Rotherdame

The Kenku's Mine

Rotherdame, also known as Kenku's Mine, is a relatively small city in the northern mountains of The Ride. It used to be a thriving mining community, until most of its resources were depleted. It's economy was eventually unofficially structured around its tourism, church activities, agriculture and potent underworld activities. Over 90% of the population is of Kenku origin.

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Notable locations of the city:

The Rotherdame Theater: This theater is, by far, the biggest building in the city. It used to house the Thieves' Guild in its underground passages, and was known to most as a very large, gothic-styled, theater used to present grandiose shows that would attract people from everywhere. During the government's reorganization, it was bought by the Merchants and is now a very large indoor market. The Thieves' Guild had to pack and reestablish itself elsewhere following the purchase, during a night now know as ''The Raid''.

The Farmer's Market: Your typical run of the mill farmer's market, except without the smiles and the lush vegetables. The tables are sparse with products due to the recent bad weather that plagued the land. A lot of beggars wait around, asking for free food any chance they have.

The Grand Market: Fresh food at an unreasonable price. Not a lot of it, due to the recent weather, but the freshest most high quality items in town.

Soup kitchen of Rotherdame: Unsold vegetables are used here to help the poor survive. The food is renown as being ''barely ok'', but it's still better than nothing.

Ripo & Dogo's Carnival: This carnival is ran by two clowns: Ripo, a sad human that and Dogo, a grumpy goblin, both heavy smokers with nothing to do ever since the carnival has stopped bringing in money. Now, it serves only as a sad reminder of happier times in Rotherdame. For some reason, the decrepit area always smells like fresh cotton candy. Ripo and Dogo barely make a living by entertaining villagers during the summer festival. A lot of shady individuals, probably related to the Thieves' Guild, are usually seen around Ripo and Dogo's shack near the carnival, which they use as an office. Some people say that they do shady deals there, others that the clowns are the victims of weekly low-level shakedowns.

The Auction Square: A place where public auctions happen, lead by some less-influential merchants of Rotherdame.

The Adventurer's Guild: A place for adventurers to collect quests, and sell monster parts for a little extra gold.

The Old Mine: An exhausted mine now repurposed by the Church as a graveyard for the people who didn't have a family to be buried with. The place is not open to the public.

The Coal Mine: The only mine still actively used, in order to provide warmth for the rough winters.

The Dead Goose Pub: A dangerous bar that used to be a quaint little affordable place to drink. It stopped being so when the Thieves' Guild started using it as a meetup place. Now,folks that aren't quick with a dagger avoid the place at all cost, and usually steer clear from its dirty windows hiding a smoke-filled interior. Juniper, the sweet and jovial Kenku bartender, specializes in helping people meet who they need to meet. She knows everyone and knows about most of their secret operations.

The Festival Grounds: On the outskirts of the city, during summer and fall, two separate agricultural festivals unite the city in beautiful moments, where clowns, magicians, musicians and all other form of entertainers unite to offer the city a much needed rest. Those festivals are vastly considered as the two happiest weeks of the year.

The Grand Cathedral: This large church is a magnificent work of architectural wonder.. Cardinal Jean-Paul II preaches to his many followers there.

Botanical Gardens: A seemingly beautiful place that hides its dark secrets.

The Crow's Distillery: Bane Lecook, a large, bald, muscular human, owns this beautiful log cabin, where the most high quality drinks of the region are served, at a price. Bane has won several prizes all over Faerûn for its delicious drinks.

The Yankee Saloon: Your typical run-of-the-mill saloon where people come to drink and gamble their problems away. The innkeep, Bob Bissonnette, along with his establishment look weirdly out of place.

The Fresh and Cold: A beautiful and ornate Church-owned tavern within the Higher District (very close to the houses of the more fortunate of Rotherdame) where paladins are invited to come in and drink for free. The prices of the drink are outrageous, but no one minds when it attracts paragons of virtue around. Lomar Limun, a local farmer, is the sole provider of wheat for the legendary ''Fresh & Cold'' beer.

A Stable Ride: A stable-house where you can find a horse at a reasonable price. If you are a criminal, it might or might not be a haven for you to lay low in one of the hidden rooms.

Father Briar's Bakery: The best place in town for fresh-baked goods. The Birdjoy family provides the ingredients to Father Briar, without knowing that he sells opium obtained from the botanical gardens to their eldest son, Timothy. Father Briar appears as a friendly man, but only a few know that he skims money from the business owned by the Church. He also abuses his influence as a valued member of the clergy to not pay his ''Business Fee'' to the Merchant Union.

The Mountain Museum: A small, heavily windowed, museum dedicated to the past mining activities of the city.

The Silver Forge: A forge that works primarily for the Church's paladins, rarely accepting requests from other customers. There seems to be at least 6 employees working here at all times. They specialize in the making of silvered weaponry.

The Agora: Preachers come here to deliver preachings. This can prove to be bothersome for the merchants trying to sell their items.

The Town Hall: Local meeting area where the population has a voice, for an evening per month. The Birdjoy's family leads those. The Church actively opposes this location, and Cardinal Jean-Paul II has tried many times to have it closed.

The Underbaron Manor: A beautiful, grandiose building. Underbaron Kroll, a large Orc, resides there. He runs the underworld of the town, trying to keep everyone in order. He is a prominent face of power in the city. An hidden cellar in his manor hides a staircase that leads into a long tunnel. This tunnel connects with the Church's secret necromancy labs.

Orphelina: A beautiful orphanage paid for by the Church. It looks wonderful and the children there are usually very well behaved. It can house over 100 children and provides education, food and shelter for those lost souls. Only a few know about the real horrors that the basement houses, as Ozmond, the kids' ''night guardian'' tortures the kids with the mindset that ''pain makes you stronger''. He is helped by Sabrina del Victoria Black, a high-profile assassin from the Thieves' Guild, into turning some of the higher-potential orphans into skilled assassins for the Church.

The Station: Built in 1487 after the Great War, using plans bought from the Shining Lands , the station is the easiest access to the city from the bottom of the mountain, which is notably hard to escalate.

Heroes at a Cost: A large casern where rich folks can come and pay paladins to escort them for ''Undead Safaris''. Those happen on the other side of the Chasm of the Forgotten.

The Chasm of the Forgotten: A massive chasm where the bodies of many have supposedly ended up. Some of them might have recently started ''moving''.

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1300s after the Great War:

It becomes increasingly obvious for the government of the city that the mines are going dry, and that the coffers of Rotherdame are on the verge of an unprecedented economical crisis. An insidious war of the factions eventually emerges, and the government eventually topples for a short while. After a political reorganization, four factions arise to form the new government. In order of influence, the city is lead by the Church, the Thieves' Guild, the Merchants and the Farmers.

The Church, as a way to bring in money, starts a paladin order that specializes in the killing of undead that live in the plains over the northern bridge. Anyone can come in and go on an ''undead safari''. This generates a lot of tourism, as a lot of rich socialites from Faerun come to try and kill their own undead. Some rumors said that these undead are produced by the Church itself, but they were short-lived.

1490s after the Great War:

Sacdediamants a Kenku obsessed with diamonds, hooks up Clochette Buffet, his cell leader in the underworld, with a contact outside of the city that would buy diamonds from the city for outrageous prices. Thus starts a hunt for diamonds in the city, as it was once potent with those gemstones. The organization expanded into what is now called ''Purple Taboo'', an illegal diamond trading business that operated only during the 1490s after the Great War.