Overview

The village of Tyrros is located in northern Caheb in the desert. Northwest of the village are the unclaimed mountain regions and northeast of the village is located one of the biggest lakes in Cresia. Nearby is another village – Tyrros Dal – which is located in a vale between sandy hills. The area is dotted with both permanent and ad-hoc oases by the dozens. The water is crystal clear, cold and rich with minerals.

Importance to trade

The village of Tyrros and the dozens – if not hundreds – of oases of the surrounding area are of crucial importance to the trade routes between Calishem, Caheb and Groam. Many routes regularly use Tyrros as a way point gathering strength and supplies before entering the merciless desert. The next supplies of water in the south and west are hundreds of kilometers away but if moving to southeast, we are suddenly talking about a thousand kilometers. Although there are many oases dotting the desert, only a handful are stable enough to really rely on as water sources. Maps of the desert oases are in existence but sell for quite large sums and the more expensive the map, the more accurate it can be expected to be. Map makers and dealers in Tyrros earn quite the coin making and selling maps. Around 90 caravans use the village annually and most spend a few days in the area. The village thus now have two fairly good and large inns and a surprisingly well-equipped tavern offering a wide range of beverages and snacks from all over Cresia. Those are – of course – gained through the caravans travelling here. The village is, however, much too small to adequately cater bigger caravans and therefore only foolhardy or ill-informed merchants rely on Tyrros to thoroughly supply them.

History

The village has a long history being an important way point for trade caravans and the general area has had permanent inhabitants for at least 500 years. The oasis around which the village has been formed, is a stable oasis and has remained there for around 200 years. No signs of it weakening – or strengthening for that matter – is both giving the place a future and also severely restricting it’s growth.

Flora and fauna

The palm trees in the area grow exceptionally large, healthy and reach maturity just in few years. The biggest palm trees easily shadow the tallest of the man-made buildings and provide excellent shadow from the burning desert sun. Despite abundant fresh water, the soil of the area is not really suitable for large scale farming and thus the village has remained rather small although a number of small vegetable gardens do provide the odd carrot and turnip every now and then. Furthermore, regular sand storms would cover grain fields with sand and the villagers have little else weapons against the sand but bolt down their windows and wait out the storms. But there is natural vegetation circling the oases and some of the plants are used by the villagers to further supplement their diet and used as spices as well. The water allures thousands of species of animals and the biggest of the stable oases are rich with crustaceans, small fish, nutrient algae and mollusks all of which form the basic diet of the inhabitants. Meat is rare and mostly gained through hunting the wild life and birds which are drawn to water. The area is known for large packs of hunting beasts such as jackals, lions, wild boars and even elephants and to keep those at bay the village is entirely protected by a wooden palisade supplemented with observation towers. The palisades do not actually protect the village all that much against the bigger mammals but it also serves blockade sand during sand storms.

Inhabitants

The village has a permanent population of 183 residents – all human – with a fairly normal age distribution although quite a few villagers are abnormally old – clearly much older than is considered usual taking into account the harsh environment. Around one third of the villagers gain their living solely through auxiliary duties performed on the stopping caravans – fixing broken down items, offering lodging, food and selling supplies. A few make their living through hunting, some are solely gatherers, few excel in crafts (such as making candles, papyrus, clay ornaments, clothing, shoes, barrels and such) and yet others offer their services as desert guides or as guardians to valuable cargo.

Locations in Tyrros

Mapmaker Gassta’s Emporeum

The most prominent cartographer in the area – Isant Gassta – also runs his own store in Tyrros and his store is the go-to location of cartography items for those wanting to head south to Caheb.

Notable villagers

Liff Qapar– A desert guide.
Isant Gassta– A cartographer. Owner of Mapmaker Gassta’s Emporeum.

Map of Tyrros by Kimmo Mäkinen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Tyrros village view by Kimmo Mäkinen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.