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The City of Avis Armois

Statistics

Population: 5,000

Allegiance: Kingdom of Athervon, Province de Armois

Government: Feudal Autocracy, supported by City Council (one member from each Ward, wards select their representative as they choose to, + members from select Guilds)

Ruler: His Excellency, Archbishop Averroe DeMarre, Compte de Armois, Lord Protector of Avis Armois

Military: Garrison (The Black Lions)

City Watch: Militia (The Southern Legion, aka Red Swords)

City Districts

Lowtown

Lowtown is the home of the majority of the Halfling population of the City. As the name implies, the buildings in this section are designed for the small stature of the inhabitants, and Humans will find the ceilings low and the quarters cramped. The Halflings keep it that way to discourage the big folk from tarrying overlong. There is significant traffic between Lowtown and Longnose, as the Gnomes & Halflings get along well and the height differences are less obvious. Lowtown is home to tanners, carters, teamsters, clothiers, woodworkers, bakers, butchers, shearers, and a variety of agrarian and trade shops. Some of the finest cooks in the City can be found here, as well as the best tobacco shops in the province.

Weaverspoint

Weaverspoint is a District that has a mix of folk of Jhonian, Athernian, as well as a smattering of other pedigrees. It is a working-class district, relatively peaceful and productive. The name comes from the fact that the area has historically been home to the best weavers in the Province, who produce beautiful cloth using methods from across the lands. Journeymen weavers from across all of Athervon have been known to travel to the City to try to obtain an apprenticeship with a professional from Weaverspoint, which are not easy to come by.

Skullshore

Skullshore’s name derives from its original use: after the Jhonian’s sacked the City in AY869, they constructed mass pyres and burned the bodies of their foes here; when the Athervonians retook the City in AY966, they returned the favor and dug mass graves for the fallen Jhonian’s, which are interred here by the hundreds. The City has thrived and expanded since this time, and now the land has been built over with a variety of buildings for housing as well as trade, with livestock and animals trade being the dominant business. The District is not rich by any means, and most folk that have other options for a home in the city take it – it is a step up from Mudwalk and several up from The Maze, but it runs a close third in terms of poverty, crime, and the associated ills. The smell of animals is pervasive and inescapable in the District. And to this day, it is not uncommon to come across bones of some long-dead unfortunate protruding from the earth, or to see the gleam of an ivory skull revealed by the gently lapping waves of the nearby water.

The Heathen Pond

This pool of water between Weaverspoint and Skullshore is infamous for its role in the retaking of the City from the Jhonians in AY966. Having pinned the last remaining soldiers and their clerics between the water and the City walls, the advancing Athernian forces made a final demand for surrender. The highest-ranking cleric, a fanatic, refused, and called down a rain of mystical fire on the advancing troops, killing many, including their beloved leader. The Athernians became enraged and stormed the District, killing indiscriminately. The drove the remaining Jhonians toward the pool, and forced over 200 men, women and children into the water at the point of sword and spear, where they sank and drowned.

The Maze

So named due to the warren of streets, alleys, dead-ends, and twisting paths, the Maze is the last resort District where one can find the poorest of the poor of the city, as well as the most vile criminal elements that prey upon them. For all intents and purposes, The Maze is unpatrolled by law and order elements of the city normally. Occasionally, if the disorder spills over into riots or (more importantly) neighboring districts, then the City Watch and City Garrison, augmented by hired mercenaries, will swarm the District to passivate the unrest. But the King’s justice is not to be found in The Maze.

The Feeding Pond

The macabre name for this filthy pool is based on the fact that so many bodies have been dumped there that it is now the home of any number of aquatic carrion eaters who feast on those unfortunates that take the plunge into it. The cry of “Feeding Time!” is regularly heard from the Inns & taverns that sit on its perimeter whenever a loud splash is heard, regardless of the cause. The water of this area is sluggish and strewn with filth and debris – anyone still alive who finds themselves in its inky expanse is likely to contract one or more diseases or parasites – if they live at all.

The Embers

The Embers is the District that was appropriated by the Jhonians after they captured the City to be used for nobility as their residences. When the City was liberated from the Jhonians in AY966, the population rioted in the aftermath of the military victory, and set fire to this section. The flames spread quickly, and it was only the efforts of the armed forces that stopped the fire from spreading to other quarters. After law and order was restored, the local government decreed that any Jhonians wishing to stay in the city “could do so without persecution so long as they dwell amongst the embers of their former abodes, that they may well remember the price of their wickedness and blasphemy.” Thus did the district get its name. The burned-out hulks were gradually torn down, and new structures rebuilt. Empty stone shells were rebuilt with new floors and roofs, and the district is now a bustling Jhonian quarter. But the soot and scorch marks from the great fire can still be seen on the stone old enough to have been in place when the fire occurred, and local legend states that on the anniversary of the liberation of the city, the Embers Quarter fills with the stench of the burned flesh of those that perished in the flames. Jhonians are now permitted in most districts, the old prejudices having slowly faded as the generations passed and tensions eased. Weaverspoint, Mudwalk, and Skullshore both have significant Jhonian populations. But the Jhonians in the city view The Embers as “their” district – much like the Holy Symbol of A’Salam, the District itself has risen anew from the flames and thrives.

Mudwalk

Poor district. Heavily foreign-born who cannot afford to live in the Foreign District.

Stonedocks

The Stonedocks District is the oldest, most secure, and most heavily regulated of the ports of the City, with virtually all of its traffic of an official nature destined for the Castle or the Cathedral of the Holy City. A number of wealthy merchants pay large fees and bribes to bring their wares through the Stonedocks – primarily to avoid complications and/or theft from criminal organizations that operate out of the other ports. The area is heavily patrolled by both the City Watch and the Garrison, and only the most skilled or desperate thieves try to ply their trade here. The area has plentiful taverns for sailors to spend their pay, but other low-brow forms of entertainment, such as brothels or gambling houses, are frowned upon.

Ill-Water

The prison of Ill-Water is spoken of in hushed tones by the guilty and innocent alike in the City – indeed, even in the lands beyond, the reputation of this hulking stone structure that sits beyond the walls of the city causes sailors passing it to mumble prayers of protection on the way in, and of thanks on the way out. Ill-Water is home to the most vile, notorious, dangerous, or hated persons that fall afoul of the authorities of the City. The structure has three above-ground stories, as well as at least two below-ground donjon levels, the lowest barely above high tide during normal weather, and decidedly below it during storms and tempests. Most criminals plead for a quick death after hearing they will be sent to this bastion of torment. No one has ever escaped alive from Ill-Water in the 250 years it has been used as a gaol, and there are only two cases of inmates escaping at all, both of which ended in death – one from drowning, the other eaten alive by the creatures of the swampy harbor while passengers in arriving and departing ships looked on.

Longnose

Home to the City’s largest population of Gnomes. The Longnose district (originally named after the shape of the slip of land, but now commonly thought to refer to the size of the Gnomish snout) is a bustling hub of activity ranging from jewelers, metalsmiths, woodworkers, glassblowers, mechanics, machinists, and any number of other trades that Gnomes traditionally excel at. There are also performance houses that utilize the Gnomes skill in both mechanical props & sets as well as illusion to put on shows that rival the productions of Torchtown (much to the chagrin of the leaders of that area). Longnose tends to be the most tolerant area of the city to other non-human races, and there are a large number of Halflings, less Dwarves, and fewer still Half-Elves & Elves that make this area their home. Longnose tends to be one of the most peaceful and law-abiding sections of the City, but it is rumored that is due to the Gnomes having their own syndicate that zealously keeps other criminal organizations out. The City Watch patrols the outskirts of the area, but the interior is patrolled mostly by volunteers, who rarely have any need to engage in matters.