Wandering City
The Zaratan
"Shelly" to the Halflings, and apparently "Azmouf" to the Fey, the Zaratan is of unknowable age but extremely knowable habits. She swims to the southern tip of Aildean to avoid the scalding heat of summer, and migrates to Nessardine to avoid the rigors of winter. The mountain peaks on her spine -- whether they are organic, magical or in some way naturally occurring -- provide her shell with its own biosphere as fresh water flows down from the ice formed in the south and crashes into a humid jungle biome resulting from the resulting waterfalls. Azmouf eats lazily, her accumulated flora being highly attractive to smaller fish and other sea creatures that she can simply draw into her mouth with the force of gravity. Many visitors to the Wandering City remark upon their surprise at the old girl's vitality. Her sides are covered in terraced docks and drydocks to accommodate the possibility that she will lean one way or the other to scratch and itch or just out of the joy of movement. Her fins are active in swimming towards her destination, and her eyes are generally open and she is alert to noises and impacts (though her response time is exceedingly slow). It is considered good luck to catch her 'hunting'. In the southern climes especially, she will display surprising (yet minimal) speed in nipping away seals and walruses that venture too close to her beak.
Transit to the Wandering City
Azmouf rests at the termini of her annual migration for about two months. She takes an additional "short" break to gather her strength at the halfway point at the southern tip of Hundred House. Just off the coast at that location, a town developed to service the needs of those aboard at the halfway mark, known as Greater Shelton. The town has modular docks of staggering scale that allow such services to be provided as large-scale construction, bulk food orders and even mail delivery.
There are other points at which the Zaratan is close enough to shore to make for a brief commute, such as Angel's Rest, a bit further west. In all cases, hiring a qualified pilot from the Selangor and the Serayavian -- the two enchanted Gnomish ships that lead the flotilla on either side of her -- is strongly recommended. Not only do those pilots have experience judging the extraordinarily difficult wash coming off the fins, they are more than aware that the old girl still has a sense of fun and will on rare occasions bat at shiny objects positioned too far forward.
Transit within the Wandering City
The Wandering City is serviced by a clockwork rail system operated by the Gnomish authorities (i.e., not the mages of Anthur-Ro, though the train clearly has some magical properties). The schedule is as follows, and it runs from 6 AM to 2 AM every day: (20 minutes maintenance)- Wakecrest to Cloakacre: 9 minutes (10 minute pause)
- Cloakacre to Chelsea: 22 minutes (15 minute pause)
- Chelsea to The Portavian Quarter 17 minutes (10 minute pause)
- The Portavian Quarter to Port Metro 13 minutes (20 minute pause)
- Port Metro to Starboard Metro 6 minutes (20 minute pause)
- Starboard Metro to Old Town 21 minutes (5 minute pause)
- Old Town to Foxall 10 minutes (15 minute pause)
- Foxall to Rightfin 17 minutes (10 minute pause)
- Rightfin to Drakesight 19 minutes
Type
Megalopolis
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