Kassleg

The city of Kassleg is a powerful trading city nominally under the demesne of Prince Pavel Reisenwulf of Klenhelm, but in actuality a free city run by the Meicorene House Ricci. Built up around the mouth of the Aiberrun River, its strategic location makes it one of the largest and most important trade towns in the known world.
Over time, the merchant's alliance running the city grew richer and richer. In 1801, Empress Aelin agreed to allow the merchant's guild a 50-year lease to run the city. In exchange, they paid a huge tax to the Imperial crown. After Aelin's death and the fracturing of the Empire of Räsgard, the merchant's guild (now a de facto monopoly under the Meicorene Ricci family) stopped paying those taxes, claiming that they owed them to the Imperial Crown which no longer existed. In 1851 the contract expired but Grand Prince Pavel never addressed it, and so now the Riccis run the city unchecked.
Kassleg is a hotbed of crime and corruption. The Riccis care very little about the city itself and view it as little more than a cash cow. As such, the only real security in the city are the Ricci's personal Spadatore, which protects their own goods. In the place of a standing guard, mercenary guilds flourish here.
Between sailors, mercenaries, and passing traders the city has developed a bustling nightlife, although much more rough-and-tumble than its upriver cousin Roselawn. The main street, Oakcask Lane, is one of the few places actively patrolled by the Spadatore, although they rarely enforce order. Loan sharks, particularly those associated with the Tracery, flourish here because of strict Riccan bank rules.