Freeport
Founded as a small fishing village, called Grenlow after its first resident, on the northern coast of Ankaluun, Freeport's size boomed after the Sundering as The Rift made many previous land routes impassable. The creation of Grenlow's Bay during the cataclysm turned the area from a fairly mediocre location for fishing into a perfectly protected port, in free territory and conveniently located near the only land route connecting any of the sub-continents.
Over the years, Freeport has grown into one of the most prosperous cities in Ankaluun and has a reputation as a place which is welcoming to all but with a strong policing force that strictly enforces the laws to protects against conflict or lawlessness.
Not far from Freeport is the Shanti Monastery.
Government
A member of the Freeland Cooperative Government. Follows the basic organizational structure of that organization.
The City Shield here are especially well-trained and never short on numbers. The Magistrate in the city is not a single judge but a group of 5 judges who sit in judgement together with majority opinions determining the outcomes of legal disputes.
Defences
The docks here are well-protected. The City Shield has an ever-present watch near the docks and guards them from all sorts of mischief. The harbor area is fronted by a sea wall with a narrow barrier to force ships to come through no more than two at a time and there are heavy ballistas on cliffs that can reach the entrance to the harbor.
Industry & Trade
The sea and air docks ensure a non-stop presence of merchants and sailors. Trade in this city is its life's blood and all municipal dollars go towards facilitating it.
Lodging and Entertainment
Freeport is a large city with a secondary population of transient folk due to the docks. As such, it is filled with inns that serve those of all sorts of economic backgrounds and needs. The taverns and pubs here also run the gamut from complete dive to sophisticated wine room. Below is a smattering of establishments currently operating in the city.Modest
The Drunken Barnacle - Putting the "dive" in dive bar, this establishment is run by a grizzled old Tortle named Saza. He is a former deckhand on a seagoing vessel that retired after the ship went down in a storm just off the coast and he was the only one that survived from the crew. The Barnacle is mostly just a bar but does have one or two storerooms in the back that Saza is known to rent out from time to time when someone needs a place to sleep. Grenlow's Shack Inn - Run by a direct descendent of old Grenlow himself who calls himself Gryg Grenlow, this inn has seen better days. It has a shabby appearance and is far from the cleanest establishment in the city, but its not expensive and would be acceptable to any traveler who didn't consider themselves terribly fastidious. Nobody seems to know if Gryg is actually a direct descendent of Grenlow but he swears by the information and even has a few knick knacks that he claims as family heirlooms. The Rusty Tiller - A favorite of sailors in town for a brief stop before heading out again, the Rusty Tiller is a massive building near the warehouses of the city. The entire ground floor is a taproom and is probably the only place in the city that the Shield won't enforce laws for brawling and other such activities. The second floor has 3 dorm-style rooms opening out to a balcony that overlooks the taproom below. It is not the place to get a peaceful nights rest but renting a bed is an excellent way to sleep one off without having to walk very far. The bartender, Shalay Tweed, is a large human woman with beefy arms and an even bigger voice. She generally lets fights just keep going unless the furniture starts breaking and then her voice will boom across the room and let everyone know its time to stop. The locals will almost always break things up before this happens because if Shalay has to get involved it will be bad for everyone.Comfortable
Haruun's Rest - A mid-ranged inn near the docks, this inn caters to captains and other folk with a bit of coin who prefer to stay away from the more meager establishments in town. It has a small pub attached and several rooms available for rent, although it is often full. The proprietor is a Dwarf named Brulnis of indiscernible gender who speaks quietly and calmly regardless of what is going on around them. The Purple Crab Pub - Despite its moniker's seeming association with the sea, the Purple Crab is mostly frequented by crews of airships. The bartender is a pretty, young, human woman named Jilly Grey. The pub is small and filled with curiosities from exotic travels taken by the airship known as the Purple Crab. The airship is the one on which Jilly was born and raised by her mother, captain of the vessel. Jilly knows everyone in the airship community and anyone looking to hire a ship is best served by visiting the Purple Crab and talking to Jilly. The Glowing Hearth - Jinnaar Goxan, a massive dragonborn man with silvery scales runs this inn. He has set it up to remind him of his own mountain home, with a roaring fire in a massive fire pit in the center of the main floor, hide rugs covering the stone floor in a haphazard yet effective manner, and a bar made of a wood so dark that when it is polished it is like obsidian. Each of the six rooms in the inn has its own fireplace and is similarly decorated like the main room. Visitors that stay here can even forget that they are in a seaside town and not in a snowy mountain village.Wealthy
Violet Silk- Run by a stocky half-ling gentlemen who simply goes by Frahn, the Violet Silk is the most exclusive inn and pub in town. It's marble facade can be seen from all across the city as it sits at one of the highest points around and looks down on the docks and the bay beyond. Frahn is a fastidious young man who speaks in a posh accent and walks about with an aristocratic air. Frahn is actually the name that Frank Julian has adopted to cover his much more modest upbringing. Nevertheless he is generally friendly, albeit a bit stuffy, and welcomes all guests, at least those who can pay the significant rates. Vintners Voyage - A wine house of significant renown that sits near the Violet Silk. VV is it is commonly referred to by those in the "in crowd" is a dark oak paneled building, 4 stories high with an open middle. Each story has a balcony that completely rings the room and holds intimate tables sitting just two to four patrons each. The cellars beneath the establishment hold more than a thousand bottles of wine of a myriad of types and vintages, some not even of this world. The proprietress, Miamys Tempest, is a Genasi woman. She has light blue skin and hair with faint tattoo-like markings covering her bare arms. As she makes her way around the establishment, a faint breeze is ever-present behind her and when storms come to Freeport she retires to her rooms above so as to not let the storm of her nature to affect the clientele. The Quaint Quill Inn - The coziest of the posh inns of Freeport. Run by a motherly old human woman named Greta Harlow, the Quaint Quill is intended to be the home away from home for its patrons. Greta fancies herself somewhat of an author and the inn's name reflects her desire for everyone else to see her in the same way. She is always willing to talk about her latest project with any of her guests. She generally writes detective stories but has been known to write an erotic tale or two for her own enjoyment.Infrastructure
The most impressive piece of infrastructure in the city is clearly its docks. Along the waterfront are massive docks that can take at least 10 see-going ships simultaneously. A smaller, but still impressive set of air docks are situated nearby and can accommodate up to 3 airships at once. These dual dock-types make Freeport a major trading hub for goods going all across the northern half of the continent.
Guilds and Factions
History
Founded 100 years before the Sundering by a fisherman named Grenlow, who was looking to get far away from other folks and their petty squabbles. Grenlow took his young wife and their growing family north, to the sea coast and built his family a cabin. He spent his days fishing while his wife tended a small garden and raised their children. Grenlow ended up with a brood of 19 children. His sons and daughters traveled far, to the nearest villages in order to find husbands and wives, but each returned and settled back in the blossoming village they simply called Grenlow.
Over time the village grew. It was never terribly large as the fishing off the coast here wasn't overly bountiful but plenty able to sustain the few hundred souls that called Grenlow home.
The great upheaval for this small village came when the great upheaval of the continent, the Sundering, tore the land asunder, formed The Rift, and also formed a large bay just to the south of the village. They called the newly formed body of water Grenlow's Bay, and promptly began building docks on the bay side to better protect their boats and other assets.
Over the next hundred or so years, those docks formed the foundation for the docks that exist today and the roads that were built from the original village location along the coast to the docks by the bay became the major thoroughfares through the city. The population of the village exploded and in 266IA, the newly renamed city of Freeport joined with other cities in the Freelands to form the Freeland Cooperative Government. The Formation of the First Free Council became one of the most notable dates in the history of Ankaluun and ensured that Freeport would continue to grow and prosper.
Natural Resources
Despite the fact that the city is a major port and most of its industry is related to trade, the area is a far better fishing location than it was when Grenlow originally settled here. The bay is filled with an abundance of fish and can easily supply the locals with enough food for quite some time.
Population
17, 582
Inhabitant Demonym
Porters
Location under
Related Tradition (Primary)
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