The ManscorpionsThe fertile kingdom of Nimmur, once home to the noble enduks, is inhabited by the brutal manscorpions, who treacherously usurped the Kingdom of Nimmur centuries ago.
ManscorpionsPresent day Nimmurians are manscorpions who usurped the land from its previous occupants, a race of winged minotaurs (enduks). The current Nimmurians are vicious, ruthless, conniving creatures filled with hatred. Pity and remorse are unknown to them. They crave the sun but they also fear it, for, due to Ixion's curse, the sun incinerates them if they are not protected from it. Ruled by an overking but split into several dominions or city-states, the manscorpions are in constant strife for personal and regional power.
Appearance: Manscorpions have a human torso and a bony-plated, arachnoid body with eight legs. Their spines stretch out to form a long tail with a wicked stinger on the end of it. Their hands have two thick fingers and a long thumb, giving them the appearance of a scorpion's claws. Though bald, they wear elaborate wigs of shoulder-length dark hair and beards (for the males). These are styled into elaborate, curled rows. The wigs are easily kept coiffured and were based upon the styles popular with the enduks.
They used to be relatively dark skinned, with sandy-colored tails and lower bodies, but their long tenure underground and the curse imposed upon them by Ixion has turned them horribly translucent, so that their black hearts, ichor, and internal organs now show through in a repulsive vision of nature gone awry. This is not usually apparent to other races because the Nimmurians cover their bodies with a thick makeup to protect themselves from the lethal effect of the sun. Makeup ranges from brown for the lower castes, to red for warriors, and gold with embellishments for the nobility. Priests usually cover their entire bodies with silver runes over black makeup, without which they couldn't cast spells under the sun. When outside, all manscorpions wear masks featuring monstrous grimaces. The masks provide a visor and dark lenses to protect their fragile eyes.
Clothing (usually thin wool) and armor are designed to be worn over the makeup. Most manscorpions wear elaborate shawls or tunics edged with fringes. Filets to keep their elaborate hair in place are popular for both males and females, as are necklaces, earrings, armbands, and bracelets.
Personality: Manscorpions are greedy, self-serving, and brutal. From the enduks they acquired a veneer of civilization, but the curse that afflicts them made them a paranoid, secretive, and frustrated race. They fear to let others know of their vulnerability to sunlight, though they crave its warmth and illumination. They are warlike and care little for the lives or comfort of others.
Manscorpions are usually neutral and evil in alignment, though some few have a personal code of honor or still worship Idu (Ixion). It is not impossible to find ones such as these who are both lawful and good, it is simply unusual. Though they often appear aloof or reserved, a fierce, angry spirit forms the core of every manscorpion, and competition and aggression burn brightly in each heart. The best of them use these traits to perform great deeds, while the worst give way to their basest instincts.
Lifestyle: To some extent, the manscorpions' lifestyle is dictated by the curse laid upon them by Idu when they drove out the enduks. The Immortal made sunlight excruciatingly painful for them. Normal clothing is insufficient to stop the curse's effects. Only protective makeup and armour can shield them from the deadly rays and the pain. Direct sunlight blinds them unless they wear dark lenses to protect their eyes. Artificial light doesn't affect them.
Because they must constantly shield themselves from the sun, most manscorpions live underground. The cities of the enduks lie atop vast underground networks of manscorpion tunnels, pits, and chasms. Only those manscorpions who have business in the overcities reside there, and even they usually have retreats below ground.
On the surface, manscorpion cities consist of a great many mud brick houses, storehouses, slave quarters, and shops that lie at the feet of a grand palace, a series of monuments (some ruins, some intact), and a great ziggurat that serves as a place of worship. The ziggurat is usually decorated with several colors and has green trees and gardens on some of its levels. Many manscorpions live in these overdwellings, and most visitors assume that the surface picture of the city is the true one. In fact, the surface city usually only holds a fraction of the manscorpion population of the city. The majority of them live in the vast caverns underneath the structures. These are reached by tunnels and sloping ramps constructed under the houses and shops, the palace and the ziggurat. Visitors are discouraged from inquiring too closely about the interiors of these structures in order to keep the underground section of the city secret.
The manscorpions employ large numbers of slaves for raising food, manufacturing fine oils and perfumes, and tending sheep. Manscorpions are omnivorous. Though they prefer meat when available, they can survive on carrion, if necessary. They are soldiers, artists, traders, administrators, and seekers of ancient knowledge-most particularly of lore regarding the ancient star devices, weapons of potentially great destruction, found in many Nimmurian cities. Though not quite as likely to be in positions of authority, a good number of female manscorpions rule dominions and serve as priests, administrators, or troop commanders.
The functional star device in Er and their vast underground warrens are secrets the manscorpions wish to preserve as much as they want to hide their usurpation of enduk land and culture. For these reasons, though they have recently begun to tolerate foreigners in their overcities, they go to elaborate lengths to keep these outsiders away from their ziggurats and the monuments that are the star devices.
The manscorpions adopted the customs, history, and even language of the enduks as their own. They so wished to assume the cultural identity of the enduks, in fact, that they destroyed a great number of the enduks' artworks and historical writings to mask the truth concerning their arrival in Nimmur and their treachery. Though almost everyone calls them manscorpions, they themselves prefer to be called "Nimmurians." Ever since they assumed the ancient Nimmurian cultural identity, they dropped their old tribal structure and in its place created a new dynasty of kings. Today, King Anupalassar II rules over smaller manscorpion provinces owing fealty to the throne of Nimmur. Provincial governors have the hereditary title of prince. The present king earned his nickname, the Firebranded, when his helm was ripped open during an ambush by the orcs of the Dark Jungle. His face was scarred by the sun's rays.
Nimmur is an ally of Herath, although the Nimmurian clergy believe that some day the manscorpions will rule the entire peninsula. On the other hand, Herath hopes to steal the secret of the ancient Nimmurian star devices. Right now, the Nimmurians still have a problem with the unyielding orcs to the south. These orcs are savage creatures that have adapted to the thick jungle of the Orc's Head Peninsula. Nimmur also faces a dilemma with the encroachment of foreign settlers, especially lately as the affluent Herathians move into the city of Er. It is becoming difficult for the clergy to keep unwanted visitors out of the ziggurat quarters in their cities. The manscorpions hope to take the northern coastal lands but mosquito and killer fly infestations have decimated settlers and sheep flocks there in the past.
Equipment: All manscorpions cover themselves with heavy makeup to protect them from the sun and wear clothing or armour. Scribes and other officials might possess clay cylinders with official designs imprinted upon them and stylus and clay tablets for recording transactions or events. Soldiers own their armor and weapons (see below).
Nimmur's ArmiesNimmur maintains permanent, professional troops trained and paid according to precepts laid down by ancient Nimmurian generals. Although nobles compose most of the upper ranks in the army, effective authority is based on actual military rank, not social status.
Towns of a thousand people or more are walled. Most structures are made of dried mud brick sealed against the water by being painted with bitumen. Each town pays for its own army. The troops are disciplined and organized. Each unit of troops wears the same armor and tunics within their respective armies. Conical helms with bronze masks are predominant. Manscorpion armour costs three times that of its human counterpart because of its complexity (larger abdomen and eight leg pieces, tail and sting remaining unarmored). Nimmurians do not use mercenaries.
Flora and FaunaNimmur is an agricultural treasure land. Approximately half the country is covered by rich farmland and pasturage. Though the large rivers are to be found farther east, the western and central portions of the country are watered by numerous streams that flow down from the foothills to the north. Nimmur is able to produce enough food to feed itself and sell its excess to other lands. For the most part, the farm and pasture lands are tamed and free of large predators. Rabbits, field mice, skunks, raccoons, foxes, and hawks are plentiful, as are songbirds, owls, and insects. Occasionally, wolves emerge from the woods to harry the sheep that provide food and clothing for the manscorpions.
Land not under cultivation produces another necessary commodity-mud. Almost every building in Nimmur is constructed of dried mud bricks coated with bitumen. Slave laborers industriously turn out mud bricks for new buildings and repair those that have been damaged.
Light forest covers much of the rest of the country, with a small patch of heavy forest near Ennamasur. Many of the older hardwoods and other deciduous trees have been felled and replaced by orchards of apple, cherry, peach, and even orange trees. Many other trees are valued for their aromatic resins or the rare spices they produce. Again, because this area relies so heavily on agriculture and crops, there are few large predators. Bears and wild cats have been encountered along with wolves in the more northerly woods and foothills, and raids from phanatons seeking to keep their borders safe from encroaching manscorpions are an occasional threat.
The coast offers a few good harbors for traders, most especially at Porto Escorpião, the Vilaverdan trading port, which has claim to the best harbor in Nimmur. This fortified trading center also features a marvel: the Lighthouse of Porto Escorpião.
The City of ErEr is the capital of Nimmur both because of its size (it was the largest city of the enduks) and because it is here that the fleeing enduks failed to fully dismantle their star device. The star device consists of two strange looking columnar monuments that stand in the courtyard of the great temple of Er. From that point, a curious pattern is formed by a series of monuments extending throughout the city.
The city itself is a rough circle, with crisscrossing streets and numerous dwellings and businesses and a central market area. Dominating the whole is a walled area that encloses the palace and the tall, colorful ziggurat of the great temple. Foreigners are becoming a more common sight to the manscorpions of Er, but the elaborately painted, masked, and garbed manscorpions remain strange and unreal to visitors.
Um-SheduThe small city of Um-Shedu has recently been liberated by a determined band of enduks, ee'aar, and non-evil manscorpions. During a recent orc uprising, the group traveled to the Forbidden Highlands and struck down into the city, taking the defenders by surprise and driving them out. They flooded nearby tunnels and blocked others with strategic cave-ins, rendering them useless to the manscorpions. Using the engineering skills of the enduks, the new defenders of Um-Shedu constructed a stone and mud-brick barrier that blocks access to the city from the south, west, and east. To the north, the elevations of the Forbidden Highlands provide protection from creatures that cannot fly.
The defenders have kept their patrols frequent and well-armed. Spies have failed to infiltrate their councils and manscorpion chariots and soldiers are stymied by the barricades. Siege maneuvers do not work against creatures who have merely to fly elsewhere and return with edibles, and the city is served by an artesian well. Manscorpion spellcasters are countered by ee'aar and enduk spellcasters; despite their best efforts the manscorpions have been unable to dislodge those in Um-Shedu. The defenders hope to fortify the city so it can be used as a staging area from which to launch attacks against the rest of Nimmur.
Denizens of the Dark Jungle
The deep and forbidding jungle that covers the lower part of the Orc's Head Peninsula is home to several savage orc tribes and their ruler, an ancient vermilion dragon known as Pyre. Though often at odds with one another, the tribes cooperate rather than face the dragon's wrath.
Orcs of the Dark JungleAlthough they may seem unintelligent to outsiders, the orcs of the Dark Jungle are cunning, ruthless warriors. Organized into several tribes, the orcs raid caravans, prey upon passing ships, and constantly seek to expand into Nimmur and Herath.
Their success in keeping the more civilized countries from overcoming them can be attributed to their cunning use of the jungle as cover for their attacks and as camouflage for their strongholds, and to the guidance of an ancient vermilion dragon named Pyre.
Appearance: Though they resemble orcs from other parts of the world, orcs of the Dark Jungle have very different modes of dress and decoration. They cover their bodies with the sap of certain plants to turn their skins green or brown and their shamans often draw lines or paint stripes on warriors' bodies to imitate the foliage in which they hide. These dyes leave stains on the skin for several weeks even under rainy conditions. Sometimes the orcs add leaves or mosses to their camouflage. When engaged in warfare, many paint death's heads on their faces. Besides their tusks, many also file their teeth to sharp points.
When not raiding, they frequently adorn themselves with brilliantly colored feathers and clinking jewellery fashioned from shells, river rocks, and stained wooden beads. Among female orcs, scarification of the arms is common, as is tattooing of the chin and brow ridge. Males who have achieved a certain number of kills or who have achieved status in some other way tattoo their entire faces.
Many of those who raid the seas adorn themselves in captured finery and outland weaponry. In general, however, blistering hot temperatures and constant moisture take their toll on fine materials, rendering them useless after even a few days of wearing them in the jungle. Many orcs clothe themselves in woven grass and reeds for everyday wear.
Personality: The orcs respect strength and disdain weakness. Life in the jungle requires toughness and resiliency. Those who cannot survive on their own are preyed upon, abandoned, or killed. Even their kings change frequently, as younger, stronger orcs challenge their elders for the right to rule. It is unusual for a king to rule for more than 12 years.
The orcs know very well that they would not be tolerated elsewhere along the Savage Coast and have no chance of ever living peacefully with their neighbors. What might seem like aggressive, ruthless behavior is mere practicality to the orcs. The jungle provides them with plenty of food but little in the way of luxuries-for those they must raid. That this is also Pyre's bidding is only greater incentive.
Because cooperation within the tribe is essential to their survival, whether hunting, gathering food, or raiding, they are mostly of lawful alignment. Their cruel actions and disdain for sentient life, however, mark most orcs as evil. Some, though, hold to a personal code of honor and almost all can be reasonable if offered something beneficial.
Lifestyle: Several factors determine the lifestyle of the orcs of the Dark Jungle. Most notably, they live in a rainforest. Heat and humidity are extremely high, making heavy armor or clothing a burden rather than a blessing. What sunlight penetrates the upper and lower canopies of the forest is filtered and green; many areas remain dark even at the brightest part of the day.
Perhaps the dark, oppressive atmosphere lends itself to superstition and dread but the orcs believe that the spirits of the dead remain in the trees of their jungle. For the orcs, however, evidence that their beliefs are real is not difficult to come by. Indeed, it is not rare for ebon statues of warriors or influential tribal members thought lost in the jungle to be discovered on some remote trail. The shamans say that the forest spirits have captured their souls.
The orcs build great wooden forts, especially near the entrances to their ancestral caverns. They cut down trees in some areas, haul the trunks to the top of forested hills, and build the structures among the growing trees. These fortifications are very difficult to spot until one is quite close to them. Shamans often direct the builders to carve on the forts' logs the screaming, demented faces of tribal ancestors known to have been taken away by the forest spirits. There are often hundreds of faces for each tribe, some dating back several centuries. Shamans also take the ebon statues found in the jungle and incorporate them into the walls of the forts and temples. This is part of the orcs' ancestral lore.
About half of the Dark Jungle population lives in caverns. These caverns connect to the ancient caves of the Sohktars and to those of the Herathians. The connecting caverns are fortified and heavily guarded by the orcs and the forces at the tunnels' other ends. Because invading one another's territories through these tunnels is virtual suicide due to the heavy guard each race posts, there is very little raiding back and forth through what would seem to be the perfect conduit for waging warfare.
Their success in ambushing Nimmurian and Herathian caravans stems from their ability to conceal themselves cunningly within the foliage along the caravan trail. Dark Jungle orcs have the ability to hide in the forest as a thief can hide in shadows (30% chance either individually or in groups). If the orcs have enough time to set up an ambush, if they use all camouflage usually available to them, and if they remain perfectly motionless, their chances go up to 60%.
Nuts, fruits, roots, and tubers are easily gathered by the non-warriors of the tribe, and dozens of animal species make for fine hunting. Several varieties of fish, frogs, and turtles live in the streams, minor rivers, pools, and small lakes found throughout the jungle. Some tribes even feed on the large insects that infest the lower canopy. Much of the tribes' time is spent gathering and hunting the bountiful food the forest provides. When they are not engaged in food-gathering activities, the orcs make weapons, hold mock fights, dance, plan raids, and prey upon caravans and ships.
All of the major tribes are independent of and to some extent competitive with one another. Dozens of sub-tribes owe fealty to the kings of one or more of the larger ones. Despite the jungle's abundance, resources within the tribal areas cannot keep up with the demands of burgeoning populations. This results in some fierce competition among neighboring tribes for resources or potential booty. Major efforts from Herath and Nimmur to reduce the orcs' power have prompted tribal kings to ally against outside threats, however.
Because of the constant need for warriors most of the orcs are able to fight well. Though females are generally accorded little respect among their society, some few do rise to the rank of warrior or shaman and most can fight when necessary. Though there is inter-tribal raiding and minor warfare, major altercations are deterred by the cloud of Pyre's wrath. The dragon looks unfavorably upon those chiefs who engage in large scale, inter-tribal warfare; both chiefs involved in such are usually executed for their foolishness.
Most of the tribes are sea raiders, sailing out to attack coastal shipping in giant outrigger canoes utilizing both sails and paddles.
The tribes living along the shores of the peninsula have acquired a cunning knowledge of the sea and maritime weather. Their shamans have been granted the magical ability to predict weather. Within the past decade, the substantial increase of merchant traffic between the Texeiran Colony of the Horn, Nimmur, and Slagovich has greatly encouraged the orcs to practice piracy-so far with great success.
Their giant outriggers can hold up to 120 warriors, each of whom paddles when necessary. Fully manned, such war canoes can easily reach twice the speed of a large sailing ship for a short time. The orcs' knowledge of tactics and wind conditions allows them to capture ships easily. Once seen from the shore, the passing ship is hounded by swift-moving orc outriggers taking positions both fore and aft of the ship to block escape maneuvers. Once in place the war canoes come close enough to fire the powerful ballista-mounted harpoons that stick in the ship's hull and rigging. The orcs then tug on the lines attached to the harpoons, pulling themselves closer to the ship. Under scores of arrows fired from the canoes, the target ship's sailors cannot effectively sever the harpoon lines. Eventually, all the canoes come close enough to mount a boarding action. Those on board usually do not survive, though occasionally some are taken as captives for torture or for slaves to give to Pyre. The orcs then quickly plunder the cargo, scuttle the ship, and return to the safety of their jungle lagoons.
The only defense against their raids is either to set out with several well-armed ships or to stay out of sight of the coast. The orcs' ambushes at sea can be as swift as they are unexpected. They operate both in broad daylight and in the middle of the night, homing in on the lanterns of unwary vessels.
The final determining factor in the orcs' lifestyle is their overlord. Pyre has subjected all the orc tribes to his power. Every moon, tribal kings pay tribute to Pyre, in slaves, food, and treasure. In addition, when Pyre desires it, the tribes unite and conduct massive invasions against their northern foes. Pyre plans many of these successful raids as well as helping the orcs defend themselves from those who would steal their land. Their apparent unity and success, therefore, owe a great deal to the dragon's planning. Without Pyre, they might return to their old feuds and defeat themselves, laying the Dark Jungle open to exploitation by Nimmur or Herath.
Language: The orcs of the Dark Jungle speak Yazug, one of three related goblinoid languages. About half the words in this language can be understood by someone who speaks Yazaka, the language used by the goblins of the Yazak Steppes. Many orcs know snippets of Herathi and Nimmurian, learned from captives. An orc who can speak Common is extremely rare.
The OverkingThe overking of the orcs is Pyre, a huge, ancient vermilion dragon. Exclusive to the Savage Coast, and possibly unique, vermilion dragons are red chromatic dragons that have been affected by the Red Curse and ingested
cinnabryl. Rather than gain only one Legacy, these dragons gain several and hold off the side effects through the
cinnabryl they've eaten. They even have the advantage over others in that the acquired Legacies cost them nothing in terms of their abilities. They lose no Strength, Intelligence, or other assets when a new Legacy is gained. Furthermore, even after leaving the area affected by the Red Curse, the magical nature of the dragon combines with the
cinnabryl to make the change permanent. They breed true once changed.
Though they still require
cinnabryl occasionally, the dragons can live outside the affected area and maintain their powers. They even live longer than normal dragons. The main penalty for them seems to be a tendency to sleep for longer periods of time in between awakenings and to sleep more deeply when at rest.
Pyre was once a normal red dragon with the ability to cast spells. Originally from Robrenn, Pyre gorged himself on
cinnabryl when affected by the Red Curse and contaminated himself with the substance in order to gain powers like an Inheritor but without incurring any bad side effects. Because he still has need of
cinnabryl, Pyre frequently demands that his orcs raid caravans and ships carrying cargo including the metal or goods that can be easily traded for it.
Flora and FaunaThe Dark Jungle is a teeming cauldron of life filled with hundreds of kinds of trees, insects, birds, and animals. It is always hot, humid, and rainy. During the dry parts of the year, the two great rivers that snake through the area remain mostly within their embankments. During the rainy season (the winter months), it rains daily, sending the river waters flooding across the flat portions of the jungle and covering some areas up to 16 to 20 feet deep for miles on either side. Trees, vegetation, and animal life have all adapted to this yearly inundation.
The rivers provide homes for dozens of varieties of fish, including piranhas and hatchet fish. The latter are the only true flying fish, as they flap their fins and rise out of the water in pursuit of flying insects. Lizards, frogs, and turtles live along the river, as does the dreaded giant black caiman, an aggressive crocodile over 18 feet long. Wading birds like the scarlet ibis share the river with gentle manatees.
Hundreds of types of birds-most boasting bright plumage that the natives use to decorate themselves-and small creatures such as beetles, bees, and butterflies make their homes on the bark or in the leaves of the great trees. Capybaras (large pig-like animals) and anteaters move along the game trails, spotted cats laze upon the branches of the lower canopy, and bluewing butterflies flit in the few beams of bright sunlight that filter down through the overhead canopy. Army ants forge their ways through the detritus on the ground in columns that are miles long and hundreds of feet across.
The trees themselves are giants, towering as much as 100 feet before spreading out in branches and leaves to form the lower canopy. At this level, the branches stretch out toward one another to provide a solid, nearly unbroken trail along which many of the jungle's animals travel. Shallow-rooted, the trees form large buttresses of their roots to anchor themselves in the soil. Twined around and hanging from most of the trees are lianas, thick, strong vines that help the trees anchor themselves together near their crowns. Travelers should beware of the lianas, however, for many are actually large jungle snakes such as the anaconda.
It is impossible to travel far in the jungle without having to cross streams or pools of water. Many of these backwater pools are filled with giant water lilies. Piranhas tend to congregate in these areas. Clouds of fog and mist hover above and among the trees. The rainfall, absorption by the leaves, and hot sunshine conspire to create a damp haze over great portions of the forest.
The central area of the jungle is a cloud forest. The area is a combination of jungle and deciduous vegetation atop hills. The higher elevation means that the air is slightly cooler, with the resulting ever-present fog. In the midst of that area lies a lower elevation along the path of the Forbidden River. This region lies below sea level and stretches to either side of the river in a bog or marsh. Cattails, reeds, and other marsh plants grow in abundance, as do mosquitos and other insects. Mangroves raise their roots above the water, providing homes for poisonous spiders and snakes. Turtles, crabs, and fish live in the bayou waters, while cicadas and warblers sing without pause from the grasses along the banks. This area is also home to the green slime raised by the Green Slayer tribe.
The Colony of the HornThe Colony of the Horn consists of the small village of Bom Jardim and the Fortaleza da Boa Vista, a combined fortress and prison. Located on the extreme tip of the sandy arm of land that juts out into Trident Bay, the Colony of the Horn is a dumping ground for Texeiran misfits, criminals, and political dissidents.
Half the population of the colony are prisoners, many of whom are afflicted with severe physical deformities due to their forced removal from lands affected by the Red Curse and the confiscation of their
cinnabryl. They provide the labor for the colony, from building structures to hauling in fish and attempting to farm what little fertile ground exists there.
Their guards and administrators are little better off. Whether lazy, inept, corrupt, or just plain stupid, these Texeirans have earned their placement in the "pit of misery" known as the Colony of the Horn. Like the prisoners they guard, they have undergone the painful withdrawal from the Red Curse and its protective
cinnabryl. Unlike the prisoners, most of these were given the benefit of magical healing to ease the transition and recoup their lost abilities.
Nonetheless, they realize that they, like the criminals they oversee, are for all practical purposes exiled to this backwater. Most are too old or too debilitated to risk returning home and once again undergoing the stresses of the Red Curse.
The village of Bom Jardim arose around a missionary clinic founded to provide relief to the Afflicted or immigrants from the lands in which the Red Curse is active. The priests there help to reverse the horrid transformations and cushion the recovery from the curse's manifestations. Unfortunately, though they would like to be able to offer their services for free, they cannot do so. Texeiras will not fund them because those in charge have no wish to see the dregs of their society return to their homeland-much less will they spend money to "coddle" criminals and misfits.
Porto EscorpiãoAlmost a quarter of Nimmur's foreign business passes through Porto Escorpião, the Vilaverdan colonial enclave and best port facility in the country. Paying the manscorpions 15,000 nuggets of
red steel for the privilege, Vilaverde acquired a promontory near Asur, which overlooks a protected cove. There they were allowed to construct a trading post, a colony of Vilaverde, to which they hold full ownership for a century.
A stone stronghold has been constructed as well as a lighthouse. Several Vilaverdan soldiers and scribes under the command of Don Jorge de Vilaverde (elder son of Baron Jorge, ruler of Vilaverde) maintain order and conduct the business of the port. Porto Escorpião was granted independence two years ago and most of its troops recalled. Some stayed loyal to Don Jorge and remained. The baron recently gave complete control over the holding to his son. Vilaverde and Porto Escorpião maintain cordial relations and tra