Ronazagh

At a Glance

A huge clearing in the forest shows where humanoid hands have destroyed acres of trees so the hobgoblins could build their city here. A wall twice the height of a man runs inside a Fetid moat, broken by two gates. Inside the gates, mangy stray dogs fight over bones in the dirty streets, and naked children brawl among them. Armed merchants barter over commonplace items. Metalclad soldiers fill the streets.
The very center of the city shows its origin: distinctly human buildings show similarities to Meznamishii architecture, and inscriptions date the human section of the city to before the founding of Meznamish. The true hobgoblin dwellings are wood buildings on stone foundation, with one large central room that serves as a cooking, sleeping, eating, and social room, with several smaller adjacent rooms that serve as storage or possibly private rooms for the patriarch and his wife (or wives).

Temples

A squat black rock passes for the Church of the Endless Night in Ronazagh. The slipshod workmanship testifies to the speed with which the temple was built. Pitmasrer Gornatt Ironwall ordered the old temple destroyed and this new one built beside its predecessor after a rogue cleric of the Eternal Lantern left a continual flame on the altar. Its followers are soldiers, officers, and common workers.
Less important temples to the Temple of Armed Conflict, the Congregation of the Dead, the House of Knives and even the Fraternal Order of Aptitude boast a few loyal followers. Their followers and their wealth combined do not equal the power of the Church of the Endless Night. A few soldiers worship at the Temple of Armed Conflict, a handful of scholars and sages attend the Congregation of the Dead and the Fraternal Order of Aptitude, and thieves and assassins swell the ranks of the House of Knives.

Mages & Sages

Grezat plies a few spells hoping to pass himself off as a hedge wizard. He lives outside of the city's walls, among the pungent poor dwellings that receive runoff from the city's moat during heavy rain. His knowledge of herbs and medicines allows him to earn a pittance selling poultices and balms. Grezat learns which of his clientele have valuable jobs and sometimes gives them charms that ward off disease for a week or two. The charms also allow the assassin to spy out potential employers - or targets.

Underworld

The Duke maintains a secret police force that employs elite archers and assassins to eliminate potential rivals or insurgents. The mysterious Murder Brigade numbers barely over platoon strength (about 50 individuals), but their effectiveness goes far beyond their numbers. When the political climate is quiet enough, Grullagz uses them to obliterate any rising thieves' guilds. These pogroms also allow the Brigade to bolster their own numbers; they recruit from among these guilds as well as from regular soldiers and snipers in the army.

Government

Ronazagh is a semi-capital of Ul-Karg. The King's brother, Grand Duke Grullagz and most of the military reside there, so the country defers to it in all matters not commented upon directly by the King. The city, like the rest of the country, is ruled strictly by the military. Grullagz is a capable commander but hates administration, so he leaves the mundane functions of overseeing the city rule to his second-in-command. This governor is a short hobgoblin named Vulak. Vulak owns in excess of 300 slaves, and his farmland (most of which he has never seen) produces sugar beets, timber, and wood for strong bows and spear shafts.
There is no difference between civil and military government. Soldiers act as police when they feel like it and people have no option to resist except by force of arms.

Defences

Ronazagh's garrison roughly matches the civilian population. Principal operations include harassing the humans and demihumans on the island, but the army's commanders subtly mine the reports from the raiders to determine the military strength of their enemies. Over 6,000 soldiers in heavy armor (the typical thick lamellar common to most soldiers in Ul-Karg) operate out of Ronazagh.

Industry & Trade

The Kargi are not great farmers. Their slave-worked mines generate a large fraction of Ronazagh's wealth—rubies, copper, gold, and iron. Loot contributes a great deal as well. The unrest in Zazahni and the proliferation of small unaligned towns and city-states across the central and western part of Svimohzia mean that the island is ripe with targets for raids.

Points of interest

Ronazagh relies on narrow canals to bring water From the Durbattum River to its people and farms. Four of these canals enter the city in parallel underneath the walls, and numerous foot bridges cross these canals within the city. Guardposts of six to eighteen soldiers stand near each of these bridges, and anyone swimming in a canal (which is not a healthy activity) is suspected of being a spy trying to sneak into the city. The canals carry crocodiles, dire rats, and even more hazardous creatures into Ronazagh's streets.

Type

City

Population

11,400 hobgoblins.