Saercumar
A City of Merchants
Saercumar was originally a small trading post that rapidly developed into a bustling city within a century. The city's leaders have ensured that the infrastructure is efficient and well-maintained to support the thriving trade.
Demographics
Density
A moderate number of people reside in the city. While walking through the streets, one can see a decent amount of people around them. However, there are never so many people that it feels overcrowded.
Regarding wealth, the majority of the city's residents have enough money to lead a good life. Some of them even live comfortably. The fortunate ones who belong to the noble houses, which form the aristocracy, live a lavish lifestyle.
Government
The city was initially ruled by a trade consortium, but now the aristocratic oligarchy called the Ucbea governs it. The Ucbea has divided the functions of government among the oligarchic families. The Posomati Tieiraci manage the courts and the judicial system, the Telvi Thelarii oversee the treasury and financial system, the Pelai Drini are in charge of the docks and collection of customs on goods flowing through the city, the Wili Gaeni have control over the city watch and the jails, and the Obeccai Iali provide for the maintenance of the city's infrastructure.
The aristocrats are actively involved in overseeing their respective areas of government, but they rely heavily on professional civil servants to carry out the day-to-day tasks. The civil servants are responsible for all the mundane aspects of governance, such as collecting taxes and supervising jobsites where the city wall is being repaired, under the direction of the aristocrats.
This city's management approach is working well. All essential aspects are accounted for.
Defences
Fortifications
The city is protected by a massive stone wall, which is ten feet thick and thirty feet high. Along the top of the wall, there is a wooden walkway that is guarded by wooden embrasures. There are three gates that allow entrance into the city: the Capital Gate, which is located on the eastern side of town, the Chalk Gate, which is located on the western side, and the River Gate, which connects the city proper to the Docks District. All three gates are usually open, but can be closed quickly if necessary. The city has two watchtowers, one on the northern side that stands at sixty-five feet tall and another on the southern side that stands at fifty-one feet tall.
Garrison
Military
The city houses a legionary cohort of around 500 soldiers, who are not attached to a full legion. Their order of battle is as follows:
- Standard Infantry. 3 blocks (300 soldiers, total) equipped with helmet, leather armor, shield, spear, shortsword, and dagger.
- Skirmishers. 2 screens (50 soldiers, total) equipped with javelins, shortswords, and daggers.
- Archers. 4 flights (100 soldiers, total) equipped with shortbows and daggers.
- Chariots. 8 chariots (16 soldiers - 8 drivers, 8 fighters) equipped with helmets, breastplates, 1 shield per chariot, 1 lance per chariot, shortswords, and daggers.
- Heavy Infantry. 3 squads (30 soldiers, total) equipped with helmets, bronze breastplates, mauls, shortswords, and daggers.
- Scouts. 4 scouts, lightly equipped with gear selected by the individual scout.
There are additional officers and support personnel in addition to the soldiers outlined above.
The Watchers
As noted elsewhere, there are around fourty-five members of law enforcement known as the Watchers. They are equipped with padded armor and clubs.
Industry & Trade
Trade
Saercumar has minimal industry, except for hardwood logging and silvergleam chalk mining. The city's primary source of income is from direct trade. Originally established as a trading post, the city has grown into an emergent metropolis, but still maintains its focus on commerce. The Ucbea encourages this, and taxes are levied on every trade, although these are kept low to benefit the merchants.
The Docks District sees trade barges moving through it daily, while trade caravans from faraway locales pass through the city on the Imperial Highway, often stopping to trade at the Grand Market.
The Grand Market and Ad Hoc Market Stalls
The Grand Market is the main trading venue in the city. It is located in a large plaza in the Market District called the Owtonivosor Paa. The city generates significant revenue from the rents charged for the stall spaces here.
The demand for stall spaces in the Grand Market is so high that some smaller merchants are unable to secure it before financial concerns or spoilage become a factor. These merchants are welcome to set up stalls in other parts of town for free, but these areas have less traffic, are not as well-patrolled or maintained, and theft is slightly more common. These stalls are prohibited from being on the major thoroughfares or within 200 feet of the city gates. Often, these overflow stalls end up being set up in alleyway entrances throughout town or against the interior side of the city walls. Those looking for bargains with unlimited time to shop can find better prices in these ad hoc spaces, but the process is inefficient and not generally worth the extra effort.
Infrastructure
Sanitation
The entirety of the city is underlaid by a network of drains, and pipes, which are fed by stone-lined trenches on the surface. House Obecca Ialum sees to it that the civil service keeps this sewer system free of debris. They also chase out the vagrants and other undesirables who sometimes attempt to take shelter there. This well-maintained sewer complex empties into the Balviar̂ river south of the city.
Streets
The streets of Saercumar are all paved. The main thoroughfares are sixty feet wide, with a grated trench in the center that feeds the sewer, and paved, raised sidewalks on both sides that are eight feet wide.
Side streets are also paved, though the trenches leading to the sewer drains are not covered, and the sidewalks are gravel and are not raised. These streets are narrower than the primary thoroughfares, perhaps twenty feet across, plus their sidewalks, which may be as narrow as two or three feet or as wide as six feet.
The city also features a twisting and turning array of alleyways, as cities do. Alleys are sometimes gravel, but more often simply dirt. They are rarely more than eight feet in width.
Food Production
Many urban settlements within the Calpian Empire have lands outside their walls, which are used for various purposes such as reserve acreage for growth, water detention, farmland, martial training, and more. These tracts of land are known as catenaux ustela or "civic lands." In Saercumar, the catenaux ustela to the south and east of the city are extensively used for raising livestock, poultry, and crops that are utilized to feed the population of the city.
Mining
In the catenaux ustela to the west of the city, there are six limestone quarries. These quarries are private concerns, but they lease the land from the Ucbea. They extract limestone used for plaster and other construction materials. More importantly, they also mine a particular form of chalk which is colloquially called "silvergleam." This chalk is particularly useful for the preservation of silver against tarnish. It also forms an excellent base to which pigments and oils can be added to make high quality artist's paints. Silvergleam is so highly prized that even dvær from far-flung realms and settlements outside the Empire will come to Saercumar to trade for it. Only about 1% of the limestone mined here contains silvergleam chalk, so the price per ounce is exceptionally high.
Forestry
West of the city, there is a collection of woodlands collectively called the Volarax. A variety of hardwoods - hickory, alder, and birch - grow here, and there are two logging operations that actively extract these hardwoods. This is the source of some conflict with local druids and with a secretive band of skogsalver who attack loggers on sight. Nonetheless, the commercial benefits of logging the region outweigh the attendent and occasional costs in life and equipment.
Districts
Administrative District
This district has a focus on government and civil matters. It is also the home to the five Noble Houses, whose members are virtually the only residents of the district.
The Bastion
This massive fortress dominates the center of town. It is the home to the city's garrison and their training grounds. It is also the location of the Watchers' offices and the city jail.
Chalkhewer's District
Generally, this district is the homes and taverns of the city's chalk miners and loggers.
Docks District
This district focuses on the river trade into, out of, and through the city.
Eastbottoms
This warren of fisher's homes and businesses lies outside the walls of the city proper, along the shoreline of the Abbavi River.
The Green
This vast expanse north of Empire Street from the Chalk Gate to the wall of the Northtower District is devoted to crops and grazing. The idea is that it would help provision the city in the event of siege.
Market District
This district is a hub for goods and services of a retail nature.
Merchant District
Like the Market District, this district is dedicated to business. Unlike it, the Merchant District focuses on luxury goods, and commercial goods (wholesalers) and commercial services.
Northtower
This residential district is located on the north side of town and is home to many of the middle and lower class residents of the city.
The Travelers' District
This is a residential district. It gets its name from the fact that it also is the locus of the city's hospitality industry.
Warehouse District
This district is butt-ugly. It is simply filled with warehouses for the goods that merchants and traders bring through the city.
The Westbottoms
The Westbottoms is an ad hoc communal area outside the city wall between the Cambacci River, the Chalk Gate, the Imperial Highway, and the Docks District, where newcomers live until they establish a more permanent home within the city walls (hopefully).
History
Mercantile Origins
In 1351 LE, a group of merchants calling themselves the Catena Wamur̂ Badirum (Prosperous People), founded a trading post where the Imperial Highway crosses the Balviar̂ at the Balviâr Confluence. The nexus of three navigable branches of waterway, as well as a maintained and guarded highway, made for ideal placement of such a settlement. It grew quickly and prosperously.
In 1374 LE, three members of the Catena Wamur̂ Badirum were discovered, each independently engaging in some form of corrupt business or government practices, all within a week of each other. The noble houses whose business thrived in Saercumar banded together and created a municipal legislature, backed by a small army of mercenaries in their employ for the purpose. They ousted the remaining members of the consortium, taking control of the municipal government themselves. They petitioned the Catbalus of Calpi to endorse their legislature, which they called the Ucbea. The Catbalus, controlled as it was by the same noble houses, immediately assented to their request and the government of the settlement fell to rule by the aristocracy.
Beginning in 1426 LE, Dragondust, an illegal narcotic, has been finding its way into the city. It is highly addictive and an underground black market has been established for the sale of it. It isn't clear who is driving this trade, or if they have motives beyond profit. A number of theories have been advanced, but no firm evidence exists of the why's and wherefore's.
Points of interest
The Grand Market of Saercumar
In the central square of the city, there is a large open area, 17 acres in area, known as the Owtonivosor Paa (Golden Plaza). For the price of one silver coin Imperial per hour for every 50 square feet of stall space, merchants can reserve plots in this plaza from which they can hawk their wares. This is the second-largest open-air market on the Tunsaccian subcontinent, surpassed only by the Gogh Mwebowwow in Khumrong. Merchants sometimes have to wait months for a chance to set up their stalls for one or two days, but the profits from such an endeavor are immense.
Tourism
Firstmarket and Secondmarket
Because of the size and importance of the Grand Market, and because of the high regard for Cisquia in Saercumar, Firstmarket and Secondmarket are stupendous affairs. They draw thousands to the city for trade, as well as to witness the spectacle. The Ucbea is aware of this and plays into the phenomenon, erecting hospitality tents to augment the inns and taverns of the city, sponsoring spectacular galas the night before the holiday, as well as the night of the holiday, and so on. Of course, these amenities are available at a nominal fee, which flows to the city's coffers.
Trade Days
In addition to Firstmarket and Secondmarket, the first and third Risingdays are special trade days in the city. Stall spaces in the Grand Market are available at half the usual rental fee. Additionally, on these two days only, wagon traffic is banned and ad hoc stalls can be erected on the major thoroughfares and near the gates between sunrise and sunset. These concessions draw more traders even than usual, which in turn draw travellers keen to buy the wares those traders have on offer.
Architecture
Homes
Saercumi people typically reside in multi-story clay brick buildings known as pigunus. These buildings consist of the landlord's spacious apartment on the ground floor, and are constructed around an open central courtyard called an aturanum. Most aturanum areas contain a shared kitchen garden, where residents can cultivate small vegetables and herbs. The windows of the building face both inward towards the aturanum, and outward towards the surrounding streets and alleys from the second floor and above. Pigunus roofs are slightly sloped and may be made of planks or thatch, while the walls are typically plastered.
Wealthy families in this region live in standalone houses known as popaiccus. These structures usually have two to three floors, and are partially or fully enclosed by an eight to ten foot high wall. The ground floor includes rooms for servants and slaves, a small reception or sitting room, a large dining room and a kitchen. The upper floors consist of bedrooms, personal studies, and guest rooms. The floor plan of a popaiccus is designed around two aturanum, which are usually of unequal size. The smaller aturanum is located near the kitchen and servants' quarters, and usually features a small kitchen garden. The larger one is an open decorative garden that often includes a fountain, where the residents can lounge and relax. The lower floors open up to a collonnade that surrounds the larger aturanum, and supports the balconies of the upper floors, which overlook the garden. The walls are plastered, and the interior walls often have frescoes. The ground floor is usually covered with mosaic tiles.
Businesses
Businesses are similar in design to a pigunus, except that they are normally only one or two stories in height.
Religious Structures
The temples in Kisquay, as well as the smaller shrines dedicated to other gods, are constructed using timber and limestone. They are plastered with brightly painted geometric designs around the trim. A typical temple is a single-story building with a high, vaulted ceiling. A stone altar is usually located about two-thirds of the way towards the back wall. Windows high in the lateral walls allow natural light to enter. No other structures are built touching the temples. In most cases, they are not even surrounded by alleys but rather by broad paved streets.
Maps
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Saercumar
- Abenus Obeccus Ialus
- Agoecca Wila Gaena
- Ansar Nimblefeet
- Apduneba Obecca Iala Arderiba
- Apgalus Pusomatus Tiareccus
- Arasca Telva Thelaria
- Atiba Pauma Dumca Iala
- Baisba Pela Drina R̂eir̂ema
- Balupa Seadecca Ucba
- Bar̂us Pusomatus Tiaraccus
- Bitivilus Pusomatus Tiaraccus
- Boaba Pusomata Tiaracca Fadria
- Bonugisa Birulba Avatra Tiaracca
- Bouveius Obeccus Ialus
- Ciora Telva Thelaria
- Coela Sebia Thelaria
- Dotimcus Pempusisus Cigus
- Iahanus Telvus Thelarius Ip
- Iahanus Telvus Thelarius IV
- Iahanus Telvus Thelarius Sodin
- Icteia Uccopa Tila Drina
- Inus Telvus Thelarius
- Opopus Pelus Drinus
- Pia Obecca Iala
- Poveniva Obecca Fadria
- Puobbeia Debila Paubida Iala Car̂aedar
- Qaidus Telvus Thelarius
- Qeba Domaba Pomgua Tiarecca
- Qeidus Obeccus Ialus
- Salus Utpus Arderibus
- Seva Pusomatus Tiaraccus
- Suda Telva Thelaria
- Ugcus Pusomatus Tiaraccus
- Upebus Obeccus Ialus
- Uquina Pela Drina Tiaracca
- Ur̂uqus Pelus Drinus
- Vaena Pela Drina Thelaria
- Vaidia Obecca Fadria Thelaria
- Vuccus Pusomatus Tiaraccus
- Wiwosala Opamvela Iahiliva Drina
- Wulcenus Pidicus Giccuisgaus
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