The Lumber Consortium’s relationship with the Free Peoples of Andoran can be described as strained, at best. While the consortium’s shady dealings and underhanded business practices chafe the moral sensitivities of the People’s Council, they have little choice but to ignore the ethical implications. This is largely due to the lobbying of House Naran, who points out again and again to the People’s Council that without the lumber and darkwood of Darkmoon Vale, the shipyards in both Augustana and Almas would fall silent, endangering not only national security but also the economy of both cities.
So the current relationship stands, and every spring the Lumber Consortium floats the stripped, felled trees down the Darkmoon River, onto the River Foam, and down the Andoshen until they reach Oregent, where they are collected by a log boom, hauled ashore, and delivered to Oregent’s sawmills. After they are cut, the lumber is loaded onto barges and delivered to the shipyards in Almas and Augustana.
However, the journey from Darkmoon Vale to Oregent is a costly and dangerous one, requiring dozens upon dozens of full-time log drivers. House Naran, as well as the merchants and bankers who own and operate the shipyards in Almas, pay for this expense every year, since the Lumber Consortium refuses to deliver. During the month of Pharast, a call is put out for log drivers, and since a skilled log driver can earn as much as 2 years of common pay in just a couple of months, many answer, but each year brings fatalities as men and women slip off the free-floating logs to be crushed or drowned. Though many appeal to the People’s Council to stop the practice, for the time being it is viewed as a necessary evil.