02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

320 Iron Kingdoms
108.1.141.197
Cryx, Morvaen is still expected to pay a monthly tithe
to the kingdom’s coffers. Such taxes are among the
oldest traditions in Blackwater and everybody pays.
Blackwater’s legal code is otherwise very simple: there
are few (if any) laws. The only justly outlawed act is
arson, and its punishments are unspeakable. Lacking
a police force, security is provided by thoroughly
disreputable mercenary companies headquartered
throughout the city. Often the first thing a ship’s captain
does upon arriving in port is hire mercenaries to watch
over his vessel. Though few have qualms about stealing
from their employers, questionable security is better
than none at all in the city called the “Final Port.”
Noted Persons
“Black Confessor” (male blighted trollkin Clr8/
Flc7): This scaly, spine-encrusted priest of Toruk has
rambled through the streets of Blackwater for at least
twenty years. He spends his days and nights singing
dark hymns to “the Glorious Father, Master of us all”
and pulverizing heretics and infidels with his wicked
locharn. Bits of dried gore—spattered remains of his
victims—hang from the metal spikes attached to his
black leather cassock, adding to the foul smell of his
own rotting flesh. He is quite mad and most locals give
him a wide berth, but occasionally members of local
criminal syndicates will attempt to sic him on their
rivals by telling him of their supposed blasphemies. He
makes a cheap, if dangerously unreliable, assassin.
Haruspex Elsevin Hemeshka (female Satyxis
Sor17): This exotic youthful woman has lived in a
small house set against the stone cliff face of the
fjord for as long as anyone living in Blackwater can
remember. She is reputed to be a powerful diviner
and can answer many questions—for a steep price. If a
customer is willing to supply her with a sizable quantity
of coin and a living victim, she will divine information
from the victim’s entrails. When stripped to the waist
and up to her elbows in living intestines, she seems
able to see distant points on Caen or foresee possible
futures beyond the ability of other diviners.
Dougal Kildaire (male Thurian Ftr3/Rog7): Dougal
Kildaire is a survivor of the first order. A smuggler,
fence, and con artist, he ran afoul of Five Finger’s High
Captains and only barely escaped the notorious port.
One step ahead of his pursuers, he jumped ship bound
for Blackwater. Since his arrival Kildaire has made a
name for himself as an organizer and advisor within
Blackwater’s smuggler community. Though he never
leaves Cryx, the man has in-depth knowledge of ports
across western Immoren and has contacts throughout
the mainland. Presently Kildaire is attempting to build
a fleet of smuggling vessels to start his own operation.
He is always interested in information from the
mainland and enjoys exchanging information with
well-informed visitors.
Lord Craethan Morvaen (male Scharde Ftr12/
Rog7): A self-styled pirate king, Lord Morvaen is the
most powerful man in Blackwater and seldom seen
outside the company of the crone witch Gaddis Naill
(female Scharde Rog4/Wiz11). Morvaen assumed
control of the city eight years ago after eliminating
his rivals in a series of assassinations. Since that time,
he has ruthlessly clung to power through intimidation
and brute force. He taxes all business operations
throughout the city and all vessels entering the port—
except the blackships, which are far too powerful to be
threatened. Failure to pay Morvaen’s agents is generally
considered suicide, for he is forced to deal with the
agents of the Dragonfather who come to collect their
due. He tolerates no excuses so is more than able to
meet their demands. Lord Morvaen employs several
mercenary companies. The best known among them is
the trollkin company called the Gore Talons captained
by Jussika Bloodtongue (female trollkin Ftr8/Rog8).
Morvaen deploys them with impunity as his personal
strike force to wipe out up-and-coming rivals or those
in need of reprisal.
Locales of Blackwater
Catacombs: Carved into the side of the fjord
opposite the city, these twisted caverns and vaults are
home to dozens of necrotechs and necrosurgeons.
The Catacombs are filled with bits and pieces
of thousands of living and dead beings and foul
mechanikal components required to assemble the
necrotic masterpieces. It is a rancid place catering
to the sinister and unfeeling, and thrall servitors
shuffle and dart to and fro at all times. Eerie lamplight
flickering throughout the caverns gives the place a
strangely disorienting quality. The demented beings
laboring in the Catacombs venture out only rarely to
purchase fresh specimens from the Meat Market.