Djazeh
The city of Djazeh is a remarkable melting pot of cultures: here, one encounters a baffling array of customs and traditions; every language in Gnosit and beyond may be heard echoing down its crowded streets - most prominently Hishak, the tongue spoken by the region's dominant tribe, the Hish. The hospitality of the Djazeho people is renown, and visitors from afar are always made to feel very welcome (especially the rich ones). It is not unknown for travellers unable to find an inn to be invited to stay in a family's home, fed a meal, or even offered personal belongings.
Djazeh's neighbourhoods are categorized by precious metals, with Gold being the most refined and expensive, and Bronze being the lowest, poorest, and most dangerous. Silver regions fall somewhere in between.
While formally under rule of the religiously restrictive Nazhbehtaq Dynasty of Seqqwat'in, Djazeh enjoys a wide-sweeping freedom the rest of the province does not due to its centrality to trade in the region as a port city. Tasked by the Nazhbehtaqs to maintain order and ensure the highest possible level of decorum is the Nawb Onad (City Overseer). Ironically, those who hold this role are almost famously corrupt.
To be fair, balancing the needs of Djazeh's most powerful inhabitants is a hefty challenge. Boasting greater influence than even the Royals, two key factions hold sway over the area, both with roots in the underworld: these are the Chadoor Hai, and the Pakul Devils. The Hai rule Djazeh's south end, the Devils the north. Each, of course, runs its own illicit establishments: gangs are respectively headquartered in The Den (Chadoor Hai) and The Bottomless Cup (Pakul). Cards of the Moon is a gambling house in Jamoor. While officially a business of the Overseer's office, it is more accurately a Devil-run enterprise. Gambling is strongly discouraged if not disallowed in the Alaq Religion, so the games of the house's first-floor involve skill rather than chance. (The basement level is another matter...) The Silken Grove, a bordello in the seedy Shai district, is operated by the Chadoor Hai but considered neutral territory and a place to parlay for both factions. As one might imagine, the place sees its share of trouble whenever truces hold uneasily.
In addition to these contentious gangs, landed nobles, wealthy merchants, foreign interests and the occasional famed adventurer constantly seek to weigh in on city politics. The omnipresent, self-proclaimed guardians of Sekh Anoob, The Sons of the Serpent, also have a controlling stake in the area.
As anyone can see, maintaining peace in Djazeh is surely a dangerous business. Who truly could blame an Overseer for turning a tiny profit here and there?
The map above marks out many sites of interest, mostly related to the standard purchases made by out-of-towners. Weapons and armour are available at Arthamo's Soldierly; Il-Shaijd Fine Powders offers rare alchemical goods from the desert's heart; Qaimo's Manuscripts is mainly dedicated to collectable books, but every now and then a tome of arcane significance joins its inventory. Shahnaqwi's Bargains - owned by the eponymous Thalman Shahnaqwi – presents an eclectic mix of fascinating baubles (which are no less fascinating, even if Thalman cannot quite remember where he got them). Few visitors to the city miss the chance to see the legendary Damrah Bazaar, featuring traders from across Sekh Anoob. Last but not least, the Fa'jwad Fish Market is to food what the Bazaar is to curiosities, serving up a plenitude of ingredients guaranteed to pique all palates.
Djazeh's restaurants and tea houses offer a sumptuous variety of cuisine and drink. It is forbidden for anyone practising the Alaq religion to consume alcohol, and drunkenness within the bounds of the city is technically against the law, but since sale of the beverage to non-Alaqi customers is permissible, it isn't difficult to get one's hands on a bottle of anything. The same can be said for myriad other substances - the opiate, Thooj, above all. Though none in charge would admit it, the underground market for this drug drives a substantial portion of Djazeh's (and indeed, the province's) economy.
Given this bustling marketplace, exports and imports must be handled expertly. The small fleet owned by Shanrah Shipping conducts most of the province's maritime trade, doing a good business with their sister company, West Traders, Inc in Magnavil (Dragonshead Province). Ti'kul Luxury Goods is Shanrah's storefront extension, and represents only the grandest of finds from its fleet's excursions.
The Hish Gulf snakes into the city, reaching its terminal point at the Shamook Well, a site for ritual ablution as Alaqi adherents make their way to the Ulmaha Temple for prayer. Yajook Temple is available for those of the lower class.
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