Iszgolun
Walk swiftly but remain silent. Keep an attentive eye but don't look at anyone. Have pockets full of auric and shines, narrow pockets that is. Follow the river up through and inside the mountains.
Demographics
Iszgolun is a highly multicultural place. Being at the frontier of many nations, the city is a natural meeting point for criminals and scoundrels from different races. Hobgoblins, metallic and red dragonborns, dwarfs, orcs, humans, kobolds & goblins are the most likely to be encountered there, but it is in the city's nature to welcome anyone. A citizen's appartenance to Iszgolun depends only on their reputation. Are they known? What for? By whom? For how long? Does someone care if they dissapear?
Iszgolun's most spoken language -there is no official language but it is by far the most used in the city- is tivkan, derived from thieve's can't with its own specificities, slangs and rules. Anyone speaking thieve's can't can understand the main informations of a tivkan conversation but will generally miss the locations and details.
Government
Iszgolun is not a ruled city per say. It's authorities are disparate actors playing a game of influence and reputation against eachothers. Only a few deep-rooted entities maintained their renown through the ages, becoming iconic parts of the city's hierarchy and even spreading to other parts of the continent.
Real power and territory are often fast-shifting in the city, gangs and organisation rising as quickly as they wane. Every district, every alley, every joint of the Venturous jade has its self-proclaimed protector with their own rules, agenda, delivery of justice and plans of expansion. And then, every protector and gang leader answers to a bigger fish. The first tax laid upon the citizens of Iszgolun is protection money.
The second tax is the Mussurana, the toll everyone pays to access the elevator and enter the city. It's named after the mussurana snake, native of the Amadel mountains and known for its venom.
As much as there is no higher Justice in Iszgolun, there is no legislative body, judge or tribunal. Most of the inhabitants apply unwritten laws such as Honor amongst Thieves, An Eye for an Eye, The Law of Convenience and Payment in Blood.
Defences
The city's streets are continuously agitated with markets, transactions, fights, thefts and other petty crimes. To ensure a facade order, the Grayguards, a faction of animated armors, patrol the main areas of the city. The powerful mages known as the Whistlers roam the city by their sides, perpetuating their enchantments.
Geography
Iszgolun is built in the Amadel Chain, inside the eponymous mountain. The subterranean Padari river has, over time and following it's own course, created a gigantic rift in the mountain that now provides a punctual amount of daylight to the city. The Venturous jade slithers along Padari going steadily down. At its end, a series of waterfalls serve as a natural barricade to the city. From this side, only the great elevator provides a way to the city walls. On the other side, up the mountain, the rift narrows and ends in a complexity of micro tunnels. The city's buildings are dispersed on both side of Padari and seven bridges connect the two sides at different points.
Current Date: 2nd of Latsum, 1572
Alternative Name(s)
The Venturous Jade
Type
City
Inhabitant Demonym
Golunean
Location under
Included Locations
Comments