Long South Trail
"...All the streams, rivers and gulleys once had stone bridges..."
Once a fabulously paved road from ancient times, now all that remains is a patchy hint of its greatness.
Long South Trail is one of the most frequently used roads in the The Hard Lands. Anyone travelling up from the south finds this route provides the easiest access through the hills and mountains.
Bandit trouble
One of the long-standing problems of the road is the number of bandits that prey upon the travellers. Because of this, those that can afford it find it safer to travel in organised caravans supported by militia or mercenaries. The caravans are more frequent in the warmer months, running every month or so. Caravans rarely travel during the months before and following the Yuletide feast.
The bandit gangs tend to base themselves in the hills and mountains and set up ambushes at key points where the road crosses difficult ground. Scouts and mercenaries that can successfully protect their caravans on a regular basis can earn plenty of gold from the merchants of Big City. The protection is not always by force of arms however, sometimes a leader of a caravan will pay a bandit gang simply to not attack them.
Architecture
The road itself was made many hundreds of years ago and whilst the route is the same, the road itself is lost in many places to the shifting sands of the Hard Lands.
When the road was built it was made wide enough for 2 wagons to pass each other with space to spare.
All the streams, rivers and gulleys once had stone bridges but the majority of these have fallen into disrepair and the stone robbed by other builders.
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