The skyline of the city ahead of you is a strange mixture of graceful elven towers and humble slate roofs. In the center of all is a high steeple, strangely plain and bland in design. As you draw closer, a medley of unfamiliar smells fills your nostrils: unknown meats simmering, cheap perfume, roses and violets, the swampy reek of black mud and something else underlying it all, the sugary, spoiled smell of human decadence.
Welcome to Crescent City!
Urdarumaedin offers the following ...
"Crescent City, as you've seen since we entered the harbor, is situated slightly upriver, as the mouth of the Sappent is too marshy to build upon. It has a hot, drowsy, muggy feel to it. It was originally settled by the elves, who began the tradition of enslaving their swamp elf relatives. The original elven part of the city is still largely intact and is referred to as the old elven quarter. The humans have built their less beautiful constructions around it.
"Crescent City is a place of vice and corruption. Its morals are those of the waterfront whorehouse. If you can afford it, you can have it. The city guards are nothing more than a brute squad, murders go unreported every day and the crime gang members are the ones who command real respect on the streets. Only the rival factions' constant fighting between themselves keeps the governor's authority steady.
"The city's rogues were once united, ten years ago, under the legendary King and Queen of Thieves, Thom and Lolly Lankin. Crime was actually less of a problem in those days, as the Lankins kept their crews in order and maintained a strange form of peace with the governing authority. This Golden Age could not last. A new Primarch of the Marian Church decided to smash this house of rogues and sent an expeditionary force from Beacon City, the capital of Caldraza. Many rogues now believe that treachery from within the ranks betrayed the secrets of the Lankins' guild house; in any event, the King and Queen of Thieves were publicly executed and the criminal underworld went from being organized to being a chaotic struggle for territory. The crime rate soared.
"According to long-established rumor, Thom and Lolly hid the wealth of the Guild away somewhere in the guild house, in the old Testing Maze below the cellars. Most of the more experienced rogues in the city have been down there at some point in their lives, looking for the Lankins' lost gold. It has becomes something of a running joke. The old guild house is now a hospice, in which the monks of St. Cecilia (an order of Marians) heal the sick. But, these are just rumors, and the top rogues have found jack ....
"As the port is, ironically enough, a holy city (being the place where Blessed Marius first began to preach), it is primarily the responsibility of the Church and not the State. The Church does not, however, concern itself with secular affairs, so it appoints a politician to act with its blessing. Currently, the church-appointed governor is Lord Malthus.
"Crescent City is something of an embarrasment to Caldraza, as it is flagrantly immoral and decadent. However, it is also massively profitable. Travellers from all continents come there to sample its seedy pleasures and those travellers spend money, drinking at the bars, buying souvenirs and filling the whores' purses. Even though the amount that makes its way into the tax collectors' coffers is a fraction of what ought to be coming in (given the amount of tax-fiddling that takes place) it is still more than any other city brings in, with the exception of Beacon City itself.
"Crescent City has a higher population of rogues per capita than any other settlement in all of Ashfar. This is why it is sometimes called the Thieves' Kitchen. As a result, be careful, any brush you may have with crime here will be far more experienced than anything you might have found in Chillhame. They have had many years to practice their skills in an environment ideally suited to doing so."
Rillian shrugs and says, "Our kinda' place. Y'know, I think Fallon could fit in here quite nicely."
Urdarumaedin gives him a little bit of a glare, then softens into a chuckle. "A skill set is not a mindset."
He looks back to the group. "For those that like hard facts, this is what I know. It's a big city, some 20,000+ souls, made up of about 4/5 human, then elf, then halfling, then half-elf, and a smattering of other races. Technically, Archbishop Vigilance Derrick and the Church of Marius runs the town, but as I've said, Lord Malthus is the secular City Governor. I don't know who they are, but the Four Crime Lords are also supposed to be in charge of the city from the criminal end. The top executive authority is a man by the name of Commander Alfonso."
He looks at the captain (who has been sitting in on this meeting in his stateroom), then looks at the group. "Now, Captain Tobias Brennan and his crew and the services of the ship have been paid up full for three months total, so salary is not an issue right now. We don't have to worry about taverns or inns ... unless, of course, and you just might want to, take a more low-profile approach in case there are any spies of the Host here. Rillian and I will base ourselves here, though we will make errands around and about, including making sure we have enough money for what wasn't included in the salary: materials and expertise for repairs, consumables, and replenishing the crew's ranks after the battle with the drow. We sailed with 20, which dropped to just over 10, but the Elensil is an elven warship of the Corsair class, a gift to Lady Arigane from the elven wizards of Xoth Sarandi, and is a valuable asset to our cause."
He then moves in a little closer. "So, Rillian and I know what we'll be doing. What about the rest of you? I gave you the scholar's and lorist's view of the city, but not what's currently happening ... you'd have to figure that out. I recommend you do this before you set to any other task. Fallon and Brand are going to be your absolute best in sniffing out information, but it's always a bad idea to take an entire 'fire team' when listening to rumors.
"How you run yourselves is up to you, though I honestly recommend Drak take charge overall with Annie as his primary advisor. Fallon has the pure skills, but she is a little too aloof as a half-fey now.
"So, what will you do?"