Dangers of the Countryside

Travel between cities has never been safer in Ere-Stade, from the capital's bounty system to the effectiveness of mercenary companies within the major cities, many threats to the average traveller have been erased.

The capital's expansion plan and bounty system has been key in this. Many generations ago Ere-Stade City's most enterprising king, The Second King of the Walled Dynasty, set about expanding the wall the previous king had directed be built around the city. Each year now, a festival is held to celebrate the expansion of the wall. In the process of expanding the land the wall surrounds, the land is first cleared of all monstrous inhabitants, and those that are not part of Ere-Stade's civilised alliance. The wall is then built to encompass the new area, the land cleared again, and then the previous wall is carefully taken down. This process usually results in the deaths of many strong monstrous creatures, while weaker ones flee the military unit dedicated to the expansion process.

The bounty system usually covers the rest of the land, where cities keep an office dedicated to the tracking of more fierce creatures. A military unit is dedicated to hunting these creatures, but more exist on the Island Realm of Ere-Stade than this unit can cover, so the offices also contain a Hunters Office, where bounties are posted and willing hunters can sign up to take on these more dangerous foes. Some cities also contain a hunters guild, which deals with most of the marks posted in the Hunters Offices. More elite marks are hunted by more specialised units within the military, and directed more specifically by the governments of the realm. Rarely, adventurers that have no alignment to any government or military body take on the role of hunters.

Many roads therefore have been cleared of many of the major threats that a person may face on a journey. Wild animals rarely attack people, and some of the less civilised races avoid major travel routes and have either taken on a more nomadic lifestyle, or set up their settlements far away from the capital city where they will not encounter any of the civilised races.

Small villages often need little protection from the threats of the wilds, and often have no problems with uncivilised races or monstrous creatures. Military bands often patrol routes that are travelled frequently, and have houses in most villages where their commanders stay as they travel through the area. If a specific problem arises, a military band often stops to clear things up before moving on. This mostly has the effect of monstrous creatures and uncivilised races staying far away from any of the civilised races settlements, villages, towns and cities.