The gateway to Gnotobi's empire.
Droughd Sound is the central arm of Turquish Bay, a sheltered inlet on Ve's northern coast where the Golden River empties into the sea. Orangeport occupies its southern shore, making this body of water the funnel through which virtually all Orange Flake exports pass on their way to the wider world.
Geography
Droughd Sound extends roughly fifteen miles inland from Turquish Bay proper, narrowing gradually from its wide mouth to the river delta at its head. The water is shallow—rarely exceeding forty feet—with sandy bottom and minimal tidal variation. Ships approaching Orangeport follow a dredged channel to avoid the sandbars that shift with seasonal floods from the Golden River.
The sound's western shore is low-lying marshland, uninhabited and prone to flooding. The eastern shore rises more steeply, with the Bluffs district of Orangeport occupying the higher ground. The southern shore, where the Golden River enters, hosts Orangeport's main docks and commercial district.
Maritime Traffic
Droughd Sound sees more ship traffic than any comparable body of water in this part of Ve. Vessels arriving to load Orange Flake, coastal traders moving goods between Turquish Bay communities, fishing boats working the sound's productive waters, and the occasional naval patrol from Shyona or Sestros making a show of presence—all share these waters.
The traffic creates opportunity and hazard alike. Legitimate merchants compete for dock space at Orangeport. Pirates scout the sound's mouth for vulnerable cargo. Smugglers use the marshy western shore for clandestine transfers. The Harbormaster's patrol boats struggle to maintain order.
The Droughd Sound Tariff
All commercial vessels entering or leaving the sound pay the Droughd Sound Tariff, a navigation fee that theoretically funds Orangeport's government. In practice, the tariff is a contested prize—Gnotobi, Shyona, and Sestros all claim portions, and the actual collection involves complex negotiations, bribes, and occasional violence.
Ships flying certain flags pay reduced rates. Ships carrying Orange Flake for Harvest Council families sometimes pay nothing at all. Ships without connections pay whatever the tariff collector thinks they can extract. The system is corrupt by design.
Orangeport
The town of Orangeport dominates Droughd Sound's southern shore, existing entirely because of the sound's position as the Golden River's outlet.
See Orangeport for full details.