Smuggler's Rest & Dragon's Bottom
Demographics
The species and races of Smuggler’s Rest offers an interesting - if predictable - cross section of sentience. As the name implies, the mid-sized town is a den of thieves, smugglers, trading entrepreneurs and an oddly specific group of ‘experts’ on Sovathy artifacts. It is not uncommon for people of all stripes to wash up on the shores of Knifepointe, their attempts to take the obvious nautical route ending in failure, but it is uncommon for survivors with morals to last long in the town once they find it.
Government
The idea of ‘government’ overseeing Smuggler’s Rest is as laughable as it is inevitable. The residents of the town prefer to keep their own council, live as they see fit and answer to no ones authority but their own.
And yet, the streets must still be swept. Goods must be safe enough to sell at market. The order of common good - as the residents call it when they are being honest with themselves - must be preserved. Somewhat.
So there is a small group of long-time residents who see to the common things. The local heavy-hitters such as the Thieves Guild and the Black Market instruct their hired muscle to deposit drunkards and ne’erdowells in the brig run by the commons, and the commons hire their own muscle to make the drunkards and ne’erdowells sweep the streets and mend roadways. It’s an imperfect system, but it works. For now.
Defences
Smuggler's Rest is defended by the Whirling Straits and the tight-lipped nature of it's residents. The safe channels used to access the port change hourly as well as seasonally. Only well-seasoned navigators are capable of reading the currents to find passage; though there has to be something said for sheer luck. Should a ship with ill intent manage to pass the Straits and enter the harbor, the town has several defense towers capable of reducing enemy ships to splinters in minutes.
Infrastructure
Key to the success of Smuggler’s Rest is the deep, naturally protected harbor set in the middle of the Whirling Straits. The island provides abundant fresh water, though the area lacks land suitable for cultivation. There are some attempts at terrace farming on the southwest side of the island, along with groves of cultivated trees that tolerate the rocky slopes.
Districts
The Docks:
The area most commonly thought of as ‘Smuggler’s Rest’ is the vibrant dockage lining the natural, deepwater harbor. Only the biggest of vessels - unlikely to navigate the Straits and equally unlikely to find the Rest - would be forced to moor in the middle of the harbor. The docks themselves provide ample room for the common frigate and caravel of the harbor’s seasonal residents.Windmile:
Upper terrace residential and trading district. Known mainly as the home of the local common’s leader Beraquelle of Sid. The water mill and upper falls can be found in this district along with the only reputable bank.West District:
Home of the Thieves Guild and fiercely protected warehouses from residents of the Windmile and Docks. After all, who better to secure your valuable artifacts then the Thieves most commonly commissioned to steal them?Market Square:
Home to the black market of Eien and the questionable storefronts of ‘dealers’ specializing in rare Sovat Empire artifacts and manuscripts.Dragon’s Bottom:
Slums and squalor greet visitors to Dragon’s Bottom. Those who haven’t found jobs working the taverns or ships of the Docks take to eking out a living stealing and whoring in the Bottom. Escaped slaves of Kejas have a small colony near the coast, alongside an equally small rival colony of escaped Laranian convicts. Rumors abound of a disgraced Academy sorcerer making his home in the Bottom when he's not concocting the world's next addictive powder.Knifepointe:
Aptly named location on the northwestern tip of the island overlooking what appears to be a broad channel. The location is known to the locals for it's dangerous shoals and mercurial weather, owed in part to it's forgotten history as an important naval stronghold of the ancient sovathy. The ancient war left a great deal of dangerous magic in the area, and those ships foolish enough to sail it end up wrecked at the bottom. Survivors - what few there are - wash up on shore and if they are lucky, make their way on foot along the coast to the southern side of the island.
Founding Date
Unknown
Alternative Name(s)
Black Market, The Knife Den, Southern Waste, The Bottom, etc
Type
Large town
Population
+/- 5,000
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