make the 30% differential. 15% of the time specify an alternate route to specify in case market is depressed. 20 to 30 loads of goods will have issues with finding enough merchants to buy them. Most common route Baratpur to Sayr Ulan is through Palkat. The one through Kargam is not as safe (say 10% more likelihood of a problem). Tess goes through Palkat both ways. We get accosted by some Warrior Caste guys in Baratkand, who have set up a toll on the road and are demanding a toll. They're in the uniform of a local guy. This is not a toll levvied by Grey. There's 20 Warriors here, and they are outnumbered by the merchant guards. Toll of 10gp or so. The warriors talk about how the toll is unpopular among the merchants - and they say the foreigners deserve it. Many of the merchants are foreigners, or warrior caste who are not fighting and merchants instead. Sayr Ulan is a walled city, except for the camp ground and the foreigners quarter outside. The Rajahirajah's palace is in the middle of a lake in the city. The city is quite stratified (sections run by priests, etc.) - people stick to their own caste areas. Merchants in the main positive about the trade conference in Baratpur. They think maybe he'll even cut the taxes in the trade routes. The major trade route between the Baronnies and the rest of the known world passes through Baratpur. Apparently Rajah Kvana is an adventurer, not often at home, spends a lot of time out fighting, etc. Absentee rulers are not uncommon. Rajah Kvana is a very aggressive person, some people think he'll go up and punish some of the northern mumylkets that were sympathetic to Hule. Apparently he has a foreign bride. Pale skin is viewed as lower class (e.g. Turia). The merchants are mostly Darokin, some Sindhi, and some city states (over in the Gulf of Hule next to the Baronnies - e.g. Slagovich). Shajarkand is just south of Sayr Ulan, and the capital is Naral. The ruler of Shajarkand is a famed tiger hunter. On the way back, prices higher in Sayr Ulan and prices in Baratpur are higher. Price for rare books 20% less than we're expecting.