Monam-Ahnozh

A Closer Look

Sitting at the edge of Mewzhano Bay, Monam-Ahnozh (31º50’N, 15º25’W) is a beautiful city of spires, towers, homes and shops. Several major thoroughfares crisscross the city, each lined with the objects of the nation’s conquest. These range from lizardfolk territorial markings from the Mewhi Marsh to malachite sarcophagi from the Dashahn Mountains, and even limestone statues from the Mezh-Vowmi. Walking the streets of the city, one can identify the nation's wars and conflicts, its failures and successes and mark its growth by the trophies left in full view. All citizens, regardless of their station, respect these objects as they represent their heritage and culture, and look on their beauty or hideousness with pride and respect.
Three roadways and one rocky-sided waterway offer access to the city. The Road of Kings passes through the city, traveling from the west gate, circling the palatial estates and exiting through east gate. To the south, Mewzhano Road provides entry into the heart of the city.
Surrounding the entire city is the Harbor Wall, a 20-foot-tall, 15 feet thick wall of granite with regular watchtowers spaced along its length (though the walls of these are only 5 feet thick). Stone gargoyles leer down from their perches, surrounded by rusting iron spikes that leave red stains on the mortar below. Each watchtower rises 30 feet tall, and has a single iron door granting access from the interior of the city. A given watchtower can house ten men, and all ten guards can make ranged attacks from within using arrow slits or from atop the crenellated battlement. Monam-Ahnozh keeps one soldier in each tower at all times.
Where the Road of Kings passes through the Harbor Wall, ten guards (LN warrior 1) control the influx of visitors into the city by collecting a gate tax: 3 cp per person and 1 cp per animal. Gathered around these gates one may also find a myriad of religious advocates, as well as clustered groups of urchins ready for hire as guides through the splendor of the old city.
The guards close the western and eastern gates about half an hour after sunset. To the south, the city closes the southern gate shortly after noon. This is a symbol of the king's commitment to defense, as this gate faces the direction of Ul-Karg. However, it is more of a frustrating obstacle than an appreciated symbol. All three gates are iron and embossed with the image of Miznoh holding his hand palm outwards as if to bar entry.
All of the buildings facing the streets are exquisite examples of Meznamishii and dwarven artisanship, with intricate detail and statuary decorating the fronts of their stone structures. Each has narrow shuttered windows overlooking the streets below. These streets are clean, for Meznamish has an elaborate sewer system draining into the Izhano River and out into the Bay beyond. Therefore, while the city does not have the pervasive odor of human waste as many other cities do, the river is polluted - clogged with trash, excrement and the occasional corpse.
Behind the façade, the ancient buildings affect a shabby appearance - worn, old and, in many cases, dilapidated. The further one travels through the maze of houses and shops, the worse it gets, with the poor living in the heart of those closeted areas, hidden from view by the wealthier middle class.
Three ports occupy the northern edge of the city, and ships dock there year round, regardless of the Bay’s conditions. The Harbor Wall protects much of the city from the bay's 12-foot-tall tides, but the harbors are still far more dangerous than the rest of the city, due to unrestricted visitors. The watch makes token rounds through this area, but rarely arrests anyone for criminal behavior. Brothels, taverns and general stores fill the waterfront in the western docks.
The eastern docks, however, house the city’s shipyards, where lumber extracted from the Mizohr Woodlands arrives for the waiting workers. In addition, Meznamish’s navy headquarters here, launching all of their ships from this port. Over 1,000 sailor and officers reside in the city, many from the warrior caste.
An interior wall separates the Svizohr and the King from the rest of the population. It is from here many minarets and spires overlook the city. The Palace Wall sits at the foot of a low rise where the government buildings stand. Here, visiting Svizohr and lesser nobles live.
Small arenas also pepper the city. The walls of these open-air killing floors are decorated with bas-reliefs of warriors battling terrible beasts. Nearby are slave quarters, pens and the barracks for the free gladiators.
Slaves in service to the state have quarters throughout the city, in long low buildings akin to barracks. Guards transport them to their work sites, whether they repair the roads, clear clogs in sewer lines, or serve as laborers at the shipyards; there is never a shortage of work for these condemned souls. Slaves in the city wear the traditional dress of their station.
Those of the contributor caste live  throughout the city; the higher their station within the caste, the closer to the main thoroughfares they live. The warrior caste lives in the northeast portion of the city, near the docks, or within site of the many barracks near the outer walls. Those dwarves living in the city have a small section of town they like to call their own, while the temples and shrines of the priest caste cover nearly an entire city block.

Temples

As mentioned before, the city houses the largest (although not the most important) known temple to The True, a huge marble building with six marble statues in a line outside its doors. Other faiths also have impressive churches in the city. Of the evil faiths, the Congregation of the Dead has the largest temple, because Collector Selevahn Vezdor has altered the faith's message to come across as neutral rather than evil (more on Selevahn can be found in "Who's Who in Meznamish" above).
The House of Vice and the Courts of Justice are feuding, as are their leaders (High Seer Hava Tanshen and Vicelord Shoshanoh, respectively). More information on this can be found in "Who's Who in Meznamish" above, and "Mages and Sages," immediately below. Shoshanoh's head is worth 5,000 gold pieces in the eyes of the local courts (and 10,000 to High Seer Hava).

by Kenzer & Co

Mages and Sages

Monam-Ahnozh’s focus on culture and learning makes the city attractive to scholars and sages, though not to the degree of the University of Zha (in distant Ahznomahn). Archeologists, antiquarians and other intelligentsia all have a place in the city, and readily accept work from enterprising sponsors. Though there are educated individuals in almost any school of knowledge, ancient history is the common specialty.
Wizards are rare, and sorcerers almost unheard of. Arcane spellcasters stand outside Meznamish’s accepted castes, and many do not know what to do with them. Such individuals retain the status of their family’s caste; spellcasting slaves are rare as they are usually born as slaves, and have no ability to train in the arcane arts. The warrior caste sees wizards as shameful, and children who show an aptitude in magic are encouraged to redouble their efforts at military training. Consequently, most wizards come from the Svizohr or Sohrihz castes.
Perhaps the most notorious spellcaster is Movazh (LE wizard 13), a once-great wizard who succumbed to his lusts and is now a thrall to Shoshanoh, the local head of the Vicelords. Born Ilthin Dorbren, his father was an expatriate Brandobian and rising merchant, and his mother a Meznam witch and  seductress that introduced her only child to occult studies and pagan beliefs. In time, Ilthin gained entry to the University of Zha, hiding himself and his heritage with the few spells he had learned from his mother, and learned the fundamentals of Illusion and other schools of magic. Graduating from the academy, he returned to Monam-Ahnozh under the name of Movazh, hoping to make a life for himself as a teacher of illusionary magic.
His fledgling school attracted pranksters, rogues and ruffians, but they paid well, thus affording Movazh a comfortable lifestyle. (Unknowingly, Movazh has educated some of the worst assassins in the nation.) In time, his little college attracted the attention of Shoshanoh, a cleric of the Vicelord, who sought to expand her skills by studying arcane magic. What she found was a pliable young man who could not see the repercussions of his actions.
Shoshanoh enrolled in the school, but made a poor student. However, her beauty drew Movazh to her, and the attraction was obvious. Shoshanoh knew she could never become a skilled illusionist, and concluded she would use Movazh instead. Seducing the young wizard, she awakened new vistas of pleasure within him. In time, their relationship passed beyond the illicit into the obscene, and then into the depraved. After only a short time, Movazh’s heart belonged to the Vicelord.
When High Seer Hava sacked the subterranean temple to the Vicelord, Shoshanoh ran to Movazh for help. Utterly in her thrall, Movazh hid her in the city, using his magic to thwart Hava from rooting out the fugitive priestess. While Movazh commits more and more of his resources to hiding the cleric, Shoshanoh works to rebuild her foul temple, and the House of Vice grows throughout the nation’s capital. Movazh also presented Shoshanoh with a brilliant robe that allows its wearer to alter self three times per day and change self up to six times per day.
An albino, Movazh is in his early thirties, with extremely pale skin and a mouth full of brown and rotting teeth. He hides his frightful appearance with spells, allowing him to move in the city without attracting unwanted attention. Still, he cannot abide the brightness of the sun and rarely emerges from his modest tower during the day.

Underworld

Monam-Ahnozh has a thriving underworld, though it is less organized than in other cities. The criminal elements come primarily from ex-slaves, disgraced nobles, down-on-their luck contributors and  foreigners. Home to four small and lean thieves’ guilds, one assassin’s guild and a beggar’s union, the seedy underside of the city is a dangerous place. Fortunately, few guilds are significant enough to be a threat to the city’s stability, and their differences prevent them from unifying. Many thieves and rogues of all sorts are content simply to commit brazen crimes at night and then speculate loudly in the morning about “that crazy pirate,” Subar Totori (see "Who's Who in Meznamish" above).
King Warven II has a good relationship with the Red Fists and the Watchers, two small guilds of little  consequence. The former is a coven of assassins and the later a group of street thieves holed up beneath the city. He uses them as spies and informants to gauge the city’s temper, but he is growing concerned, for many of his spies are turning up dead. In addition to the normal criminals common to a city, Monam-Ahnozh has its fair share of pirates who come to port under the guise of normal merchant vessels, easily infiltrating the city because of the lax port security. With them come organizations like the Blue Salamanders, the Golden Alliance and others that struggle for dominance in the city’s black  market.
Sometimes, individuals have a significant impact on the underworld political climate without taking an active part. Allowing a wanted criminal to hide in the basement may allow the villain to evade capture and continue his nefarious ways. For example, loaning gold to a friend that kidnaps children for slavery, or aiding in the defense of a street urchin who murdered a guard for his coin purse, all allow the seedy side of Meznamish to thrive.

Government

King Warven II rules from a sprawling palace covering more than four acres in the middle of the city. The main entrance, which leads to the oldest part of the complex, is the Tower of Justice and contains the king’s court. More information on the king can be found above, in the section entitled "Who's Who in Meznamish."

Defences

Monam-Ahnozh is the heart of the kingdom and so is the best protected of all the communities. A mere 1,000 heavy footmen have barracks scattered through the city, almost half of those in the entire nation, while 400 light cavalry stable their mounts just outside the city's outer wall. Of course, King Warven II's effort to rebuild the nation’s military means that this number does not include soldiers in training. Meznamish has done well to hide the actual numbers of soldiers from their neighbors, but rumor suggests five times this number are in scattered training camps all over the land.
The city is also headquarters for Meznamish’s navy, only 1,200 sailors and rowers. While they have an influential voice in the nation’s political structure, King Warven II keeps them at arm's length, wanting to avoid another fiasco like the Battle of Zhano Cape. On the other hand, Warven appeases the admirals, for he needs them to protect the nation if his troops march to war.
Sowiven Dahmlar is typical of naval officers. He is cocky, clever and eager to accept a dare. However, his confidence is easy to understand once a person has stood on the deck of his ship. Bringing a vessel into or out of the dangerous Mewzhano Bay, with its 12-foot-tall tides and rocky sides, is a daunting task. Cautious captains find themselves red-faced as their ship sits high and dry when the tide ebbs if they are timid or unsure when it is time to sail.

Industry & Trade

Monam-Ahnozh is the strongest trading power in the nation. Almost all trade occurs at the docks, but only during daylight hours - to avoid the unsavory elements that emerge after dark. Most of the goods sold are metalwork objects like weaponry and armor, but also utensils, art objects and jewelry. Supplementing the metal trade are merchants selling oils, ivory and other art objects. Trade between the Meznams and nearby gnome and dwarf clans has been steady for generations, and Meznamish maintains a good trade relationship with their eastern neighbors Zazahni and Ozhvinmish. Seal fur, oil from their fat, and tools made of bone and ivory are lucrative and abundant products that come from the adjacent Mewzhano Bay. The mountains provide mineral wealth and valuable ores. Even some reclusive elves of the Mizohr Woodlands may occasionally come to the city to sell handcrafted wooden objects, fruit and magical trinkets.
Despite the less-than-ideal harbor, Monam-Ahnozh trades with numerous distant nations and ports - primarily the Kalamarans, Brandobians and towns of Whimdol Bay. The diversity of trade gives the city resistance to bad harvest or ill will from a single market.

Points of interest

One of the many interesting displays along the Road of Kings has an unnatural aura about it, and people give it a wide berth. It is a large obsidian disk with a hollow center, about 3 feet in diameter and mounted on a basalt slab. Nobody knows where it is from or when it was erected, but all avoid it when they walk. On certain nights, voices seem to echo from the hollow spot, and though many claim to know what it says, each story is different.
Despite (or perhaps because of ) the danger, the rocky cliffs west of the city are popular diving places for swimming in the Mewzhano Bay. On any clear day, hundreds of young men and women seeking to prove their courage dive up to 75 feet into the waters that at low tide are less than two fathoms. Accidents happen often, and more purposeful injuries occur when two young clerics of the Confuser of Ways join the group to incitefights.

Type

Large city

Population

88,500 (approximately 10,000 of which are slaves of mixed races, and 2,000 are mountain or hill dwarves).