Halt-Cliff

"Gateway to the Sea" -Colloquial name of Halt-cliff.

Halt-Cliff stands as Everwealth’s final bastion before the open sea, the only land route leading to the vital port city of Wardsea. Surrounded by the Battlement Cliffs, its natural defenses make it one of the most secure settlements in the kingdom, but also one of the most economically vital. Originally a desperate gathering of shipwrecked survivors in the wake of the Great Schism, the city became the first continuously inhabited settlement post-cataclysm, growing into a thriving trade hub where inland merchants, seafarers, and smugglers converge. Despite its wealth, Halt-Cliff is a city of sharp divides, where nobles and merchants enjoy prosperity within their brick and stone homes, while laborers and drifters crowd the slums, scraping by however they can.

The Cliff-Wall, a towering fortification bridging the gap in the cliffs, is both a military stronghold and a marvel of modern engineering's many inequities, guarding against invasion and serving as a landmark for travelers. Beneath it, trade thrives in both legal and illicit forms, with the Low Market teeming with goods bound for Opulence and beyond. The recent rediscovery of crane technology has reshaped the city’s infrastructure, allowing it to become an industrial hub, revolutionizing how goods and materials are moved across Everwealth. However, Halt-Cliff remains a city shaped by both opportunity and exploitation, where commerce reigns supreme, laws are bent in favor of those with power, and gold, more than steel, dictates who truly controls its streets.

Demographics

Halt-Cliff is home to a diverse population compared to much of Everwealth due to its position as the sole overland gateway to Wardsea, its bustling trade, and its long history as a meeting point for refugees and merchants alike. Humans and Dwarfs make up the majority, but the city also boasts Everwealth’s largest Halfling population, many of whom operate as traders, innkeepers, or fishmongers. Foreign merchants from the southern isles, sailors from distant lands, and even a small number of Aquian travelers can be found among the city’s crowded streets, though most are merely passing through. Social divides run deep, wealthy traders and scholars live in brick-and-stone homes overlooking the market squares, while the lower classes are crammed into thatch-roofed tenements, surviving on subsistence farming and low-wage labor.

Government

As with most Everwealth cities, Halt-Cliff is governed by a royal-appointed governor and a force of city guards who enforce both royal decrees and local law. However, due to its importance as a trade hub, governance is often a balancing act between the monarchy’s will and the influence of the merchant council, an informal yet powerful group of traders, shipbuilders, and guild leaders who hold sway over the city’s economy. The Duchy also holds presence here, but its influence is largely tied to taxation and ensuring that tariffs on goods bound for Wardsea are strictly enforced. While law exists, bribery and backroom dealings among merchants and officials alike are an open secret, often determining who is allowed to profit freely and who is subjected to ruinous fees or inconvenient investigations.

Defences

Halt-Cliff is one of Everwealth’s most naturally defensible settlements, shielded on nearly all sides by the Battlement Cliffs—sheer, towering rock faces that prevent invasion from the sea. The city itself is protected by the Cliff-Wall, an enormous barricade of reinforced brick and timber spanning the only break in the cliffs, built centuries ago to safeguard against potential naval incursions. Its walls are patrolled day and night, with fortified watchtowers offering sightlines for miles. Though it lacks the standing military presence of Bordersword, the city is nonetheless well-prepared, boasting trained crossbowmen, reinforced gates, and an ample stockpile of weapons, many imported from Opulence or Newforge. Any invasion force would first have to breach Wardsea before even attempting to assault Halt-Cliff, a nearly impossible feat.

Industry & Trade

Halt-Cliff thrives on its role as the sole land-access point to Wardsea, acting as a crucial intermediary for goods flowing between the port and inland Everwealth. It is one of the best places in the kingdom to acquire exotic spices, imported silks, and rare alchemical ingredients, as merchants arriving by sea offload their wares here before transporting them further into the country. In turn, local industries revolve around agriculture, dairy production, and gold mining, the city’s farms and ranches feeding both its people and those bound for Wardsea. The presence of one of the nation’s largest firearm reserves also ensures a steady flow of trade in weapons, both legal and otherwise. Halt-Cliff’s unique stone-crane technology, recently revived by the local Scholar’s Guild, has revolutionized both construction and shipping, making it easier than ever to load, unload, and transport massive quantities

Infrastructure

While of no particular scientific renown in the grand scheme of Everwealth, the local Scholar's Guild campus of Halt-Cliff is responsible for the recent resurrection of an ancient shipping/construction technology known as a 'crane' used to lift large quantities of items and relocate them, causing industry in the country to surge; Workers able to move vastly heavier loads of shipping containers or construction equipment far faster and easier than the last nearly 5 centuries.

Districts

The Cliff-Wall District serves as the first line of defense and a checkpoint for travelers entering from Wardsea. Guards, customs officials, and tax collectors operate here, ensuring tariffs are paid before goods enter the wider kingdom.
The Merchant’s Rise is the city’s wealthiest district, home to influential traders, shipwrights, and the most successful business owners. Well-constructed homes and warehouses line its streets, and private guards patrol to keep out undesirables.

• The Low Market is a sprawling, chaotic trading hub where vendors hawk everything from smuggled wares to legal imports, a haven for black-market dealings and opportunistic merchants looking to avoid royal tariffs.

• The Scholar’s Quarter houses the local campus of the Scholar’s Guild, responsible for the recent resurrection of crane-based industry. Here, scribes, engineers, and alchemists work to refine old technologies and reclaim lost knowledge.

• The Workman’s Row is home to the city’s laboring class, dockhands, miners, and ranchers, a district of simple homes, noisy taverns, and small workshops.

• The Hillside Slums, sprawling beyond the main walls, house the city’s poorest, where those displaced by development or failed ventures scrape together a living however they can.

Assets

The 3rd largest firearm stores in the nation, a valuable asset indeed considering gunpowder cannot be reproduced at the time nor can most pre-schism firearms without one of the likelyless than 3 smiths on the entire planet qualified to do so.

Guilds and Factions

• The Scholar's Guild
• The Arcane Coalition
• The Dwarfish Cartel

History

Halt-Cliff’s origins are deeply tied to the aftermath of The Fall when the great calamity at it's conclusion reshaped the continents centuries ago. Lost travelers and shipwrecked survivors, seeking safety and supplies, gathered at the only break in the cliffs, forming an impromptu settlement that would later become Everwealth’s first continuously inhabited city post-Schism. Though unintentional at first, its strategic importance quickly became clear, securing its status as the gateway between Everwealth and the sea. Over centuries, it grew into a bustling trade hub, with the construction of the Cliff-Wall ensuring its protection from potential naval invasions. Today, it remains the sole land route to Wardsea, the kingdom’s most vital port, cementing its role as one of Everwealth’s economic lifelines.

Points of interest

The Cliff-Wall: A massive defensive structure, towering over 200 feet, offering a commanding view of the landscape.


Voight’s Trophy: A mysterious immovable diamond, allegedly enchanted by the ancient wizard Voight, drawing countless failed attempts to claim it.

The Scholar’s Guild Campus: Home to engineers and researchers studying ancient construction methods.

The Gold Mines: Tightly controlled but vital to the city’s economy.

Tourism

Most visitors pass through Halt-Cliff on their way to Wardsea, but the Cliff-Wall and Voight’s Trophy draw curious travelers. Merchants, scholars, and nobles often visit for trade or to inspect the latest industrial advancements.

Architecture

The wealthy districts feature brick-and-stone buildings with glass-paned windows, while the lower quarters are made of wood and thatch, simple yet durable. Many homes are reinforced against the elements, their walls braced against the harsh winds rolling down from the Cloudrend Mountains.

Geography

Halt-Cliff sits between jagged, grassy hills littered with fallen rocks, positioned between the Grandgleam Forest and the Cloudrend Mountains. Its strategic location makes it one of the most defensible cities in Everwealth.

Climate

A warm region, contributing heavily to Everwealth’s crop production, but subject to strong winds from the Cloudrend Mountains, making winters bitterly cold.

Natural Resources

Halt-Cliff benefits from large dairy farms, vegetable fields, and gold mines. Wild horse populations are common, and the region’s timber supply, though modest, is supplemented by trade.

Founding Date

2 CA

Alternative Name(s)

'Gateway to the Sea', 'Last-Stop'.

Population

54,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Cliffers

Owning Organization

The Monarchy