Rosaleta
At a Glance
Rosaleta sits on a windy shelf overlooking the blue Kalamaran Bay. The view is spectacular, and everyone in the city seems to think so. Many homes, even of the middle class, have more than one story, and large windows on the upper stories are apparently mandatory by custom, if not by law. The people are friendly to strangers, but heavily armed strangers are treated with suspicion. Since the port's narrow mouth provides a great natural defense to deter would-be pirates, the nearby Rolutel Forest harbors no dangerous monsters and the city is well inside the borders of a large kingdom, Rosaleta is one of the most peaceful cities visitors will ever see.City Map
Temples
The Hall of Oaths, the Courts of Justice, the Parish of Love, the Church of the Night's Beauty. the Church of the Silver Mist, and the Founder's Creation have temples in Rosaleta. The most extravagant is the Church of the Silver Mist, which has a 50 foot diameter copper-plated dome visible for miles. Not to be outdone, the Hall of Oaths has a jade statue of the Speaker of the Word sitting on a marble pedestal inside their worship area. The Parish of Love is building a fountain that they hope will reach 100 feet into the air. The Church of the Night's Beauty has a craftsman working long hours creating stained-glass designs for their temple.Mages & Sages
The city has a wizards' guild of four wizards who meet for drinks and pastries in a bakery twice a month. They complain about the weather, lie about where they have been and who they know, and entertain the bakery's patrons with minor spells. Cabaron, the group's newest member, has a more sinister background. Until 557 I.R., Cabaron was an active member of the Network of the Blue Salamander and worked closely with the mind (layers who lead the society. He incited rebellions in certain towns that have been recently erased from Kalamar's map by Kabori's implacable armies. Not by coincidence, these towns were all extremely loyal to the Emperor before Cabaron's appearance. He is not in Rosaleta to work, however. He is in hiding after Imperial spies almost discovered him in O'Par, where he was feeding Kabori's spies misinformation about the military preparedness of Tharg,gy.Underworld
Rosaleta's crime center is a literal underworld. The thieves' guild meets in an old catacomb that has been our of use since the Church of the Life's Fire came to prominence about 200 years ago. This macabre meeting hall sees only a dozen or so attendees on regular monthly meetings, but on the annual Night of Knives, nearly the full membership of 200 rogues attends. An evil hunter named Porisal leads the guild. This half-elf has an outstanding reward of 5,000 gp for killing a count's Family in eastern Kalamar, and he brags about both the reward and the murder ro his Followers. Porisal is known to have several magical items of extreme usefulness, including a major cloak of displacement, suit of white leather armor of invulnerability, and an amulet of proofagainst detection and location. The ranger's followers are bandits, muggers, and murderers and operate within clearly delineated wards within the city. Porisol's control of RosaIeta's underside is absolute and unquestioned.Government
Rosaleta is a choice fief controlled by the
noble house of Harutor. Duke Falamar Harutor has ruled
it For the last ten years, ever since his older brother
N'Manac died without an heir. Falamar is loyal to Kabori
and friendly with his neighbors. Harutor has two sons; the
elder acts as magistrate and nominal commander of the
militia. The younger, a brilliant scholar and imaginative
artist, has joined the Theater of the Arts and has elevated
that previously unknown temple to great status within
Rosaleta.
Defences
A bored garrison of 150 footmen guards the city from what they consider imaginary enemies. The men are a sloppy military unit: they wear only partial armor, sleep or play cards on duty, and they rarely patrol. Rolator, their captain, spends most of his time at the city's one small brothel.
Industry & Trade
Since most foreign merchant vessels land at the more easily accessible ports of Bet Kalamar (arrivals From south) or Sobeteta (arrivals from the north or west), Rosaleta's imports primarily arrive from Bet Kalamar and Sobeteta. Rosaleta's merchant vessels export to all major ports.
Rosaleta also sees considerable overland trade with the marketing juggernaut at Bet Kalamar. Even caravans operated by competitors travel together for protection from bandits and wandering ores or gnolls. The city imports worked tools and luxury items (including furs, jewelry, and exotic wines) and exports wheat, soft pine for Furniture, and mint, for which they have an excellent reputation within the kingdom.
Points of interest
The cliff face over which Rosaleta sits
bears a natural rock formation that looks like a contorted
human face. The "wailing man" is infamous among sailors
who pass near the area. Sailors avoid passing the city at
night especially because they Fear the stone face might have
some hostile arcane powers.