Quick River
The city of Quick River was officially founded in the year 1370DR by the Shogun. It is one of the most industrialized cities in Usilia though it is far underdeveloped compared to similar cities in other regions. One of the main attractions is the massive lumber mill, the biggest of its kind that is powered by the fast waters of the nearby river. The Quick River Lumber company serves as the main provider of lumber and wood for Usilia while the Quick River Trading Company exports it to other regions through its dock and imports various other goods (notably: food).
The other main attraction of Quick River is its culinary. Because the city's food supplies depend largely on imports brought by the Trading Company, they developed a fame for being hodgepodge of different ethnic food. The city's docks are surrounded by restaurants with cuisine based on various other regions and it is one of the only places in Usilia where its inhabitants can get a taste of different cultures.
As the city relies heavily on tourism but lacks a sufficient number of guards it is illegal for all but the guards themselves, members of the Kawa family and its own guards, to bear weapons within the city. All weapons must be surrendered at an armory near the entrance of the city.
Government
The city is run by a Mayor that is elected by a council consisting of representatives from the main companies of the city, the captain of the guards, a treasurer, a trade master, a port master and a noble from the Kawa family. Although a Mayor can overlook all of the city's functions, his position only lasts as long as the council sees fit. Although the Mayor tends to be a person that is generally beloved and well-known by the people there are some that realize that the city is mostly run by the two major companies: the Quick River Lumber Company and the Quick River Trading Company.
As most council decisions are decided by vote, the corporate representatives tend to have an upper hand because the Port Master and the Trade Master tend to go along with their votes as well, leaving only two votes that may oppose theirs, the Kawa family representative's who represents the interests of the townsfolk and the Captain of the Guards who represents the interests of the Shogun. These later two representatives tend to be at odds with each other as the Kawa family often has to step in to try to maintain order and curtail criminal activity in areas of the city that have very few guards.
There have been talks as of recently of adding a new member to the council to represent the restaurateurs, but so far the council has voted down that proposal, so an official petition was sent to the Shogun to help balance the council votes.
Defences
The city is surrounded by a tall wooden wall with a single gate of entry protected by a very modest number of guards.
The majority of guards are positioned in towers or walls that surround the large port warehouses and in the docks area where they inspect arriving ships and escort the trade goods to the warehouses.
Despite representing the Shogun's interests, the Quick River guards have begrudgingly agreed to help protect and defend the goods of the two major companies of the city in exchange for a service. This is the only way with which they are able to hire and pay enough guards to keep most of the city secure, as the number of inhabitants and tourists has risen considerably due to its diverse gastronomy.
Whichever guards aren't assigned to the prior positions patrol the river daily in multiple turns at random hours throughout the day and night in order to prevent anyone obstructing or sabotaging the river that keeps the city alive.
Industry & Trade
Quick River is the main provider and export of lumber in all Usilia and it is controlled by the Quick River Lumber Company.
The Quick River Trading company exports lumber and imports various foods from other parts of Usilia and regions. Because of this Quick River developed a multi-ethnic culinary culture which enjoys different types of food from various regions and this attracts people from all across Usilia to try out things from other cultures.
It used to have a thriving fishing industry but over the years the sewage that pours into the sea made the fish scarce and disease-ridden so most of the food enjoyed by the villagers come from nearby farms or from imports by the Quick River Trading Company.
Infrastructure
The city harbors the largest water-powered sawmill in all of Usilia. It is one of the few sawmills in the continent capable of producing massive keels for ships.
Next to the sawmill is a pressure pump that helps bring water up to a filtration area that then leads the water down channels that flow over the buildings, providing each house with fresh access to water and providing them functional sewage.
The lower part of the city consists of a port with large heavily-guarded warehouses near them and surrounded by restaurants.
At the far end of the docks, there is the Seiten (Fair weather) Shipwrights. A relatively recent company that decided to establish itself in Quick River to build ships in an effort to undercut the lumber import fees.
Because of their industrial knowledge of using water and proximity to the ocean Quick River is one of the few Usilian cities with a functioning sewer.
Assets
The city is full of tourism stores, restaurants, time-share housing and many of the restaurants with two story-buildings provide modest lodgings for their customers as well.
There are no equipment stores in the city and only one blacksmith, but it is one that serves the Kawa family exclusively, therefore permission would be needed before acquiring any weapons from him.
Guilds and Factions
Trading Companies
The Quick River Lumber and Trading Companies share a close bond between them and have, in multiple occasions, joined the two companies by marrying children and together they hold a significant amount of control of how the city is governed, who is elected Mayor and often use their power to influence the villagers by directly influencing the price of food and blaming it on the decisions of others.Guards
Whereas most of the Government is beholden to the Trading Companies the Guards are beholden only to the word of the Shogun so they are often at odds with the Trading Companies who try to use every opportunity they can to further their profits, often against the will of the their ruler.Restauranteurs
The owners of the various restaurants in Quick River have been growing in number and hoping to gain enough influence to take a position in the council. They are often at odds with the Trading Company which can influence or dictate their profits so they have been trying to establish alternative trading deals in order to maintain their businesses instead of remaining beholden to the will of the Trading Company.Kawa Family
The family of the city's founder holds a position of privilege by holding one of the venerable positions in the City Council, receive a small share of the taxes and living in the most wealthy estate of the city, with their own private security and their own martial arts school, the Kawa Dojo, which trains people in swordsmanship. Most of the graduates go on to become city guards but the most distinguished ones receive the honor of serving the Kawa family as personal guards along with receiving a much more generous salary. Because of the family's name (River) and the fluidity of the style of martial arts they teach, the students of this school are known as "Water Dancers". While the family's influence has waned over the years they remain as one of the few stalwarts against the corporate interests of the trading companies and are well beloved by the people of the city.History
Around the year 1358DR the Shogun and his men were travelling to the north east region of Usilia after gaining control of all the lands to the south and west of the land's largest river. The war had been going on for many years, some men questioned if it would ever end, some would think about their children, and if they had grown to fine young elves.
As they passed a small but seemingly strong stream of water the Shogun saw something that brought him memories of his youth: a couple of young elves racing wall nut boats down the stream. He ordered his men to set camp and approached the two children on top of his black stallion. One of the two boys, named Yasuo, was holding up his small boat triumphantly. The Shogun asked if his boat was the fastest in the land to which Yasuo said: "yes, no one can beat it." The Shogun laughed and responded "My Stallion is the fastest animal in this land, do you think your boat could win against it?" Without catching a breath the boy responded "Yes!"
The Shogun found thid amusing and challenged the boy's boat to a race to the mouth of the river. "But if I win" - he said - "you will have to follow whatever demand I have."
The young Yasuo, completely unaware of who he was addressing asked "And what if I win?". The Shogun could not believe his ears and burst out laughing. He had razed cities and killed families for kinder words, but he decided to humor the boy: "Once this war is over I will build a big city near the mouth of the river. That city will be named after whoever wins the race."
"Yasuo city, I like it!" - said the boy, once again making the Shogun laugh.
After he climbed down to the river bank the Shogun gave the sign and the race began. The Shogun's mount was a monstruous beast of unrivalled speed in land, but as he gallopped further down the river the stream began to pickup pace and the small hazel nut boat not only caught up but got ahead. After a couple of hours galloping the Shogun finally reached the mouth of the river where the small boat awaited neard the bank.
After riding back the young boy approached the Shogun with a massive grin and asked who won. The Shogun smiled as he handed him his boat. Your boat did arrive faster than me, but it was not the faster than the river itself. The town will be called Fast River and you and your family will receive a home in it.
Many years later Yasuo adopted the family name Kawa (River) and became Quick River's first mayor. The name Kawa became important in the city and his descendants still hold a position of nobility within it. Because of their influence and power, every year they sponsor the Quick River Wallnut Race where the winner is always the river, but second and third place go to the fastest wallnut boats.
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