> Assaulting a person
> on the road would mean assaulting a person under the protection of the
> Princes of Sartar, a very risky proposition.
Gosh, something *relevant* from the House of Sartar? I *like* this. :)
>Prince Temertain now
> pretends to be the protector of those using the royal roads, but this
seems
> to be little more than a license for Lunar soldiers to impose terrible
> tribute on clans who do not accept the Lunar Way under the guise of
> "fighting bandits". Enterprising tribal kings have imposed their own
tolls,
> as have city rings like that of Wilmschurch.
I believe that Lunar tolls (and associated market taxes) are an easy way to raise the necessary funds to maintain garrisons. The highways and major markets are the easiest to tax and toll, as they have to be closely monitored anyway for security and protection of dignitaries. As with many things in Sartar, local circumstances, loyalties, pragmatic opportunism, and the importance of particular roads will determine how closely a clan/tribe watches a road, and if and by whom tolls are collected. Certainly 'bandits' will be a major and growing problem - and one person's bandit is another's loyalist toll collector. And as every PC knows, Lunars on the roads, whatever their purpose, are always ripe frrr a bit a bover.
One innovation to resist the restrictions on travel and scrutiny/cost on the arterials is the forging of 'starlight paths' or 'wind roads' - secretive tracks that run from stead to stead over vast distances through the wild lands and upland passes, avoiding official scrutiny, providing secret paths for loyalists, rebels and overburdened merchants. Of course, there is often a cost for 'protection' on these back roads as well. :).
John
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