The Bloodclaw Clan Are Civilized Gnolls; We Understand That Paying Tribute Is the Highest Form of Vassalage!

The Smuggler's Forest was connected to the Filthy Swamp. The young lady had explained to Murphy before why this place existed: it was currently an "alternative route" from Transia to the Dark Mountains, and from there through the pass guarded by the Brass Dwarves into the Genoa Peninsula.

Of course, the name Smuggler's Forest didn't sound very respectable. Decent people certainly wouldn't travel through here.

For example, when Miss Mirian, the Scarlet Consul, went to the Genoa Peninsula to study, her official route was to cross Lake Shulpers first and reach the Kato region. From there, she could take a train from the station connected to the Genoa Peninsula and travel straight across it to Chardo Port.

The biggest advantage of this route was that it was safe.

Its biggest drawback was that you had to pay taxes, and halfling tax collectors under the Steam Lords' Council conducted spot checks along the way. That meant many prohibited goods couldn't be taken across the border, so the Smuggler's Forest route had come into being.

For the hundred years before the Ten-Year War, this had been the hottest smuggling route between Transia and the rest of the continent. During the Blood Eagle Clan's rule over Transia, the taxes they collected each year from these black-market traders alone were enough to let the vampires live in luxury.

Since the Smuggler's Forest had once been an important Blood Eagle Clan enterprise, the vampires had set up a tax station here.

Unfortunately, the damned Ten-Year War had destroyed everything.

The old tax station had fallen into a sorry state. Years without maintenance had left it covered in moss and vines, and many of the walls had collapsed. The statue of Salokdar that once stood in the courtyard had been reduced to half a weathered torso.