Best of Greyhawk VII - Le Monde de Greyhawk

The founding of the Greyhawk League has, however, seen the Foreign Quarter rebuilt. The building densityhas doubled as embassies are opened or expanded. The Tenha expatriate community has also taken up residencehere.Like a city within a city, Tenha Town has its own social divisions, businesses and crime. It is the increase incrime and the exotic Flanish cast of Tenha Town that marks it in most peoples' minds. The Tenha Thieves' Guildcontrols criminal activity within Tenha Town, and threatens the Greyhawk Thieves' Guild's control of the ForeignQuarter.Many Tenha having fled for their lives have had to take menial jobs throughout the city. You can findskilled Tenha, even sages and wizards, working as common laborers just to survive. Despite a certain prejudiceagainst the Tenha, their labor has been invaluable to the city's recovery and Tenha Town is becoming something of atourist spot.The River QuarterThis quarter burned brightly. Unconfirmed rumors insist that when the Directors saw that most of Greyhawkwas going to be consumed by the Fire, they ordered that no effort be made to save the River Quarter. Despite thepresence of several prominent temples, this quarter has long been a source of crime, chiefly linked to the Rhennee.The temples have all relocated to the Garden Quarter and the docks, warehouses, bars and flop houses haveexpanded to take their place. The quarter, though of the same extent, is thus much larger. This has had the affect ofincreasing Greyhawk's capacity to handle trade but at the cost of increased crime.The Rhennee control the River Quarter's criminal element almost exclusively. So great is there power thatthe Thieves Guild has moved against them and they have not prevailed! The Rhennee and the Guild now war overthe River Quarter, making a dangerous area even more so. In retaliation, the Rhennee have even begun to challengethe Thieves Guild within other parts of the city, though not very successfully.The Old CityThe Old City, composed of the Thieves' Quarter and the Slum Quarter were both heavily damaged in the fire.Approximately 50 percent of the buildings were burned or had to be torn down. All have been rebuilt. The denizensof these quarters have demonstrated the resiliency that has allowed them to survive in poor conditions. With theinflux of refugees, the Old City is more of a warren than it ever was before. All of the temples have relocated to theGarden Quarter.The Thieves GuildWhen the Great Fire broke out, Org Nenshen was within the Guildhall. Unable to escape the Fire throughthe mobbed streets, he took refuge deep within the cellars of the Guildhall. These cellars are extensive and comprisethe remains of some earlier structure. Currently, they hold the Guild's prizes in various strong rooms and areotherwise used for storage. Much unidentifiable junk has built up over the years.While waiting out the Fire, Org decided to amuse himself by going through some of the odds and ends. Itwas thus that he found The Book. An ancient tome, undoubtedly pilfered from some wizard's tower or antiquarian'sshop, The Book spoke of the heretofore unknown, at least to Org, worship of malefic beings and the great power thatcould be gained from them. Org was intrigued.Upon freeing himself, discrete inquiries among the temples in the city revealed little about the beingsmentioned in The Book. They were largely unknown. Org became convinced that he was on to something. Sincethat time, Org has instituted the worship of these beings within the Guild, though not universally. He never lets thebook out of his keeping but has made exception to have it copied. It is from the scribe, who like most scribes alsoproduced a file copy of the book, that the story is known. However, shortly after relating his story, the scribe wasfound dead, horribly mutilated. The whereabouts of his file copy remain unknown, though the rash of book stallburglaries make it seem certain that Org did not recover it.PS - I plan to post complete details on The Book and associated cults at some point in the future.The Beggars UnionAs if the Thieves Guild did not have enough to worry about with the Rhennee in control of the RiverQuarter and the Tenha Thieves' Guild threatening control of the Foreign Quarter, the Beggars Union has broken withthe guild.The Fire took a terrible toll on the poor of Greyhawk, who suffered most as the poor are wont to do. Unableto secure assistance for the Union, the Guildmaster's faction sought to provide for themselves, revealing that theUnion had an unguessed at wealth. The ensuing rebellion of the rank and file successfully removed theGuildmaster's faction - permanently. The revolt was led by Christa ("Little Miss Streetwise") who first discovered the