Oloseta

At a Glance

Humanoids openly walk the street as if they live there. After a few moments of watching, it becomes obvious that they do. Ores draw water from the well, hobgoblin and goblin children play ball in the streets with humans, and a half-ogre girl stands two heads over her friends as they giggle in the shade of a large tree.

City Map

Temples

The Temple of Armed Conflict thrives because of frequent visit by soldiers. Major Relaton Abuto is highly revered for leading his followers against a horde of gibberlings that shook the ground when they moved and surviving the battle with nearly a third of his force still intact.
Other faiths include the Church of the Silver Mist, the Temple of the Patient Arrow, the Congregation of the Dead, the Temple of Strife, and the Temple of Sleepless Nights. These religions must walk a thin line between preaching publicly to attract new worshippers and staying quiet enough to avoid thieves.
Followers of The Way of the Berserk also have a place to worship in Oloseta—a former wooden keep that dates from before the rise of King All Inakas. Brother in Blood Venimok leads their worship. Venimok is a powerful fighter and his faiths' beliefs are very popular in the Tarisato. Unfortunately, he once _incited a horde of gibberlings to descend on a rival barony that happened to be wellprotected and what he saw as his biggest opportunity for sainthood faded before his eyes. He hates Relaton Abuto and spends more time undermining the Temple of Armed Conflict than he spends recruiting new followers.

Mages & Sages

The city is a home to many strong fighters. Wizards often feel acutely alone here. Galenon Mornstar is both a fighter (or at least an experienced bar brawler) and a wizard. Galenon maintains the rough and tumble image, but when it comes to his magic, he's really a cool, cautious professional. His spells tend to be direct rather than flashy.
Tajeril "the Sinister" has a reputation for associating with unsavory folks. Considering that he sells poisons and dabbles in necromancy, the reputation is probably deserved. Tajeril has an efreet servant in a carefully worded contract that has bound him for ninety-nine years. Though the efreet stays out of public sight, any fires that start in the city are usually attributed to him.
The closest thing to a sage in the city is a retired cleric of the Mule named Saterus. He is knowledgeable about the major faiths on Tellene and some obscure cults as well, although his cynicism taints any information he gives our.

Underworld

Active thieves' and assassins' guilds operate in Oloseta. Both encroach on each other's territory from time to time, and they have come to blows in the streets before. The largest thieves' guild is loyal to Hul'Mar Oarth, an old crone who talks about what it was like "in the old days" constantly. Between her ramblings, she imparts great wisdom to those careful enough to listen to her. She exaggerates her age and senility to feign weakness and draw out enemies. Her senses are still acute, as is her mind. Hul'Mar calls her growing band of burglars, pickpockets, and robbers the "Tangle of Thorns."

Government

Duke Hor'Bek of Oloseta controls the largest and most populous city in the wild Lands of Tarisato. He is a fierce warrior, but he has his hands Full with the other bickering and ambitious lords in Tarisato. Daily operation of the city is a task given to Hor'Bek's reeve, Murolak. Murolak's main interest lies in leaving a legacy in stone. He has at least a dozen monuments to himself around the city and has two or three more in progress at any given time. Recent vandalism or outright destruction of these monuments has enraged him, and Murolak has announced his intention to execute anyone caught defacing his monuments.

Defences

Murolak is at least clever enough to make use of the mandatory company of 100 Imperial soldiers imposed by Emperor Kabori of Kalamar to keep the peace. He sends them on patrols to protect the constant flow of merchant caravans to the eastern town and villages. For his own schemes, he employs a mercenary hand of 200 hobgoblins armed as heavy infantry (Murolak is at least half hobgoblin). The band is accompanied by a foul-tempered ogre named Ogg-Chukka, easily identified by his black studded leather jack, coat of cave bear fur, and the massive iron maul he carries.
The city's barracks, located in the center of town near the duke's fortress (and Murolak's largest statue), house over 1,000 unruly soldiers, all of them in heavy armor with a variety of weapons. These soldiers cause frequent problems for the local constabulary, whom they outnumber and regularly outfight.

Industry & Trade

The economy in Oloseta is in a steady state of chaos. Sometimes, a great deal of wealth comes in through foreign merchants seeking cattle. Many merchants who are afraid to go directly to the towns in the hills (Balelido, Gimbatagh, Batullagh, and Gogido) use Oloseta as a meeting place, so the city's merchants make a fair profit by importing goods from the nearby hills.

Points of interest

The citizens avoid a short alley called Filly Street because of a brutal conflict between thieves' guilds a few years ago. Several thieves were left mortally wounded, and their cries for pain echoed for a long time. Nobody investigated for fear that the attackers would mistake them for rival guild members and cut them open as well. Most citizens who lived nearby still remember the "Night of Screams" and feel very guilty about not helping, despite their fear. Now they vigorously oppose any street violence and take steps to keep the street lit and free of debris that might hide an assailant.

Type

Large city

Population

23,700 humans, 2,100 hobgoblins, and 400 other humanoids

Location under

Tarisato