St. Forbes
St. Forbes is the second wealthiest city in The Free West. The wealthy merchant-class civilians live in the south west half of the city, which is also where large greenhouses filled with produce can be found scattered throughout, and the houses get smaller and poorer the further north east one goes, ending in the "slums" where the fighting pits are located. Governor Janet Thorough allows the fighting pits as long as they pay the city a hefty tax on all earnings, which brings the city huge revenue due to the popularity of the pits. The city "center" actually lies just south east of the middle of the city and is where the majority of the shops are located. Inversely, the city has a second "center" in the north west corner of the city where all the black market deals are made. The governor knows full well what goes on over there, but she turns a blind eye unless it directly affects her.
Sights:
Everything within a radius of one mile around the city has been leveled and stripped of all resources. As with most of the West, St. Forbes is surrounded by desert.
The outer wall stands twenty feet tallI and surrounds the entire city. It is composed mostly of cement blocks, but there are occasional patchy spots that have been filled in with rock. There are two sets of massive doors in the wall: one on the north side and one on the east. These doors are made of thick metal and are large enough to accommodate most vehicles. The doors remain open from sunup to sundown except in times of crisis or marauder raids. There are also a dozen or so man-doors spread out around the wall for pedestrian use. There are always men patrolling the walls and at least one stationed at every door, with six at each vehicle door. There is a parking lot along the northern wall where those with vehicles too large to fit in the city can park. These parking lots are not guarded, so one must provide one's own security detail for their vehicle's protection.
The wealthy part of the city is composed of larger, mansion-style homes and greenhouses, while the poorer district is mostly old buildings that are patched together from the rubble of past civilization.
Notable locations include The Honeypot brothel in the wealthy district and the fighting pits in the poorer district.
Sounds:
The wealthy district is much quieter due to how much space there is between buildings, with the hum of the city below just barely audible at the highest peak of the city. The poorer district is bustling with noise from all the vehicles and closely-packed buildings. The roars from the fighting pits often drown out even the sounds of cars driving through the city.
Smells:
The wealthy district smells like dirt same as anywhere else, but the greenhouses themselves smell so fresh and clean that people will pay just to go on tours through them. In contrast, the poorest areas sometimes smell of sewage and are occasionally flooded and muddy, but cleanup isn't ever too far away. The city is well-maintained.
Demographics
St. Forbes is an inclusive city, rich with diversity. Humans, orcs, and dwarves are the most common, but there are elves as well, and a few other species.
Government
As far as The Free West goes, the laws here are rather fair. It follows a sort of eye-for-an-eye mentality: rapists get castrated, thieves lose hands, etc... Citizens often take the law into their own hands if it is deemed justified (for example, Madame Bluthe, the owner of The Honeypot, has the authority to castrate, and sometimes even kill, men who abuse her girls). The city is ruled by Governor Janet Thorough. The woman is not too strict and generally listens to her advisors, but when a private issue makes its way up the ladder to her feet, she is a firm judge and will inflict harsh punishment if she feels the issue is beneath her. Thorough doesn't have complete dictatorial control over her domain: there are lower courts and a group of lawmakers known as The Council of Nine that takes care of most issues.
Defences
20 foot tall cement wall that surrounds the entirety of the city. While not terribly effective against suicidal marauders, the wall keeps out most who would do the city harm. The citizens are well-armed, but the city remains relatively safe through mutual respect and observance of the law that is hard to come by most anywhere else. While there is no police force, the citizens themselves are quick to protect their own. There is a guard patrol along the wall as well, but they rarely see combat. St. Forbes is to be left alone.
Industry & Trade
St. Forbes grows most of its own food, selling the surplus to smaller surrounding cities. They also make a heavy profit off of tobacco and cotton. They pay independent thrill-seekers an absurd amount of money for the Soul Metal they find in the Hades Rift, which they then use to trade with neighboring nations for soil and other materials that are difficult if not impossible to come by in the Free West.
History
St. Forbes began its life as a refugee camp shortly after the end of the war, shielding its citizens from the ever-growing marauder population. It wasn't long before the shelters began taking solid form and the citizens began to dig a city from the rubble. After just a few short decades, St. Forbes was pronounced a full-fledged city by its first governor, Sam Goode, who named it after a magazine he remembered seeing as a child. The city grew and prospered over the next two centuries, never losing its protective nature. When Janet Thorough took office in 215 PA, she began to overhaul the system in unprecedented ways. She single-handedly dropped the homeless population to zero and provided jobs for all citizens within her first five years with her policies. Some would call her methods immoral, as she dealt with criminals and legitimized the black market in order to accomplish her goals, but you can't argue with results.
Geography
St. Forbes was built pressed up against the side of a small mountain, making it virtually invisible from the east side. Like the rest of The Free West, the city is surrounded by nothing but sand dunes.
Natural Resources
Everything within a five mile radius around St. Forbes has been stripped of all resources. Instead, the city houses acres of greenhouses filled with all manner of produce, from grains to cotton to tobacco.
Founding Date
April 17th, 59 PA
Type
Large city
Population
260,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Forbians
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Characters in Location
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