Tarad'am

Also known as "Black Market", "that wretched hive of scum and villainy", and many other unprintable names.

Tarad'am is a treaty city, a city-state founded by joint effort of the Ship Folk and the Stone Throne in 212 AC after the Devil's Rebellion was crushed. It belongs to neither the Ship Folk or (now) the Serpent Dominion. It is ruled by the Governor and his (or her) Admiralty Board, a select group of advisors, ship captains, and wealthy individuals chosen by the Governor. In Tarad'am, the only laws that matters are that of strength and coin. With coin you buy strength, and with strength you protect your coin. If you have neither, you obey those that do. Or else. And the Governor and the Admiralty Board have the most strength and coin--the instant that they don't, they get deposed by those whose strength and or coin is superior.

As a free port, anyone is allowed to dock here, and foreign writs do not run. Anything is for sale. Serpentstrike operates openly here; few of the other Registered Companies do (mainly Delicate Apocalypse, Imperial Legacy, and Selan's Seekers).

Areas

The city of Tarad'am, showing its sectors and Gang HQs

Tarad'am is roughly divided into 9 different areas, although the boundaries between most are quite fuzzy. As a general rule, the west side of the river is richer than the east.

Highquarter: Named so because it lies on an elevated plateau where the Rezhas range of hills hits the Serpent Sea, this region is also the wealthy, "civilized" area. Don't be fooled--crime and perversion are just as rampant. It's just more genteel, less honest, and more commercial. Here they buy and sell entire enterprises and the futures of islands, along with raiding rights, etc. The dominant force here is the Governor's Palace (a walled, fortified compound like none else).

First Landing: This costal area directly east of Highquarter is where the Ship Folk first landed. It was the primary docks for many years, now gone upscale. The Three Red Sails and the Dockers both have their HQ here. Still handles much of the Sentinel Island trade.

Dream Quarter: This is the upscale merchant district, as well as the homes/estates of those that own the dye industry. Also home to much of the "upscale" red light district, with dream dens and high-class "companion houses" (aka brothels).

Outwall West: This, despite being "outside the wall" is reasonably nice...for slums. Better than the Filth, certainly.

Outwall East: This is the middle-class slums (a sentence you can only really say in Tarad'am and have it make sense). Better than the Filth, worse than Outwall West.

Serpent's Nest: Middle-class, but home to most of the organized crime. Laughing Crypt has its HQ here, along with most of the brothels, gambling and drug dens, and drug "manufacturing".

Syndicate Docks: The up-and-coming docks, which are controlled by the Dimwit Syndicate and Serpentstrike, who share a headquarters. The First Landing folk think these folk are entirely pirates...and they're not entirely wrong.

The Filth: The worst of the slums. Extends both in and outside the walls. Those that work the dye industry and the syndicate docks live here.

Dyer's Quarter: This region is home to the dye industry, as well as the other alchemical and drug industry. A tangled maze of factories, manufactories, and warehouses.

Government as of 250 AC

The current Governor is Yang il'Poerla, a human male in his late 30s. He took the Governor's Mansion 3 years ago in a bloodless coup after orchestrating the fall from wealth and power of the prior Governor, Ki'al of Kel'al'ar. Known for being twisty-minded but fair, Yang has kept his enemies close and at each others' throats by playing all sides. His money comes mostly legitimately from the import and export business.

Laws

1. Don't Get Caught. If you're not caught, there was no crime.
2. Don't Anger the Neighbors. Governor Yang would rather not see armies and navies from the Ship Folk or the Serpent Dominion on his doorstep. If you cause an incident, you'll pay with your own head.
3. Take Care of Your Own Business. This one is aimed at the various organizations and follows from the previous ones. Police yourselves and you'll be left alone.
4. Don't Be Bad for Others' Business. If you screw with other people and get caught (see rule 1), expect to pay.
5. Don't Shove Your Tastes in Others' Faces. This goes especially for the more potent drugs, demon summoning, and other such things. Don't do it in public. That includes buying and selling.
6. Leave Your Squabbles at the Gates (or Docks). Whatever happened out there, don't let your crew get into brawls with other crews. If you have to settle things, either keep it quiet (see rule 1) or keep it outside the city.

Penalties

There is only one. Public execution. The methods vary based on the whim of the Governor. His current favorite is exposure in a cage.

Gangs and Crews

Almost everyone who lives in Tarad'am is part of either a Gang or a Crew (the only difference being whether you're mostly on land or mostly at sea). Gangs and Crews protect their own. A few of the most prominent such groups:

The Dockers

Started by workers at the docks and docks warehouses, they control much of the dockside. Cargo flowing through their docks and warehouses is protected and guaranteed priority, as long as the appropriate fees are paid. Non-payment generally results in unfortunate accidents.

Three Red Sails

This crew owns a small fleet of ships. In theory they're escort ships, paid to ensure safe passage of goods to Sentinel Island and onward to the rest of the Primal Sea. In reality they're buccaneers and freebooters, extorting protection money from merchant ships. Run by sena'ka with ties to the Fleets of the Ship Folk.

Dimwit Syndicate

This criminal organization controls much of the drug trade and has strong ties to Serpentstrike.

Laughing Crypt

This is the other criminal organization. They're much more concerned with the vice trade (gambling, prostitution, protection money, theft, assassination, etc) within the city.

Broken Chains

This is a new organization, one that has only stayed around because they're very good at following Rule 1. Called "do-gooders" and "interfering busy-bodies" and lots of other names, they extort the extorters, rob the robbers, and generally work for the common folk. Who rarely appreciate their service.

Population

Roughly 6-10k. No one's keeping track, and the population is highly transitory. All types of folks mingle here, but the most common are the fang-kin of the Jungle of Fangs and the Ship Folk and their slaves.

Trade

Tarad'am thrives on trade. At the mouth of the Zazhi River, which connects to Lake Thom in one unbroken, navigable stretch, it is a natural chokepoint and natural harbor. Much of the goods and supplies for the Serpent Dominion's western colonies flows through here, with a minority going overland to Tong Il and Tong Kad. And all trade with Sentinel Island and its vast plantations and herds comes through Tarad'am.

As for manufacturing, Tarad'am has multiple drug, dye, and alchemical manufactories, drawing ingredients from the surrounding jungles as well as the plantations of Sentinel Island. The majority of this manufacturing is legitimate even in more puritanical nations--analgesics, cosmetics, dyes, reagents, etc. For example, almost all of the best blue dyes are made just outside the walls of Tarad'am.