Lac Marchais

Lac du Salvarisonnes might be the most famed lake in Lescatie, with its two largest cities hugging its shores - but the largest lake in the kingdom is Lac Marchais. Fed by runoff from the great Halvard Mountains and the Upper Vardess, the lake supplies Lescatie with much of its fish. In addition, for many pilgrims taking the river from Vardessy (less popular than the overland route, as it requires a jump from the Lower Vardess to the Upper Vardess, but still common), Lac Marchais marks the end of the journey, with barges docking on its shores to ferry passengers off to the Holy City.

On the south shore of the lake is the town of Toursanne (hex 035.011), the largest settlement in the region. Its primary trade is in fish, with local anglers and those from surrounding villages plying their wares in the town market - though the surrounding lands are fertile ones, and the town grows a respectable amount of produce. Owing to the importance of the market and its relatively remote location, Toursanne is a proudly independent town, governed by a burgomaster elected from the ranks of the local guilds and boasting its freedom from the whims of the nobility.

The current burgomaster is Arnaud Dupont, the wealthy guildmaster of the Guild of the Fishmongers, which oversees all fish that are sold within the town's limits and imposes stiff taxes on those who sell fish without membership in the guild - which has put no small amount of pressure on those from other villages on the lake's shores. To make matters worse, the Guild of the Fishmongers has held the seat of burgomaster for years, leading to some members of other guilds to suspect that a guildmaster long ago must have made a pact with infernal powers to secure its power...

While the southern shores of the lake are fertile, to the north, the lake gives way to swamps and moorland, and beyond that thick forest. These lands are barren and prone to fooding, making settlement difficult, though many a shepherd can be found grazing their flocks on the tall grasses of the moors. A few hardscrabble communities nevertheless cling to the shore to sustain themselves, including the village of Motteaux (hex 037.009). Primarily subsiding on fish from the lake and game poached from the woods, the village has a rustic character that its rare visitors often find offputting, but the people are happy to hear news from the outside world and will gladly take travelers into their homes to share a meal and a bed (there are no inns in town). The population is small, but all its men train in the longbow to defend themselves against attack - however, as the village's defenders have grown older, the ranks of able-bodied archers have thinned more and more, and they may be more vulnerable than they think.

Some boatmen on the lake have reported sights of a ruined shrine sunken beneath the waves (hex 032.008), with a well-eroded statue of Seidra, the goddess of magic, standing amidst a ring of pillars carved with runes. On clear days, some say, the light of the sun glints off a golden amulet in the goddess's fingers, one that seems to never tarnish despite sitting for so long beneath the waves.

The shrine is 50 feet beneath the surface of the water, and the amulet the statue holds grants a +2 bonus to spell attack rolls and spell save DCs when worn. However, the sinking of the shrine was no accident. The runes inlaid along the edges of the amulet speak of heresies rejected by Seidra's cult and the consorting of demons. Though the amulet itself is not cursed, creatures within temples or on other holy ground will feel a sense of discomfort around its wearer, and will be less likely to trust them.