crazy_monkey1956
First Post
The City of Azgund, capital of the Nation of Azgund
The capital city of Azgund is perhaps the most metropolitan of all the human cities, for it is the most open to other cultures and races. Situated on a high hill, the House of Lords and the House of Commons overlook a sprawl of urban activity several miles across. Spreading out across plains to the south, the city has had no reason to contain itself and, as the population has increased, so has the diameter of the city, spilling out over walls built every fifty years or so in vain attempts at either defense or simply to preserve some semblance of planning. The House of Lords is a grand edifice, supported by ivory-white pillars rising to a slightly peaked roof carved with stylized depictions of famous lords and ladies in battle. The House of Commons emits a more practical appearance, as befits the building where most of the governing of the land is actually accomplished.
The inner circle surrounding the hill is dominated by the Lords' Manor, a magnificent mansion where visiting Lords and Ladies reside while the House of Lords is in session. Private residences of wealthy Lords and merchants can also be found here, as well as the walled and guarded embassies of foreign lands. The most prominent of these is the Tureni embassy, thanks to the continued alliance between Turen and Azgund after the Shadow War. Also housed within these walls is the Thayvian embassy, its gothic tower jutting up beyond the walls, casting strange shadows on the city below.
Surrounding the central wealthy district is a residential area for the moderately wealthy, including the majority of the city's merchants, as well as adventurers who have settled down to retirement or civil service. A large swath of green cuts through this area, a miniature forest that houses the elven embassy, though no buildings in the traditional human sense can be found here. The wall surrounding this disctrict was partially dismantled a few hundred years ago to provide building materials for the House of Lords, so remnants of it can still be found by meandering the city streets.
The city sprawl meanders in a mostly southerly direction from this point, with the central road providing access to the markets, the common residences, warehouses, shops, and other points of interest scattered about in a seemingly chaotic array. Areas of particular note include the Adventurers' Guild compound, a fenced area housing a barracks, a guild member exclusive tavern, and various shops catering to the needs of guild members. Adjacent to the compound but not within it is the central office of the Explorer's League, a large, somewhat imposing structure where League members convene to plan expeditions and peruse the League's collection of maps and travelogues. The candle district, despite its unassuming name, is the city's seedy side where all manner of illicit activities can be found. It derives its name from the ladies of the night that conduct business here. The main thoroughfare through the area is lined with small apartments with a single window. If a candle is lit in the window, it means the occupant is open for business. If no candle is present, the occupant is with a client or not entertaining that evening. Some of the more randy adventurers will often brag about "putting out the candles" when they arrive in the city after a long adventure. Adorning the main thoroughfares of the city, interspersed at regular intervals, are "duel circles", twenty foot diameter circles set out by white stone pavers in the road. When a conflict or argument cannot be resolved or mediated, the parties involved may legally "fight it out" in a duel circle, officiated by any available city guard. The winner of the fight is considered the winner of the dispute. These duels often gather crowds quickly, especially when trained fighters are involved, or, better still, when the parties involved are wealthy enough to hire "proxies" to fight in their stead, the famed Azgundi Duelists.
The most recent wall of the city, erected hastily just prior to a series of attacks by orcish hordes at the onset of the Shadow War, stands at the outer edge of the city. Constructed of timbers harvested from forests to the south, the wall is sturdy and functional, but thoroughly unattractive. The House of Lords recently approved a project to upgrade the wall, replacing the timbers with stone scavenged from interior city walls, and quarried from Vedlund, a province just to the north of the city, simultaneously helping to bolster Vedlund's flagging economy as it took the brunt of the orcish attacks during the war.
Early morning finds the main southern gate of that wall open to travelers, forming an ever growing line of folks entering the city.
Aohdan, an adolescent centaur, finds himself standing in a long, somewhat smelly line of travelers making their way into the city. The sounds of livestock being taken to market mingle with the excited chatter of first time visitors to the city and the idle banter of regular travelers. Those around him give the centaur a fairly wide berth, while openly staring at him in amazement. Evidently, most of the travelers have never seen a centaur before.
Further back in the slow line, Johen, a Tureni druid, finds himself surrounded by other travelers, crowded and jostled by several seemingly impatient merchants carrying or leading livestock and produce.
Muzdum, a mountain dwarf, finds himself in the line as well, though, perhaps thankfully, he is surrounded by folk even shorter than himself. A halfling family, complete with wagons, riding dogs, donkeys with loaded pack saddles, and a general jangling of a small mobile village, dominates this stretch of the line and seems to have extended an unspoken invitation to any short folk that happen to find themselves lost in the line.
Approaching the back of the line, though not yet finding himself in it, stands Valen. As he watches the line is joined by yet another wagon, this one laden with barrels of wine, one of the main commodities of the mid-western provinces of Azgund.
Already within the city's walls, Alaric finds himself running yet another errand for Entan, his teacher in the magical arts. Specifically, Entan has tasked him with delivering a hand written order for a variety of spell components to the supplier situated near the Adventurers' Guild compound.
Corath, having spent the evening in one of the city's many dancehalls, observes that most of the participants from the evenings activities seem to have left, also observes that morning has arrived as she exits the establishment.
Estelle wakes up in one of the city's hostels, where one can find a space on the floor to lay out a bedroll for a copper, near the taverns, dance halls, and gambling houses that make up this particular area of the city.
Though the two do not know each other, William wakes up in the same hostel. Most of the others laid out in the hostel are still sleeping off the effects of a night of carousing.
OOC: In your initial post, please give a detailed description of your character, including the arrangement of any obvious weapons, armor, and other gear. Also include the character's motivations for being in or coming to the city.
The capital city of Azgund is perhaps the most metropolitan of all the human cities, for it is the most open to other cultures and races. Situated on a high hill, the House of Lords and the House of Commons overlook a sprawl of urban activity several miles across. Spreading out across plains to the south, the city has had no reason to contain itself and, as the population has increased, so has the diameter of the city, spilling out over walls built every fifty years or so in vain attempts at either defense or simply to preserve some semblance of planning. The House of Lords is a grand edifice, supported by ivory-white pillars rising to a slightly peaked roof carved with stylized depictions of famous lords and ladies in battle. The House of Commons emits a more practical appearance, as befits the building where most of the governing of the land is actually accomplished.
The inner circle surrounding the hill is dominated by the Lords' Manor, a magnificent mansion where visiting Lords and Ladies reside while the House of Lords is in session. Private residences of wealthy Lords and merchants can also be found here, as well as the walled and guarded embassies of foreign lands. The most prominent of these is the Tureni embassy, thanks to the continued alliance between Turen and Azgund after the Shadow War. Also housed within these walls is the Thayvian embassy, its gothic tower jutting up beyond the walls, casting strange shadows on the city below.
Surrounding the central wealthy district is a residential area for the moderately wealthy, including the majority of the city's merchants, as well as adventurers who have settled down to retirement or civil service. A large swath of green cuts through this area, a miniature forest that houses the elven embassy, though no buildings in the traditional human sense can be found here. The wall surrounding this disctrict was partially dismantled a few hundred years ago to provide building materials for the House of Lords, so remnants of it can still be found by meandering the city streets.
The city sprawl meanders in a mostly southerly direction from this point, with the central road providing access to the markets, the common residences, warehouses, shops, and other points of interest scattered about in a seemingly chaotic array. Areas of particular note include the Adventurers' Guild compound, a fenced area housing a barracks, a guild member exclusive tavern, and various shops catering to the needs of guild members. Adjacent to the compound but not within it is the central office of the Explorer's League, a large, somewhat imposing structure where League members convene to plan expeditions and peruse the League's collection of maps and travelogues. The candle district, despite its unassuming name, is the city's seedy side where all manner of illicit activities can be found. It derives its name from the ladies of the night that conduct business here. The main thoroughfare through the area is lined with small apartments with a single window. If a candle is lit in the window, it means the occupant is open for business. If no candle is present, the occupant is with a client or not entertaining that evening. Some of the more randy adventurers will often brag about "putting out the candles" when they arrive in the city after a long adventure. Adorning the main thoroughfares of the city, interspersed at regular intervals, are "duel circles", twenty foot diameter circles set out by white stone pavers in the road. When a conflict or argument cannot be resolved or mediated, the parties involved may legally "fight it out" in a duel circle, officiated by any available city guard. The winner of the fight is considered the winner of the dispute. These duels often gather crowds quickly, especially when trained fighters are involved, or, better still, when the parties involved are wealthy enough to hire "proxies" to fight in their stead, the famed Azgundi Duelists.
The most recent wall of the city, erected hastily just prior to a series of attacks by orcish hordes at the onset of the Shadow War, stands at the outer edge of the city. Constructed of timbers harvested from forests to the south, the wall is sturdy and functional, but thoroughly unattractive. The House of Lords recently approved a project to upgrade the wall, replacing the timbers with stone scavenged from interior city walls, and quarried from Vedlund, a province just to the north of the city, simultaneously helping to bolster Vedlund's flagging economy as it took the brunt of the orcish attacks during the war.
Early morning finds the main southern gate of that wall open to travelers, forming an ever growing line of folks entering the city.
Aohdan, an adolescent centaur, finds himself standing in a long, somewhat smelly line of travelers making their way into the city. The sounds of livestock being taken to market mingle with the excited chatter of first time visitors to the city and the idle banter of regular travelers. Those around him give the centaur a fairly wide berth, while openly staring at him in amazement. Evidently, most of the travelers have never seen a centaur before.
Further back in the slow line, Johen, a Tureni druid, finds himself surrounded by other travelers, crowded and jostled by several seemingly impatient merchants carrying or leading livestock and produce.
Muzdum, a mountain dwarf, finds himself in the line as well, though, perhaps thankfully, he is surrounded by folk even shorter than himself. A halfling family, complete with wagons, riding dogs, donkeys with loaded pack saddles, and a general jangling of a small mobile village, dominates this stretch of the line and seems to have extended an unspoken invitation to any short folk that happen to find themselves lost in the line.
Approaching the back of the line, though not yet finding himself in it, stands Valen. As he watches the line is joined by yet another wagon, this one laden with barrels of wine, one of the main commodities of the mid-western provinces of Azgund.
Already within the city's walls, Alaric finds himself running yet another errand for Entan, his teacher in the magical arts. Specifically, Entan has tasked him with delivering a hand written order for a variety of spell components to the supplier situated near the Adventurers' Guild compound.
Corath, having spent the evening in one of the city's many dancehalls, observes that most of the participants from the evenings activities seem to have left, also observes that morning has arrived as she exits the establishment.
Estelle wakes up in one of the city's hostels, where one can find a space on the floor to lay out a bedroll for a copper, near the taverns, dance halls, and gambling houses that make up this particular area of the city.
Though the two do not know each other, William wakes up in the same hostel. Most of the others laid out in the hostel are still sleeping off the effects of a night of carousing.
OOC: In your initial post, please give a detailed description of your character, including the arrangement of any obvious weapons, armor, and other gear. Also include the character's motivations for being in or coming to the city.
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