Powder Run, the Pirate's Paradise
A town full o' criminals. O' pirates. Funny thing is, I just sit back and watch. Why punish thieves who steal from each other? An' why punish them crooks who do it for me?
~ Captain Shot ~
Den of Sharks
In the wake of formation of the collective creed, four pirate lords were named as rulers of the collective and upholders of the creed. However, there were still many ships and crews who did not wish to be ruled over and told how to sail the seas. These pirates rebuked the pirate lords and the creed they enforced, keeping to the traditional ways of the pirates of old.
Labeled as criminals to now even their own home, many were forced into hiding. Some great leagues away from the more prominent settlements of the collective they used to roam.
Powder Run was one of those hideouts.
Merely a mish-mash of rough cobbled structures and wood-thatch roofs, every home and every tavern, of which there are few, stretches along the one single road of the coastal village on either side.
Despite its size, pirates and other outlaws embrace the chaotic and deadly appetites their lifestyles offer. Endless nights of gambling, drinking, stealing the plunder every crew had 'collected' days prior are a daily and nightly past time. Shootouts occur in very aggressive fashion over even a spilled drink, and even the most experience sailors might wake up with all their gold missing. Or worse, their own ship.
But pirates are not the only inhabitants who live here. Powder Run, given its open visibility, is a very easy sight for passing sailors to spot. The pirate lords had not been an exception. Early on, the lords had conspired to raid and decimate the village, leaving nothing left. But, when one of the pirate lords came close to shore to scout out its threat, he experienced something that changed his response.
Seeing Powder Run full of criminals who robbed, mugged, and even killed each other made destroying this village seem like a waste of effort. These pirates were already doing what the lords wished to carry out. For that reason, Captain Shot met with the pirate everyone agreed was the most dangerous there. His name was Captain Jade Eye.
The two came to a civil agreement with each other, and in the weeks to come, a large stone keep was built for the pirate lord at the eastern end of town. In this keep, Captain Shot and his buccaneers did nothing more than live and watch over the village. Nothing else.
As long as Powder Run and its thieves kept all its piracy to itself, Captain Shot and the other three pirate lords saw no reason to do anything more than observe. And so the small port village has been to this day. A hub of anarchy, and a pirate's paradise.
The evil these people commit are poultry compared to the one which would unleash destruction. And that, we all agree, must never be achieved.
~ Hameer Waterlew ~
Type
Village
Owning Organization
Shrine of Eadro
The Seaworthy has always been a deity the people of the Silver Piece Islands have revered as a protector and a guide on the sea. Whether one obeys the Collective Creed or not, both sides value Eadro and his power.
Powder Run proves this with a large shrine dedicated in his honor. Resting along a small cliff a small distance away from town, its circular shape is overseen and maintained by its priest, Hameer Waterlew. The open altar space surrounds an elevated pedestal in the middle, presumably where Hameer would give words of wisdom if any pirates actually joined him for such a thing.
Rumors also spread around the populace that the shrine is not all that it seems. The biggest query stems from the fact no one truly knows where Hameer goes when he's not at the shrine.
He protects us and guides us. All you must do is pay his tithe.~ Hameer Waterlew
Shot's Keep
A castle of fairly well-crafted stone stands tall over the rest of the dingy village. Cannons and ballistae rest upon the top of its walls, a large wooden gate stands as a very firm door into its courtyard, and a small cove stretches beneath the keep where a ship may dock.
This keep is owned and guarded by one of the pirate lords, Captain Shot, and his crew of buccaneers. His ship, the Golden Gun always rest in the cove when he is not out at sea, and despite the heavy armament it wields, its intention, as agreed upon long ago, is only for defensive purposes.
From this castle, Captain Shot lounges in it like a mansion, and eats many fruits of fresh variety, watching the chaotic village tear itself apart day in and day out like theater.
This castle be mine and mine alone.~ Captain Shot
Cover image:
port poor
Now I'm real curious over Hameer. It almost sounds like the priest isn't affected or targeted by the pirates and thieves. Is this by mutual agreement? Or did some thief try it and now everyone knows the story of how bad it turned out for that thief?
It is more a mutual agreement, yes. The specific reasoning is that Eadro is a very well received god by everyone, even for those who do not fervently follow him. This respect stretches into the priests and clerics who serve the temples and shrines in his honor. Of course, there certainly are those who disregard Eadro. But when they live in a town full of people who would protect the priests from any harm thrust their way, there are usually second thoughts to any piracy of this kind.