Delzimmer

Delzimmer was a port city located on the Gulf of Luiren in southern Faerûn. The city was known as the gateway to the East Rift because of the large amount of dwarven goods that flowed through the city. Prior to the Spellplague, it was a land-locked trading center at the crossroads connecting Dambrath, Luiren, the Shaar, the Border Kingdoms, the Vilhon Reach, and the Old Empires of Chessenta, Unther, and Mulhorand.

Government & Politics
Delzimmer had no nobles, but was ruled by the four most powerful merchant families.

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", and a provision for enforcing the law, 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.

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.

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