The Redflow River

Geography

Navigability

The Redflow is navigable by smaller trade barges and personal craft along its full course from the Ironhills Delve to Eastkeep. Many of the tributaries are similarly navigable at least halfway toward their sources. Not all of these courses are naturally navigable, but the Duagan skills with earth and stone have been used to carve channels through the shallower stretches to preserve shipping viability.

From the Duagan city of Irongate to the sea, the river is sufficiently broad and deep to support much larger shipping as well. Occasional dredging of winter-fed silt deposits is required, but the Duagans and Humans work in concert to ensure shipping remains viable.

Important Cities and Towns

In addition to Eastkeep at the terminus and the Ironhill Delve at the source, there are a number of other settlements along the Redflow that warrant mention. They are listed in the order encountered by a traveler from the Delve to the sea:

The sprawling Duagan town called Confluence spreads out to encompass the merging points of two major tributary systems with the Redflow River. The farmers and herdsfolk of the Duagan lands around the town bring their goods here to be shipped as needed.

The Duagan city of Irongate was built astride the river at the point where the lands of the Duagan, the Alev, and the Humans all converge. The river itself has been engineered by the Duagans to be an integral part of the city's architecture - it flows canal-like through the center of the city, with many stone and iron bridges crossing it along the way. The river passes under massive stone arches as it goes through the city's outer walls. Huge portcullises were installed in these arches after the Great Strife, but they have never been lowered to defend the city since their completion.

Downriver from Irongate, the Human town of Borderkeep can be found. This is home to several well-respected breeders of Redflow Turtles - the "draft horse" of the river trade.

The Human town of Battlecrux marks the point where, during the Great Strife, the armies of the First Kingdom stood and repelled the last great advance of the Dark forces that had risen out of the Iron Mountains. Farmers and herdsfolk around this town still claim occasional sightings of tormented spirits haunting the ancient battlegrounds that stretch across the gap between the Iron Mountains and the Western Elvenring.

The town of Timberport is found at the confluence of the Timberflow coming down from the north and the Redflow. Most of the vessels, large and small, plying the river were built in the shipyards of this town.

The town of Riverbend is nestled inside the last major bend of the Redflow before it reaches the sea. The river bends ninety degrees here, edging the town on two sides.

Ecology

The fauna of the Redflow is typical of what one would expect in any river. Land creatures living nearby rely on the river as a water source; some like the bears that occasionally follow a tributary out of the foothills find food in the river as well.

Many species of fish can be found in the river, from common trout to the beast called the fishgator by the folk along the river. This terror, found in the downstream regions of the river, can reach 8 ft (2.5m) in length. Its 2 ft (60cm) toothy jaws and carnivorous appetite make it hazardous to be in the water near one.

History

The Redflow has been an important trade route for as long as the Duagan folk have occupied the Ironhills Delve. But the real historical importance of the river lies in the part it played in the struggles during the Great Strife. The god-war saw armies of the Dark gods pouring out of the Iron Mountains and along the river's course in an effort to overrun the First Kingdom of Humanity. Great battles were fought in the gap between the Elvenring and Iron Mountains. The lands around Borderkeep and Battlecrux are the sites of clashes where the humans stood their ground and defeated their foes. The Humans erected fortifications there; the ruins of many of these can be seen today amid the hilly fields and grasslands. Some folk maintain these are still haunted by the fallen from both sides of the conflict.

Trade Along the River

Goods Being Moved

A variety of trade goods from all over Cartyrion can be found in the rivercraft of the merchants traveling up and down the river, but there are four types of goods that make up the vast majority of river trade:

Iron ingots and finished iron goods produced from the forges of the Ironhill Delve are shipped downriver to be bought and sold in Eastkeep and beyond.

Timber harvested from the foothills and lower reaches of the Iron Mountain slopes are brought to the river from various tributaries, predominantly those within the First Kingdom. While some is used in the towns along the river for building, much of this timber finds its way to the shipyards of Eastgate.

Grain and other foodstuffs are shipped upriver as far as the Ironhills Delve. All sorts of meats, vegetables, herbs and spices make up the food trade on the river, but grain is the biggest single contributor to freight volumes. Besides being used to bake bread, it takes a great deal of barley to produce the ale consumed by an entire Duagan delve.

Exotic imports from afar also make up a portion of the traffic moving upriver from Eastkeep. Specialty woods from the Felisean rain forests... diamonds from the Chittiki Warrens... other precious gems from the Crystal Delve via Elderkeep... these and much more are carried upriver to towns and the Delve at the end of the river.

Vessels Being Used

The Redflow, especially the segments downriver from Irongate, is a rather busy river for trade. Vessels in a wide variety of shapes and sizes ply its waters moving trade goods in both directions. While some of these vessels, such as the common canoes and rafts, will be familiar to anyone experienced in river trade around the world, some are unique to the Redflow.


Overnight camps appear along the river every evening. These temporary villages allow the riverfolk to socialize, gamble their coin on games of chance, or even celebrate special events such as life-bondings. Craft that operate as portable taverns move up and down the river by day, setting up for an evening of trade at one of the overnight camps. Craftsmen work out of floating shops that also become parts of these villages, offering repair and maintenance of vessels. Floating "general stores", clothing shops, and even bakeries and restaurants join these "night villages", as they are called, each evening to allow the Riverfolk the opportunities to shop and mingle just as the residents of any land-based village would do.

In the mornings, the folk return to their barges and these villages disappear, only to be reconstituted the following evening with different mixes of residents.