Cordoire

Location of Cordoire within Duilintinn by tumblr user @thewatchau

A slightly outdated map of Cordoire (ignore road placement and size scale please)

### Location

Duilintinn

Cordoire is the capital and largest city in Duilintinn as well as the largest, covering an area of about 50 square miles (130 km2). It stands at the edge of the Monaidh Plains of House Jackie, overlooking the sharp decline into the coastal region of House Schneeplestein. Since the Waldren Occupation, Cordoire has played a significant role in Duilintinn’s history and remains a political and economic center of Duilintinn to this day.

## Name Origin

“Cordoire” roughly means “small round hill grove” based upon the “Place Names in Ireland” Wikipedia page.

According to records left behind by the Waldren Trade Enterprise, the name is Feadhainn in origin. The hill upon which the city now stands had been called Cordoire long before Waldren ships arrived in the region. While Waldren did attempt to impose a new name in the common tongue, this, like most other attempts to colonize the region, failed miserably.

## History

### Feadhainn Era

Prior to its construction during the Waldren Occupation from cerca. 1000 to 1500, the land where Cordoire exists today was on the outskirts of Feadhainn territory. At their peak, Feadhainn expanded all the way to the eastern sea. However, Cordoire was not one of Feadhainn’s great Golden Age cities like Monacoil or Mulladún, but rather a small fortification built on an artificial hill centuries earlier.

### Waldren Occupation

Waldren Occupation Records show that when the Waldren Trade Enterprise began occupying the Feadhainn Valley, the foundations of the Feadhainn Era shell keep still remained on the large hill where Cordoire now sits. Thanks to its strategic position at the top of the Beinnfaire Ridge, Waldren decided to construct a large fortress in this area, which would function as the launching point for all operations further west into the valley. After rebuilding and expanding the shell keep into a full castle with a fully populated bailey and its own outer walls, Waldren continued to expand the city, constructing what we now call the “Administrators’ District” immediately north of the castle walls.

These renovations all took place within the first half of the Waldren Occupation, with construction beginning to wane as Waldren realized that Duilintinn’s natural resources were not as lucrative as those of her neighbors to the north and south. However, despite the development of Waldren’s statutory neglect over the region, people continued to move into and expand the city of Cordoire into the northwest, away from the steep Beinnfaire Ridge. During this time, most of the other districts of the city were built.

### Interim Years

As revolutions against Waldren began to sweep Tirónar, some of the more powerful occupants of Cordoire who retained their Waldren identity pooled their resources to have a wall constructed around the entire city. During this project, it became clear to many that Waldren was the losing side, and that a power vacuum was ripe for the taking in the prosperous city of Cordoire and the surrounding areas. While the wall construction was a temporary unifying factor, conflict soon broke out among these powerful groups over who would control the city as soon as the project was finished.

Eventually, three major powers rose above the rest, alternating between an endless fight among themselves and sudden alliances to destroy any new threats contending for power. The well being of the people was ignored in favor of political intrigue, and for years chaos and unrest plagued the common folk. Centuries passed, and turmoil engulfed the land. Much of this conflict was centered around the city of Cordoire.

Eventually, Cordoire became a key location in The Quest for Duilintinn. King Sean and his fellow adventurers had to contend with these corrupt, manipulative, and violent factions if there were to be any hope of bringing the lands together. After years of attempts at diplomacy, negotiations, and even some counter-intrigue, it became clear that these factions would prefer to hole up in Cordoire and fight amongst themselves for power forever. When these factions declared their intentions to squash the quest once and for all, King Sean enlisted the help of the Guard Coalition, Mercenary Syndicate, Mages’ Guild, and other allies who had pledged their support to rebuild the land to strike first and place the city under siege. Despite many losses and a tragic fire that destroyed much of the central city, the future king’s forces eventually routed the power-hungry factions from Cordoire.

### Modern Duilintinn

After Duilintinn’s founding, King Sean created dozens of projects to rebuild areas of the city that were torn apart by the decades of fighting during the Interim Years. This created a lot of jobs, drawing skilled laborers and craftsmen into the city and laying a foundation both for the city’s structural and economic revival.

One of the greatest construction projects within the city was the rebuilding of the central market, including the addition of several amphitheaters. With the resurgence of Feadhainn’s traditional amphitheaters as a cultural staple in other regions of Duilintinn, most cities built with architecture from the Waldren Occupation would build raised amphitheaters on the edges of their cities. However, King Sean specifically commissioned an intense construction project while rebuilding Cordoire to add an amphitheater to the central marketplace in the traditional lowered style of Feadhainn cities.

Cordoire is now the capital city of Duilintinn. The city is extremely urbanized, with a large, crowded population that continues to grow to this day. However, since the Overnight Defense in 1603, some question whether or not it is safe to have so many people near one of The Enemy’s largest targets. Since the reports of infiltration in late 1613 to the present (November 1614 at time of writing), these concerns have continued to spread, yet seem to have little impact on the city’s rapid urbanization.

Holidays are celebrated across Duilintinn, but none more spectacularly than in Cordoire. In recent years, King Sean has mobilized Cordoire’s ability to party by declaring additional monthly celebrations to raise money for charity, to great success.

## Administration

### Local Government

Legally, Cordoire is a separate province of Duilintinn with similar authority to a Noble House, much like the District of Columbia in the United States. As such, it has its own local government that functions similarly to the regional government of a Noble House. Logistically, this local government is structured more like a branch of the national government, rather than its own entity. Thankfully, in practice, the bureaucracies of the local and national government in Cordoire have thus far maintained a clear separation between their distinct responsibilities, allowing the city to retain its provincial authority while operating within the structures of the national government.

Part of the reason this system works is because the provincial government of Cordoire is not responsible for the record keeping and social services managed by Duilintinn’s five Noble Houses. A citizen cannot pledge themselves to Cordoire the same way they can pledge themselves to one of the other Noble Houses. Rather, the citizens of Cordoire would remain under the domestic authority and care of their chosen Noble House, or else none at all in a status known as Houselessness. Just as a Noble House would conduct services and administrative responsibilities for their citizens in other Noble Houses through their embassies in each regional capital, each Noble House has an embassy in Cordoire’s Administrator’s District through which they handle these matters for their citizens living in the city.

All five Noble Houses work together to ensure that Cordoire has the infrastructure necessary to provide social services to its citizens. Officials from all five Noble Houses are sent to Cordoire with a budget of resources from their respective houses, forming a committee that ensures the infrastructure within Cordoire will allow these embassies to provide for their respective citizens.

### National Government

Cordoire is the center of Duilintinn’s political world. It’s Administrators’ District holds all of the government buildings used by Duilintinn’s bureaucratic national government, including embassies representing each Noble House and guild of Duilintinn. With the input and coordination of these parties, decisions that will impact the entirety of the kingdom are made and executed here. Meanwhile, the castle on the southern edge of the city houses King Sean and his most trusted confidants and is the site of the king’s regular proclamations to his people.

### Defenses

> *See More: Watch Patrols of Cordoire*
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Cordoire has a thick outer wall surrounding most of the city, with large watchtowers located half a mile apart along its circumference. The entire wall measures a staggering 25 miles long, or approximately 40 km. Its 50 total watchtowers are manned by a combination of Guard Coalition members hired on by the government and Watchers who have been assigned to keep a watch over the city and its surrounding area. While members of the Guard Coalition initially protested the addition of Watcher forces along the city wall when The Watch was officially deployed in early 1603, the vital role they played in defending the city during the Overnight Defense that December officially silenced those complaints. In fact, it was said that the most cordial relationship between The Watch and The Guard Coalition exists among those who work together along the city walls, although that has slightly degraded with time. The walls are home to tunnels, made by various over the many times teh city has changed hands. They are currently used and maintained by the Fellowship of Thieves.

In addition, Cordoire is also surrounded by a moat, located an average of one mile out from the walls (depending on where you are). However, it offers minimal defense and is extremely difficult to maintain. When the city of Cordoire was built during the Waldren Occupation, the construction teams attempted to divert some smaller tributaries of the Guardian River into the shape of a moat around the city. However, this moat doesn’t particularly enjoy being a moat, especially since the city of Cordoire happens to be very, VERY large. If left unattended, the diverted part of the river will start to veer east again, down the slope of the Beinnfaire Ridge. In addition, much of the water is absorbed by the arid soil of the Monaidh Plains before it even reaches the city. Some believe that the ongoing research into how Feadhainn managed to divert the Agrona River might eventually yield information that would make this maintenance process easier, but so far, these efforts have met minimal success.  As a result, even in peak condition, the moat around Cordoire is not a very intimidating obstacle. While the constant maintenance the moat’s upkeep requires does create jobs, most people agree that the talents of these people could be better applied elsewhere. For now, the moat is still being maintained, but that might change eventually

Finally, Fort Stiofán also deploys teams of Watchers to patrol the city from the ground, taking into account the lack of protection that the moat offers to those living within the urban sprawl outside of the city walls. After all, it’s been over a decade since a direct attack upon the city, and with The Enemy’s moves against the king growing more and more subtle, it is useful to have eyes and ears on the ground as well as upon the walled ramparts.

## Geography

### Topography

A large, artificially built hill stands on the southern edge of the city, with the castle sitting atop of it. The rest of the topography is mostly flat, typical for the region, with a mostly dry and poorly-maintained moat surrounding the city approximately a mile away from the walls

### Climate

The standard climate of the Monaidh Plains of House Jackie, with dry summers and snowy winters, and very little humidity year-round.

### Natural History

The hill upon which sits the king’s castle was built artificially during the Feadhainn Era to construct a keep resembling a real-world Motte and Bailey Castle. While it has likely shrunken slightly over time due to erosion and other factors, the hill stands firm to this day.

Like much of the Monaidh Plains, the land where Cordoire sits was once very forested. However, the land was severely deforested during the first half of the Waldren Occupation, leaving behind a dry plains region with minimal topsoil.

An offshoot of the Guardian River flows near the city, but its path was diverted sometime during the Interim Years to create a moat around the city. However, the river seems intent on returning to its original course, making the moat very difficult to maintain.

## Districts

### Castle

> (see more: King Sean's Castle)
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King Sean’s castle is perched atop the artificially constructed hill on the southern edge of Cordoire. Based on a mott and baily and shell keep, with a mix of Feadhainn and Waldren architecture.

### Administrative District

The Administrators’ District (sometimes called the “Administration” or “Administrative” District) is located directly adjacent to the castle in the southern half of Cordoire. It is directly accessible via the Central Market and is home to government buildings, embassies, and other spaces vital to the administration of both Duilintinn’s national government and the municipal government of Cordoire itself.

In addition to government buildings and meeting halls, most of this district is full of embassies and representative hubs for other organizations/places. For example, each Noble House has a significant embassy located in this district.

Additionally, every country Duilintinn has some sort of treaty or agreement with is also represented in the Administrator’s District with its own embassy. These include, but are not limited to: every country in Tirónar, every nation outside of Tirónar that Duilintinn has trade agreements with, and every town/community in the Feadhainn Valley that elected to remain independent from Duilintinn after the kingdom’s founding. However, not every one of the entities represented will deign to fill their embassy with a full staff. Some embassies only have a handful of dignitaries, who mostly stick around to sign the trade agreement renewals every year and occasionally manage odd bits of drama involving one of their citizens in Duilintinn (which can be extremely rare if very few of their citizens actually stay in the country for more than a month or two). Others are fully staffed with everything from scribes to important government officials to handle the regular whirlpool of politics, negotiations, and requests from their citizens in Duilintinn on a daily basis. It just depends on the need and how much the country wants to invest in managing their relationship with Duilintinn.

Another important area within the Administrators’ District of Cordoire is a street called “Guild Row.” As you might be able to guess, this street specifically houses all of the representatives within the national government for Duilintinn’s officially recognized guilds.  Essentially, these spaces are like mini guild hubs, only they specifically foster that guild’s relationship with the government. From Guild Row, all of the apprenticeship programs and kingdom-wide responsibilities managed by each guild are born, developed, and carried out in collaboration with King Sean, the national government, and the Noble Houses.

Additionally, two of these buildings also function as the main guild hub for two of Cordoire’s major guilds. The official mint of Duilintinn is located off the hub of the Merchants’ Guild, but otherwise, the Merchants’ Guild’s secondary hub in Fionport is technically far busier than the one in Cordoire. On the other hand, the Craftsmens’ Guild has dozens of smaller hubs dedicated to specific crafts located throughout both Cordoire and Duilintinn as a whole; thus, the main hub in the Administrator’s District is mostly used for administrative work and coordination between the smaller guilds. Finally, the Fellowship of Thieves doesn’t even technically have a guild hub at all, thanks to its self-imposed unofficial status.

### Craftsmen's District

Moving further into the city, the Craftsmen’s District is located to the east and west of the Administrators’ District and runs adjacent to most of the city’s major roads. This district is mostly populated by workshops and smaller, middle-class homes, often located on the second floor of a store or shop. Throughout this district are also the various small guild hubs of the sub-guilds dedicated to various crafts, all of which report to the slightly larger “main hub” in the Administrators’ District.

Technically, there are two “sections” of the Craftsmen’s District; one to the east of the Administrators’ District, and one to the west. On paper, they are more or less identical. The only major difference between the two are location and which craft has their sub-guild hub located where. For example, you might have the woodworkers located in the eastern district, and the textile artists located in the western district. For the sake of clarity when giving directions, these districts are distinguished from each other by calling them the Eastern Craftsmens’ District and Western Craftsmens’ District.

Becoming a capital craftsmen within the city walls is an extremely competitive endeavor. There are a limited amount of spaces within the Craftsmens’ District to set up shop, so prospective residents must apply for a license to conduct their business within Cordoire proper, with new licenses becoming available whenever someone decides to leave their space behind. Since each license guarantees a space for a specific practice, many people who wish to work in the city will come together and apply as a unit to share one such space.

However, no such rule exists for the craftsmen beyond the city walls. Hence, both halves of the Craftsmens’ District have slowly grown over time to sprawl out beyond the city along the roads to the main gates. Thanks to the additional space, craftsmen living outside the walls will also tend to have their homes in a separate building located near their shops, unlike the craftsmen living within the city proper, who usually live above their workspaces for lack of space.

If you look at the map, you’ll see that the craftsmen located outside of the capital are clustered around the roads to House Brody and Fort Stiofán. This is not a coincidence. House Brody contains few craftsmen; they harvest and distribute most of the kingdom’s natural resources, rather than create with them. Therefore, they will be the most in need of tools made outside of their borders. The same goes for Fort Stiofán. While every garrison of The Watch seeks to be self-sufficient, this isn’t always feasible. While many Watchers have skills like artistry, carpentry, and smithing, supplementary purchases from the capital craftsmen are usually needed to keep all of The Watch’s volunteers and members fully supplied.

### Central Market

In the center of Cordoire is a huge market space. The area was far smaller prior to the Quest for Duilintinn, but many of the surrounding houses were destroyed in a devastating fire that took place during the siege of the city. Rather than rebuild entire districts, the King had the space cleaned and several amphitheaters built before reopening it as a public commons and marketplace for anyone who wished to try their luck doing business in the city.

Most of the space is full to bursting with tents, stalls, and every other sort of temporary storefront you could imagine. Unlike the Craftsmen’s District, no license is required to set up shop in the central market, so long as you’ve cleaned everything up by one hour after nightfall. This usually results in a predawn rush to find a space and set up every morning, with storefronts opening for business as the sun rises. Technically this means that marketplace business hours are longer in the summer, but it gets cold enough in the winter that few people would want to stand out after dark longer than they had to.

Scattered throughout the marketplace are several large amphitheaters in the Feadhainn style - meaning they are dug into the ground, rather than raised above it - with one enormous amphitheater at the very center. These public spaces function as both a park and a community center for the citizens of Cordoire. It’s common to see children playing in these spaces when not reserved for events. A low wall with several exits surrounds the outer edge of each amphitheater, creating a semblance of privacy that isolates the amphitheater from the chaos of the marketplace as stairs continue down into the center. Market storefronts are often pressed up against this wall, but legally cannot set up shop within the amphitheater or block the exits. The only exception to this rule takes place during the July Trade Season, when the amphitheaters are reserved by the city for the entire month to allow more space for visiting foreign traders.

Additionally, several green areas are scattered throughout the central market. Much like the amphitheaters, these areas are off limits to storefronts. In these spaces you might find beautiful artistinal gardens, communal vegetable plots, or mini biological displays hidden within greenhouses or in the open air.

### Wealthy District

The Opal District, also colloquially called just the “Wealthy District,” is located north of the Central Market. Named for its shining, almost opulent architecture, this is by far Cordoire’s most high-income area. While many of the buildings have been repurposed as museums, libraries, and other public services, some are still occupied as residential spaces by those who have the means to afford the heavy upkeep tax used to preserve the historic buildings. Part of the reason this tax is so high is because it also pays for the upkeep of the buildings used as public services, who would not be able to afford said upkeep. This encourages the development of the area as a place that serves the entire city, rather than an insular upper-class neighborhood.

### The Hidden District

Cordoire has never stopped growing, even when the wall around the city was built during the Interim years. However, while development along the roads into the city also benefitted from Cordoire’s prosperity, they were the exception rather than the norm. Instead, most of Cordoire’s urban sprawl is a collection of slums and shantytowns known as “The Hidden District.”

The district’s name could be attributed to a variety of factors. For one, too many find it easier to ignore the poverty at their doorstep rather than address it. Moreover, most of the occupants of the Hidden District are houseless, with no Noble House holding their records, thus making them effectively invisible to Duilintinn’s government and unreachable by most conventional means of social aid. Finally, this district holds the central guild hub of the Fellowship of Thieves, adding an additional air of mystery and secrecy to the area.

The Hidden District is generally made up of dozens of small, like-minded communities from almost every background you could imagine, creating these vibrant cultural bubbles throughout the district. However, there is one thing that the majority of this district’s residents have in common: Houselessness. Some are Houseless by choice, either out of disillusionment with the system, after fleeing criminal judgement in their hometown, or simply not wanting to give up their community’s existing structure in favor of a larger government power. Others may be refugees or orphans who don’t understand how Duilintinn’s Noble House system works. Many are simply too focused on survival to waste energy on attempting to get registered under a Noble House.

Contrary to popular belief, poverty is not a guaranteed norm within the Hidden District. The main disadvantage of Houselessness is that it cuts one off from the government social services distributed by the Noble Houses, offering fewer opportunities and less of a safety net in a crisis. Despite this, many of the Hidden District’s communities get by perfectly fine and even thrive without these services by taking care of their own.

However, for every community that thrives, there are several more that need aid. Many efforts have been made since Duilintinn’s founding to address the poverty within Cordoire’s slums, but by nature of Duilintinn’s House System, most of the slum’s residents are completely undocumented. Thus, it’s far more difficult for administrations to coordinate and offer social services than it is for them to distribute the same services to their documented citizens. This is one of the fundamental flaws of Duilintinn’s Noble House system, and while small pockets of relief efforts have been successful, no wide-sweeping policies have been successful in aiding the slums of Cordoire as a whole.

Therefore, the first step towards helping the people clustered in these slums would be to find them a house, but many of the refugees clustered around the edge of the city have no desire to leave or register themselves under the Noble House structure. For some, this is good enough in comparison to what they faced in their old situation. For others, they’ve never known anything else. For still others, a feeling of bitterness or cynicism towards the house system and the ways it might have failed or abandoned them keeps them stubbornly insisting on remaining houseless. Regardless, while this decision is absolutely their perrocative, it does complicate the issue of addressing socio economic problems in the district. It’s a tough problem to solve, and until a solution is found, the Hidden District surrounding the outer border of Cordoire will remain as a sobering reminder that, no matter how legendary you are, you can’t save everyone.

## Architecture

### Buildings

With the exception of the castle’s central keep, which was built during the Feadhainn era, the vast majority of Cordoire was built during the Waldren Occupation or in the immediate aftermath, and thus its defining architectural characteristics are largely derived from Occupation Era architecture. These traits include buildings with white stone walls accented with red clay tile roofs organized along an extremely neat grid system.

Once Waldren stopped investing in the region’s infrastructure, the city’s growth was less regulated and stylized. What wasn’t built by Waldren itself was constructed in an attempt to imitate the original style. As a general rule, the castle and districts immediately adjacent to it- such as the Administrators’ District-  are all authentic examples of Occupation Era architecture, while every other part of the city within the walls was built after Waldren’s departure in an attempt to imitate its architectural style. While many of these expansions are extremely similar to the real deal, experts in history and architecture can usually tell the difference between these two eras of construction.

Finally, the expansions built outside the city walls are not constructed to imitate any consistent architectural style. In areas populated by refugee communities or foreign immigrants, some of the buildings might even resemble foreign architectural styles more than anything found in Duilintinn.

### Roads

There are four major roads that roughly divide Cordoire into quarters, each meeting in the Central Market district. These roads are not only used for navigating within the city proper, but for travelers passing through the city to the areas beyond. This became slightly hazardous as the city grew more populated, and even more so when The Watch was founded.

For this reason, large bells are located along these major roads, the first of which can be found at each of the city gates. When one of the gate watchmen sees a messenger or other rider from The Watch galloping headlong towards the city, the bells will toll, prompting the gates to be opened (if they weren’t already) and warning everyone to clear the roads as quickly as they could. As the rider progressed through the city, the bells ahead of them would toll to warn those further down the road, until they finally cleared the city gates on the other side.

## Economy

Cordoire is one of Duilintinn’s major economic hubs, second only to Fionport in House Schneeplestein. From its central geographic location, Cordoire hosts the annual Trade Season Holiday and facilitates inter-house trade through the efforts of its local guilds and national government.

In addition, Cordoire does have a small amount of agricultural output. Farms dot the landscape of the region between the city proper and the houses surrounding the area. Many people who live in the capital might be farmers by trade who, for whatever reason, decided to move to the city. Other farms are run by communities in the Hidden District. Small gardens can be found at most patrol campsites for resting Watchers to tend and eat from. Within the city itself, community gardens can be found throughout green areas in the Central Market.

### Guild Presence

Every guild in Duilintinn has some sort of presence in the capital city, but only three specific guilds call Cordoire their central city of operations: The Fellowship of Thieves, The Merchant’s Guild, and a variety of Craftsmen’s Guilds. However, since most guilds are based in an entire Noble House, rather than a single city, most of Cordoire’s major guilds also have significant presence in other Noble Houses as well.

The Fellowship of Thieves (guild of the underworld in Duilintinn) is intentionally not called a “guild” because of its origins in the slums of Cordoire. This fellowship was founded by the houseless poor in the slums outside the capital as a way to protect their own as they did what was necessary to survive. To this day, this guild avoids being associated with the structures of government and economy in Duilintinn. As a gesture of support towards the residents of the Hidden District, The Duil Government has recognized the Fellowship of Thieves as a legitimate entity and has a dedicated guild space for them in the Administrators District, which the fellowship in turn has never touched. While it has no official guild “hub,” its primary center(s) of operation are known to be located within the Hidden District.

The Merchant’s Guild is also based in Cordoire, with its main hub located within the Administrators’ District. It’s main duty is to serve the interests of bankers, entrepreneurs, middlemen, traders, etc. within Duilintinn, primarily by facilitating the distribution of goods from inter-house trade to Duilintinn’s merchants and by managing the political-economic negotiations for the annual Trading Season in the month of July. In addition, the Merchant’s Guild is also responsible for the creation of Duilintinn’s currency, with a mint immediately adjacent to the guild’s main building. In addition, the Merchants’ Guild in Cordoire coordinates heavily with its secondary hub in the city of Fionport, which controls Duilintinn’s only major harbor and is integral to the kingdom’s participation in international trade.

Finally, while there technically no singular “Craftsmen’s Guild,” a wide variety of guilds for various crafts can be found clustered together in the Craftsmen’s District, with one hub in the Administrator’s District that manages the overarching affairs of all craft-related guilds in the kingdom. In addition to their primary roles, these guilds will come together each year to coordinate the logistical preparations for July’s Trading Season, specifically regarding hospitality and the myriad of traditional events between Duilintinn’s craftsmen and their foreign counterparts, who share a strong sense of camaraderie after years of annual cooperation. In addition to those located within the city, this guild has several secondary guild hubs across Duilintinn that all report back to the hub in Cordoire in some capacity, including a large secondary hub in Mulladún that supports House Jackie’s prospering weapon and armor smiths.

### Outside Commerce

> *See More: Trade Season*
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Cordoire is the center of Duilintinn’s annual July Trade Season. Located a mere three days’ ride by cart from the coast and less than a week from almost everywhere in the Duilintinn, Cordoire is a convenient place for traders to hawk their wares to all parts of the kingdom. Generally, traders will begin to arrive in the city early June and remain in Cordoire up through August.

A limited number of traders will get official permission to set up shop within the amphitheaters of the Central Market during the month of July, while the land along the main roads up to the gates is open to any wishing to sell their wares, no paperwork needed.  During their stay, these traders will pitch small shelters outside the city walls that function as both living spaces and temporary storefronts. The colorful tents and shops of traders will often stretch out along the roads to the city gates for miles beyond the moat; If you were walking or riding to the city gates from a distance, it might look like the circus had come to town!

Additionally, the local craftspeople of Cordoire will often offer their homes and shops to visiting traders as an act of hospitality and mutual benefit. It’s good business to offer a trader to share your storefront for the season because it brings people eager for foreign goods into your store as well. Even if they don’t buy anything, they might remember you as the nice craftsman who allowed a trader to stay at his shop. There’s no underlying hostility or competition between the traders and the craftsmen, and the opportunity to learn from someone new and make friends in your field is celebrated along with the rest of the holiday.

While some traders do also take their wares directly to other parts of the kingdom, it’s more common for citizens to take trips to the capital during the summer months to see what goods are on offer as part of the traditional Trade Season. In addition, many enterprising entrepreneurs will buy goods from the traders, travel to far corners of the kingdom, and sell them for a profit. While more expensive than purchasing directly from the traders, this allows people who cannot travel to also participate in the trade season. All of this results in a very, very busy and economically thriving Cordoire during the summer months.

## Trivia

* Cordoire’s size has been retconned several times. It’s original concept measured at 40 miles across at its widest point, the size of Oklahoma City, the largest city in America! The first retcon changed this to approximately 10 miles wide, with a 9-mile buffer zone surrounding the walled part of the city. That was still too much, so to date, Cordoire’s current canonical size is 8 miles wide within the walls, with an additional one to three mile zone between the moat and the walls.
* Yes, the map of Cordoire is tilted at a deceptively strange angle. You have no idea how many times I’ve written something like “the castle is on the eastern edge of the city” instead of the southern edge. In fact, many other elements of the city map, particularly district size and scale, are not ideal either. I eventually hope to redraw Cordoire’s map in a more intuitive fashion, but for now, these are the best maps we have.