The city of Crystalshore sits at the mouth of the River crystal. It's a major shipping harbor for the kingdom it lies in. Along with also being a major overland trading route. This made it one of the richest cities in the kingdom. It's current population is 30,000. One of the major taverns is "Demon's Run". The city is ran by the Lord Mayor who acts upon advice given to him or her from a council made up of business members and members of the upper class. The city is also home to a number of different religious orders that also give advice to the Lord Mayor.
Crystalshore is dived into sections with the largest being the Trade district along the river and the Harbor, this is where Demon's Run is located and along with a number of drunk sailors. This is also the home of the shipping company Merakesh LTD. The company employs a large number of works from officer works to ship hands to warehouse workers.
North from the Trade district is the city center where the government offices are located along with a number of buildings belonging to foreign Governments . Then to the east and west are residential areas, and scattered around the city are the various churches and temples.
The Harbor is home to a number of warehouses that belong to a number of companies, but a large group of them belong to Merakesh LTD and is guarded by their own group of security forces. Along the harbor are also a number of taverns the most famous being "Demon's Run". It's always packed with sailors, travelers and locals.
Some of the ships currently in port are : The Maru the largest cargo ship belonging to Merakesh LTD. The Golden Lilly a passenger ship. Rivers Dream a river boat that hauls both goods and people up and down the river. The Emissary an ambassadorial class ship from another city ( or kingdom) A number of other ships belonging to Merakesh LTD and fishing trawlers belong to private owners and a few other cargo haulers from other companies.
The Trade district is a very cosmopolitan area. You can hear a number of different accents and languages from all over. One of the largest shops is called Moonflower International. They seem to have items from all over the place and always filled with shoppers. There are also a number of places to get food one of the more popular eatery is Kismet Cantina. It's famous for it's Purple Heaven which is a a drink that is colored violet with silver flecks and spices mixed in. The drink smells like licorice and tastes heavenly. Many deals have been made over glasses of it. There are also a number of smaller specialty shops and stalls lining the streets, that are paved to help with the transfer of goods and people from the harbor. The streets are also paved for the whole city.
The Civic district is home to government offices, the largest being City hall. It is here where the Lord Mayor has his personal office and his meeting room. The meeting room is where he meets with the Council of Elders, who are made up for members of the business community, the upper class,and some of the Churches. There are also a number of offices for the Lord Mayor's staff.
Aside from City hall the other government offices include:
The Exchequer which deals with the city's finances (rumors abound that the department is receiving kick backs from an unknown party)
The Justice Department deals with law enforcement ( bribes are said to be made to the Justice minister in order for him to turn a blind eye to anything happening in the Red Light District)
The Courts
Then there is Embassy Row which houses the offices that belong to Foreign Governments.
However in between both the Trade and Civic district is a narrow strip of the city that is the Red Light district. Inside of this area that is only a couple of blocks are a couple of brothels (one is rumored to be owned by Merakesh LTD) There are also a few pawn shops with good of dubious legality for sell. There are also a number of cheap flop houses willing to rent out sub par rooms to those willing to pay or provide a service depending on the owner's needs. This area is lightly patrolled by the city guard.
Is the largest inn in the city, along with being the most popular. It's popularity is due it's signature drink The Covered Apple: medium brown with a syrupy texture and an apple slice on the edge of the glass. The drink smells great and tastes like caramel. It also features a wonderful menu :
Spicy Hellhound Claws
Pork Knuckle Roasted in Beer
Braised Oxtails with Mushrooms
Smoked Salmon Salad
Roast Goose strewn with Caraway seeds:
Cockatrice Liver pate and Bread
Cheese rolls with a filling of nuts, honey and vegetables
Stuffed Mushrooms with Thyme & Creamcheese
Basilisk Knuckle Roasted in Beer
Honey Glazed Carrots and Parsnips
Ettercap Claws with Melted Butter
Braised Minotaurtail with Mushrooms
Wyvern Tail in Ginger & Cinnamon
Roasted and Smoked Pork Spareribs
Drinks:
Finnell (pale) Ale
Thanuk (heavy) Ale
Invidian (pale) Ale
Fallan Wine
Whiskey
Vodka
Askarus (heavy) Ale:
Shanshun Lager
Khellanic Ale
Yanusa Wine
The Tavern also has a number of rooms on the second and third floors for rent for those traveling,along with 4 rooms for private parties, that ranges in the smallest for 8 and the largest for 15. The building itself is made from wood,stone and brick.
The owner and main bartender is a human female named Serena, she is usually there during the morning and late afternoon. She has a number of workers: 4 in the kitchen, 5 waiter/waitress, 3 who help clean the rooms,4 other bartenders. The tavern also has a stage for those who wish to entertain the masses.
Merakesh is owned by the Merakesh family who founded the shipping company a few years after the city was founded. Anyone is welcomed to work for the company in number of jobs from working in the warehouses to one of their many ships. The company is ran by a board of directors made of 12 of the family members. In order to be considered to join it, a family member must be either blood or by marriage and be of the age of 25. If the person is married into the family then the member they married must chose to hand over the seat to that person. The board of directors meets at the end of the year to vote in new members who have come of age during the year, at this time anyone currently on the board may give up their chair for an incoming member.
The current chairmen of the board is Marcos Merakesh, he also sits on the Council of Elders. He has been the chairmen for a little over two years. It was under his leadership that the company invested in the Maru. He is considering to put forth to a vote a plan to buy up a ship building firm or extending into the passenger hauling business.
Angelic Shadows is the name of the local thieves guild. It's membership is said to be around 50 or 60 but no one other than it's own members know. The guild runs the red light district for the most part, handing out bribes to the city guard and other members of the justice ministry as needed. They also have a presence in the harbor with smuggling goods in and out of the city. It's also rumored that one of the board members of Merakesh LTD is either on the payroll or even a member of the thieves guild. The guild does have however a set code in which crimes and actives they par take in. Mainly no killing for money, only in self defense, this along with the bribes explains why the Justice department turns a blind eye to the thieves guild.
The politics of the city aren't very complicated. The mayor is both elected and appointed. That is to say that if a person wishes to run for mayor they must be of age (35) and be a resident of both the city and kingdom in good standing meaning no major crimes committed. Once a person is elected to be mayor they are brought before the emperor who then does an interview with the mayor-elect and if the emperor agrees with the mayor-elect he is then appointed mayor. The mayor serves a 6 year term with an optional 2 more if he chooses to run for re-election.
Laws of the city:
Only light weapons and and light armor is allowed on the streets unless you a member of the city guard or have a special permit.
No spells are allowed to be cast without special permits.
And naturally other common sense stuff eg no murdering etc...
Breaking the law can earn punishment from warnings and fins all the way up to being executed depending on the severity of the crime.
Moonflower International is owned by Lady Amelia Ridgeway. It's a large two story store that sells many goods from all over the world. It currently employees a little over 40 workers. It's also one of Merakesh LTD's clients for shipping. The store is also a very successful front for The Angelic Shadows. The only people who are aware of this fact are the Lady herself and her personal secretary
