Up next on the hit parade, New Orleans meets the fabled Morrocan InterZone.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

"Welcome to Salis Freeport, the Sparkling Jewel in the Navel of the World!" Much as the Benaedresha may know about trade and commerce, they still have a long way to go when it comes to commercial marketing and tourism. Anyway, the city never sleeps cuz' it's just too damn hot, the markets never close and *everything is duty free!!!* They also have the largest Temple to Behldamh in the world, housing the most extensive and advanced Alchemist's Guild Research Facility ever destructed (sic- generally every 2 or 3 years, because:) that means they have, beyond any doubt or hope of challenge, the most spectacular holiday fireworks displays on either continent or island!!! (rated #1 by Poets', Fools' and Madmen's Really All-manac (C)(TM) for over a hundred running or else. . .)

A little more than a hundred miles inland from the coast of the Suntrack Sea, the Salis 'Freeport' neatly straddles the sluggish Salis River (some call it the Long Bog) literally bridging the Twin Kingdoms of Gorhstan and D'Jelaekhar at one of the only two points where its natural border can be crossed. The Salis is unusual in the world in that it establishes a political border between nations rather than `constituting a major traffic way within and through a surrounding realm. However, given the width of the low lying basin that gives its course, it is banked for nearly its entire length by broad marshlands that make it impassable to any significantly large traffic such as an army. The only other point of passage lies at its origin in the confluence of the Upper Salis and Tinwater rivers at the refining and shipping town of Bard's Ferry. Massive deposits of copper and tin being found ages ago throughout the foothills around the respective headwaters of the two rivers led to human and gnomoii settlement   in the region as far back as the late AOS, though the search for more important iron ores during the last glacial period made this a lesser concern and the long  foothill region forming the southern marches of the Twin Kingdoms was never extensively settled. Even so, a steady supply of quality ores was shipped overland to both capitols for centuries allowing the sparse population to subsist in relative comfort and security regardless of surrounding hardships. With improvements in smelting and refining techniques gradually disseminated in the early millenia of the ANS, the shipping point for the raw ores at Bard's Ferry, then still the only overland thoroughfare between the two realms, expanded to an industrial processing town, gaining more income through the export of refined metals and greatly reducing the the transport overhead of the previously massive ore caravans. Even so, demand for the raw metals was never particularly high and overland traffic between the two realms, routed far out of the way southward, remained limited to the marketable production of the mines and the influx of needed supplies. Given the security of their common border and the absence of any significant threats or pressures to the south of them, the Twin Kingdoms themselves grew and flourished side by side in an unusually friendly and cooperative fashion. Each having more passable waterways flowing through their hearts to the southern equatorial coast, commerce between them grew primarily in the form of coastal shipping routes between their principal port cities of Port D'Jelarh and Kehlarniss. Eventually however, as overall trade steadily increased throughout the nations of the Suntrack Sea, shipping activity began to grow beyond the capacities of their harbors. Even the secondary harbor of Port D'Jedarh established midway between Port D'Jelarh and the massive swampland of the Salis River delta and designed to accommodate the deeper draft and wider beam of newer hull designs could only alleviate the burden for a time and it became clear that a viable overland caravan route was needed to relieve the coastal ports' overcapacity of the interstate trade.

The only viable point of crossing the Salis was among the low limestone hills and bluffs overlooking the river just south of where it emptied into the vast bayous of the Salis Delta. The terrain fortuitously provided firm banks at the narrowest stretch of the river's entire length but created a correspondingly deep channel and powerful current making ferrying operations extremely hazardous and often disastrously costly in terms of both goods and lives. Approximately 1500 yrs BP (Before Present), an enterprising Benaedreshan bronzeworker named Duerndel Racjak of the Cjendek coppersmith's clan recognized the location's great potential for the production and export of finished metalworks supplied cheaply and easily by refined ores shipped downriver by barge from Bard's Ferry. This would significantly improve the flagging economy of the mining region by both increasing demand for ores which it could easily meet while at the same time drastically reducing the expense of shipping them from the source to the crafts guilds purchasing the raw materials. In typical gnomoii fashion he then presented the solution to the previously insurmountable problem of financing the monumental expense of constructing a permanent bridge across the Salis River capable of handling what would obviously become a huge volume of caravan traffic between the Twin Kingdoms. Previously neither burgeoning realm had been willing to shoulder the cost of such an ambitious and risky engineering and construction project and had been unable to reach any agreement regarding any joint proposal to meet this growing need. Duerndel instead put his vision entirely into private hands, persuading investors from numerous guild, mercantile  and noble houses, both Benaedrishan and Malenoshan in both kingdoms who could readily see that despite it's great cost the structure would easily pay for itself in less than a single generation. This financial consortium then had little difficulty persuading their respective rulers to permit the founding of a single city located in both realms and straddling the river by means of a bridge provided entirely at their own expense. Further, they were able to facilitate the negotiations between the Twin Kingdoms establishing an unprecedented trade agreement eliminating all tariffs and customs duties upon any goods entering either realm through the city in exchange for the agreement to charge no fees  or tolls for the use of the bridge linking them together. Additionally, while the city's potential tax revenue was extremely attractive to both, the difficulties and responsibilities of actually managing such a metropolis jointly were clearly unfeasible and as neither was willing to relinquish control and profit to the other eventually both reluctantly agreed to permit the city its unheard of independence from either! In exchange the city's founders agreed to shoulder all expense and responsibility for construction, maintenance, governance and law enforcement not only of the city itself but the entire stretch of the Salis River between its banks from it's confluence at Bard's Ferry all the way to the sea, including the troublesome and unexplored expanse of the great Salis Swamp to which both had historically and quite insistently been more than happy to cede claim to the other. . . Thus, entirely unique in the world, was the Salis Freeport established.

The first, and principal bridge in the city took only five years to build. More amazing was the minimal loss of life and limb to accident during such a hazardous undertaking. Built of local limestone cut from the surrounding bluffs, the primary engineering problem was simply the placement of the three gargantuan stone blocks properly upon the riverbed to support the four masonry arches between them and the limestone abutments upon either bank. Five costly magical rituals were performed to move these monolithic foundations into place and further magical means employed to safely construct the extensive falsework centering upon the piers required by the Rimenoshan stone masons to assemble the arches. Although the roadbed filled only half the bridges width, once paved the bridge was open to traffic wide enough to allow two large wagons to pass each other easily without crowding. Further construction continued for a number of years beyond as the various investors then built shop space out to the parapet walls and eventually up and over the roadbed itself, further increasing the compression and stability of the structure until the bridge was entirely covered and enclosed.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

Should've included this last night: map and some current regional developments significantly affecting Salis Freeport more to follow tonight - don't worry it gets much wyrder. . . And stay out of the Salis Swamp (concept, text, image by R.K.Milholland);

[Snargash Moonclaw]

As expected the location quickly became a thriving and prosperous community boasting the best appointed caravanserai in the nations along the Suntrack Sea and soon beyond. Open market bazaars were well established upon either bank no more than a stone's throw from the stables, warehouses and associated industries already springing up no sooner than the bridge's monumental piers and abutment had been set in place. By the time it was completed either bank was lined with solid stone retaining walls anchoring a series of piers for river craft and teeming with the activity of the numerous guild halls the docks supplied. Eventually the jetties and wharfs would extend nearly a mile both up and down river.

Dwarven craftsmen were employed not only to construct the bridge but for the levees and a number of other projects, in particular the extensive stone quarrying the work required. Once the principal monoliths had been cut from the steep hillside facing the eastern end of the bridge the stone cutters proceeded to tunnel directly into the hill, cutting the smaller blocks used in the bridge from the tunnels center's and utilizing the rubble produced around the blocks in various other public constructions, simultaneously hollowing out the eventual Undertown structures as they built those above ground. The Coppersmith's Guild commissioned first the construction of large presses and before the autumn monsoons had set in the rooftops of the town shone brightly with the copper sheets which have become its hallmark. Even after the initial boom the town continued to grow steadily over the century before it's expansion tapered off. Even so, today one or two new structures are added yearly and Salis Freeport has become renowned for the stately elegance and beauty of its architecture built of local limestone and nearby sandstone, tropical hardwoods harvested from the edges of the swamp and the copper, brass and bronze appointments of its master craftsmen.

Not surprisingly, this overnight boomtown drew vast numbers and variety of people seeking both its inherent freedom and proffered wealth and security. It's initial founders established a governing Guild Council headed by a town Lord selected for an indefinite term by the Lord's Cabinet, made up of the heads (or their local family appointees) of the founding noble houses. These latter were all 'Twining Houses,' noble families from either kingdom which had intermarried with those of the other sufficiently that the same house could claim titled members in both kingdoms.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

When the reigning Lord and Cabinet were all assassinated about 700 years BP by an angry alchemist (and most of the Cabinetry's structure destroyed in the explosion) this portion of the government was replaced by a mayor elected every five years by the leading families of the city. Voting right, and weight, in the election is determined by a rather complicated scale of tax revenue received from each family for both income and property levees. Functionally, the wealthier a family, the more votes it has. Extensive family business branches (quite common) can either be parsed by name of family members holding separate deeds (cousins operating various shops, warehouses, caravans etc. in their own names) or incorporated under the head of the extended House over all '" ultimately the number of votes the family exercises works out to be the same. While many of these are still noble families in the Twin Kingdoms, Salis Freeport neither ennobles nor acknowledges any privilege of title held elsewhere and divisions of class have become purely matters of wealth and occupation.

Well before the town had grown to the size of a small city certain patterns of social strata were clearly manifest '" both in the town's geography and the interactions and activities of it's citizens. By and large practitioners of nearly all occupations faired rather better than their neighboring peers in the region, the proportional wealth and prestige accorded various trades and professions remained the same and in many cases was even further emphasized by the unusually high degree of influence wielded by the guilds in municipal affairs. As typical of nearly all cities built along the banks of a major river, the sewer and storm drainage systems constructed led to and emptied into the Salis, accumulating ever greater amounts as one followed its flow until the city's waste emptied into the vast swamp where it was easily absorbed by nature's own system of decay and waste treatment. Naturally property was valued much higher further upstream and the poorer residents pushed closer to the the edge of the swamp along with the city's waste. The expression, 'Shit always moves downriver' became a common euphemism for this pattern of municipal development.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

. . .The expression, 'Shit always moves downriver' became a common euphemism for this pattern of municipal development. This is now even more clearly reflected with the subsequent additions of two other bridges above and below the original. In order to relieve the increasing congestion of traffic across the bridge (at times taking as much as an hour to cross), the second, slightly narrower but much statelier bridge was constructed about half a mile upriver some 5 centuries later from marble cut far to the south and floated by barge to the city. This too was subsequently covered over by the construction of a number of (very exclusive) luxury shops such as furriers, chandlers, perfumers, vintners and jewelers being the most prominent. The fine woodwork and cuprous appointments, most notably it's numerous lamps, clearly advertise the wealth and privilege of the financial, university and residential estate districts which it connects. Cargo laden wagons and carts were forbidden to use this bridge and it soon became known as the Carriage Bridge to distinguish it from the original Wagon Bridge. About 150 year later the narrowest, wooden Cart Bridge was constructed about a half a mile downstream connecting the slums and shantytowns of the Tannery and Abattoir Ghettos. Little provision was made to facilitate further construction upon the bridge itself as it had no arches requiring additional compression weight for stability. Regardless, numerous small, cramped structures soon sprouted upon its sides, many seeming to dangle perilously out over the river with other, even smaller rooms perched precariously on top of them.

Since it's founding, Salis Freeport has grown to be one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world. If the denizens of Undertown are counted as well the population as swollen to easily over 100,000 residents welcoming thousands of travelers daily. The actual population and geographic extent of the Undertown is not known and it is recognized as constituting an independent, self governing domain. As with envoys representing the Twin Kingdoms, Salis Undertown likewise liaises with the Guild Council. All three emissaries are accorded the same speaking privileges in council sessions as the guild representatives although they have no voting rights. Further expanding the municipal census to an unknown degree, (with estimates ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands) the denizens of the Salis Swamp also merit note. Long known to harbor a primitive saurian race within its depths, it is now also home to a significant humanoid population, predominantly a mixture of humans and a more reclusive ethnic group of the Benaedresha commonly referred to as Whisper Gnomes. While many who live in the swamp are simply outlaws and fugitives, most actually have ties and contacts within the city. The Whisper Gnomes in particular are nearly all secretive branches of prominent Benaedrishan financial and mercantile houses. More will be said of these and their activities later, but for now it should be noted that, while nominally under the rule of the city, the bayou inhabitants in fact constitute a law unto themselves.

Business, Wealth and Taxes

The cities robust economy derives from a fortuitous combination of a number of very lucrative enterprises. Seated squarely upon the border between the Twin Kingdoms and servicing the only viable overland trade route between them, considerable employment and revenue are generated by the needs of a huge volume of caravan traffic. The Twin Kingdoms have maintained a free trade agreement between them for nearly 2000 years and in order to relieve their overburdened ports this was later modified with the cities founding such that all goods arriving by sea are assessed by the port authorities the normal customs as those of any other foreign origin. Goods carried overland however are permitted to pass through Salis Freeport and enter either realm duty free. The result as that virtually all merchant traffic between them passes through the city.

The city is also well known for the quality and volume of its metal crafts supplied by the abundant mineral resources at the river's headwaters. Of particular importance is the copper sheeting produced. While a significant amount is used in the city itself, more than half of it is exported westward under extended contracts to merchants in Gorhstan's port city of Minnevahl. These then sell it to the numerous Khurorkh shipyards throughout the countless islands of The Neck. The Khuhrorkh discovered the technique of lining their hulls with this thousands of years ago. As barnacles and other marine life are able to find very little purchase upon it, the encrustation which builds up on wooden hulls and over time produces considerable drag in the water, as well as degrading the hull's integrity, is quite insignificant. As a result, copper clad vessels continue to perform at their top speeds long after leaving dry dock and require such servicing to scrape the accumulation away and replace needed sheets much less frequently. Since the islands of the Malenorian Empire contain few significant copper deposits, the incredible size of the Imperial fleets make it impossible to emulate this technology through foreign import.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

. . .Since the islands of the Malenorian Empire contain few significant copper deposits, the incredible size of the Imperial fleets make it impossible to emulate this technology through foreign import. While certainly not the only factor, this clearly contributes significantly to the Khurorkh naval superiority in the eternal conflict throughout The Narrows between the two powers. The Empire has frequently sought to negotiate contracts for this abundant and valuable commodity and its proposals have been constantly and firmly rebuffed. In light of the generally restrictive nature of Malenorian trade policies and the Empire's draconian practices toward shipping throughout the waters of the Suntrack Sea this is unlikely to change appreciably. (Malenorian envoys are still welcomed in the city's diplomatic International Zone with the same courtesy as all others, but this is primarily to afford the guilds the amusement of seeing the expressions of impotent fury on their faces when their requests and proposals are denied.) The city further exports a wide variety copper, brass and bronzeworks, high quality items made from local hardwoods and rubber and a small amount of handblown mastercraft glassworks derived from native sandy soils deposited by changes long past in the river's course producing their distinctive deep 'Salis Green' color.

Dominated by the broad Council Hill, the southwestern quarter of the city harbors the Civic, University, Temple and Consulate Districts (the latter two comprising the heart of Salis Freeport's infamous International Zone). These support extensive business among the many Professional and Service Guilds as well as the wholesale and retail of imported and specialty products such as materia magica, foreign spices, dyes and fabrics, books, scrolls and other texts and artwork, etc. Between the quarter's many enclosed shops and the countless stalls of the open Market Bazaar virtually anything can be found or acquired given sufficient time and money. As one travels further south upriver and onto the plain the urban districts give way to the estates of the city's wealthiest families.

North of the caravan High Road extending from the Wagon Bridge and dividing the city in half, the numerous inns and taverns lining the river and road surrounding the Theatre District give way to the warehouses, stables and caravanserais supporting the Market Bazaar. Further north are the middle class human and gnomoii residential districts upon and within the twin Beacon Hills. (Since the construction of the large complex of the Temple of Behldamh with its Hospice of the Lady and adjacent Alchemist's Guild Hall at their base, these northwestern landmarks have become commonly known among residents alternatively as the Madwoman's Tits and the Bursting Breasts.) Sandwiched further north between these, the river and the edge of the swamp, the more courageous or desperate will find the often partially flooded (and rarely patrolled) tenements and slums of the Abattoir District.  

On the Eastern side of the river many of the noble families of the Twin Kingdoms maintain estates south of the High Road. The far larger Garrison Quarter covers and surrounds Gaoler's Bluff and Salis Undertown on the north side of the road. Lining the riverbanks are the halls of the numerous craft guilds. Packed between them and the sheer face of the honeycombed limestone bluff can be found the bustling Trades District with its numerous shops, taverns and inns and the city's Red Lantern District just above the flood plain of the slums and shanty town of the Tannery District crowded up against the edge of the swamp. Crowning the bluff is the principal garrison, barracks, administrative offices and gaol of the city watch which gives the quarter and it's principal landmark their names. The broad western slope of the hill is covered with residential sectors extending out onto the plain which houses the facilities of the Mercenary's Guild and the Regimental Headquarters and Prime Battalion of the famous Harak Shyz'n (Khurorkh) Infantry Brigade. Numerous security firms can be found here recruiting personnel and contracting their services both within the city and as caravan guards throughout the region. By separate contract the Mercenaries Guild also staffs, supplies, equips, houses and maintains the city's watch and its facilities. To avoid conflicts of interest, all personnel servicing the city's contract, from the top level administration to the lowest rank and file, must terminate all other contracts, sovereign or private before swearing their oath to the city. Functionally then, the guild proper simply performs recruiting and contract brokerage services for a separate, quasi-private law enforcement corps. Lining the High Road between these sectors and the estates to the south are the extensive warehouses, stables and caravanserais associated with the expanse of the Commodities Market.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

Law, Freedom, and the International Zone

Not surprisingly, the open and rather liberal atmosphere of the city encourages a great deal of activity of rather dubious legality. The home office of Freetrading Gentlemen from the furthest reaches of both continents, in Salis Freeport or the shadows of the Salis Swamp one can, given deep enough pockets and connections, contract virtually any product, commodity or service to be provided virtually anywhere in the known world. Within the city itself explicitly illegal activities and goods are severely curtailed and the law strictly enforced. Given the flourishing gray market this is more easily accomplished than in other metropolitan centers. Smuggling, for instance, constitutes a marginally legitimate trade through the city. Given the long standing free trade agreement between the Twin Kingdoms, cargoes entering and leaving the city are not inspected as they are assumed to have originated in one or the other realm (or have been assessed any duties upon entry into the realm before transport to Salis). For certain foreign cargoes then, it can be more lucrative to bypass the ports of either kingdom, with ships anchoring off the coast beyond the Salis River Delta and offloading into small boats which then disappear into the swamp. From there they are moved up river into the city and merged, with forged manifests, into outbound caravans for sale, free of customs, tariffs or duties in either kingdom. While both kingdoms are aware that this occurs, and address it directly with coastal naval patrols, so long as the Freeport's activities do not significantly undermine the force of law or security of either it simply isn't worth the effort to take any further steps to counter. This is one of the reason's why the City Watch does enforce such laws as are in place with great certitude '" the guild council remains very cognizant of the need to ensure that the city never becomes a significant thorn in the side of either kingdom.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

Even more lucrative, and hazardous, is the trade in information and espionage. For centuries the Freeport has provided safe haven for the agents and factors of countless interests, political, religious, mercantile and racial. Countless wars and rebellions, assassinations, coups and fiats, successful and otherwise, have been both conceived and concluded in the blue-green light of the city's lanterns '" the most expensive and dangerous having been accomplished without the world any the wiser. The diversity of the Diplomatic Quarter harbors the desires and knowledge of virtually every known, and more than a few relatively unknown, culture upon and beneath the face of the world. The University District, between the river and Council Hill and the Civic District upon (and within) the hill itself are well patrolled by the Watch from the auxiliary Civic Garrison at the hill's north end, as are the shops and Bazaar of the Market District adjacent to the garrison. To the south and west of the quarter however begins the Temple District which extends further out onto the plain into the Consulate District. As these two consist of numerous compounds which police themselves according to a bewildering array of diverse canonical and foreign laws and customs, they constitute a rarely patrolled and virtually lawless municipal sector that has become known as the Freeport's International Zone, or simply Interzone.

[Nomadic]

Sorry that I haven't responded sooner. You have so much detailed information on the city and its surrounding area, excellent work. Also the redneck tree was both unnecessarily disturbing and resoundingly hilarious at the same time.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

Thanks. I laughed my ass off the first time I saw that.

Beginning of map follows. Nothing labeled, but hopefully from the descriptions the principal landmarks are readily identifiable. Red lines indicate general contour - I'm figuring about 100 - 150 feet. The flood plain from the river fans out at the bottom. Scale is approx. 1 mile to each large square; small squares = 525 ft. This is a sprawling city - it hleps to realize that one of those small squares can easily contain a typical high school football field w/bleachers and outbuilding etc., out to it's surrounding fence line. These are just the principal thoroughfares but they help define the various districts. N.B., this is oriented toward the south (river flows from top to bottom).

[LordVreeg]

Now is is good that 'Interzone' sounds so futuristic?  Maybe,  but it's bugging me.

[blockquote=S&M]The city further exports a wide variety copper, brass and bronzeworks, high quality items made from local hardwoods and rubber and a small amount of handblown mastercraft glassworks derived from native sandy soils deposited by changes long past in the river's course producing their distinctive deep 'Salis Green' color.[/blockquote]
This one worked, just so you know.  I like the local flavor here.

The whole ore. smelting and metaltrading works very well in a system where alchemists can be a power.  If the system you choose to run with has actual alchemists, with actual use for alchemy and enhanced ore work, Freeport makes great sense.  I worry if it makes as much sense if magic supercedes alchemy, if alchemy would be swallowed by magic.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

Yeah - it doesn't quite meld smoothly with other terms in use. I'm considering the Liminus, but basically want the idea/feel of multiple borders and flux. In many ways you can travel to a variety of widely variant locales within the IZ expanse (Sigil has a similar feel) and in a few places secret magical gateways and portals (terrestrial and interplanar) have been established. (Knowledge of and access to these is extremely guarded.) It does constitute a cultural crossroads on the surface, with a more literal crossroads behind the facade of an international diplomatic collective. It's odd - the city's 1500 years old, and yet in many ways feels young. Still, at this time it is probably the single most significant locus in the entire setting - hence I'll be developing it in great depth. Anything occurring anywhere will produce subtle, tell-tale ripples here for those few with the perception to detect and interpret them, so their needs to be layers within layers of this microcosm, and like many of my creations, a delicate balance of powers is constantly at play - here many games on many levels. Not surprisingly, the Church of Behldamh has it's Holy See here, though located well away from the Temple District (more below). Really I'm just working on the infrastructure right now - the elements of local geopolitics and commerce which combine to make this unique location possible, and observing the implications thereof. I'm considering the idea of magical data havens - vast libraries of orbs containing histories, memories, etc. (think 21st century cyber data havens and the wide variety of data they store). Salis would only hold a minor one, but one or more gates would connect to the biggest from somewhere in here. Proof of every single treasonous plot conceived since the Dawn of the New Sun (and many older) could be accessed by someone who knows were to look. Those who don't would never even get close. No one notes the quantity of halfling caravans moving through and stopping at the Hostel of Surnest.

Alchemy is big here - I'll be getting to that. So is Behldamh - the Lady's church has been based from the Temple and Hospice here for nearly a millenium. The complex also houses the only monastery the church has. (I'm still trying to get a handle on what these mad monks would be like - meditation has proven an effective treatment for many disorders, but I think would have some very unexpected side effects as those with rather skewed perceptions of reality gain greater insight. . .) Note that alchemy in 3.5 is a branch of magic - which they haven't really developed well - I'll be looking toward that later. It tends to bridge the magical and physical technologies. Alchemical refining and enhancement of physical metals is costly and cannot be performed in large quantities, making items incorporating it uncommon and expense masterwork handcrafts. Naturally, given the various elements present - Salis is a principal producer of said in the world.

And definitely more local flavor to come.

Stay out of the swamp. Seriously

[Snargash Moonclaw]

As labyrinthine as the intrigues which fuel it, Interzone is a veritable warren of deception and counter-deceits. Smoke and mirrors are the tools of amateurs where virtuoso's dance in the shadows of ancient powers and purposes which very few can perceive with even the faintest clarity. Some find it surprising, while others readily expect, that nearly all of the city's eleven population may be found here, along side many other races little known to most of the world and still less understood.

Civil and contract law formulate far more of the legal concerns within Salis Freeport since so much business is conducted there. Below (directly down river from) the University District, the Professional District ends among the stationers and clerks shops lining the High Road at the western foot of the Caravan Bridge. It is said that the riverside paper mills and presses never cease printing nor the scrivener's quills of The Artery pause in their records. The city's courts, civil and criminal, lie on the northern end of Council Hill, above the Civic Garrison on Courier's Way, facing the Arc of the Magistracy. The Civic Garrison constitutes nearly a third of the Watch personnel and patrols the Diplomatic Quarter and Market Bazaar, sending a single squad per shift through the Interzone, while the remainder of the city is patrolled from the Watch Garrison on Gaoler's Bluff.

Within the city in general, the Watch is constituted of four shifts leaving garrison every six hours to patrol the city for six hours before making way back to garrison. Dawn and Dusk Patrols normally consist of four personnel led by a Sergeant-At-arMs, while in the heat of the Noon Patrol squads only consist of two members and their SAM. Night Patrol is actually heaviest with a Commanding Officer of the Watch Leading (COWL), aided by a SAM and six personnel
Watchers typically wear bronze studded leather armor 'sailors' coats' with bronze bucklers and are armed with a naval pike (naginata with a hook added), light crossbow, morningstar and scimitar. Sailor's coat's are a style of light armor (only) common throughout tropical zone and among ships marines and similar naval combatants. Worn like a robe and belted at the waist, it extends to just below the knees. Most often sleeveless, it is generally made of lighter material overall than a similar suit of armor, making it cooler, but is doubled across the torso in front, providing more protection than usual where it is most needed. Some form of bracer or other covering is usually worn on the arms. More importantly to maritime users, a sailor's coat can be removed in a matter of moments should the wearer fall overboard. SAMs typically wear the same style of armor a buckler, light repeating crossbow, retarii (net and trident) and short sword, while COWLS wear chainmail coats and small shields, bearing a hand crossbow and hanger (rapier with bronze fittings). Numbers of squads varies by quarter and shift (generally one squad per district) but the Watch Garrison always posts a Quarter Command squad in each the two city markets and in the local Penny Market near the Cart Bridge in the Garrison Quarter. Command squads always contain an adept or a cleric and a militant arcanist wearing chainmail coats and armed with quarterstaves. At night the Civic Garrison also posts a command squad in the University Commons. Investigative and further special (mostly healing and arcane) assets operate out of here as well, detailed to the Watch Garrison as needed.

It should be no surprise that the Civic Garrison is treated as the Watches' elite '" duty here is generally easier and safer (physically speaking,) and equipment better '" as the personnel from the Civic Garrison present a much higher public profile, at least in terms of a higher economic class among the public. In fairness, the duty necessitates a far more diplomatic approach in procedure and protocol than is generally required for the enforcement of law in the other Quarters, and to operate effectively in its districts, a higher degree of awareness, education and intelligence, of presence of mind in general, is needed of those who patrol there. (e.g., 90% of the incidents requiring Watch response which involve magic in some fashion occur in the Diplomatic Quarter.) Fencing skill is a requirement and guards are armed with hanger and sai, naval pikes and repeating crossbows rather than morningstars and scimitars. The distinctive bronze bucklers and small shields of the Watch throughout the city serve as identifying badges giving rise to locals referring to the City Watch as 'the Bronze.'

Just north of the Coach Bridge the River Watch maintains a wharf, warehouse and watchtower overlooking the river from the point at Goldwater Bend. (The three bends in the river's course as it flows through the city are known as Goldwater, Silverpiece and Penny'sworth Bends.) They patrol the riverfront in small skiffs each shift from the start of the levees about a mile upriver of the Carriage Bridge to the floodplains about a mile below the cart bridge. Beyond the city larger keel boats mounting ballistae in prow and stern leave each week for month long patrols the length of the river to Bard's Ferry and back. River piracy, while not common, does at times occur with small boats concealed among the cattail marshes lining the riverbanks swarming the slow and clumsy barges, lighters and keelboats plying the river highway. Skiffs and keel-boats also mount swiveling pintles on the gunwales capable of stabilizing light or heavy repeating crossbows. (Skiffs are outfitted with the same in the prow.)  A handful of small, swift dhow (favored craft of those who choose to literally live on the river) also constantly patrol the river's length, serving as messengers and support vessels. With regard to jurisdiction, the Swamp is the responsibility of the River Watch. However, they will not (save under unusual and extreme circumstances) pursue any craft more than half a mile into the swamp upon the river proper and less than a quarter mile along any of the numerous shallow bayous branching from it. Ill equipped for the sodden and treacherous terrain, foot patrols likewise will not pursue anyone beyond the slums and shanty towns of the floodplain under the mossy eaves of the cypress groves at the swamp's edge. Regardless, very few can consider escaping into the sanctuary of the swamp as reaching a place of safety.

In light of the combination of a rather permissive laissez-faire civil code and its enforcement under semi-private contract, corruption and organized crime are relatively uncommon save at either the highest and lowest of extremes. The pervasiveness of semi-legitimate 'gray market' or shadow commerce has obviated much of the bulk illegal activity by which a concerted thieves' guild supports itself in most urban centers, leaving either petty crime and theft which could only organize itself on small patches of turf (and has done so quite pervasively)  and is simply not worth the costs of bribery, or the rarer extremes such as slave trade, assassination, extortion and trade in highly dangerous and illegal (often magical) contraband in the very professional hands of local chapters of much larger and more resourceful organizations which tend to direct their subversive efforts toward the corruption of officials well above the level of the ranks of the constabulary. The one area of criminal activity which reaches into all levels of society is that of usury and money laundering. A city such as Salis is filled with the plans and schemes of those seeking to make a quick fortune at the expense of others, con artists and gamblers, and simply those pursuing what they believe to be 'the sure thing' that will leave them set. There are always those needing money to finance their latest 'sure bet' and in a city where so much money changes hands nightly, they can always find someone willing to back them in exchange for exorbitant assurances of repayment which will be forcibly met in cases of default. Additionally, the cumulative value of even petty theft and burglary can be sufficient as to require a fair amount of creativity and license in accounting for the exchange of property and money in a city where bookkeeping is generally very meticulous, hence a great deal of money circulates entirely off of record, constituting a second 'Highnoon Market' economy. (It should be noted that the climate throughout the equatorial region to the tropical bands at the height of an interglacial period is so oppressively hot at midday that very little activity occurs at this time year round save by absolute necessity. As a result, a great deal of criminal activity and business normally associated with the night time in other locales is conducted during the hottest part of the day when fewest are paying attention, giving rise to the term Highnoon rather than Black Market, where shady dealings are quite literally that and Shadows actually refer to the presence of some ambient light shed upon matters. . .) While a great deal of local jockeying occurs in the constant attempts to dominate this particular niche in illegal financing, there are too many with their hands in both markets to varying degrees and moving currency through the virtual membrane between them that no particular individual or organization has succeeded in doing so beyond the scope of a given district at best.

Most criminal activity in the city falling within the purview of the Watch is characterized by countless local Sets and Masques. Sets are essentially no more than minor, relatively low profile street gangs operating in small patches of often fiercely contested turf downriver from the Wagon Bridge. Masques on the other hand can be found wandering and loitering in the streets openly from sunset to sunrise from the Cart Bridge upriver to the edges of the Estate and Consulate Districts (and occasionally spilling over into them). These are not always necessarily criminal groups, but rather anonymous (masked) cohorts of young men and women often seeking no more than a sense of group identity and worth in their relief from boredom. Most will engage in some degree of petty crime, more distinctly through threat of violence than larcenous intent. The one illegal act which characterizes them all is dueling, although between Masques  this is more an act of counting coup through the 'The Gentleman's Passe' than an attempt to seriously harm or kill. On the other hand, feuds between the Sets and Masques located, often in overlapping territories, among the districts between the Wagon and Cart Bridges are bitter and often bloody. Some Masques in these areas even act as vigilantes, offering 'protection' from the criminal activities of parallel Sets in exchange for money and/or other considerations and privileges.

Masquers are a social phenomenon originally unique to Salis Freeport, although the practice in recent decades has spread to other cosmopolitan centers along both coasts of the Suntrack Sea. Their origin stems from a now famous event some 500 years previously in which a local university student attending a masquerade managed to inadvertently give offense to the very intoxicated attache of a Fehladurh envoy. Having no actual desire to offend, much less harm the inebriated elf who would hear none of his apologies, the young man (fortunately the son of a well-known fencing master) parried his thrusts repeatedly until an opening in the elf's defense presented itself, whereupon he lunged suddenly past his exposed side to snare the handkerchief in his far breast pocket, snatching it out as he recovered and presenting it to his opponent upon the point of his rapier. Even intoxicated the elf recognized the fact that his reluctant foe could have readily dispatched him and humbly passed the victory to the young gentleman. The event (typically growing in its retelling,) caught the imagination of many of the students who began to form fencing clubs within the Collegium and nearby locales. Each club adopted a unique, heraldic pairing of colors and designs upon their fencing masks and the handkerchiefs they prominently displayed. They spent much of their free time after dark contesting with each other for prestige, usually illegally in the streets. The pastime, known as Masqueing, spread throughout the city over time so that by the end of a decade young Masquers were common among virtually all classes and occupations. Certain unwritten customs evolved around this, particularly with regard to the relative anonymity which the fencing masks provided. Masques never gather until after the sun has completely disappeared, donning their masks as Salistreiah touches the horizon and proceeding through the streets while she sets, whistling their Masques unique signature calls to each other as they rendezvous. Throughout the course of sunset no duels are engaged in and Masquers go to join their comrades unmolested. (Sets observe no such custom and frequently will assault a lone Masquer should they encounter one. It is not uncommon for members of a rival Masque to aid someone so ambushed.) Likewise at sunrise, as soon as Salistreah's edge appears above the horizon all duels and engagements immediately cease and combatants scatter through the streets and alleyways until no other Masquer is in sight of each other when they remove their masks as Salistreah comes completely into view. While wearing their masks Masquers assume entirely separate names and personas from their everyday and by tacit agreement none acknowledge the recognition of any alternate identities by day or night should they be aware of them. There are easily a little more than a hundred active Masques throughout the city at any given time, varying in size from three or four members to as many as twenty, roughly a dozen being the norm. They come and go over time, some are quite newly established and a handful can trace their history to the first Collegium fencing clubs. Harking back to their academic origins, Masques tend to have peculiar names derived from obscure references such as The Hungry Lantern Men, The Second Wind of Waiting and The Screaming Stone Children. If anything their sense of honor and prestige, even among the most recent, is even more inflated and prone to insult than that of the Fehladurh given that it is based solely upon its declaration and generally serves no further purpose than its own perpetuation. That said, many Masques certainly do engage in some sort of secondary pursuit with which they become associated, noble or criminal. It should be noted that open dueling is expressly outlawed in Salis Freeport, with formal Trials of Honor permitted upon the grounds of the Civic Garrison by registration and overseen by a Captain of the Watch serving as Marshall of the Lists.

[Snargash Moonclaw]

>and there are more to cover in other parts of the city. . .

Churches, Orders and Other Interests

By this time Salis can easily claim to harbor within or beneath it a place of worship for every known deity in the world and chapter for every public Order or Society, with the specifically (and deliberately) noted exception of the Church of the True Suns. (Given the presence of envoys of the Order of Bright Suns in the official Malenorian Consulate within the Diplomatic District this no doubt isn't even entirely true. However, since Malenorian sovereignty is honored with regard to everything above the ground within the compound, it remains technically, and officially, correct. This particular legal definition has also given rise to the architectural practice throughout the District of laying some form of paving over virtually all soil within a consulate's walls, to the point of constructing raised gardens within the compounds. For the latter many however simply prefer to build some sort of aesthetically pleasing elevated pathway and decked structures through the courtyards and gardens, often preferring large pools and fountains for the latter.) Most, though not all, places of worship are found within the Temple District '" and these are accorded the same rights, and definitions of what constitutes canonical sovereignty within their enclosures. Elsewhere this is not the case, though rarely will the city enforce any form of jurisdiction within a temple, order or monastery's precincts. Status of those within Undertown is of course determined entirely independent of the city's purview.  

The first temple constructed in the city of course was that of Delatrian Roadstar, the official Patron Deity of Salis Freeport. This remains the most prominent religious landmark, it's impressive facade and dome overlooking the Market Bazaar at the junction of the original Trade Highway and a number of other significant boulevards leading into the city from its western edge. Second in popularity in Salis is the Auburn Vault of Salistreah at the center of the Way of the Gods leading from the junction southeast toward Council Hill. Much less ostentatious, many might easily overlook the Archdiocesan See of The Friends were it not by far the busiest complex in the District. Situated at the heart of the Interzone where the Temple and Diplomatic Districts abut each other it is a constant, round the clock beehive of activity not only for the church proper but the numerous orders with which it is associated. Both an administrative hub and the churches' primary diplomatic training center, it coordinates the churches' various interests throughout the region of the Suntrack Sea and directly oversees more efforts within the Freeport itself than are engaged in by most dioceses. Clerics and Servants of The Friends consider Salis by far the most difficult and exhausting post in the entire organization, requiring the utmost abilities of their most experienced and skillful Pairs. In the center of the Temple District the enclosure of the Primordials' Park surrounds a thick Druids' Grove with the numerous shrines dedicated to the various Primes. A mixed handful of clerics, adepts, druids and monks can all be found together here tending the facilities and interceding for the faithful, those of Wu-Jai and Salimarah (as Goddess of the Rivers) being most numerous and many of her otters may be seen gamboling in and about the pools of the park where Wu-Jai's dragonflies fill the air like a dancing cloud of glittering jewels. The Sacred Apiaries of Dashin can also be found here as apiculture is an important pastoral industry throughout the tropical zone. The Salis Orchid honey and wisteria scented candles made from the wax of The Hives of the Mother here cannot be bought at any price, but are only presented as gifts every Mummer's Night by Dashin's clerics as their Goddess deems fit. Leaving the Market Bazaar by the Way of the Gods one passes the sprawling Hostel of the Moons. This is the only location on either continent where the churches of Melanar and Surnest have combined their resources, but as the Hospital of the Bloodmoon grew in renown many traveled from far away to seek healing. The result is viewed by many as simply an example of orkhiish and halfling pragmatism and as such rather unremarkable in spite of its uniqueness. Nevertheless, rest and healing may be found by many within the hostel in exchange for participation in the labor and needs of maintaining the facilities for the duration of one's stay. Beyond the Auburn Vault then may be found the Measure of Fate and finally, at the juncture of the Way of the Gods with the Civic Course at the southern end of the long Teamster's Road, stands the Armory of Galenar and Watchtower of the Knight, situated so as a watchman posted in the tower's belfry can look directly past the base of Council Hill down upon the Civic Garrison. Hidden within the maze of the Temple District's backstreets, behind and between The Auburn Vault and The Hostel of the Moons resides the deceptively unostentatious porticoes of the Convent of the Ladies' Hand. Well shaded by the many more imposing structures surrounding them, the nuns inhabit and staff by far the most luxurious, and tasteful demesne in the entire city.  In light of much of what the Ladies are privy to, the Guild Council actually insisted that they locate their chapterhouse above the ground of the Temple District rather than among the halls of the Service Guilds in the Professional District. As the Courtesans' Guild proper they do operate guild festhalls in the other city quarters as well, but the Convent serves not only to host social functions and entertainments but as an academic ministry, being one of the order's principal novitiates as well as a public extension of the University Campus. Adjacent to the convent and far more likely to draw attention is the Festhall of Benaedress. Invisible from the street below and unknown to many, its parapets enclose The Open Vault of the Night Sky, the precincts of which are covered by a permanent spell rendering anyone on the roof invisible from above, making it look like a simple, if exquisite, rooftop garden. (The spell can be temporarily negated at any time the faithful choose to be seen enjoying the locus.)  Finally, the District is also host to a Monastic Abbey of the Seekers of the Way attached to and assisting The Hospice of the Wheel which lies between the Abbey and the Hospice of the Moons. These also tend to and observe the duties of the necropolice beneath the cliff face on the northwest edge of the city. The original name of the bluff has been forgotten and its is now universally referred to as Dead Monk Jump; stories as to why vary both widely and wildly.
Temples, librams and choirs of Shaliah, Varrul, Haendriss and The Arcane, as well as a prestigious Do-kyu Hall of Kensoto, may be found beneath the Dome of Stars at the heart of the University.

[LordVreeg]

[blockquote=S&M]Note that alchemy in 3.5 is a branch of magic - which they haven't really developed well - I'll be looking toward that later. It tends to bridge the magical and physical technologies. Alchemical refining and enhancement of physical metals is costly and cannot be performed in large quantities, making items incorporating it uncommon and expense masterwork handcrafts. Naturally, given the various elements present - Salis is a principal producer of said in the world.[/blockquote]
Talk about a quote that bridges system and game design!
This was one that has rolled around and around my head and my games for decades.  One of the original reasons I eventually had to create my own system was the bullshit treatment of alchemists/artificers in most games.  If magic was going to take the place of technology, it would need to, at some level, develop as technology did/does.  Nomadic, who has started playing online with one of my groups, has already run into Evercoal, ingots with a very minor enchantment to light/burn very hot whenever touched by a flame for 3 hours, then must be re-lit, burns with heat that only radiates 4 feet, but very warm and work for 60 uses.  A pot of evercoal runs 300-400 Electrum goodwives. My Igbarians are about to find a magic roasting pan, no joke, that was one of the original pans from Hostem's House of Hospitality.   It increases the cooking skill% of the user by 10%, made of copper and well decorated, runs about 800 Goodwives to buy or 200-300 if they sell it.  There are probably 20-30 such magical pans/pots/etc  in the 30k+ population of Igbar.
But the real point is that alchemy and artiface  are the agents that bridge the common, non-magical world to the magcial one, in that items are created for the use in the mundane world. Even healing, which is probably the most important thing for much of the common world, still needs casters.