Tusathapas is a large city of 120,000 goblins and 20,000 hobgoblins. The city is situated around the junction of the Long River, the Gold River, and the Red River. The joining of the three rivers creates a nexus point that strengthens magic spells cast above the confluence. The people of Tusathapas take advantage of this to create magical goods to trade with the rest of the world and also to enhance their local breeding projects for plants and animals. The city’s love for magic extends even into their government where the leader is the most powerful magician decided by a biennial contest.

Every two years Tusathpas holds a tournament open to all goblinoids with magical power. The winner is crowned Grand Magus and ruler of Tusathapas for the next two years. The tournament rounds are one on one contests held on the nexus point of the three rivers. Two barges are anchored ten feet apart in the water, one for each of the duelists. The victor must knock their opponent into the water or render them unable to continue using only magic spells. If a winner is not declared within five minutes, then neither contestant advances to the next round. The current Grand Magus, by virtue of their previous performance, is seeded into the top eight of the tournament.

The reigning Grand Magus is Bluckie the goblin. She has maintained her rule over the last dozen years using abjuration and conjuration spells. She wards herself against the magic of her foes and then counterattacks using summoned monsters. Bluckie has used her position to further her research on potion miscibility. She hopes to discover a combination potion brewed from the nexus waters that when drunk will permanently improve her spellcasting power.

Bluckie is not the only resident of Tusathapas who experiments with magic and alchemy. Experimentation over the years greatly enhanced the food supply of the city. All the crops of Tusathapas grow to enormous sizes due to the alchemical treatment of the soil. Livestock are bigger and produce larger quantities of goods depending on what they are raised for. Extra milk, extra meat, extra eggs, or extra leather are all benefits offered by the city’s research endeavors. The spellwork doesn’t stop there as Tusathapas also provides simple magical goods to the rest of the Hobgoblin Lands and the Orc Lands. All these experiments require a substantial quantity of rare ingredients. Thus, Tusathapas is also a major importer of exotic herbs and animal parts, mostly from Giura and Niloctus.

In addition to improving the city’s industry, the people of Tusathapas also use alchemy to create new and fearsome creatures for the city’s defense. Drugs and magic are used to stabilize unnatural crossbreeds between disparate species. The most well-known creation of Tusathapas’s monster factory is the owlbear, now endemic throughout Cimmeria. The hybrid creatures themselves are exposed to spells and potions and then bred further to improve their stock. The creations are numerous and varied. Some breath fire, some fly, some swim, some shift between places, and all have unnatural size, strength, and speed. These creatures are collectively known as the beasts of Tusathapas and they are used to defend the property of the city’s citizens. Most households own at least a badger with electric teeth or an equivalent for defending their belongings from burglary.

Tusathapas spreads across the four shores of the rivers making water transport a necessity for the townsfolk. Ferries will take people across each of the rivers for a fee. Many of the locals also have their own boats. Additionally, a great number of residents and artisans own houseboats and shopboats, capable of docking at each of the four deltas. A restaurant, tailor, or cobbler might be open on the north shore of Long for one week and the delta between Gold and Red the next. This freedom of movement instills a duty of independence on the townsfolk. Many are reluctant to render aid even to close family members as they feel each person must be capable of caring for themselves to be worthy of support from outside. The people of Tusathapas are proud of their traditions and see their way of life as best.

The patron deities of Tusathapas are the watery Fish and the magical Phoenix. Each of the four deltas contains a temple to the Fish and a temple to the Phoenix placed on opposite sides of that delta’s market square. Each market square also contains a statue of the Phoenix grasping the Fish in its talons. Each of these statues is made from a different material. North is bronze, west is marble, south is wood, and east is steel. Each statue represents a different alchemical principle with a magical inscription at its base empowering that aspect of alchemy on the delta. Many of the townsfolk use the residual magic of the statues in their research experiments.