Bacul Gruii
This village was once second only to Novoboro.md, but a group of mercenaries under the command of a foreign merchant named Petchki took over and enslaved the locals, forcing them to harvest the local exotic woods and animals. The people serve out of fear, for Petchki’s men killed chief Otok and display his head at the center of town; floggings for laziness are common.
Technically the villagers are not slaves, as Petchki doesn’t want to violate the Fifth River Freedom and draw bad luck to his operation, but he pays them barely anything and leaves them almost no time to gather food or hunt for themselves.
His mercenary teamsters pull wagons of loot to the edge of the wood, where his contacts take the cargo farther down the Sellen. Petchki plans to “marry” one of the dead chief ’s daughters to further legitimize his rule.