Sitting on perhaps the most fertile farmland in the central Empire, the Mootland comprises portions of Averland and Stirland that were torn from their rule in a fit of pique by Emperor Ludwig of the early 11th century and made into its own electoral

province—ruled by Halflings. The Moot is a land of gently rolling hills and grasslands that slopes upward gradually until the land rises in the Greenleaf Hillsof the southeast, where farmers raise many famous varieties of tobacco, such as Fogmaker Red, Aver Prime Blend, and the notoriously strong Fumigator. Most of the country is open, with scattered copses of oak, beech, elm, and willow along the riverbanks. The only two

forests of note are the Sleepy Wood and the mysteriousAlter Forest.

While the province is watered in its southern half by the Aver Reach, Blue Reach,

and Aver rivers, sufficient rainfall waters the land to guarantee regular and good

crops throughout the Moot. Mootland is divided into three major regions, four if you

listen to some Halflings. Southwest of the River Aver is Aver March, once a

prosperous barony of Averland. According to old tales, the Humans of Aver March

were forced to leave the area at the point of spear by the Emperor’s troops when

Ludwig gave it to the Halflings. To this day, visitors can see the ruined foundations of

old castles, their stones mostly carted off for new construction that the local Halflings

claimed were once Human settlements. While, it is true that some minor families of

Averland claim lordship over areas of the Aver March, few take them seriously. They

occasionally petition the Emperor to have their rights restored, but so far their

requests have been all filed and forgotten.  

Three towns dominate Aver March; Sauerapfel on the west, Einsamholz in the

centre, and Dreiflussen at the southeast. Closer in culture to Averland than other

regions, large herds of sheep and goats are common here, while the western march

is famous for its apples. North of the rivers lies “Auld Styrlande,” an area of Mootland

which was once part of theGrand County of Stirland. It is an area in which farming

districts alternate with copses of wood and small fens, and is Mootland’s fertile

breadbasket. Two roads access it, but neither traverses the whole of the region. The

Moot Road leaves Eicheschatten and heads west, where it joins the Old Dwarf

Road in Stirland at the town of Wördern. The other is a short road that runs from the

settlements of Einsamholz to the town of Pfungzig in Averland. Neither could be

mistaken for a major road, and, indeed, most of the traffic is from farmers, herdsmen,

and traders going to sell their wares in one or another market. Inside the Mootland,

traffic travels on age-worn cart paths or cross-country.

The south-eastern region bounded by the loop of the Aver Reach to the north and

the border with Averland to the south is formally named “The Duchy of the Fallow

Hills”, a title given to it by an Averlander lord of the 11th century who could never get

anything worthwhile to grow there. Disgusted, he sold the region to the Halflings

soon after Ludwig created the Moot, reportedly muttering “and good riddance” at the

signing. The Halflings, however, knew good soil when they saw it and more

importantly, knew how to properly use it. Using seedlings from tobacco plants they

loved, but which grew poorly elsewhere, they planted fields of the crop along the

river and in the valleys, so much so that the area is simply known as “Greenleafs”

today, and provides a major cash crop for the Moot. The Mootland government is so

anxious to increase their share of the market that they sent traders on long trips

around the Empire to give out free samples, in the hope that happy customers will

want and pay for more.