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Locations in Blackgold

Ale and Whores! (the Taverns and Innes of Blackgold)

the Wandering Woman\\ One of the largest and most prestigious taverns on the island, the Wandering Woman is located just down the hill from the estate traditionally occupied by the Mistress of the Island, Grandmother Harrilis. In the past, the Tavern was known for it's raucous all-hours parties and the availability of every sort of intoxicant and alcoholic beverage known to man. Still, the Wandering Woman is not as popular a spot with most of the pirates in port as it used to be -- while past Grandmothers have been more permissive, Luclin Harrilis has a firm hate/hate relationship with the establishment. When they last woke her up in the middle of the night, she threw the owner of the tavern into the slave pens and left his son in charge with orders to keep it down. Thus, the place has been forced to tone down it's entertainment somewhat. Whenever things get a bit too loud, people are known to get thrown out, and the people in charge have little sympathy for excuses. It's their necks on the line, after all!

Even so, the Wandering Woman still attracts no little attention due to it's fine ale (the best on the island, by far) and it's staple of intoxicants from all over Creation, as well as it's fine stable of courtesans available for all budgets. The Inne takes good care of it's courtesans (due, rumors say, to the fact that the current propiertor is in love with one of them) -- they are pampered and happy, and the only ones that are avaialble cheap are the new acquistions who haven't proven themselves and those out of favor. It's one of life's little irony that the women of the Wandering Woman are among the most disease-free on the island.

The Pits\\ Located closer to the docks, anything goes at the pits. The ale flows (and tastes, patrons of the Wandering Woman taunt) like water, whores are common and cheap, and violence is simply everywhere. The Pits are named for the massive dark pit located in the basement, where small one-on-one pit fights are held on a regular basement between professor challengers and patrons with grudges and a bit of silver to buy their way in. Not that the fighting is held back to the pits. Small brawls happen every night, and some bit of furniture ends up having to be replaced every few days. Anyone who does any real damage to the inne is fined for it, but mostly the owners are fairly permissive -- they're raking in the profits. The result of course is that most of the furniture and goods in the Pit are a bit second-rate, but that's the price of free violence.

The Pit has become even larger, and more vibrant since the arrival of Grandmother Harrilis -- absorbing much of the casual traffic that used to flit through the Wandering Woman but that don't like the new more subdued atmosphere of the place. The owner of the pit, an obese porker named Jacobs, has been playing up this and has dreams of driving the Wandering Woman into decrepitude. He's even tried to calm down the Pit a bit, make the place a little nicer, and otherwise meld the two customer-bases. He's had little luck so far, but is an ingenous fellow. If fair competition doesn't work, though, Jacobs might just resort to a knife in the back.

Sanctioned Petty Thievery (the Buisnesses of Blackgold)

Trespassers will be Eviscerated (Official Civic Buildings)

Blackgold Hall\\ Blackgold Hall is neither black, nor gold, nor a hall. Instead, it's a large circular wooden building constructed after the last Realm Invasion destroyed the previous fortification. The Lintha decided that anything more impressive was a waste of resources, and just made this small wooden for instead. Mostly, the Hall is a meeting area and staging ground for the Lintha in the town -- there's more than enough spare room to house Uncles, Aunts, Fathers and Mothers in more than a bit of comfort, and even little Cousins can find a place to stay for free if they've got the right contacts.

To most of the inhabitants of Blackgold, the Hall is a thing of dread -- they've no idea what lurks within, and their imaginations lead them to conclusions much more impressive than what is actually there. Those Lintha that have actually seen the hall don't do anything to spoil the mystery, and indeed often add to it with their own small touches. There are typically about fifteen or so popular 'theories' at any given time -- from a decadent shrine devoted to the Anathema, to a opulent private club filled with the finest treasures and the most beautiful maidens gathered from across the High Seas.

the Widowmaker\\ A small wood and stone outcrop jutting off the edge of some high-soutern cliffs facing the bay, the Widowmaker is a mixture of stage and staging ground for the cities executions and public displays. Access itself is restricted, prisoners and officials having to take a narrow path up toward the cliff from Blackgold Hall. However, the entire area is easily visible by crowds of citizens that gather below, making it a natural place for large public gatherings. While it's occasionally used as such, mostly the Widowmaker serves as a combination of open-air court and designed stage for public executions. Some slave auctions are also held here, but most of those take place in the city center.

Most prisoners executed on the Widowmaker (the 'court', if it can be called such, isn't even worth a laugh -- if you end up on the widowmaker, your fate is already decided) are various enemies of the Lintha. These include traitors to the family (who are eventually drug here, after their weeks of torture are finishied), the occasional hated Realm Official who is finally caught, and other 'criminals'. Every few weeks a number of petty criminals are herded up here and pushed off the cliff. If they survive the fall (rare, but it's happened) they're considered cleared by the Gods.