Nedj'ah

Well, listen to ol' Adel and I'll tell ya about the special place I live.
Most people think Nedj'ah is just a giant fortress on Lake Tajah Seyek. But it's so much more. It's a meetin' place for Sobekkians on this, here Terra. It's a refuge from the pressures of tradin'. It's a home to celebrate the holidays. And most important to me, it's a place of employment.
Ya see I have this here bum knee. Mangled it saving a child from drownin'. I'd be a liability on a barge but do alright on land. So I work at Nedj'ah with lots of others who can't work on a narrow boat. Smiths, weavers, cooks, healers, and so on all with an eye to takin' care of our guests. What guests? All those visitin' o'course.

Demographics

There ain't many of us livin' at Nedj'ah long term. For most, it's a temporary stop. I reckon guests outnumber residents 5 to 1. Even more crowd in durin' the holidays. As for little 'uns, we send ours to live on a boat soon as they're able to haul rope. And we take in any who might not be doin' well on their family's boat. That way all the young'uns learn a trade. I'd guess that there's 'bout two adults for every little 'un.

Government

My friend called it controlled anarchy but it's really not that bad. For most major decisions 'bout runnin' Nedj'ah, we vote. Any resident, young'uns to geezers, votes if they are interested. Day to day, the administration handles the minor stuff. It's made up of the seneschal, the marshal, the quartermaster, and their staff. The seneschal is the chief administrator, "he what's in charge". The defenses and constabulary answer to the marshal. The quartermaster handles the money and supplies. When one administrator retires, he picks his successor. No need for it to be more complicated than that.

Defences

*** Editors note: We could not get Mr. Adel to tell us of Nedj'ah's defenses. According to our research, the first defense is spikes, sharp rocks, and so forth surrounding the island: mostly covered with water. There are a couple of paths through the debris but only by shallow barges and only known to Sobekkian captains. Also according to my sources, Nedj'ah has bred giant alligator snapping turtles to attack anyone coming too close to the fortress. 
The entrance to the port is blocked by two immense linked chains that are lowered to allow friendly barges to pass. Beyond the chains is a short tunnel with a portcullis. Naturally, it can be assumed that the tunnel has murder holes.
The main entrance to the fortress is through the docks. While a postern gate is believed to exist, no breaks are seen in the wall. Nedj'ah has a crenelated battlement at the top of it. Likely, other traps such as punji sticks or pits are hidden in the undergrowth around the walls.

Industry & Trade

Well, that's simple - our guests. While anyone can get a bed and a bowl of stew with a brown bread sop, anythin' more costs. We're Sarakah's children after all. We can shoe yur mule, fix yur boat, sell ya supplies, and dozens of other thin's. Prices are quite reasonable. In case you're thinkin' that ya can get a better price out of one of our guests, we charge a 3% fee on all business conducted under our roof.
The Rafona's house doesn't charge. Somethin' about the gods gettin' touchy 'bout profitin' from their gifts. They'll treat anythin' from a black eye to gangrene to a belly wound. All's they ask is a donation for supplies if'n ya have the coin.

Infrastructure

Inside the walls, the most important feature is the docks. It's underneath pretty much the whole island and fits over 400 barges. What makes the whole thin' work is the parkin' crane. It picks up boats and parks 'em with only a hand's breadth of clearance. At the holidays the boats are in there so tight, ya' can walk across the whole docks from boat to boat, and yet 'cause of the crane, any one of 'em can leave without disturbin' the others.
Above that is Nedj'ah proper. It's divided into two halves. Towards the east is the main courtyard and to the west is the tower. From the docks, there's a large staircase to the courtyard and a small spiral one to the tower. There's also three lifts for cargo.
Round the courtyard is a double wall. Between 'em, Folk built practically a whole town. There's workshops, stores, mill, brewery, a few chapels, meetin' rooms, and a stable 'n pasture for those that brought their mules. And 'bout 700 beds for guests, free for any Sobekkian.
Inside the courtyard itself is mostly empty. When beds fill up like durin' the holidays, people pitch tents there. Guests use it for doin' business, celebratin', playin' sports, stretchin' their legs, and so forth. We always decorate it special for the holidays. On the north side are the smithies, white, bright, and black. Next to it is one of the constables' stations. Mostly they keep dunks and young'uns from doin' anythin' too stupid.  In the east is the main mess. It's nothin' fancy but most people eat there. To the south is the Rafona's house
What's the Rafona's house? Why a state-of-the-art healers. If ya can get your injured there, they can heal 'em. There's lots of competition to get chosen to be a fosterlin' working for 'em. Sobekkian young'uns all over Laponsi try to get in. If ya' are good enough ya' can even become a full doc learnin' there.
The tower is massive. Those havin' the coin to spend can buy themselves a right fancy room. And if ya want to be spendin' more, the high kitchen is always puttin' out grand goodies. There's also the secure store rooms, the main armory, another constables station, and administrative offices. Since we residents need a place to rest away from the guests, the top floors are reserved for our dinin' room, bedrooms, and common area. They ain't anythin' fancy but we made 'em right homey.

History

So as ya might know long before the humans took over the skyways, the Naga were the ones that ran the skyships and we Sobekkians were the traders. Well, there was this skyship with 'bout 50 Sobekkians aboard headin' to Ti'voona, the major port on Lapansi at the time. A meteor shower hit the ship and all hell broke out. The Sobekkians ended up on a lifeboat as the ship exploded sendin' 'em crashin' into Lapansi where they splashed down in Lake Tajah Seyek.
They managed to swim onto Ketti Island with little more than their skins and a box of rations. As luck would have it, there was this huge old fort left from who knows when. Without a way to cross the lake, those poor traders had no choice but to make the best of it. Rollin' up their sleeves, they fixed up the main tower and their healer even started building the Rafona's House. By the time they were found two years later, they practically had the fort rebuilt.
When those castaways were found, the Sobekkians saw the potential of the castle and island. They had done a great job but some changes were needed. A couple of wizbang Alma artificers were brought in to make the docks and some other defenses. The Rafona's House was finished. With the help of Sidhe cloth, Keldin wood, and Snow Shrew leather, the tower interior was fancified. After that, we've been open for business for 687 years.

Founding Date

-174 A.A.

Alternative Name(s)

Home Base, The Crock's Fort

Type

Outpost / Base

Population

150 Adults

Location under

Lapansi

Owning Organization

Sobekkian Traders