1 Mordekai: Why do we have to slog overland to this town? Anyone sensible would settle right on a water supply and navigable river.
2 GM: The mighty Elusian River washes gods knows what foul substances down from Orcish lands. The town is on a pure tributary.
3 GM: The bargemaster had no business at Footcrag, so didn't want to incur the docking fee. Now, what did you learn from this?
4 Mordekai: The GM is not only a social geography nerd, but also a dork.

2014-10-29 Rerun commentary: Historically, people tended to establish settlements near a steady supply of fresh water. Generally, this meant right next to a river. I suppose things could be very different in a world where monsters and magic are real, though.

And addressing the question posed by the GM in this strip... Actually I can't remember what the answer was supposed to be. I'm not sure I even had anything specific in mind.