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Crodges
Independent City
Who Rules: First Admiral Nagillum (N, Sea-Elf Male, F/M 14/12) is the figurehead ruler of Crodges. The First Admiral, which is a hereditary title, has not ruled the city in centuries and has very little power. First Admiral Nagillum spends his days receiving visitors, dispensing his wisdom, and giving financial assistance to those in need. He spends his nights in rowdy revelry with his close associates. When the fleet is mobilized he is always in the forefront of any battles. He is much-beloved by the people, and he even has some influence with the Council of Sea Elves, which respects his intelligence and popularity.
Who Really Rules: Council of Sea Elves is a title left over from years long since gone. The council is comprised of 3 sea elves from the local sea elf community, 2 surface elves, and 2 humans. They legally hold the power to make laws and rule over the city. They, for the most part, rule wisely and justly.
Population: 43,000 (35% human, 30% elf, 30% sea elf, 5% other).
Major Products: Fish, quarried stone, ships, maritime products, trade, ivory, crates, bards, musical instruments, dyes, Djinn Juice, a clear liquor that is made from juniper berries that grow in the nearby mountains, and Bard's Brew, a dry white wine aged in birch barrels.
Armed Forces: Ground forces: 3,500. Aquatic forces: 2,000 sea elf marines, 5 dragon turtles, and a fleet of 65 warships of various sizes with mixed crews of humans, elves, and sea elves.
Notable Mages: Daphne Dewmorn (LN, ½-Sea Elf Female, W26) was the product of her mother having been raped by pirates after she was captured outside of the main channel into Crodges. Knifed and thrown overboard, she was left for dead, but she survived and gave birth to her daughter. Daphne was raised as a welcome addition to the community, and over the years she developed an intense hatred of pirates. To that end, over the past 50 she has sunk just as many pirate ships on her own as the entire sea elf community combined!
Jasmine Silvergill (CG, Human Female, W15) is an expert an environmental spells, especially those dealing with water. She spends most of her time crafting scrolls for sailors and when not crafting items she can be found spending time with aquatic elves in their aquatic realm. Her name is an affectation of those elves, as well as a sign that she has been adopted by the sea elves as one of their own.
Notable Churches: Istisha, Water Lord of the Elementals; Umberlee, Waukeen, Lliira, Oghma, and elven gods.
Notable Rogues' and Thieves' Guilds: There are actually two guilds within this town, The Granite Heart and The Silent Depths. The Granite Heart is run by Shenara the Lithe (CN, Human Female, T15), who has a strict policy of limiting all operations to businesses and people only. The homes of the residents are considered off limits, and all shipping related operations falls under the operations of the other guild.
The Silent Depths is run by Harril Semoon (LE, Gnome Male, T12), and their operations are restricted to the shipping lanes only. Both guilds work in near perfect harmony, with neither interfering with the other. On occasions, though, one guild will overstep its territory and the ensuing turf wars can get very nasty, very fast.
Equipment Shops: Full.
Adventurers' Quarters: Adventurer's are allowed anywhere within the city, and they are very welcome as the overland road leading north out of the mountains is one that is hard to keep completely safe. There are more than enough evil denizens to make sure there are a healthy number of adventurers in town. Their added power in times of need (the town laws allow for adventurers to be drafted into the military if need be), along with the money they bring into the city, is always welcome.
Important Characters: Grundalvaal Millinshorn (LG, Gnome Male, F3), Harbor Master. Situated atop a 200' tall tower at the North Western end of the city, the office of the Harbor Master commands a view of the entire bay, and nearly a mile out each end of the harbor. From this vantage point, Grundalvaal watches all ships coming into and out of the harbor, and his small army of semaphore flagmen relays his commands to the guides who stand next to the pilots of all the ships entering into and leaving Crodges. Unable to swim, and a little bit afraid of the water, Sir Millinshorn is master of his domain, and under his watchful attentions no ship has ever accidentally collided with another in "His" bay. While it may not look like much from the water, from atop his perch and the upper reaches of the town, he moves ships like a master tactician moving toy soldiers on a tabletop. His memory is also incredible, and he can remember details of almost every ship he has seen in the past five years.
Mijecorc (LN, ½-orc Male, B14) writes songs of exceptional quality that stick in your mind for days afterwards.
Important Features in Town: Crodges rests in the crater of a now extinct and collapsed volcano. The volcano was situated at the narrow neck of a peninsula, with deep fjords forming the water inlets. At some point in the past the volcano blew its top and collapsed in on itself. The water rushed in and formed a natural bay. Some time thereafter a community of sea elves moved into the area as the two narrow inlets were easily defended. About 200 years ago, human merchants who were on friendly terms with the elves were invited to move in and settle the slopes of the surrounding bowl. Over the years the community grew until it reached its present population, where it has remained relatively stable for about 30 years.
The northern slopes tend to be where the majority of the poor and lower middle class resides, and the upper reaches of the southern slopes are almost exclusively for the wealthy. The lower reaches of the southern slopes are the business districts. The bowl itself, at the base, is about ½ a mile in diameter, with the upper reaches being about 1½ miles across.
At the bottom of the bowl, where thermal vents heat the water, sea elves have set up a large community. The elves make sure that the fjords are kept clear of unwanted aquatic intruders. They are also responsible for the 5 dragon turtles that they have raised from eggs and are trying to breed. The dragon turtles are completely loyal to the community, and no ship is allowed into the bay unless a sea elf accompanies the underside of the ship.
Local Lore: Crodges is a haven for sailors of all nations and races as its waters always remain calm, despite what the surrounding seas may be doing. The reason for this, it is believed, is that an ancient sea elf mage roams the waters of Crodges, forever invisible, protecting the waters in which he was born. Many an adventurer has washed up on shore, nearly drowned, after trying to find the wizards hidden lair.
The fjords surrounding the city are also littered with the wrecks of hundreds of ships. A lot of these are still in good shape with full cargo loads, only because the sea elves refuse to touch them. While they see it as a taboo act for themselves to loot the wrecks, they won't prevent others from doing this. There are enough aquatic life forms that are dangerous enough to be treated with caution, but which are not hunted down by the elves. The reason for the great number of wrecks is that while the Bay of Crodges may remain calm during storms, the fjords and channels do not. Also, in the past, invading ships have been "misdirected" by magic to sail into dead end fjords, thus letting the rocky shores and waves destroy the ships.
Crodges is also a haven for bards, for its beauty is truly great. They say a person cannot throw a cup of water without hitting a handful of bards. While this is an obvious exaggeration, it doesn't seem that way in certain parts of town.