The Walled District
The Walled District is a part of the city of Tulwood. In ancient times it was built as a permanent fortress, as a safeguard against smuggling through the local fishing villages. By the founding of Tulwood, it had been developed into a castle, but was still closer to being an armed camp than a town. Nevertheless, the castle formed the core of the construction efforts, and was quickly repurposed into a residential district.
Over the course of the next 50 years, it became established as a haven for the wealthy elite. The old curtain walls of the castle allowed policing of who was allowed in and out, and the interior became a lavishly decorated private community, more and more cut off from society. As time went on, fewer and fewer people went in, and even fewer came back out.
At first this didn't raise many alarm bells. People, particularly those of high status, were welcome to their peculiarities. And the number of visitors continued to decline. Eventually, people weren't coming out at all. Eventually, people started asking questions, and rumours began as to what might be happening inside the old castle. A murderer had claimed it as his own, killing all the residents and anyone foolish enough to enter, rich cultists offering blood sacrifices to ancient gods, other, even less savoury things. Eventually, these rumours brought the attention of the Factors' Council, who sent a team of marines to investigate. A squad marched with orders to scout out the main street entered...and were never seen again. Several marines saw them walk in, but when they glanced away for a second and looked back, the squad was gone.
The Factors' Council had no idea what was going on, but concluded that the area was clearly dangerous. They ordered each gate blocked and guarded. In the decades since, the castle has since been surrounded by other buildings, and the Walled District is now mostly only known of by city planners and urban legend enthusiasts.
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