Country: Kax
Ruled by: King
Population: 117,000
Primary Business: Trading, Government
Alchemist: yes
Magic Shop: yes
Sage: yes
Wizards' School: Wizards' Command College
Notes: Kax is a port city. Only the 'inner city' portion is shown on the map; this represents the business district and the areas where those of means may be found. The 'outer city' is a large, or larger, than the 'inner city', and may be avoided by entering via the sea or by one of the five main roads into the city, which pass through the outer city on elevated roadbeds, under which are tunnels connecting the warrens of the outer city.
The Outer City is a nest of disease and poverty. It is multilayered, full of tunnels, dead ends, poor people, death and casual violence. Official presence is minimal, and no one who gets in trouble there should expect any help from the constabulary. Thus, it is a prime area for thievery (of the petty sort), rape, slave-taking, murder, drug dealing, and all other manner of crime. Few inhabitants know more than the small area around their own homes. Survival is a matter of begging, thieving, selling of wares in the inner city, and the like. Prostitution runs rampant, as do the many infections available through this trade. Infant mortality runs about fifty percent, and life expectancy averages about thirty for those who live past childhood.
The Inner City is an ordered, clean, well-policed area, a city known for its beauty and well-ordered charm. There is, however, one glaring exception: the Tower of Cabal. Cabal is a magic-user, and has inhabited the tower for many years, so say near a century. He practices his arcane arts there, and the entire city block is deserted, and all structures fallen to ruin in it. It is rumored, even strongly suspected, that he has his minions (who procure all his mundane needs) kidnap young, healthy children, males and females, all virgins, to sacrifice in horrid experiments or for other foul reasons.
Otherwise, the city offers any manner of merchandise, including slaves, exotic animals, and nearly anything legal (and many things not so legal) a buyer could desire. Many wealthy nobles live in the city, and even more wealthy merchants of no official social standing abide here. The king is the ruler of both the city and the country, and resides here most months of the year, inhabiting his other palaces irregularly. the local government is supplemented by a council of advisors, made up of six nobles and six wealthy merchants or businessmen, who serve terms of four years and are selected by a vote of each group. Their meetings are watched over by a representative of the king, who has the power to break deadlocks. The council's powers deal with municipal spending, certain legal duties (hearing of appeals, etc.), and other mundanities.