Steinburg

Type: Government
Site: Just West of Dungarstel
Size: 5mi²
Population or Inhabitants: 900k
Condition: Unkempt and Dense
Terrain: Plains

Description
Steinburg, often referred to as the "Walled City," occupies a peculiar position on the continent, characterized by stark contradictions. While it boasts one of the largest populations, it is paradoxically one of the smallest towns in terms of land area. This paradox emerged from the decisions made by the ruling Lords and Mages who prioritized the conservation of resources and magical energy over expanding the town's boundaries. As a result, they halted expansion and severed homes merely two and a half a miles from the protective embrace of the keep. In response, they erected towering walls, rivaling any seen across the continent, transforming Steinburg into one of the most secure and fortified settlements.
To maintain this formidable defense, the Lords and Mages devised a unique solution, harnessing magical flora to fuel the mystical ward that safeguards the city. However, this compact size comes at a grave cost. The inability to expand has forced residents into increasingly cramped living conditions, where homes are stacked atop one another, and individuals inhabit rooms scarcely the width of their outstretched arms. Some have no more than a bed in a shared room, a meager semblance of a home amidst hundreds of others in squalid, overcrowded living spaces.
The densely packed buildings, rising to dizzying heights, have brought peril to the residents. Building collapses have become commonplace, with casualties numbering in the tens of thousands during the most recent disaster. Yet, Steinburg is famed for hosting the largest maggot cultivation industry on the continent. Along the walls, maggot farms flourish, rivaling the density of homes. It is the promise of sustenance that draws most to Steinburg, where food is attainable, if not abundant, and housing, though cramped and unsanitary, is affordable.
Despite its tightly knit community, the city lacks effective law enforcement, fostering an environment of common crime. Trash is carelessly discarded from balconies, littering the pitch-black streets below. A profound fear of open flames lingers after a catastrophic fire consumed a significant portion of the town. The city square, like many streets and routes near the center, is obscured by an entanglement of buildings. Remarkably, the Lord of Steinburg has permitted residents to connect their buildings to the castle for structural support, creating an intricate, man-made underground labyrinth within the walls. Though this rarely happens and has to be approved by the lord himself, often any building that isn't made fully of stone and brick wouldn't be allowed in case of a fire. Since one structure collapsed on the castle's right wing people are discouraged from building any closer to the castle than what was already there as the architects and residents who survived were executed. Shops meld into homes, which morph into butchers, and so on, as space becomes a precious commodity.
The plight of Steinburg extends to the realm of public health, as rampant disease and parasites thrive within its confines. Certain layers of the city are irrevocably contaminated, inhabited by mutated individuals who defy cleansing. In some rooms, bodies accumulate, sealed off when filled to capacity, with new structures erected on top of the entombed. It is undeniably the continent's epicenter of squalor and decay, a testament to the greed of the ruling Lord. Yet, remarkably, the resilient people of Steinburg eke out a living within this fetid, teeming metropolis, finding a peculiar sense of purpose amid the chaos and adversity that define their lives.