The Tinkers Delve
A robust town perched on the virtual edge of the world, a rocky volcanic island called Sundrstone.
A town as full of smoke and fire as the volcano, Tinkers Delve is built primarily around a gigantic techno-magical cannon, a hulking building with a 100 meter long tube running out of it pointing towards the ever-present roiling horizon to the east. The buildings are a mix of traditional dwarven stone both carved into hillsides and built above, wooden buildings of a more human like make and bell shaped gnomish dwellings. Four large hills loom above the city, originally far smaller the orgininal settlers had stripped them down and dug the earth out at their bases until they were the terrace sided hills where much of the well to do of the city live today. Built into the base of one the hills and fronting onto the bay is the original Dwarven hold, The Underkeep. The hills are called White Oak Mount, Underkeep Ridge, Guildmounte, and Maelstrom Watch.
The general depth of the city is actually quite a bit lower than sea level, a problem kept at bay by a massive stone sea wall that covers the whole of the main cities shorefront. The "Arms" of the city are not excavated at all and sit comfortably above sea level.
The docks are bustling with various trade ships, the Delve is used by Greyharbor to test new technology and as such several of the collective guilds have a strong presence here. Though unlike in Greyharbor, many of the guilds present here are independent of the clan and clan politics that those on the mainland are rife with. As such there is a large amount of trade back and forth from here and Slagport but very little from elsewhere.
Tinkers Delve is considered a city in Greyharbor though it is not managed by any king or clan specifically, instead it is run by a council of guild representatives. This leads to a sometimes chaotic government with many different and sometimes opposing goals found on the 10 person council.
(Engineers, Shiprights, Armorers, Weaponsmiths, Magicians, Miners, Carpenters,Geomancers)
Every few days an alarm sounds around the town and everyone moves in doors for the most part and the cannon charges up to fire, sending a scintillating sheen of light over everything as its payload is launched into the maelstrom.
Infrastructure
White Oak Mount
The furthest west of the four hills that dominate the cities skyline, as with the others a road spirals up the terraces. Many of the cities temples adorn the terraces and the religious elite tend to make their homes here, though many of the cities rich do as well.
The White Oak
Sitting atop the White Oak Mount, this huge oak tree can be seen from most places in the city. Its bark is a pale white with silver grey streaks and its leaves are a deep, vibrant green in all seasons. A large grassy park sits around the tree and it is a common spot for visitors from outside the city as well as those citizens that can make the trek for peace, quiet and meditation.
The original dwarven settlers were so struck by its beauty that they kept this tree even as they cut the forest around it for timber and excavated the earth for their needs. Over the centuries of the cities growth the tree grew, as did the hill that it was on until it lay with a birds eye view over much of the city.
The Geomancer Conclave
A semi-formal collections of various local Druidic circles, most of whom live in simple housing built around the White Oak and others that send initiates from elsewhere on the island to learn here.
The Twistings
A twisting warren of near-slum residential that lurks in the deep valley between White Oak Mount and Underkeep Ridge. Unlike many of the other temples that sit higher on White Oak Mount, various gods of death make their home down here. Many of the everyday workers in the city make their home here.
The Grey Gate
A large graveyard that is used to inter or cremate most of the cities dead, most are buried in large communual crypts and there is a huge furnace built into the side of White Oak Mounts base that serves as the garbage disposal for the city as well as the crematorium, though those two roles are not usually used at the same time.
Underkeep Ridge
The Underkeep ridge was the largest hill upon the first settling of the city, a rocky outcropping thrusting out of shore near the deepest part of the bay it was the the clear choice for the dwarven hold that would become the Underkeep. The Base of the Maelstrom Cannon sits atop the the hill, its foundations plumbed deep into the depths of the dwarven hall underneath the mountain.
The Underkeep
The original settlement of the City and one of the earliest on the island itself, its a deep but simple dwarven hall and mine with a deep dock area through large stone gates that can fit several ships at a time inside, though only one can pass through at a time.
The Maelstrom Cannon
A hulking mass of stone and steel, it is covered in scaffolding with large metallic pipes snaking out from its structure at various points. It is arrayed across the tops of Underkeep Ridge and Guildemonte with a refuse ridden slum lurking beneath it.
The Sludge Pits
An old residential area that was formally used by the families of the laborers and the lower tier members of the various guilds. It sprawls in a deep, terraced valley between Underkeep Ridge and Guildemonte. Runoff from the Labs and factories as well as from the Maelstrom Cannon
Guildemonte
The primary home of the rich in the city, it also serves as the location where all of the guilds in the city have their headquarters.
The Engineers Guild
A sprawling, utilitarian complex of stone buildings that covers two of the topmost levels of the Guildemonte, merging into the bottom supports of the Maelstrom Cannon that looms above.
Maelstrom Watch
The furthest east hill rising above the city, the top most levels are reserved for use by several groups of arcane scholars as well as the home of the Thunderclasp Tower.
The Stonequill Archives
A largely neutral clan, the Stonequill has a large subterranean vault built into the base of Maelstrom Watch where they store thousands of books and treatises, they are trusted and utilized by many of the guilds to hold copies of some of the most important recipes and schematics. The entrance is a large set of stone doors in the shape of a series of giant bookcases.
Thunderclasp Tower
The gathering point for the various groups of magic users in the city, it is a squat tower with bulbous minarets and various secondary towers that house instruments, mostly aids for studying the distant maelstrom.
The Northern Arm
The harbor of Tinkers Delve is protected by two naturally formed strips of land, enfolding the small bay where the primary commerce of the city happens.
The Hammer Quarter
A large, sprawling affair of forges, armories, foundries and tanneries that form the industrial heart of the city. Much of its runoff flows down into the Sludge Pits, only adding to the misery there. The quarter covers much of the northern arm, bordering along the base of the Guildemonte and along the Sludge Pits.
Richard & Sons Salvage
A large office of the salvage company sits on the outer portion of the northern arm, they have several warehouses and a small fleet of heavy salvage ships with large cranes and swarms of tenders. They work closely with most of the guilds, especially the Mariners guild on operations near Sundrstone.
Graf Refinery
A steam powered complex of metal and stone buildings, pipes worming through and around the buildings and arching over nearby streets. Much of the refined metal passes through here and they work closely with the engineers guild to keep the refinery constantly operating on the cutting edge of metallurgy and technology.
The Mariners Guild
Sitting on the inner arm, a beautiful building with a large tower made to look like a lighthouse sitting in the harbor on a long dock, a dock that several large docks spring from. The Mariners guild helps officiate disputes between captains, guarenteee the training of crew that are hired through them and serve as the Harbormasters Office for the city of Tinkers Delve.
The Southern Arm
The southern most arm of land that encloses the harbor of Tinkers Delve is mostly set aside for residential and trade with large markets, taverns and Inns as well as the more middle class residents of the city.
Hammerwave Clan Docks
Large, professional docks are walled off from more general trader docks specficially for Clan Hammerwave business
Copperflint Clan Docks
Austere, simple buildings with utiliatrian blocky architecture houses the fortified docks of the closed off Copperflint Clans trading conclave in the city.
Delven Shipwright College
A large complex of marble, granite and wood buildings that serve as the Shipwright and Naval college of the city, many come from Slagport to study here either as a stand alone education or after learning at the various colleges at Slagport.
Kara'Gul Shipyard
The only major shipyard in the city, the dwarves here are well rounded craftsmen who can call upon the cutting edge technology of the city to make ships that are unique and sometimes better than anything around. They do not have the output or the consistency of some of the other more renown shipyards.
The Black Knight
A famous Inn that sits in a large courtyard in the center of the Southern Arm, named for the large metal statue sitting in the courtyard of a human man in full plate armor. Noone knows where it came from or who it is.
Fort Halibut
A naval fort on the outer portion of the southern arm that serves as the main outpost of the Slagport navy and the primary point of Slagport and Greyharbor power on the island. Whole nominally under the jurisdiction of Slagport, the city is mostly autonomous.
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