Freeport, Pirate's Haven

[Frosty]

Very little is known of the fabled town of Freeport, even whether it actually exists at all. Stories passed on through generations in the Skaelian Empire hold that many of the Sea’s most heinous rogues and brigands originate from this solitary settlement, concealed from the Emperor by the veil of mist. Since the Empire’s conquest of Zeland in the east, pirate vessels bearing the dark flag of Freeport have plagued seaborne trade, meaning that while the forest kingdom of the Ny'Auvrea represents a greater military threat, these marauders have earned the dubious honour of being the largest thorn in the side of the Imperial Navy. Still, with so much of this “pirate’s haven” still shrouded in mystery, it is impossible to know whether the stories about it are true – “Freeport” might well be a clever deception by the other power on the high seas, the Red Queen, to confuse her foes. Or it may not exist at all.

[Frosty]

GEOGRAPHY

Freeport inhabits only a small tract of land in eastern Maceria, the very same island which the Skaelian Empire calls home. Freeport’s historians believe that the town was part of a vast kingdom that inhabited the territory north of the Macerian Wall until the great cataclysm that plunged the Sea of the Mists into chaos. In the ensuing discord that fractured this ancient civilisation and ultimately reduced its lands to barbarism and monstrous infestation, Freeport was supposedly a final safe haven for the exiled court and its honour guard, owing to its position between a perilous mountain range and steep costal cliffs which protected it well from attack by land or sea. When the dark sorcery that wracked the islands throughout that dark time conjured the magical mist that covers the sea in an impenetrable cloak to this day, Freeport was further protected by its fortuitous placement. Today, the only way one can find the town of Freeport is to already know where it is.

[Frosty]

SOCIETY

First and above all else, every man and woman in the town of Freeport and its greater confederation are fundamentally free and equal. Liberty is the religion of the people here, and any who would take it from those unwilling to surrender it is more reviled than the most heartless thief. Freeporters, or Porters, draw no social distinction between race, sex, creed, or occupation, each affording all others the same due respect and consideration. Many of these people feel that the rulers of other nations are tyrants, and that their people live in bondage. For this reason, and many others buried deep in the town’s dark past, the Skaelian Empire bears the brunt of the Porters’ hatred. It is often bitterly denigrated as ‘the slaver’. Some may see this ingrained individuality and natural resistance to authority or hierarchy as a recipe for rampant lawlessness, but in reality the fiercely independent people of this mysterious seaside town have devised a highly successful system of law and order.

Freeport is a democracy in the strongest sense of the term, reflecting its longstanding distrust of entrenched authority. Every year the residents hold free elections to decide the members of an administrative council called the Old Guard. Every Freeporter is eligible to serve in the Old Guard, regardless of age and qualification. Rather than an executive body, the council is charged with handling the day-to-day maintenance of the town (such as accounting, negotiation of treaties, administration of the militias, and some degree of distribution from the treasury), while major decisions are left to public vote.

Freeport’s legal code is based on the concept of ‘social conscience’; that is, the prosecution of crimes that a reasonable person would deem either in violation of liberty or morally untenable. Trials are presided over by the town’s judge (appointed by the Old Guard, approved by public vote) and a jury selected from the population by random lottery. Crimes are largely limited to murder, rape, theft, fraud, slavery, and contract default. Execution is not practiced; the maximum sentences that can be carried out in trial are life imprisonment or exile.

The town’s defence is handled by two distinct commands, the Freeport Common Militia (FCM) on land and the Freeport Maritime Militia (FMM) by sea. The core of both militias are drawn from local residents – who all receive basic martial and seamanship training beginning at the age of thirteen – by random lottery, and further bolstered by mercenary companies and pirate vessels belonging to the Freeport Confederation. The overall commander of the militias is the Master Captain, an officer elected by the members of the militias themselves. Given the open and inclusive nature of Freeporters, it is rare for the native contingents of the FCM and FMM to purposely elect one of their own as Master Captain for no better reason than distrust of their Confederation allies. In fact, it is common practice for Porter militiamen to bow to experience and elect mercenary Masters Captain.

All positions of authority – be it on the Old Guard, as the town’s judge, or Master Captain of the militia – last for a term of one year, and no person may hold a position in consecutive terms.

[Frosty]

CONFEDERATION

“Freeport” extends beyond the mere borders of a seaside town to encompass a broad confederation of free companies and pirate vessels, often (though not always) considered mercenaries and raiders of the worst kind in the Empire and elsewhere. This loose system of alliances and treaties, resembling a sort of guild organisation, is called the Freeport Confederation, or simply the Confederation.

The Confederation is not a demanding association for any of the parties involved. Instead, it operates under the premise of equitable exchange for mutual benefit. Mercenary bands and pirate vessels who join it turn over a share of their earnings to the town’s treasury, serve in the militia according to a rotating schedule (for which they are reimbursed by the Old Guard), and provide other services to the town such as education or labour when staying in Freeport. In exchange, the town provides possibly the safest haven anywhere in the Sea of the Mists for mercenaries and pirates who do not wish to be found, as well as impressive outfitting services which are largely funded by payments and donated plunder from Confederation members.

One advantage to membership in the Confederation that pirate crews find especially attractive is the Porters’ renowned ability to navigate ships through the blinding fog, secrets which they are quite happy to share. The captains, navigators, and cartographers of vessels who fly Freeport’s black flag are arguably the best sailors in the Sea of the Mists, and in fact the Imperial Naval Academy’s navigation program is based chiefly on information and techniques gleaned from Confederation pirates through torture. Still, Skaelian officers are a pale shadow of their counterparts in Freeport’s mercenary fleet.

[Frosty]

LAY OF THE LAND

The City of Freeport
Freeport is far from the first settlement to occupy its place on the sheer clifftops of the eastern Macerian coast. Before the Age of Chaos, it was believed to be the battlements of the ancient citadel simply known today as the Underhall. In the thousand years of calamity that followed, the land was home to a tribe of barbaric elves, a camp of semi-nomadic humans, a monastery devoted to the war goddess Azana, and most recently, a few hundred refugees and their deposed prince fleeing the destruction of their kingdom at the hands of an unknown enemy. Today, Freeport is a bustling port of large town to small city size, where travelers can find almost any good or service available in larger trade cities like Kalos in the Skaelian Empire, often at far lower prices. Of course, said travelers have to find the city itself, first.

Locations of note in Freeport proper include the Old Fort, the abandoned monastery to Azana transformed into the city's assembly hall and militia headquarters; the Free School, a centre of higher learning open to all, and most famous for the unparalleled education available to seaborne navigators; and the Crescent Inn, the most popular place in the city to find room, board, and a stiff drink.

The Underhall
In ancient times, a lost dwarven civilization constructed a marvel of engineering and military might inside the very cliff upon which the modern city of Freeport is located: the citadel Gathol Makhor, stretching from the Black Forest in the south past Ashvale in the north. Abandoned for centuries, the Underhall, as it is called by the people who now inhabit the surface above it, is slowly being explored and populated by Freeporters. Most of the caverns and citadel ruins beneath Freeport still remain untouched, however, attracting dozens of adventurers and treasure hunters each year to plumb their depths.

Locations of note in the Underhall include the harbour, a large cavern at the water's surface where Freeport's seaborne traffic drops and weighs anchor; the storehouses nearby where cargo coming into or leaving the city is kept; and Seadog's Row, a subterranean market specifically catering to sailors and pirates.

Ashvale
Located directly north of the city, this deep valley in the floodplain of the Ash River is home to most of Freeport's outlying population, primarily farmers, ranchers, and a few small artisans. Ashvale is believed to rest on what had once been the upper battlements of the Underhall, a theory supported by the frequent discovery of ruined fortifications and siege weapons on farmers' fields. Another popular belief holds that sometime around the beginning of the Age of Chaos, a volcano somewhere in the nearby Orguth's Teeth mountain range erupted and rained ash on the valley. The thick layer of soil formed from that ash after a thousand years is extremely fertile for a region otherwise unsuited for agriculture, and the resulting abundance of food has ensured that Freeport never has to rely on imported foodstuffs to feed its population.

While the valley proper is covered in farmland all the way up to the cliffside, the grassy foothills of Orguth's Teeth are dotted with livestock ranches that supply the city with beef, mutton, and a few horses. The main location of interest in Ashvale is Leyuri Steamwerks, a massive workshop built on a hilltop overlooking the valley where an eccentric artificer and his young apprentice construct weird and fantastic devices.

The Black Forest
Southwest of the city of Freeport lies the Black Forest, a dense and overgrown wood occupying the only passage between the southern Macerian Wall and western Orguth's Teeth mountain ranges. The outer edge of the Black Forest is notable for its tranquil serenity, making it a favourite place for hermits, recluses, cottagers and homesteaders who prefer to live away from well-settled Ashvale and the hustle and bustle of Freeport. Deeper into the woods, the peace and quiet becomes an eerie, oppressive silence. Fauna native to the Black Forest only inhabit its outer rim, and even birds do not fly over the treetops of the wood's centre, where the air is heavy with an ancient, eldrich presence and reeks of stale aether. There is no known instance of any person crossing from one side of the forest to the other; the few who return from a journey into the depths of the Black Forest do so confused, having become lost inside and stumbled aimlessly back to where they originally entered.

[Frosty]

IMPORTANT FIGURES

Gen Wolfbane: The leader of the legendary Drakkar mercenary company also bears the distinction of being the youngest Master Captain of the militias in Freeport's history. Gen is a little-known figure in Freeport, having returned to the town for the first time since childhood to fulfill his obligations of service, and it is therefore a testament to the reputation of the Drakkar that the Porters would elect him into the position of militia commander. Though he can be dour and suspicious at times (especially of anyone connected to the Red Queen), Gen nevertheless polite, generous, and an avid believer in the freedom of all men.

Seydrin "Rin" Stormcrow: The enigmatic owner of Stormcrow Arcana is Freeport's foremost purveyor of all things magical. Wise and learned far beyond his years, this man - barely out of his teenage years - can brew up any potion or craft any magical trinket one could imagine... and even a few one couldn't. In addition to peddling rare and mystical goods, Rin has an extensive collection of arcane lore and forbidden knowledge for sale (that is, if the price is right), and only Kev De'Nale of the Crescent Inn competes when it comes to trafficking information.

Kev De'Nale (aka. Crescent): The owner of the famed Crescent tavern and inn has made a name for himself, not just among the people of Freeport, but all throughout the Sea of Mists via pirates and sailors even if he firmly refuses to sail the ocean himself. His past kept hidden to all but himself Kev makes his living by selling secrets far more than he does selling ale and it is extremely rare that he does not find out about something. With a distinct dislike of the Skalians he does what he can to be a thorn in their side, the least of which includes making sure the pirates who come to him have the most up to date information on the movements of the imperial navy.

Alphonse Leyuri: Freeport's most esteemed artificer is located near the edges of the settlement, not so much because it affords him more space than the average shop, but because there were so many 'accidents' that the citizens rather insisted he move, and even helped him do so. Alphonse is a hidden treasure in Freeport, and rather likes to stay that way, though those that do know where he's located come from far and wide to commission his services, and the things he creates are certainly one of a kind. Along with his apprentice Kolton, he is a valuable asset to the town.