The City of Talon

A Fantasy Role-Playing Game Sandbox Setting

by Brent P. Newhall

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2010 Brent P. Newhall

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Introduction

Talon is a densely-packed coastal city, brimming with potential for adventure.

This is a different kind of role-playing document than you may be used to reading. Instead of just describing a city, or laying out step-by-step adventures, this document will describe the many role-playing opportunities available within the walls of Talon. And almost all of those role-playing opportunities feed into secret plots that the players can uncover.

Since the whole point of role-playing is to let players do cool things with their characters, Talon provides lots of cool things for them to do. Most of the people in Talon need at least one thing accomplished or resolved, and have relationships with each other, so the first encounter will almost certainly influence later ones.

The idea here is to avoid the strict linear nature of so many published adventures, while providing more concrete adventure ideas than a setting.

Intended Audience

This book is intended primarily for Game Masters. However, players can read the “Physical Description” and “A Brief History of Talon” sections, and most of the descriptive text in the “Interesting Establishments” section can be read aloud to players.

The Lay of the Land

Physical Description

The city of Talon is a crowded, cramped, bustling nexus of business and travelers. Nestled at the junction of two major rivers, where a quirk in the riverbeds creates the talon shape that the city is named after, this is a port-of-call for hundreds of merchants, and the home of a thriving local economy.

The Westrush River divides the city into two halves, north and south. The junction of Westrush and its tributary, Walking, forms the center of the city.

Talon is run by Duke Malinare, a rather severe gentleman in his fifties, who's been ruling Talon for over thirty years. Under his guidance, a merely bustling town has become a major business hub. Many whisper that this is because of deals Malinare has struck with dark powers. True or not, he's a master at running the city, and has plenty of work for everyone to do. Anyone who investigates the various goings-on in the city soon finds themselves in an audience with him, and offered work cleaning up gangs, illegal animal fight clubs, drug dens, and the ubiquitous white collar crime.

The poorest in the city live in the Bullrushes, in the south-east of the city. While the poverty here can be wretched, Talon thrives on human capital, so many of the filthy children who grew up in the Bullrushes worked their way to success as merchants (and in less reputable pursuits).

The northeast of the city, known as The Hills, houses the well-to-do of the city, nobles and merchants alike (most of the nobility are merchants who call themselves nobles).

To the west, you'll find the innumerable warehouses and homes of the Workers' District, home of Talon's middle class. These homes are certainly a few steps up from the Bullrushes, but remain mostly apartments above shops, townhouses, and the like. A far cry from the walled, manicured gardens and estates of The Hills, and everyone knows it.

Talon is a wild place. In the Workers' District, workers carry all manner of loads while merchants stride the streets. The Bullrushes is a place of squealing, dirty children running through the streets, women calling to each other, and filthy men crouching in dark alleys, as well as the occasional pack of Kaled's followers. The Hills contains rows of elegant, quiet houses that hide intrigue and murder.

The Law in Talon

All law is judged at the Law House, a large stone building of tall columns and imposing paintings. A judge sits and listens to evidence presented by two Advocates, one for the accused and one for the city. The judge then decides the punishment, usually enforced labor for minor crimes and banishment or capital punishment for major ones.

Education

There are a variety of schools available in Talon, and they're all expensive. Children from the ages of 6 to 16 from families in The Hills go to one of several private schools there, where they're taught ancient languages, mathematics, and other refined skills. Merchant children from 8 to 14 can go to one of the many trade schools in the Workers' District, if their parents can afford it. Most children in the Bullrushes don't go to school, or attend ad hoc classes taught by benevolent priestesses.

Neighbors

Talon has always enjoyed thriving trade with three nearby cities: Earlslynn to the east, Bramblestone to the north, and Deadwater to the southeast.

Earlslynn also lies on the Westrush river, so many of the barges that end up in Talon pass through Earlslynn first. It's about half the size of Talon, and is ruled by its Town Council of seven major land-owners. It also boasts Spire Lake, with some of the best fishing for miles.

Bramblestone is less friendly Its king, Cruem, is a military despot who's trying to expand his kingdom. While Talon is an important supply point for Bramblestone, Lord Cruem eyes Talon as a juicy prize.

Deadwater lies on the River Walking, to the southeast. It's a boisterous town, much like Talon was a few hundred years ago, serving mostly as a stopping-point for barges and carts on their way to Talon along the Spice Trail which parallels the Walking River here. Deadwater gets its name from the vile marshes to the east of town; it's said the town was founded by traders making a relieved stop after leaving the marshes.

Map 1: The City of Talon

A Brief History of Talon

Talon was a struggling portside town two centuries ago, when it was founded as a convenient final stop for the barge traffic on the Westrush and Walking rivers. It spent several generations as a rough-and-tumble border town; nobody would raise a family there.

This was complicated by the tremors and earthquakes that occasionally rumble through, destroying buildings and causing partial collapses of the extensive underground catacombs. A major earthquake 75 years ago destroyed nearly a quarter of the city, and damaged another third. The city only recently completed the last of its repairs following a serious quake ten years ago.

Talon turned the corner about fifty years ago, and began to grow, especially after the building of the boundary wall. Under Duke Malinare's rule, when he took over at the age of eighteen thirty years ago, the city has seen explosive growth.

It now houses at least five thousand citizens, who all live within the boundary wall constructed forty years ago to define the extreme limits of the town. Now, the city crowds right up next to it, and even outlying farms and merchants consider themselves part of Talon.

The Hills in the northeast of Talon is the newest section, relatively speaking; it grew out of a relatively undeveloped area as the city grew richer.

Talon also sees a lot of trade with the nearby towns of Earlslynn, Bramblestone, and Deadwater, and many folks from those towns eventually find their ways to the more vibrant streets of Talon.

The Head Honchos

At the top of the heap is Duke Malinare, a rotund man in his early fifties. He cuts right to the chase during any conversation, and relates everything to the running of the city.

Duke Malinare's Captain of the Guard is Kodo, a heavyset man in his late forties. Scars cover his thick, muscle-bound body, evidence that he's one of the best sword fighters in fifty miles. He has a gruff personality, and taunts everyone who fights him as a “pup” or “whelp.”

Kodo is followed everywhere by twin fey girls, Zala and Zara. They wear body-tight clothing, and seem to always have a sardonic smile on their faces. They rarely speak, and when they do it's to defend Kodo, whom they idolize (he saved them from certain death when they were children). In combat, they teleport around the combat area, merrily tripping and throwing around their opponents so that none escape Kodo's deadly sword.

In addition to the legal rulers of the city, three crime lords run various nefarious operations within the city.

Xanathos has always been interested in divination and prognostication, from a very young age, when he was doted on by an aunt who was into such things. He's always clutching a few scrolls or books, and stuttering on about prophecies. He officially runs most of the high-stakes gambling dens in Talon, though several of his advisers do most of the day-to-day work.

Despite his thin frame and nervous, bird-like movements, Xanathos rose quickly in the ranks of his syndicate thanks to his unwavering loyalty to prophecy. If he believes someone deserves to die, he'll ensure they die. At first glance, he appears nervous, wide-eyed, and abrupt. Inwardly, he is ruthless and completely uncaring about others' welfare.

Xanathos is assisted by a tall, shadowy assassin named Teeth, and a solidly-built woman named Prosperia.

Yoremon Mufasa is a fantastically overweight man who runs most of the prostitution in the city. He weighs a good 400 pounds. He is always surrounded by half a dozen ineffectual toadies, and several excellent bodyguards culled from all over the continent. He's also usually served by a few scantily-clad young women, but they only fear him, and will not defend him.

The woman known only as Ziri has long been a mystery, even to the other crime lords. Overbearing and cruel, she laughs in the faces of her enemies and claims that she needs no friends, only loyal followers. And that's all she has.

But that seems to be enough, as she has risen to the top of the drug trade through equal amounts of kidnapping, bribery, torture, and blackmail. Everyone fears Ziri, even her most loyal followers.

Interesting Establishments

The following maps use five-foot squares. They can also be treated as two-meter squares while staying reasonable accurate.

13 Crow's Foot Lane

This 25x40-foot abandoned warehouse has been used to store all manner of goods in the past, but now it stands practically empty at the end of a row of little-used warehouses like it, on the east edge of the Worker's District. Weeds choke the heavy main door, which threatens to fall off its hinges. The large warehouse doors have long since rusted shut.

Inside, one will find a dusty, foul-smelling collection of old, broken crates and large shelves, long since gutted by wild animals and children. However, one side of the warehouse was walled off as an office, and here one will find (depending on the time of day) evidence of habitation, or the inhabiters themselves.

A group of drug addicts crash here, and usually sleep through the day. The addicts are Chu, a pole-thin teenage girl with soulless eyes; Muro, a heavyset young man with a nasty temper; Nara, the intellectual girl; Mashan, the pretty guy who goes along with everyone else but is the darling of the group; and Weasel, a young man who is completely, utterly insane and subject to wild mood swings.

This group usually resorts to petty thievery to keep themselves going, though they've been taking greater risks lately, like breaking into shops at night.

Ziri knows them well, and has been sending them out on a few errands in exchange for drugs.

They all hang out with Kiba, and they know he's being forced to work off his drug debts. As such, they'll distrust anyone who asks about him. If the players win over their trust (or beat up enough of them), they can direct the players to the warehouse where Kiba works.

Muro also knows where Faina, the Herbalist is being kept, though he will initially profess ignorance. Again, sufficient diplomacy or a fight will get it out of him.

If a fight breaks out, note that the section of dividing wall at the north of the building has rotted through. Several of the addicts can slip through this hole into the warehouse, to escape or attack the players from behind.

The Alley of Veils

If you ever find yourself in the squalid, run-down section of Talon known as the Bullrushes, you may stumble upon a tall, narrow alley that seems to run for a dozen blocks, and always seems to be in shadow. There, women dressed in veils and shrouds lounge and beckon. Somehow, the semi-transparency of their clothing makes them more subtly arousing than full nudity would be.

Most prostitutes are unwanted girls who are left at orphanages. Proprietors of the various bordellos visit these orphanages every year or so, snapping up any orphans who are either exceptionally beautiful or docile. If the girl is too young for active prostitution, she takes care of front-room duties: welcoming guests, introducing guests to the other girls, taking money, cleaning up, etc. These girls often know all the secrets.

Many nobles have daughters in the Alley of Veils. Some are fully aware of this, and the public discovery of the fact would be a major embarrassment.

Trouble rarely arises in the Alley of Veils, as most houses employ burly eunuchs to protect them, and their punishment is swift and terrible. Besides, they know the twists and hidden doorways of the alley much better than visitors.

The Barracks

Kodo, the Captain of the Guard, recently expanded the city barracks into a large compound. It now houses over 40 young men and women, and includes a well-stocked armory and a large training hall. Kodo is still actively looking for recruits.

Kodo trains the troops personally, with Zala and Zara always nearby. They train mostly with pikes and shields.

An eight-foot fence surrounds the 200-foot wide compound, which consists of three main buildings, situated in the center of the north half of the Worker's District. The sleeping quarters consist of one big room of bunk beds and chests for the soldiers' few belongings. The training hall is really just an enclosed space for sparring and practicing when it rains. A small, locked enclosure next to the training hall houses all the barracks' weapons (50 pikes, 30 shields, and 20 swords). The mess hall is split into two halves, one for the large kitchen and the other containing dense tables and benches. Kodo, Zala, and Zara always eat at the governor's mansion.

Black Alley

Psst. Hey, y'have a few coppers to spare? Oh, tha things I could sell ya. Blades. Certain potions and, uh, herbs.

Or, hey. Y'wont a pass? Anywhere? I can get one for ya. Get ya in'n'out of anywhere in a jif.

Also got certain...devices. Just in case, say, ya had a lock and ya forgot the key. Eh?

Bloodoak Row

This street of elegant homes in the middle of the noble's district of The Hills house some of the most prestigious families in Talon, including Lord Vasari and Yoremon Mufasa.

Each multi-story stone house requires at least a dozen servants, including cooks, housemaids (for house cleaning), personal servants (for personal grooming), and groundskeepers.

Lord Vasari has among his servants Millerson, the head servant and manager of the manor; the new groundskeeper Ben, a nervous fellow who's still suspicious about the disappearance of the last groundskeeper; and three chambermaids, Mara, Deeri, and Selene.

Most houses on Bloodoak Row share a common design: the lower levels contain an entrance hall, with public entertaining rooms to the right, and the dining room and kitchen to the left. At the end of the entrance hall stands a grand staircase to the second floor, which contains a U-shaped hallway of bedrooms. There may be a third floor of bedrooms.

Each house has a basement, which often contains servants' quarters and/or a dungeon of some sort.

Ged's Slaughterhouse

Any city as large as Talon requires a large incoming stream of animals for meat. These beasts are driven in through certain dusty and smelly streets intended primarily for this purpose, ending at the slaughtering pens of various meat merchants.

Ged is one of the more popular meat merchants in Talon, providing whole, dead animals directly to a dozen different butchers. And this would be fine, except Ged lives very well. Extremely well. Considering how much business he has, he lives suspiciously well.

In fact, he does so well that he can afford to pay travelers to damage his competitors' pens and property. This is dangerous, as it's flagrantly illegal, and his competitors now employ traps and guards. Not to mention the various surprises that a sharp eye can discover in a slaughterhouse....

Ged's establishment, off Overlook Road in the center of the Workers' District, is typical: several large pens outside, and a large warehouse-type space inside. The slaughterhouse itself consists of stone tables and chairs where the slaughtering is done, along with large troughs for the blood. There's an extensive cellar, where meat is stored temporarily. Meat won't last long even under the best conditions, so it's sold within two days.

While most of the blood goes to various taverns and restaurants (for use in sauces) and to the many temples in the city (which always need blood for various rites). However, a certain Lord Vasari buys a significant amount of Ged's leftover blood, and at a high price. Ged doesn't know what Vasari uses it for, and he doesn't want to ask.

The Golden Sunrise

This large ship spends about a week docked at the far end of Pier Three, then sails off for a multi-week adventure under the watchful eye of Captain Thorn.

It's a three-level, galleon-style ship. The main deck is about 30 feet wide and 70 feet long, with the captain's quarters (40 feet long) to the rear and storage (30 feet long) towards the front of the ship. The cargo deck below runs the length of the ship (but is only 25 feet by 120 feet), and is also used as sleeping quarters. Below that is the storage deck (20 feet by 100 feet).

Hill HouseEvery town has one: the haunted house. Abandoned for decades. There's a visitor every few years; nobody recognizes them. Kids dare each other to walk up the big hill, past the dying oak, and open the sagging door, but never do (though they swear that a friend of a friend did, once). The adults say it's “just an old house,” but when they walk past, they look a little...worried.

Worse, this was the home of the town morticians. They wrapped the dead, embalming the rich ones. What happened to them? Every family in the neighborhood tells a different story.

Turns out that one family member became intrigued at the idea of undeath, and experimented on the corpses of those poor who couldn't afford proper burial. He wanted to create a form of undead that would go into a coma-like state until aroused by nearby movement, to preserve them from constantly seeking blood. But the experiment went wrong, and the entire family was turned in one horrible night. Now, they all lie in wait.

The Hole

This was once a storehouse for a rich merchant beneath his home in the south side of the Workers' District, but has since been taken over and turned into a thoroughly illegal bar and watering hole by Harek the Raven, a master thief. It's now mostly a watering hole for members of The Brotherhood (an unofficial guild of thieves).

The entirety of The Hole is a large stone chamber. The bar squats at one end, a fine thing grabbed from a tavern being built a few years ago. Behind it sits barrels and racks for wine, ale, Troll's Breath, and leuras, and only enough to satisfy the night's drinkers. Yes, more is brought in every night. This place caters to all tastes, and thieves view locks as a challenge.

The tables and chairs are mostly, erm, “found” items, ranging from beautiful mahogany dining tables to square planks teetering on barrels.

The Hood

The Hood is a private nightclub for gentlemen of the city. Here, they are entertained by dancers who wear very little clothing, as well as exceptional traveling entertainers every month or two.

Powerful merchants make up most of the members, along with a few nobles who enjoy “slumming” here. Because of this, a lot of business deals are made at the tables.

The Hood is managed by a tall, thin, very severe gentleman who never smiles and appears to have no emotions whatsoever except disdain for commoners. There's one cook, five apprentices, and twelve dancing girls. The girls take shifts between dancing and waiting tables. Almost all of the girls are commoners who were bought from their parents or an orphanage. Still, they sigh, at least they aren't real prostitutes, like the girls in the Alley of Veils.

Patrons enter from Doubleback Street (in the northeast of the Bullrushes) through a door on the west wall of the club, near the north end. The main area of the club is a large rectangular room, with a stage on the east side. Booths surround the stage on the north, west, and south. There's a small door on the south side of the eastern wall, leading to a small office and costume/changing room. Beyond these, a long hallway leads to bedrooms where the girls live.

Because of the girls' outfits (or lack thereof), very few women are regular members of The Hood. However, you'll often see one or two women there every night (and quite a lot of them when a traveling entertainer is booked), simply because of the amount of business done here.

The Hooked Hand

If there were a traveler's guide to Talon, it would list the Hooked Hand at the top of its list of taverns. Established in almost the exact center of the city, and next door to a butcher's, many say that the original owner indeed had a hook for a hand.

Despite its reputation, the Hooked Hand offers mediocre food and drink, and no entertainment. It's evolved as the default place to catch food.

This means that it's the absolute nexus of gossip in Talon. The servers at the Hooked Hand know just about every rumor going around, and will gladly gossip as they serve a plate of spire bass and cheese (the house specialty).

They are watched over by Morrin, a middle-aged woman who is the pinnacle of professionalism.

The Hooked Hand is built like many large taverns; the 60-foot-square ground floor is devoted almost entirely to tables, and a large bar that spans one entire wall. A door behind the bar leads to a large kitchen behind, while a stair along another wall leads upstairs to a long hallway that runs the length of the building, with clean, comfortable rooms on either side. Rooms can be rented and food purchased at about average rates by Talon's standards.

HoundsmarketThe merchants' wives of the city buy most of their fruits and vegetables in this large, bustling square. It's the most respectable open-air market in the city, and competition for stalls is always fierce. You'll find many rivalries between merchants here.

The market covers about 500 square feet on the side of a steep hill in the northwest of the Bullrushes. Many merchants have more-or-less permanent wooden stands and structures here, laid out in more-or-less orderly rows along the hillside. Others haul carts in and out every day.

Fill this with several hundred shoppers trudging up and down the rows, and the pleasant jumble of stalls turns into a maddeningly confused tangle of wood and people. In a way, this protects the Houndsmarket from any major outbreaks of violence, as a person attempting to flee up or down the hill faces several rows of stalls, though one could still run north or south (along a row) into the city. And the slope of the hill makes any kind of fight awkward at best.

The Knife's PointThere are plenty of inns and taverns in Talon where dice are rolled in quick games of Whiskers or Five-Card Spread. That's a far cry from the kind of gambling that goes on in establishments like The Knife's Point.

Fantastic sums of money change hands over games such as Cabal, Sleight of Hand, and Pillbox. The stakes are not just money, but also fingers, favors, pets, and even people.

Taking up half of a city block on the south side of The Hills (near the Westrush), The Knife's Point is subdivided into many small rooms, with a warren of cramped but elegantly-furnished hallways connecting them. As one walks through, one often hears shrieks—of delight and of pain—from the various rooms.

The Law House

All crime in Talon is judged in this huge stone building located on the west end of the Bullrushes. Civil and minor criminal matters are tried by one of the three judges employed here, while major criminal cases are tried by all three judges.

The building itself is a large, rectangular stone building with two towers at opposite corners. The ground floor holds two large court rooms, at opposite ends of the building, with a large platform for the judge and advocates, a jail cell for the accused, and lots of seating.

Beneath the ground floor, a large dungeon complex holds all the prisoners who've been dropped off from the Watch and await judgment. About half the dungeon is comprised of large metal cells where petty criminals are kept in groups, while serious criminals are kept in individual cells.

The judges are Sirrah Minifel, a small, thin man who can barely hear; Sirrah Postirium, a massively fat man who talks a lot but never reveals anything about himself, and Sirrah Mortiss, a severe, dark-skinned man who never smiles and speaks only a bare minimum required.

Sirrah Minifel once had an affair with a woman who left her child at an orphanage. That child is now a dancing girl named Miria at The Hood.

Sirrah Postirium has happily accepted a number of bribes from his childhood friend Tomas Zanzibar, the spice merchant.

The Mortuary

When any respectable person in Talon dies, they are taken to the Arawn's mortuary in The Hills (plenty of low-class corpses end up in the river or the sea). Arawn lives there with his family.

It's a square, grey stone building of two stories, about 60 feet by 120 feet. Upon entering the main wooden door, one finds one's self in a tastefully furnished waiting room. Next to it is a viewing room, and behind is a large, well-ventilated chamber: the “preparation room.” Shelves of various potions and herbs line the walls, and there are a dozen slabs in the center for the recently deceased. The family lives in rooms upstairs, while any of the corpses' unclaimed possessions are stored in the large basement.

The Old Mill

The miller who lives at this picturesque mill, about a half-hour walk east of the city on the Westrush River, is part of the Death Cult that operates out of Willowhaven Cemetery.

The mill is three levels: the ground floor containing the wooden mill mechanism, the second floor containing the hopper and millstone, and the third floor where the family lives.

If the players find the cultists here, the battle will involve several melee cultists near the door, while other cultists stand behind the mechanism and fire rays of necrotic darkness at the players. On the second floor is the alchemist, the hired assassin who kidnapped him and watches him closely, and the miller and a few higher-level cultists. As soon as the players enter the second floor, the miller will throw barley across the floor, requiring an Athletics check to move across it without falling prone.

Pier Eight, “The Bloody Pier”

This is a small pier, crammed up next to several warehouses to the north of the coastline, and not easily seen from the other piers. As a result, it's busiest at night, when drug runners slip in and out like the ghosts who are said to haunt the warehouses.

Several scar addicts now live in a corner of one of the dilapidated warehouses, among them Crim Scatterwold.

The pier is long enough for half a dozen ships to dock here at once, if they crammed in. It's seen much better days, though; the wooden slats of the pier are weathered and cracked. One wrong step can plunge an unsuspecting victim into the shallows below, where wild dogs scavenge for scraps.

Pier Three

This is the largest pier in Talon; twenty different merchants rent space here. A large percentage of Talon's legitimate sea-based trading comes through Pier Three.

It's a long, straight pier of well-worn and well-maintained wood, and there are usually half a dozen smart ships docked at it. A cluster of large warehouses, about 100 feet on their longest sides, stand on the shore. Considering the number of sailors and merchants walking back and forth along the pier all day and night—and the number of guards posted in the warehouses—obvious crime is a rare sight on Pier Three.

The Pits

Talon has changed a lot over the years, and the loose soil around the river required extensive excavations beneath the city, creating an underground network of catacombs, sewers, communal cellars, and hideouts.

Besides the occasional gang hiding out down here, the main reason anyone descends into The Pits is for the animal fights. Powerful beasts are pitted against each other, and bets placed on the winner—or, in the case of an unmatched fight, how long the weaker will postpone its death.

These fights were outlawed fifteen years ago, as the organizers brought in more dangerous beasts, resulting in a series of accidental maulings. The fights continue, though, as an open secret.

The most popular fights are organized by Roc One-Eye, a red-skinned, barrel-chested brute of a man with a keen eye for money and absolutely no pity. He keeps a set of cages in an abandoned catacomb underneath the Law House.

Because so much of The Pits are abandoned and unmaintained, there's a constant risk of cave-in. In fact, many youths of Talon tell tales of fabulous treasures buried in The Pits because of just that.

Anyone wandering The Pits is quickly confused as a sewer breaks into abandoned catacombs, which may open onto an old cellar complex. And one must always guard against the rats, dogs, and escaped beasts from the fights. Some even whisper of a half-human, half-rat creature, the Rat King.

The Rat King's Lair

Shadow, the Rat King has carved out an old sepulcher in The Pits as his home. As is befitting him, half a dozen different tunnels lead into and out of his lair, which is itself composed of five different rooms: the main chamber, and four small treasure rooms off it.

The place is a wreck; half-eaten food strewn around, and treasures from the cheap and shiny to the lustrous, rare and expensive lie in lazy piles.

The Sanctuary of the Nearly Damned

This warehouse in the Workers' District near the center of the city has been converted into a meeting place for followers of the apocalyptic street preacher Kaled. It's a simple place, really; just one big room, with a walled-off space in the back that used to be for sensitive information, and which Kaled now uses as his rooms.

The 70-foot-square main sanctuary space is almost shockingly bare. Kaled preaches a life of simplicity in the face of the coming apocalypse, so the warehouse has been stripped down to the bare ground. Even patches in the roof have not been closed, on bad days dripping rain on the faithful.

Kaled sleeps in the back rooms, and true to his word, they are very simple. Some clothes lay piled in a corner, and a simple mattress lays in another; that's about all one will find here.

Shrine of Pasha

Pasha is a benevolent goddess of abundance and fertility. Her worshippers hold a weekly service that involves wild dancing with scarves, impassioned prayers, and a general spirit of revelry. They also celebrate several dozen feasts and celebrations throughout the year.

The shrine itself, which sits next to the sea on the northern coast of the city, is a low cluster of metal domes, elegantly weathered, in which the various services and celebrations occur. They range in size from 40 feet, to 200 feet wide for the Theater Dome in which the main celebrations occur. The domes are mostly empty, except for chests and cabinets which hold the various items used during services, such as scarves, ceremonial clothing for the priests, etc.

The shrine enjoys the liberal patronage and frequent attendance of Yoremon Mufasa.

The Temple of Fain

Devotees of Fain got a toehold in Talon early, and their grey stone tower has been a fixture of the city for over seventy years.

Fain is a god of work, duty, and order. Priests of Fain teach that life is a matter of building and maintaining the ordered world. They preach honor and success for those who work, and swift punishment for the lazy.

Ordinary works make up the bulk of Fain's followers. They are seen by the rest of society as reasonable, salt-of-the-earth folk, though they tend to be judgmental and harsh. Other cities have seen protests and uprisings by followers of Fain, calling for the elimination of aristocracy and other “worthless” pursuits.

The Temple itself is a fifty-foot tall, dark-grey stone tower, with four sweeping buttresses, surrounded by a simple lawn. The inside contains a large worship space, with a round dais and pulpit at the center (the faithful sit on the floor in circles around the dais). The priests of Fain live and work in the floors above and below the worship space, accessed through circular staircases embedded in the thick walls. Each priest works at a specialty, from weaving and bookbinding to the translation of ancient texts, at desks or other work spaces placed carefully in the large rooms. They sleep in a common sleeping room in the top floor.

Players can easily find useful services among one or the other priests here, who charge reasonable rates.

Fain honors magic use as long as it is useful to the world at large, but most of Fain's followers distrust magic users as lazy.

Temple of To LatThis stone temple sits deep in the Bullrushes. As opposed to the carefully constructed buildings of other faiths, the Temple of To Lat is a group of seven towers, each of different height, built at different times and connected by short walls. The tallest tower is a belfry, which tolls five times a day (dawn, mid-day, dusk, prayer, and midnight).

A clutch of drakelings—vicious, dragon-like creatures the size of gulls—have taken up residence in the temple's belfry.

Among the worshippers here are Meiran and Rhies.

The Watch Tower

This three-story tower in the middle-east of the Workers' District houses all forty-odd members of the City Watch, including Sergeant Grim Scatterwold. It's seen better days; many of its rooms are now inhabited by rats more often than Watchmen.

Because the Watch is chronically under-funded, only the most zealous of the lawful become Watchmen. Many, however, are illiterate, so the Watch employs two Recordkeepers (five might be enough to keep up).

Since most Watchmen don't have a desk, most of the Tower's main usable space is taken up by a common room, where off-duty Watchmen nap or kvetch with their peers on benches. There are also several private offices for the sergeants.

Of course, there's a large set of cells beneath the Tower, where criminals are kept until they can be sentenced at the Law House.

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