II: Inner City

OVERVIEW 

The walls of Urd Thlol, according to authoritative accounts, were built by dragons in the time of the Ancient Kingdoms, and are legendarily unbreakable. Any working catapult, however, can of course launch missiles into the city beyond, and so the area immediately inside the wall is a long, nebulously bordered strip of real estate that runs the entire length of the Eastern, Northern, and Southern Quarters (the Westside being protected by the Glomefall River). This area, known for being bombarded by the projectiles of would-be invaders—none of whom have ever succeeded in their assaults—is home to various criminals, fly-by-night organizations, and abusers of alcohol and drugs. It is, like any municipal system, formally divided into zones and neighborhoods; but in practice, the entire strip is simply called Drunkard's Lane.

Beyond the Lane is a large section of Urd Thlol where the corners of the four Quarters meet. This section is known as the Inner City, and it is a thriving hub of activity by reason of the close commingling of people from all walks of life. 

TOWER OF VISSARION

In the Legions' Quarter, very close to the city's geographical center, stands the granite tower which houses both the civil and military government. Popularly known as the Wizards' Tower, it also houses the Council of Archmages, arguably the real political power in the walled city.

The tower is fifteen stories tall, the first five levels containing mundane municipal servants and documentation. The middle five levels are dedicated to quartering the secular authorities such as the Governor, the General of the Army, and their various underlings, as well as the gigantic legislative meeting chamber which comprises the entirety of level ten. The final five levels belong to the sorcerers.

Thlolian Magic functions in the sphere of what would come to be known (much later) as Platonic Forms. If a sorcerer wishes to manipulate fire, for example, he must project his consciousness into the astral plane and address the One True Fire of which all terrestrial flames are but echoes, thus short-circuiting the "chain of command," as it were, and achieving direct control over a particular earthly manifestation of Fire itself. For each story of the tower, one element is represented—Earth, Water, Air, and Fire—with the topmost level of course representing Spirit. According to legend, this level was constructed in midair, long before the Cairn Years, and subsequently levitated high above the streets until the rest of the tower was built upward to meet it.

WHARF-RAT TAVERN

Not far to the North of the Tower is the legendary Wharf-Rat Tavern. Here gather the dockhands and shipsmen who pump the blood of life through the city of Urd Thlol; here too gather the bards and minstrels of a dozen lands, the warriors and adventurers of a score of nations, and the drunks of the entire continent. The Gods alone, and perhaps not even they, know how many quests and mighty tales have begun within these walls.

The tavern was founded by Garym Gyrmir-son in the year 280 of the New Empire. It has since passed through many hands, and is currently owned and run by the half-ogre Mrawg of Sorrowfen (see Section V). It is well-known for offering food and alcohol from all countries for a thousand miles around; indeed, reputedly, the Wharf-Rat is the origin of the now nigh-universal opinion that Sendrovese ale is the best in all the Kingdoms. It is also justly famed for its music, and many reports attest that the bards of Babblebrook first rose to popularity in the Wharf-Rat's common room.

Traveling Mages, swordsmen, and even were-dragons have frequented this tavern for decades. It is not a place for trouble—meeker passersby can find a quiet drink here, unmolested—but it's certainly a spot for those who might seek trouble in the not-too-distant future, as well as travelers who simply want a decent meal.

DRIMSLIP'S TEMPLE

East of the Wharf-Rat, no more than a mile or so, stands the temple of Drimslip, God of Thieves. There is heated dispute in the continent as to whether Drimslip is truly a God or merely a Spirit, since his major priests have a strong vested interest in not declaring themselves as such; but the benevolent ecumenism of Urd Thlol has provided one of the few places of open worship available to his followers in the New Empire.

Six stories tall, the building is built largely of slate, with a main altar made of pinewood. The whole sanctuary has the look of a place designed to be taken apart and moved at a moment's notice. The temple's upper floors are said to be gathering places for various questionable enterprises, and the catacomb is said to be a repository of various goods of dubious provenance, although the latter rumor has not been reliably substantiated. The chief cleric is a sixteen-year-old girl known only as Quick. Whether she herself answers to any higher authority—even Drimslip himself—is unclear. 

Visitors would be well-advised to keep a close eye on their wallets.

THE DUNGEON OF DAGG ROTH

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the city's grimmest edifice can be found in the Crows' Quarter. The infamous Dungeon, constructed the year 252, is barely one story tall, and the section visible from the street mostly contains administrative staff and a few perfunctory guards. The real prison lies below the earth, packed with scowling legionaries and reeking cells.

There is no segregation of prisoners based on type of offense; murderers and prisoners of war rub elbows with debtors and petty thieves, and none of them fare well in terms of lodging and accommodation. Those who perish before the date of their release (a not insignificant percentage of the population) are cast unceremoniously into the Endless Pit.

The Pit, discovered in 251 by the disgraced wizard for whom the Dungeon is named, has a roughly circular mouth about a hundred feet in diameter, and has never been proven to have a bottom. Stairs have been hewn in its wall over the course of time, extending down several hundred yards, and natural tunnels and galleries exist as far as down as any exploration has ventured. Many of these chambers and passageways are peopled by mindless monsters—wyverns, cave-trolls, and bugbears—as well as small groups of speaking creatures such as ogres and goblins who delve in the mysterious depths. Adventurous prisoners have occasionally "escaped" into the Pit in the hopes of finding some path back to the daylight, but none have been ever heard from again. Even the wizard Dagg Roth, obsessed with dark magic, ventured deeper and deeper into the Pit, returning with ever-stranger knowledge, until one day he simply failed to come back out. Some say he is down there still, hunched over some cauldron of unknowable necromantic power—but, of course, folk always tell such tales.