Plaza of Gold
The Plaza of Gold is the centerpiece of Freeport, an open space within the Merchant District where the wealthy meet or simply strut about, just to be seen. During the day, the place is a bustle of activity as people, mostly servants or couriers, rush back and forth on one sort of busines or another. It’s rare to watch for more than fifteen minutes without seeing some aristocrat, merchant, or senior official sweeping along Wave Street with a retinue of underlings and bodyguards. On fine evenings, the plaza is still filled with people, but these ones tend to engage in pleasure, not business. They flit back and forth between lavish private dinner parties and events at the Freeport Opera House, or perhaps frequent one of the district’s gourmet restaurants or exclusive clubs.
Temporary stalls, most of them little more than wheeled merchandise carts, are scattered throughout the Plaza, selling everything from imported food to rare perfumes and luxury goods. Unlike the other markets in Freeport, selling items in the Plaza of Gold requires a permit from the city; these licenses are given only to those who can establish their bonafides (and pay the exorbitant fees).
Geography
The Plaza of Gold is a wide, cobbled space on a broad hill, the highest place in the city—and yes, the wealthy literally do look down on the rest of the city from here. Many avenues and lanes lead off from the Plaza, along which can be found expensive stores and luxurious cafes.
The most notable feature here is the Fountain of Fortune, 30 feet wide and surrounded by a circular seating area. The fountain’s marble sculpture depicts a figure standing on the crow’s nest of a ship’s rigging, which stabs out from the center of the fountain’s base. Merfolk surround the rigging holding gilt pitchers, from which water streams in the four cardinal directions. The top figure holds aloft a marble staff, from which a continuous spray jets up and then cascades down into the fountain’s base. Local legend has it that the fountain is enchanted: Anyone who throws a coin into it, so the legend goes, may be granted a stroke of good fortune at some point that same day.
Location under
Owning Organization
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