U'Rudaketa

At a Glance

U’Rudaketa is an old place by Kalamaran standards, built up from a coastal fishing town into a major city during the reign of Thedorus. While its most prominent features–great arches over the city gates, a large arena, and a courthouse that seats hundreds open to the public –have fallen into disrepair, some features have been maintained through the ages. The city’s roads are paved smoothly enough for wheeled traffic (as long as it does not move too quickly).
Statues and plaques dot the city, sometimes in odd places, such as the hero with sword raised to the heavens that serves as a hitching post. A bronze dedication plaque to an old temple that identifies the Two Jugs of Beer tavern in the fashion of a palimpsest. There is also the statue of former Duke Magapar, once known for a naval battle in which his crew sank two pirate vessels at the cost of his own ship; then Magapar kept fourteen of his crew alive in the water until help came four days later. Magapar is now known for keeping the crows out of the northern fields of a farmer named Samir.

Temples

The Temple of the Stars, in its position as guardian of ships, has a respectable temple led by Worlder Oratak Pateris, a cheerful man with the build of a marathon runner. Other temples with prominent membership include the Temple of the Three Strengths, the Parish of the Prolific Coin (which gives lie to its name with its abandoned appearance and drafty interior), and the House of Solace. Ironically, the House of Solace’s most devout parishioners these days are soldiers. These men, infantry for the most part, are tired of the war and wish the conflict that keeps them from their families to finally end, one way or another.
Lesser temples include the Halls of the Valiant, the Assembly of Light, the Parish of Love, and the Temple of Enchantment. Household shrines exist for the benefit of those who worship the Raiser, the Coddler, Queen Destiny, or the Laugher. In general, people of U’Rudaketa are indifferent in their faith. They attend a service when the urge strikes them, pay a tithe if a cleric confronts them directly and make offerings only on the largest of holy days.

Mages & Sages

With few people turning to their neighborhood cleric for their needs, wealthy merchants, nobles, and guildmasters must find a wizard for removing curses and other minor spellcasting needs. Fanam Setiran has developed complex mathematical procedures that have convinced her that she can earn the most profit for her time by casting nothing but Arcane Lock, so that ritual (and higher-level metamagic versions of it) is one of the few she knows. Of course, few wizards are so specialized, and a prospective adventurer who needs a tough lock opened with Knock, or a favorite sword magically marked can find a wizard to perform the task for a reasonable price. Spells with special material components, spells that debilitate the caster, and combat spells are higher priced (five to ten times as much) or not for sale.
Hejrast, a gnome scholar and illuminator, lives in a monastic home near the southeast corner of the city. He shares his homely abode with religious texts, bottles of bright ink, and quills (and a few of the geese he takes them from). Anyone who succeeds at a Knowledge Religion check (DC 20) can recognize Hejrast’s name. He has personally copied hundreds, if not thousands, of canons and religious texts for all of the good and neutral faiths. Hejrast’s sole indulgence of his own ego is that he writes his name in small letters at the bottom of one of the book’s pages.

Underworld

Where there are wizards, thieves are not far behind. A spellbook is a valuable item, one that low-level wizards must protect with ingenuity. Since few wizards in U’Rudaketa are strong enough to ward their possessions with mystical traps or store them in extradimensional spaces, they often resort to cunning disguises and mundane locks.
The U’Rudaketa thieves’ guild has virtually abandoned all other activities to search for these items. The few wizards with wealth and power hire them to steal the books from rivals and potential rivals, while the smuggling arm of the guild knows how much it can get for these books from crooked students at the Pekalese College of Magic (perhaps many thousand gold pieces, depending on the condition and contents of the spellbook). Guildmaster Borokar has an uncanny knack for knowing where to find hidden books that he attributes to his experience as a child working for the previous guildmaster, who was also an illusionist of high caliber.

Government

Chelean is a recent appointee, a former privateer and reputed smuggler. He knows the coast along the Elos bay like the back of his hook and is often away at sea on some “diplomatic” mission or another. Chelean’s concerns are wealth, fame, and the welfare of his city, in that order.
Chelean has granted a local hero the title “seneschal,” partly because it pleased his ego to have somebody by that title (Chelean loves lording over his former pirate cronies, “I’ll have my seneschal handle the details”). The hero, Sir Delem, could not believe his eyes when he saw the hastily-prepared charter that gave him his position. The pirate had given him virtually unlimited power within the city.
As long as he did not bring the oversight to Chelean’s attention, he could work wonders for the city. One of his first tasks (after rushing to his temple to give thanks to The Speaker of the Word) was restoring the largest and most visible public works. This project stimulated the economy by employing a great portion of the town and performed miracles for the city’s morale, which was subdued by Chelean’s appointment.

Defences

While the army has only a token presence at U’Rudaketa, the city boasts a large navy, and is often home to many visiting Kalamaran vessels. Swift Basiran vessels make up the bulk of these visitors, although Kalamaran ships of the line bull their way in as well. At any given time, up to 1,000 sailors and marines clog the streets of U’Rudaketa, and their dozens of ships cram into the overworked port or weigh anchor offshore.
Captain Palopi, an unlanded Basiran count, is one of the least trusted ship captains in the navy. He suffers more desertions than anyone and therefore keeps press gangs on the streets nightly. Palopi understands the value of a trained crew and does not consider other captains’ sailors off limits. He knows the wind, however, and he can guide his ship next to the most agile of Reanaarian pirates like a lover seeking an embrace.

Industry & Trade

The sailors from Basir, Kalamar and occasionally others drink, gamble, and otherwise spend a great deal of money in U’Rudaketa. Entrepreneurs have built numerous inns, taverns, and brothels to accommodate their needs. The marketplace is a bit busier than Bet Seder’s as it is geographically farther from the conflict with Pekal. Additionally, a goodly amount of overland trade makes its way to U’Rudaketa from the numerous towns and villages dotting the Basiran coastline on the Imperial Road leading to Bet Urala and, of course, with Bet Urala herself.
U’Rudaketa is a stopping point for traders from Ozhvinmish as well, although the Ahznoms skip over it as often as not, finding Chelean distasteful and boorish. Personal clashes between the Svimohzish captains and their Kalamaran counterparts have at times threatened the trade, but the diplomacy of the Svimohzish merchants has–so far–kept the matters from affecting business.

Points of interest

The arena, in addition to being a place for regular gladiatorial events and other regular sporting events, also serves as a place for civic functions, such as the announcement of new laws, speeches, and executions. Attendance is traditionally poor, but Chelean is pleased to see that the crowds have been growing lately (for that matter, the arena itself is in better shape.). At night, the arena is a dueling ground for nobles. Even later, quarreling thieves use it for the same purpose (albeit with less formal procedure.)

Type

Large city

Population

16,100 Kalamaran humans, less a handful of halfling pig farmers and shepherds who clot the city’s roads with their animals.

Location under

Tokis