Delzimmer

Delzimmer was a city in southeast Faerûn that began as a landlocked trading center, but became a port for shipping after the Spellplague caused the Gulf of Luiren to form as the Great Sea filled in the lowlands practically to its doorstep. Over the next hundred years or so, the waters receded, returning Delzimmer to its former status as a crossroads.

Geography
Before the Spellplague, Delzimmer sat on trade routes that connected Dambrath, Luiren, Estagund, the Great Rift, the Shaar, Lapaliiya, the Vilhon Reach, and the Old Empires of Unther and Mulhorand. To the north and east of Delzimmer were the nearby foothills of the Toadsquat Mountains. North and west were the Eastern Shaar, the Riftwood, and the Trader's Way to Eartheart and beyond. To the southwest were miles of open country before reaching the Forest of Amtar. Due south was the road to Cathyr in Dambrath, and to the southeast was the road that split the Lluirwood from the Southern Lluirwood leading to Beluir in Luiren.

After the Spellplague, the Great Sea swallowed much of Luiren, the Lluirwood, and the lower Toadsquat Mountains, bringing the shores of the new Gulf of Luiren nigh to Delzimmer, and in a short time, the city became a shipping port. The cataclysmic collapse that created the Underchasm destroyed the lands west of Eartheart and turned Underhome into a ruin. The once fertile Eastern Shaar became part of the Shaar Desolation, and the Forest of Amtar was cut off from Delzimmer by a miles-wide canyon of the Underchasm. Roads connected Delzimmer with Hammergate (gateway to Eartheart), Underwatch (near Underhome), and the Dust Road that lead to Tymanther and High Imaskar.

Climate
For most of the year, Delzimmer was hot and humid-to-damp, interspersed with occasional dry spells that turned the mud to dust. The climate was very conducive to snakes which thrived in the city and environs. The winter tended to last only two months but was characterized by stiff winds that brought heavy rainstorms barreling through town, sometimes causing flooding in the streets that could last for hours. The flooding and the snakes were good reasons why there were not many cellars or underground rooms in Delzimmer, and the ground floors of most buildings were either covered in dirt, tile, or flagstone. Most anything of value was kept on upper floors.

Government & Politics
Delzimmer had no nobles, but was ruled by the four most powerful merchant families, the Belarks, the Harlhauns, the Jathlets, and the Olaundrans. These oligarchs ruled by fiat, not because anyone had given them authority, but because they each had their own small army and no one could gainsay their actions. The regional term for this sort of petty ruler was "satrap".

The four satrap families were competitors in business, but they had formed mutual non-aggression pacts in the early days in order to keep strife to a minimum in an essentially lawless town. They found that there was enough prosperity to go around without having to engage in open conflict. However, this public restraint did not prevent covert actions between the satraps or other prominent business persons. The prevalent underhanded skullduggery eventually caused the populace to demand some law and order to counteract the machinations of the rich and powerful from which they frequently suffered incidental damage.

Law & Justice
Sometime in the city's past there was an undeclared turf war between rival builders, rival merchants, and rival satraps that involved many fatal building collapses and bedroom fires that spread to consume entire houses. Nothing was ever proven, but the public outcry was so great that they convinced a high-ranking priest of Tyr to convene a council to forge a system of laws, enforcement, and justice (see the History section below). Out of this three-day council came a code of law known as the "kauladd", a system of property deeding and insurance known as "ethrael", a provision for a police force known as the "nagra", and a court system with judges (known as "kala") for adjudicating infractions and complaints, giving restitution to the victims, and punishing the guilty.

The Kauladd
Here is the Kauladd as written by the Council of Delzimmer. Notes on how the Kauladd was interpreted follow each Law.
 * Law the First&#58; These rules shall apply to all who dwell in or are present in Delzimmer and within clear sight of its walls.
 * The Kauladd applied to all beings in buildings, underground, or above ground inside the city and out to about a hundred yards (ninety meters or so) outside the walls in any direction. It did not apply to those who were away, even if they owned property in town.
 * Law the Second&#58; Kill not what is not thine. Penalty&#58; Striking off of a hand, exile, and forfeiture of property.
 * Killing a beast or a slave that was owned, one's own child before puberty, and oneself were all legal. The guilty could sell or carry away their portable property, but all land, buildings, and non-portable goods became property of the nagra.
 * Law the Third&#58; Steal, damage, or destroy not what is not thine. Penalty&#58; Replacement of what has been taken, damaged, or destroyed, plus payment of equal fines to the injured and the city.
 * Theft, vandalism, arson, maiming, or permanent wounding were forbidden. The fine could be up to twice the value of the property affected or the judged value of the harm done. The full fine amount was paid to both the injured and the city for its trouble.
 * Law the Fourth&#58; Compel not. Penalty&#58; Payment of equal fines to the injured and the city, and/or floggings and loss of liberty.
 * This law covered fraud and confidence scams as well as threats of physical violence by any means (force, arms, or menace). Jail time, if any, was decided by the kala.
 * Law the Fifth&#58; Throw not. Penalty&#58; On-the-spot flogging, plus arrest under the Third Law, if applicable.
 * Any sort of missile or object that was hurled with intent to harm, damage goods, threaten, or cause an accident was illegal.

Law Enforcement
The code of law was enforced by the nagra, a salaried police force, most of whom where retired and/or injured warriors and adventurers desiring a relatively safe and stable way to earn a living. The nagra typically numbered between twenty-two and twenty-eight, which was very few for the size of Delzimmer, but the four satraps each had their own small army that patrolled their properties so the nagra did not have to cover the whole city. The nagra were identified by an orange sash displaying a design of three daggers in a row worn over their own clothes and armor. Most nagra wore leather armor, gauntlets, and helms. Impersonating a nagra was prohibited and punishable by the Fourth Law.

The nagra irregularly patrolled the city in armed squads of three or more, carrying signal horns and listening for citizens to "cry" them. Their other duties included arresting those they caught or were brought to them by the satrap militias; tending the jail; flogging, as directed by the kala; collecting fines; seizing property; maintaining order when a court was convened; and running the Shrimmer&mdash;the office for all ethrael services plus moneychanging, loans, and banking.

The kala were priests of most any lawful faith that were hired for terms of one to three months. At any given time, there were usually six to eight kala on the payroll. Their duties were to act as judges in ethrael disputes, criminal trials, and to supervise the operation of the Shrimmer. They could call on other kala and consult with anyone before rendering judgement, as long as it was done in public. They pronounced sentences of incarceration, flogging, seizing of property, and other punishments as dictated by the kauladd. They could direct the nagra to arrest individuals that presented a threat to any citizen, the public at large, or trade, such as the diseased or the insane. They could also order protective custody for persons in danger from mob justice. They could not cause the loss of wealth or property by seizure or restraint except for convicted criminals or defendants found negligent in ethrael cases.

Courts where held outdoors in public squares or meeting places, only in daylight. The nagra would rope off a circular area and then "sword the circle" to keep onlookers from entering or the accused from leaving.

The salaries of the nagra and kala were paid from fines collected and the income generated from seized property, either by sale or rent (the nagra owned many properties around town). The nagra could not fire the kala before their term ended, but they were under no obligation to renew their contract once it had expired, and they usually did not rehire those who gave rulings they didn't like. If a kala resigned or abandoned their post, they forfeited their salary for the month in which they did so. If a nagra was found guilty of a crime, his or her employment was terminated and they could not reapply for six months. Historically, corrupt or bad nagra that were repeatedly rehired by their associates could only be removed by poisoning or a back-alley stabbing.

Ethrael
Land and structures were registered with the nagra at their headquarters building known as the Pholruth. The ethrael office was one of the services provided by the Shrimmer, which was open during the day, typically staffed by three nagra overseen by two kala. The owner was given a written deed, called an ethrael, that exactly described the extent of the property using street names, relatively permanent landmarks (trees, stone markers, buildings, etc.), compass directions, and linear measurements given in tharodds and feet (a "tharodd" was six feet or about 1.8 meters, a foot was about 30 centimeters). The descriptions were in narrative form, advising the reader how to walk the perimeter of the property. The Shrimmer kept a log of these ethrael for each property that included an identical description, updated every time the property changed hands. Also recorded in the log were the buyer, the seller, the price, any changes in condition, and any alterations that had been made. If necessary, a new ethrael was written for the buyer from the updated log.

Large, non-perishable goods could also be registered at the Shrimmer for proof of ownership or record-keeping purposes. Examples of items that were typically registered included wagons and coaches, beasts of burden, and suits of armor. Two identical copies of the registry bearing a description of the item were made. One was held by the Shrimmer and the other was given to the owner. If the condition or status of the item changed, due to damage, injury, or sickness, for example, it was up to the owner to present his or her copy to the Shrimmer and update the description. The kala could dispatch the nagra to make a first-hand observation if they deemed it advisable.

Perishable goods such as food and livestock, or portable goods of the type carried by trade caravans (almost everything else) could not be registered but could be insured while out of the custody of the owner or the owner's representatives. For example, to store goods in a warehouse, the owner of the goods and the owner of the warehouse (or their agents) met at the Shrimmer and both signed a bond describing the goods and deposited an equal amount of coin or trade bars agreed upon by both parties. When the period of storage ended, if no losses occurred, both parties got their money back and the bond was destroyed. If a loss was claimed, the kala heard the case and passed judgment. In the vast majority of these cases, the plaintiff was given all the money.

Society
The people of Delzimmer were referred to as the Delzemaer or Delzmaer and things that came from Delzimmer were called Delzemaeran or Delzmaeran. The Delzemaer referred to all people from elsewhere as outlanders. A person empowered to represent an individual or a group in business negotiations was called a "meavor".

Although there were no true nobles in Delzimmer, many members of the four satrap families certainly acted the part. They had money and leisure time to spare and indulged their whims and desires often. Wherever they focused their attention, trends were set and fads were born, only to wither and die when something new grabbed the spotlight.

Gaming and gambling were favorite pastimes, especially among the hin who at times outnumbered every other racial group in Delzimmer. Card games, dice games, and even tabletop games of strategy could be found throughout the city, with new ones being invented every season or so. Some of these games went with caravans and became known in other countries, but most were only seen here. The local hin were full of big ideas and never seemed to tire of get-rich-quick schemes. They loved taking risks with their money as long as they thought a game was fair or a scheme was not undercut by treachery.

Trade
In the early days, and right up to the Spellplague, Delzimmer was a trading and caravan hub. Goods from Eartheart, Dambrath, and Luiren passed through here on their way to far-flung destinations, and exotic (to them) goods came back. However, Delzimmer did not produce much of anything to export, except fruit jelly&mdash;an unusual delicacy that traveled well enough to reach Amn, Calimshan, Tethyr, Sembia, and even Waterdeep.

The four satrap families made their fortunes buying and selling goods, providing warehouse space and banking services, and provisioning costers, including breeding horses. They did not engage in running caravans themselves because they considered it too risky. This practice stood them in good stead when the Spellplague hit and destroyed many of the routes that the caravans took. When the shock wore off, the Delzemaer built docks and wharves on the newly formed Gulf of Luiren for ships to take over where caravans could no longer go. Eartheart lost all connections to the west when the Underchasm swallowed the roads, so Delzimmer quickly became known as "the gateway to the East Rift" because nearly all dwarven goods came to town to be shipped off.

Local Commerce
Delzimmer was an open-trade city with few restrictions, and that kept the atmosphere lively and made shopping an adventure. Most common dwellings were above a shop that was the family business. Goods from all over Faerûn eventually came through Delzimmer and many shops sold a hodgepodge of items ranging from the newest fad to dusty old items. Even stolen goods were sold openly, after the wagons that the items "fell off of" were long gone.

The caravan trade created a demand for oxen, draft horses, and riding mounts, which were plentiful in Delzimmer. The stiff competition that pervaded the town kept prices for common and even uncommon goods very low. Food was also cheap and plentiful, as long as you didn't mind eating scaletail (fried snake and lizard on a stick) or handpies (also called "rat pies" for good reason) smothered in one or both of the local spicy brown sauces, mlael and sakra. Still within most budgets, one could dine on quace (a locally grown fruit), jugged fruit jellies, cheeses of various kinds, and roasted boar imported from nearby Luiren.

Services in town included wagons and drovers for hire, mercenaries to protect them, or even small bands of thieves to rob or harry them.

Defenses
For physical defense the city built walls, but eventually outgrew them. The original walls were made of stone and were roughly nine feet (2.7 meters) at the base, tapering to about three feet (0.9 meters) at the top, with a height of twenty feet (six meters). As the city expanded, the walls were pierced with streets and they fell into disrepair. The small spires spaced at intervals atop the wall each originally held a single observation room, but these became rookeries for messenger doves and pigeons.

Circa the Year of the Ageless One, 1479 DR, when the Gulf of Luiren brought even more prosperity to Delzimmer, the city built new walls to encompass their new harbor.

In addition to the twenty to thirty nagra in their orange sashes, each of the four satrap families had a small militia on retainer, each wearing their house colors and badges. In 1373 DR, these private armies combined consisted of over three hundred well-trained fighters of varying experience and double that number of warriors who had less formal training.

History
Prior to the Spellplague, the city was located hundreds of miles inland, near the western border of the halfling realm of Luiren. Delzimmer's fortunes took a dramatic turn for the better when the Spellplague collapsed Luiren into the Gulf of Luiren, making the city a port.

Sometime in the city's past there was a rash of catastrophic building failures, often fatal to the occupants. At first, these disasters were mostly the result of overly ambitious builders making structures too tall for the footing, or inadequately designed to withstand the heavy rains, floods, and harsh winds of winter, or both. As time went on, building standards improved and there were fewer disasters, but people began to notice who acquired the land after a collapse&mdash;invariably it was a rival satrap or builder, a personal enemy, or a debtor of the victim&mdash;and public outcry reached new heights. Some concerned citizens posted neighborhood watches (employing children with horns and lamps to watch at night and sound the alarm) and eventually caught a crew of building saboteurs who were promptly slain by an angry mob.

Amid irate debate, toppling buildings became rare, but soon mysterious bedroom fires became much more frequent than normal, often with the same fatal results. When the angry citizens noticed that the pattern of destruction and death, acquisition, and rebuilding even bigger and more ornate structures was continuing unabated, they finally resolved to do something about it. A high-ranking priest of Tyr that was passing through town suddenly found himself being entreated by dozens of local merchants to convene a council and forge a system of laws and a system of property deeding that would put a stop to the violent urban land war that was plaguing the city.

The council lasted for three days and was marred by fights, injuries, and nighttime disappearances, but the priest and the public hammered out a simple code of law called the "kauladd", and a system of handling the ownership and exchange of real estate called "ethrael". To enforce the codes, they created a police force known as the "nagra", and a system of justice to handle disputes adjudicated by hired priests of lawful denominations, called "kala".

Notable Locations

 * Collegium: A house of learning serving the city.
 * Malthuk's Tower: An abandoned, poisonous snake infested stone tower with a portal to Voonlar in its uppermost room.
 * Pholruth: The primary nagra house that served as a hotel, barracks, police station, jail, and bank.

Inhabitants
Most of the city's residents were humans, although some elves and dwaves also lived in the city.