La Rue Macabre

## Description:

La Rue Macabre refers to an Open, Anchored Hinterland which corresponds to the Mississippi River; the Hinterland is seemingly infinite, an unending swathe of swamplands that stretches as far as the eye can see, interspersed by small villages, settlements, and ruins. The most prominent geographic feature is the River which cuts the Hinterland "in half"; the river is equivalent to the Mississippi, but is referred to as the [NAME], and matches the real-world river in size, width, depth, temperature, and intensity. Most of the land in La Rue Macabre is uninhabitable due to the watery conditions, and as such most settlements are either raised on stilts, floating, or built atop the small hills of semi-dried land. La Rue Macabre acts as a Nexus Hinterland, connected to many other Hinterlands around the world, including Other Orleans, Three Portlands, Eurtec, etc. (*Note: Due to La Rue Macabre's divine creation, the Hutton Algorithm has not been determined by the JPCU as of the time of writing*).

The JPCU became aware of La Rue Macabre in the years which followed the JPCU's movement to New Orleans. While the JPCU discovered Other Orleans and sought to immediately bring that Hinterland under their control, the company found it far tougher to bring La Rue Macabre under their influence; the Hinterland's infinite nature, sparse population, and the refusal of its inhabitants to cooperate with larger, foreign organizations prevented the JPCU from conquering it. The Hinterland's status as a Nexus further impeded the JPCU's ability to actively combat its inhabitants.

### Physical Description and Attributes:

La Rue Macabre consists entirely of swamps, marshes, lakes, lagoons, rivers, bogs, caves, and flooded forests. The Hinterland is unending in its proportions, and goes on forever as far as anyone has been able to discern. Unlike many other Hinterlands, La Rue Macabre is relatively uniform in its composition and often labyrinthine in its appearance; miles and miles of similar terrain blend into each other, making long-term traversal almost impossible. Luckily, the Hinterland's benevolent deities and Important People (*Note: Colloquial term for "leaders"*) are usually willing to lend some help or advice to lost travelers.

Like the bayou of Louisiana upon which the Hinterland is based, La Rue Macabre is a giant swamp; as such, the Hinterland is perpetually caked in a humid, oppressive heat. The temperature never decreases below seventy-five (75) or eighty (80) degrees Fahrenheit, and is almost never below one hundred percent (100%) humidity. The Hinterland's weather patterns consist of rain storms, seasonal flooding of the [REDACTED] River, and occasional fog.

La Cue Macabre, being an Open and Anchored Hinterland, has many set entrances. The entirety of the Mississippi River is an entrance to La Rue Macabre, a fact which has resulted in thousands of disappearances and anomalous events over the course of recorded history in the region; additionally, La Rue Macabre has an easily reached entrance in New Orleans' French Quarter, accessible by taking a left (on foot) off of Decatur Street (next to Jackson Square) onto Morgan. The French Quarter entrance will bring the user into La Rue Macabre's largest settlement, so named "La Rue."

#### La Rue:

The Hinterland's largest settlement, comprised of a population of fluctuating and unknown size, exists as a rough equivalent to New Orleans' French Quarter; the buildings generally resemble those within the French Quarter, save for their much worse state of repair and attached makeshift shacks. The town is isolated within the Hinterland, but serves as the region's capital from which the Hinterland's leaders hold court and make decisions.

##### Le Pavillon:

A large open field with a large gazebo in its center that sits adjacent to Market Square, most commonly used when the Circus or similar groups come to town. Le Pavillon is also where the Important People hold their public meetings, but only usually to discuss the most important of matters.

##### Market Square:

The large open flagstone square at the center of La Rue, flanked on all sides by the settlement's largest buildings, the Market Square is the stage upon which the bi-weekly Market Day occurs; every first and third Sunday, La Rue undergoes the Market Day, where many inhabitants and most visitors come to buy, sell, trade, sing, dance, drink, and party. Musicians perform, goods and services are exchanged, and everyone has a great time. Market Day is also the occasion where the Hinterland's sizable Lizardfolk population engages with non-Lizardfolk. The Important People of La Rue hold their public meetings on Market Day as well.

##### Stele Dan's House of Wonders:

A large museum/library, around one (1) square mile in total size, that contains an extremely large collection of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts, scrolls, literature, and information. The site is owned, operated, and maintained by "Dan," an anomalous individual believed to be the ancient Greek figure, Damocles. The site acts as a large tourist attraction, but primarily serves to preserve ancient knowledge and items that "Dan" has collected over his three thousand (3,000) years of life.

#### Swampland:

The Hinterland's infinite expanse of swampland is the primary geographic feature.

##### The River:

The massive river which flows freely through La Rue Macabre is identical to that of the Mississippi; like all other large rivers around the world, from the Nile to the Amazon or Rhine, the river which slices La Rue Macabre in two (2) is also a massive conduit of Magic. Similarly, La Rue's river serves as the primary means of transportation for the Hinterland and its visitors. The river is home to all kinds of creatures, monsters, ruins, shipwrecks, and abominations hidden by reeds or half-submerged trees, and is also one of the more dangerous areas of La Rue Macabre despite its importance to the Hinterland.

Most of the Hinterland's inhabitants live or travel along the infinitely twisting River. Flotillas of Lizardfolk swim and sail up and down its swampy length, fishing and hunting as they go; boats from the outside world enter and exit, seemingly at random, or use the River to cross large swathes of space in a short amount of time. Floating settlements dot the marshy riverbank every few miles, tethered to trees or raised on stilts which penetrate the greenish waters. Lizardfolk and Wood Elf villages cling to the tops of the twisted trees, high in the canopy.

#### Known Inhabitants:

1. Papa Legba & Loa
2. "Old Man Nancy," aka Anansi
3. Joseph "Cotton-Eyed Joe" Le Monde
4. Scratch
5. Good Ol' Willie
6. Big John
7. Cpt. Charles A. Lee & Family
8. Baron Samedi & the Guédé

## History:

Created by the Loa known as Papa Legba sometime in the Seventeenth (17th) Century CE, La Rue Macabre was established as a direct result of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the mass-migration of African slaves to the New World. According to Papa Legba, when the Africans were kidnapped from their homelands and brought to the Caribbean and the New World (Note: Louisiana specifically), he and Anansi and the other Loa came with them; this description follows what JPCU anthropologists believe was the combination of Roman Catholicism and African religions to form Haitian Voodoo.

### Slave Trade:

For over two hundred (200) years, Papa Legba and the other Loa watched helplessly as their people were enslaved, beaten, tortured, and killed. Eventually, as the beliefs of Voodoo developed, the Loa gained renewed strength over their new Domain, and began working to drive off the slavers. While Anansi and some of the other Loa used violence and incited revolts, Papa Legba used his powers over crossroads to create La Rue Macabre, a place for the oppressed, enslaved and imprisoned, downtrodden, and outcast to live freely. Alongside Cotton-Eyed Joe, Papa Legba and Anansi established La Rue Macabre and helped their people escape slavery. During the later years of slavery in the United States, La Rue Macabre was even involved in aiding the Underground Railroad and actively sought to break slaves out of their bonds; Papa Legba and the other Loa of La Rue did occasionally break their own rules, however, and sought bloody revenge against the harshest of slaveowners.