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Bastion (A5)
Bastion is the only outpost of civilization in the Westlands. Established roughly seventy years ago, some time after the Westlands were discovered, it is a thriving deep-sea port situated on the untamed coastlands of the new continent. Its high stone walls were raised at great expense to do one thing: protect the riches flowing out of this port to the Old World. Ships of every nation shelter in its protected bay, offloading gold, supplies, and bright-eyed adventurers seeking their fortune. Rule of law is firm within sight of those high walls, administered by the Bastion Trade Charter and its guilds, but every vice short of violence can be freely found for sale in its walls. And ships depart bearing the rare spices, magical reagents, and exotic creatures and ancient artifacts found by delving into the ruins of the Westlands.
Bastion Trade Corporation
The Bastion Trade Charter owns and operates the docks of Bastion and runs the city's courts, law enforcement, and customs arrangements. A one-percent surcharge on the goods leaving the port is more than sufficient to fund all its operations with a tidy profit on top. The principal service offered by the Charter is the maps it developed of the surrounds of Bastion, made available freely to adventurers and expeditions as they attempt to survey and exploit the interior. For the denizens of the city, it provides law and order, stability, and investments in the safety and security of the town. Before the establishment of Bastion, the Charter was named the West Ocean Navigation Guild; it financed the construction of the walls and docks by selling charted routes from the Old World through the reefs and doldrums to the current location of Bastion. As a government it is spartan in most respects, providing minimal services beyond infrastructure (most notably of the city walls), customs inspections, fire brigades, and basic law enforcement. The towering tenements and occasional spire of the city are overseen with an easy hand, allowing overcrowding to drive down labor costs and permitting the eccentric and wealthy to construct their manses to their heart's content.
Bastion attracts denizens from all over the world - even those nations too poor or distant to send ships often send their factors, citizens, or their downtrodden (The Charter does not permit slavery or forced indenture, but will accept a modest fee for allowing the resettlement of certain convicts and vagrants). As such, nearly every race, religion, and kind is represented on its bustling streets and gutters. Treasure ships from the Torani coast share quays with sleek elven cloudskippers, and Hakkar's dwarven coalburners anchor next to Yukan war galleys. The Charter keeps peace by forbidding any ship to take on water or dock if it attacks the port or any other ship, and by strictly patrolling the quays - a risk that few have interest in running, so far from friendly shores. Those that cross the gangplank rarely return to the Old World, seduced by the riches of the Westlands and Bastion's unflinching acceptance of all kinds - and deterred by the expense of a return trip, when the weight could instead ferry incredibly valuable loot from the interior instead.
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