Gears of Empire

by Isaac Stone

  The Grand Market

  This is the largest singular area in the city. It is a vast space with high adobe and plaster walls that enclose it. The massive square market area is accessible by four gates, one for each cardinal direction. In common parlance these smaller gates are referred to by their direction just like the larger port gates. Usually only locals or those familiar with the city can discern which gate is meant by the way in which the name is pronounced. This marketplace is one of the most frequented black markets in the world. More illicit money and goods change hands here than anywhere else. For as a marketing strategy to bring commerce, the city government ruled many years ago that there were to be no taxes, tariffs, or laws on goods sold inside the Grand Market. The schedule is simple; the gates are opened shortly before dawn. The gate guards collect one copper from each person that enters the square. This small sum, in addition to docking fares, impounds, and taxes on all commerce not contained within the square, keeps the city’s coffers comfortably full. With multitudes of people paying for market access everyday the coppers pay for repairs, guard salaries, and turn a small profit. Once night falls business continues for several hours until midnight. Then the guards in the twin sentry towers use a simple torch system to keep the buyers and sellers abreast of the time. The first torch goes up to tell everyone to finish his or her business. The second goes up a few minutes later to signal all buyers to exit the square. Then the third torch goes up later to tell the sellers to pack up and move out. The fourth torch means the guards are closing the gates. If a person is still in the square when the gates close, there is usually a harsh reprimand and a small “fine.”

  It is because of this marketplace that merchants flock from all over the world to buy and sell here. The advantage being that they can sell whatever they want for however much they want, and people can buy whatever they want without tax or questioning. The disadvantage of the market, that reason being the mainstay of commerce for merchants with local shops outside of the market, is that there is no quality control or business protocol to speak of, in this free market the buyer had better beware. It is this Grand Market that creates trouble with most of the kingdoms and merchant houses around the world. Half the world’s merchant empires use the ocean shipping lanes to catch the prevailing winds into ports across the globe. New Mooring is located in the direct path of the majority of those sea-lanes. Why would the ships bearing questionable or highly taxed cargo make the entire lengthy voyage when they can just dock and sell in the city? Buyers and sellers alike come to the city. Many cargo ships, both merchant and smuggler, drop most of their goods in the city at a lower price and sail home early, having still made a profit from the absence of tax, tariff, and time at sea. Sellers can get more for less and pay half the shipping costs. There is also the question of illegal products; there is nothing officially illegal in the market. Though many whisper that the illegality of an item depends on the gate guard’s ethics and the degree of emptiness in his or her purse. It makes world authority’s blood boil when known corsairs sell stolen cargo in a public marketplace, openly admitting to stealing the “discounted” wares.

  Politics at Sea

  New Mooring officials argue to outsiders that the existence of the Grand Market had reduced the overt presence of the black market dramatically. Allowing the sales of items usually shrouded in secrecy and violence has given the crime syndicates the opportunities to become guilds and merchant houses. In truth, argues the rest of the world, the criminal element is alive and well in the city, and crime everywhere else in the world has become much more organized thanks to the sanctuary of the city. For this reason several of the kingdoms have raised small fleets of privateers to run down corsair crews before they are in the small patch of ocean claimed by the floating city. Recently, the privateers are suspected by most people to be responsible for capturing the occasional merchant ship as well as harassing the corsair ships that frequent these waters. Until now there has been a silent agreement between most corsairs and merchants that the corsairs would hunt elsewhere in exchange for discounted goods, small favors, and petty cash. As a result most of the brigands are coastal raiders, hence the suspicion of the intents of the privateer fleets, who prowl in the deeper waters of the shipping lanes.

  WestGate

  Like all of the port gates in New Mooring, the west gate has its own culture and history. The WestGate is the most easily accessible gate if one is coming from west to east. The closest coastline is to the west of the city, thus it is the gate that handles most of the incoming traffic from that direction. Coastlines mean corsairs, more than two dozen of the crews that raid up and down the coastlines of the western hemisphere dock at WestGate. In the past both merchant and corsair ships docked here, the western merchants have since learned that docking at SouthGate or EastGate is worth the extra time and effort. With only a small number of ships that come to port on WestGate the dockside thoroughfare is non-existent. However, when a ship does come in, it is guaranteed to be a corsair ship laden with wealth and crewmen ready for rest and entertainment. So when a ship does come to the WestGate it is met with a festive fervor and the crew treated as honored guests, provided they can afford it. Because the city’s only official presence in WestGate is the occasional guard or artillery inspector, there are no docking fees for corsairs.

  This and other allowances are made up for in that at one time or another most of the corsairs that have family in the city readily volunteer for a term of service upon the city’s one war galley, the Ogre’s Fist, an assignment most citizens balk at. It is considered in bad taste if a corsair retires to the city without having done so, and most corsair crews will not accept a new member who hasn’t served at least one term aboard the Fist. Many of the pirates have family in the city. The wives, husbands, relatives, and children of many of the seafarers reside in the Bazaar. Commerce in this part of the city is usually limited to small food markets, craft shops, fortunetellers, and street performers. Naturally crime syndicates flourish here as it is a perfect buying and selling point for drugs, slaves, and exotic goods. However, because of the mosaic of individuals that man the corsair ships, the cultural identity of WestGaters tends to be very rich, gaudy, and diverse. Funerals, weddings, festivals, and such are all celebrated with equal gusto, what they look like and how they are done depends on who is in charge of the event, but everyone participates. It is this community of corsair existence that is one of the major offences other countries level against the city government, which has learned to ignore such tedium.

  Mercy

  Mercy is a district that has been heavily influenced by both the WestGate and SouthGate communities. Mercy is a district of gambling halls, brothels, and taverns, many of which are both famous and notorious worldwide. It is here that power brokers, spies, nobles, and merchants make and break many of the deals and decisions that shape much of the outside world. One such place is called the Widow’s Kiss, a combination tavern and brothel. It is a place where one can satisfy any desire or fantasy, be it on a barstool or in the bedroom, just be prepared to lose your purse in the process. For the Widow’s Kiss, like many other establishments in Mercy, is the favorite watering hole for thieves and hucksters as well as people looking for a good time. The city’s guards maintain only a token presence here, much like the WestGate, these people take care of themselves. Especially in Mercy, where the guards let the various bouncers and bodyguards do most of the dirty work.

  SouthGate

  In the past all four of the port gates were mostly merchant gates. Cargo came in, cargo went out. But as time and chance occurred over the years only two-port gates are used for steady commerce. While in the past the merchant ships docked at the gate appropriate to their point of origin, now all cargo ends up at South or EastGate. Now SouthGate gets the ships coming out of the west and the south. Since ship traffic is heavier now than at any time in the past there tends to be a great deal of congestion at the docks. Yet despite the chaos the dock masters of SouthGate manage to get
all the goods and passengers into the city without more than a few hours delay. The SouthGate community tends to be working class and bourgeoisie peoples, who give the local culture a work hard atmosphere that seems to compliment the commercial chaos of its docks. While there are not many community festivals or gatherings, the neighborhoods are generally clean, friendly, and full of shops of varying products and services.

  Merchant’s Row

  This small neighborhood doesn’t have an official name but to most locals and frequenters it is called Merchant’s Row. It is an area of living quarters and houses that show great wealth. These houses are located amidst the working class homes because these are the houses of successful businessmen, not the heads of merchant empires. The Row is where a merchant goes to live if wealthy but not rich. They are owners of single ship operations, dock masters, master craftsmen, and other such somewhat successful individuals. Oddly enough residents of the Row don’t suffer the usual jealous ridicule of the rich, they are seen by most as the ideal sort of success and are often elected as unofficial community leaders. They are people who are seen to have made their fortunes with honest work.

  EastGate

  EastGate, true to its name, is the preferred docking area for the eastern merchants, but also supports the cargo ships from the northern tribes. EastGate dock masters have an especially difficult task because the eastern cargo ships tend to be overly large sea galleys and the northern ships are usually the small and sleek fjord boats of the fur trading northerners. With the tremendous size difference the control of ship traffic can be a difficult task. Yet the dock masters are masters for a reason, and as on SouthGate they manage to get everything into the city relatively on time. Like South and WestGate the community surrounding EastGate reflects the commerce and culture of the merchants who frequent its docks, and is an eclectic mix of thoroughfare and culture. There are the sturdy mead halls, blood sport arenas, and communal longhouses of the northern tribes, as well as the intricately architecture clearinghouses, storefronts, and eateries of the eastern merchants. For the most part the residents of EastGate community are working classes, tourists, or visiting tribesmen.

  WitchHaven

  Despite its unofficial title, WitchHaven is a part of the city that lives up to its name. While offensive magic not used in self-defense is frowned upon, a law that is often blurred in the heat of the moment, there are no official laws governing the use of magic. This unofficial district is generally the gathering place and residence for those involved in the world of innovation and magic. Mages and sorcerers of all types both visit and live in this area. Many outdoor cafes and small plazas mark the unspoken boundaries. One can walk through the streets here and see many sights of wonder and mystery. Magic shops sell spell components and items of use and interest. Schools of magic compete for students, sometimes in not so sporting ways. Groups of mystics gather in the cafes and plazas to argue and show off. Needless to say, the handful of guards the patrol this area of the city are familiar with magic, some are even students themselves. The existence of WitchHaven is another point of contention with the outside world.

  There is a vast and thriving market for spell components in WitchHaven. There are not only a plethora of shopkeepers offering all manner of magical tools and components, there are a great number of individual purveyors of magical materials, some more or less scrupulous than others. There is one such place known only as The Poison Market. It is known to most people who are involved with the criminal underbelly of the world as one of the best sources for extensive, exotic, deadly, and affordable poisons. The Poison Market is located in the private courtyard of a lesser-known alchemist, Jashit Molere. While small in size, it contains at least one useable sample of most poisons in the world. This place is frequented by assassins, poison tasters, merchants, noblemen, and all other sorts of people or their representative either purchasing poisons for use or relate elsewhere. There are spellcasters aplenty who are selling their services, mostly as advisors, diviners, or artificers. The occasional spellcaster willing to take an assignment outside of the city can be found, though most choose to remain within the magical friendly city limits of New Mooring. Because of the absence of oppressive laws governing the practice of magic, there are a great many progressive thinkers and willing teachers in WitchHaven. Spells forbidden even in less restrictive mainland cities are openly discussed and taught, though some of the more ghastly necromantic spells and death magics are taught and used under the table, so as to avoid meddlesome city guard attention. There is at least one school for each type of magic available in the world, though most of the schools are small, and others only consisting of a teacher who takes on the occasional apprentice. Magical duels are uncommon, though they do occur from time to time, and are as spectacular to as they are destructive. Many authorities believe that allowing magic users to congregate openly is to invite trouble. The city officials argue that in the open it is harder for the magic users to make trouble without being implicated.

  Adrigar’s Folly

  What used to be the NorthGate is now a blasted and ignored part of the city known in common parlance as Adrigar’s Folly. No more than two decades ago a prince from the Southern Kingdom name Alias Folserat gathered together many of the merchant houses and monarch of the world and convinced them to each loan him a handful of warships and crews. He intended to destroy New Mooring and create such a void of commerce that the independent Sea Lords would crumble and be bought out. The monarch wanted to get rid of the flagrant lawlessness and the merchant empires needed to eliminate the opportunity for independent merchants to live on free trade, forcing them back into the fold. For the admiral of the coalition fleet the prince hired a fierce northerner named Adrigar. He was a brutal mercenary with a reputation for wanton destruction, which is what the prince wanted. The fleet mustered near the floating city and then converged. The attack came from all angles. Adrigar knew that the sea walls of the city would be difficult to breach, but he was counting on his superior firepower to overwhelm the defenses.

  He was wrong, catapult and bastilla came from every nook of space on the battlements, arrows rained down in blankets of shafts. He pulled his forces back quickly and concentrated his assault on the NorthGate. By that time he has lost too many ships to take the city by artillery alone. Being a man of linear thinking and direct action, he ordered his remaining troop ships to ram the NorthGate while his ship plowed through the docks to clear the way and the last handful of warships provided cover fire. Adrigar’s flagship went down on its return pass after destroying the docks, the surviving warships fled the fight shortly thereafter. The assault ships were also destroyed, but not until after they had disgorged their cadres of soldiers. While the assault ships and the docks burned the entire NorthGate community erupted into a violent street battle as the citizens and invaders fought. Though the battle in the streets was brutal and short, the fires burned into the night, until the entire area was forfeit. The Gate, docks, and surrounding community are all known collectively as Adrigar’s Folly. It was on that day that the world was shown that military might alone would not raze New Mooring. Since that time Adrigar’s Folly has been populated by NorthGaters too stubborn to leave, beggars, homeless, and almost every other shunned and outlawed element in the city. Guards do not patrol there, and it exits in complete anarchy. It is often a haven for those who are on the run even from elements in the city. Perhaps this was what brought the Drow. Others think that the Drow came to escape the oppression of the UnderDark. No one really knows, and the government is keeping quiet about it. Regardless of their reasons, several small ships full of what can only be described as refugees appeared on the northern horizon. They came to the city through Adrigar’s Folly, setting up an enclave in the west side of the Folly and calling it Sanctum. Those few who folk who have been into the Folly and come out again have told of seeing Drow mingling with humans. So far the Drow presence is tolerated, but they know well enough to stay out of sight and in their own part of town.

/>   The Emperor’s Shadow

  This district is positioned around the palace itself. It is the area that only the extremely wealthy can hope to afford. The buildings are all basically small mansions, given the issue of limited space in the city, a small mansion here would cost as much as a larger estate or manor elsewhere on the mainland. But given the amount of commerce that occurs in the city, many of the successful merchant empires maintain households here. Given its residents and the proximity of the district to Adrigar’s Folly, the presence of the city guards is considerable. There are several patrol units from the city as well as a good number of hired guards loyal to specific houses. There is one large tavern in the district called the Gilded Flotsam, it is a small to do yet very high quality establishment and is usually crowded with the wealthy members of society that aren’t out slumming in Mercy.

  The Ogre’s Fist

  This war galley is the largest fighting ship in the world. Its construction began only days after the Battle of NorthGate. A massive salvage operation was launched by the city government, many of the citizenry as well as hired hands worked into the night day after day. The Ogre’s Fist was built out of the salvaged ship parts of Adrigar’s mercenary fleet. While the average sized war galley of the Empires has two fighting decks, one open air with catapults and one underneath with bastilla. The Ogre’s Fist has a top deck with enough space for three decks worth of catapults and two decks of bastilla, the fourth deck is equipped with various hooks and rams used to crush and harass enemy ships when in close. It is also equipped with a full complement of large oars, just in case the wind is down. The oars are also sometimes employed even when the sails are full, making the ship twice as fast. The ship has assault planks on the top decks so that shock troops can basically slide down into enemy ships with little difficulty. The ship is aided by enchantments that ward it against fire, acid, and other myriad of projectiles. The crew changes somewhat frequently.