Tarsha

Ruler: Grey Annie

Trade Goods: Rhum, crabs, ice, coconuts, spices

Tarsha

Two days’ hard sail to the northwest of Moru Kel lies the island of Tarsha. Submerged by the Maelstrom, it reëmerged recently. Lying on a dead course toward the Spice Islands, it was discovered by traders from Aron Bay and became a stopover point for them almost immediately. Within a year, a permanent settlement was formed, and soon Captain Anne — or Grey Annie as her people affectionately call her — had retired from sailing to govern the nascent village. Grey Annie is a halfling — similar in stature to the Iswari, though much more of a citified folk — and most of the other settlers are humans and halflings, with a smattering of others interspersed.

Visitors would be hard-pressed to believe that the island was recently underwater. Fertile volcanic earth resulted in rapid growth of plants and trees, and numerous birds, insects, goanna, and shiprats quickly made there way to the island. The most notable fauna, though, are the Tarshan crabs: spanning up to 4' in width, with sweet, tender flesh, they are a massive cash export for the Tarshans.

The city itself is lively: a distilled rotgut called rhum is popular among the Spice Islanders, and while barely drinkable on its own it mixes pleasantly with juices or the milk of the island’s coconuts. The islanders enjoy playing at cards and push, and have taken to tusks (apparently a novelty to them).

Both the rhum and the crabs benefit from another Tarshan feature: ice. Ships outbound from Tarsha are laden with ice, keeping the crabs fresh for their arrival in Moru Kel. The remains of the ice are sold off, to be used to cool various foodstuffs or to make hassa for sale at the markets. The source of Tarshan ice is a mystery. 

The round-trip circuit to Tarsha is known as the Tarsha run, and competing for speed records to complete the run has become popular among the nobles of Moru Kel.

A spirit of independence bordering on lawlessness permeates the Tarshans. Grey Annie seems to have made real efforts to curtail fraud and the worst of the smuggling, but visitors are still encouraged to keep one eye on their purses at all times.