City of Ben Doa
Ben Doa is a large city and is the seat of the Duchy of Ben Doa. It has a population of more than 17,000 souls and is located at the mouth of the Caldar River on the Eastern Sea. It is located on the southern shore of the Bay of Caldar, where the Caldar River empties into the Eastern Sea. The city is the ducal seat, but as it is in the southern portion of the duchy, it is currently experiencing an economic boom that the northern portion is not, even with the Duke of Ben Doa ruling over both portions.
Ben Doa has a thriving ship building and textile industry established in and around the city. As the southern portion of the duchy is so much smaller than the northern, it is far more focused on industrial production rather than agricultural production. River barges, hulks, cogs and galleys are produced here by the score every year, and everything from fine wool, linen and felt clothing to heavy grades of canvas and duck for sails, tents and tarps are made in with the hundreds of looms and spinners powered by wind, water and mule.
Ben Doa is unique in Imesse as the city with the largest and most visible remnants of an ancient and nearly forgotten civilization. Portions of the city's perimeter walls are the remains of this lost culture's constructions, as is the harbor and several large statuary pedestals.
Demographics
Primarily Human, but with a significant number of Halflings and Dwarves. There is a large community of Clan Hardhelm Dwarves living along the city walls in small but well-built stone homes. These Dwarves number nearly 3,000 and are primarily masons and quarriers, repairing and improving the city wall defenses whenever and where ever it is needed.
Government
The Duke of Ben Doa rules in the name of King Mak II, and has appointed a Mayor, a Briar and a Sherriff as well.
Infrastructure
A large, tightly-packed city within a small footprint. The defenses of the city have incorporated several ancient structures into their design, giving the city a unique presentation. Roads within the city walls are typically very narrow but all are paved with fine square cobbles and are well maintained. The city's most impressive structure, however, is it's circular stone harbor. Built of the same granite blocks as the ancient walls by the same mysterious ancient people, the harbor is a massive structure spanning some 700 feet of clear calm water with a 100 foot entrance to the Eastern Sea. Ships unload at the tall walls of the harbor via derricks and cranes that have been built on top of the wide walls.
History
Ben Doa is an ancient city, as evidenced by the ruins incorporated into its infrastructure. The current incarnation of the city dates back many hundreds of years to a small kingdom that stretched from the Caldar River to the Teeth of the North and the Arian border. Conquered by Benn Ohn in 4 BF and incorpporated into the Kingdom of Imesse upon his becoming King, it was divided into several smaller divisions, including the current City of Ben Doa, the then County of Grenwich and the territories of the future Barony of Loman Dur.
Points of interest
The Harbor at Ben Doa is a wonder of the world. The harbor itself is a huge circle of massive stone walls, stretching nearly 700' from the entrance to the far side. The entire harobor has an average depth of more than 40', and while there are a few known blocks on the bottom (presumably having fallen from the walls sometime in the distance past), the bottom is mostly fine, clean sand that makes anchoring ships in the harbor safe and easy. The walls that define the harbor are 60' thick and made of granite blocks each estimated to weigh 300 tons. These massive walls stand 35' tall and have been carefully levelled with local cut stone to create a smooth surface on which men can operate the many cranes and derricks used to move cargo to and from the inside of the walls to the outside, as the only opening in the structure faces directly east and is almost 100' wide. Old beyond imagining, this sheltered harbor was designed and built by a forgotten race for a forgotten purpose.
The Great Keep of Ben Doa is a massive square tower, 280' to a side and standing 110' tall. Six stories tall with several deep cellars beneath, the Great Keep is a stately and palatial home of more than 500,000 square feet and the residence of more than 400 souls. It is an ancient structure, as well, but it is not thought to be the work of the same builders that constructed the harbor or the broken wall sections. The tower is built parallel to a large section of the original ancient wall, however, 60' wide and 90' tall and connected to the much more modern and much smaller city walls to both the north and south. Now more palace than fortress, it is the primary residence and seat of the Duke of Ben Doa and his ducal government.
Architecture
There are two huge sections of the city's walls that are relics of an ancient structure built (literally) thousands of years before the current settlement. These truly ancient structures are built of finely cut and polished red granite, but the vast majority of the city's buildings and walls are all built of local gray-colored limestone Most finer homes and shops are roofed in gray slate brought in from the west, and older or poorer buildings are roofed in wooden shingles.
Geography
Located on the southern shore of the mouth of the mighty Caldar River, Ben Doa is built on the rocky low bluffs of the Eastern Sea. Portions of the city's walls actually extend all the way to the water's edge on both the river front and the seaside of the city.
Climate
Warm, humid summers and cold, dry winters with a near constant wind blowing onto or off of the shore all the year round.
Type
City
Population
17,000
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
