Densport

"The Maw hasn't erupted for an age, but when it finally happens half the world will be celebrating."

-Ivan 'the Black Cat' Sheboleth, Notorious Elven Terrorist

 Densport is the largest and most powerful city state of the Free Coast. Home to well over one million citizens, Densport dwarfs every other city in sheer population. Visitors to the city often find the streets dirty, the air smoky, and the markets filled with the cacophonous roar of thousands hawking their wares. Nearly tripling the size of the next largest city, Densport is unlike any other place on the Freecoast.

Densport is built upon the slopes of a long dormant volcano known only as "The Maw." Creeping halfway up the slopes of the massive mountain the city sprawls across its entire southern slope. There are five distinct districts within Densport: The High City, Watertown, The Dens, Grand Market, and Dunwaith. Each district is home to wholly different cultures, industries, architecture, and in some cases languages. Ultimately Densport is a city of contradictions. At once cosmopolitan and grossly segregated, tremendously wealthy and desperately poor. Nearly a country in itself, many thousands have lived and died within the great walls of Densport without ever stepping foot outside.

The High City
The High-City lies on the cliffs jutting out on a minor peak of the Maw. Here in the High-City all of the tremendous wealth and power of Densport is housed. The five major families of Densport hold manors in the high city along with the Prince, and the Pontifex of the Densport Temple. Though walled off from the rest of Densport the High-City is perhaps the most dangerous district. Cut-throat politics is often carried out through assassination, thuggery, and outright feuding on the white cobbled streets of the high city. Central to this violence is control of the Princely seat, which is uniquely non-inherited but rather chosen by the Electors. Few Princes die of natural causes, but the tremendous power of the office seduces every noble in the city, despite the dangers.

Watertown
A ramshackle jumble of piecemeal cabins, rickety warehouses, and cobbled-together apartments. Watertown is the commercial hub of Densport where it is home to nearly all of the cities moorings. Most residents of Watertown serve in some respect with the commercial fleet of Densport: Pirates, sailors, merchants, and fisherman all call Watertown home. Watertown is unique in that it is the only district that lies outside the cities massive walls. Rather, Watertown is a semi-permanent residence that expands and contracts with the needs of commerce. With this role Watertown has a reputation for being exceptionally ugly. A hodgepodge of architectural styles from all across the Freecoast, watertown is home to a largely lawless, self-contained society. Few venture to watertown without necessity, and the residents of Watertown are often ostrecized as urchins without a "true" home. Today, Watertown is home to one of the vast floating cities of the Sky Dwarves who have sought refuge at Densport from the marauding pirates from the Bay of Needles. With the arrival of the Sky Dwarves Watertown has become a vibrant marketplace flooded from exotic wares from across the Free Coast, though this is not without its cost. The mutual antipathy between the Sky Dwarves and their subterranean cousins has sparked violence of late, and many question how long before there is tribal war on the streets of Watertown.

Dunwaith
The industrial heart of the city, Dunwaith is the smog covered factorum of Densport. Located in a gully at the base of the Maw Dunwaith is an ancient community. Honeycombed with smelters, bellows, and tanneries Dunwaith is the foetid core of the Densport economy. Drawing craftsmen from across the Freecoast, Dunwaith is home to the largest community of Dwarves in the Human world, and some of the finest dwarven craftsmen anywhere. The ancient stone-hewn warehouses of Dunwaith dominate the cityscape, with walls stained black from the everpresent smog that lingers in the Dunwaith valley. Many natives of Dunwaith have adopted the laconic attitude of their Dwarven neighbors often being seen as unfriendly, and aloof, though universally respected for their talents. The twisting alleys of Dunwaith have recently been made victim to a killer who has terrorized the community this past year. The City Guard has yet to find any leads, and a thick blanket of suspicion has fallen over Dunwaith. Many fear riots in the streets if this killer isn't found soon.

Grand Market
The beating heart of Commerce on the Free Coast, the Grand Market is a venue where nearly anything can be found for the right price. Thousands of individual traders make the trek every day into the Grand Market for a chance to sell to the most prestigious merchants on all of Adurra. Endless rows of carts, stands, auction booths, and grocers line the vast plaza that dominates the Grand Market. Merchants from all walks of life hawk their wares at the Grand Market, and a dozen different languages can be heard at any given time shouting in mock exasperation. Besides trade the Grand Market is also home to the minor nobility, and merchant class who call Densport Home. The vast sums of money flowing through the streets of the Grand Market finance the massive institutions that reside there. The Arcanists Tower, Temple of Densport, and Grand Keep of Pani'er to name a few all call the Grand Market home. Recent unrest in Summer's End has cut the Grand Market off from the lucrative spices of the east. To exacerbate these troubles pirates out of the Bay of Needles have made trade extremely dangerous driving prices sky high. Many minor traders whisper quietly about a conspiracy by the Grand Merchants to drive prices up through piracy, but without political clout these complaints fall on deaf ears. Should the Grand Merchants be found guilty of piracy however there are a select few Noble Houses who would gladly see them hang.

The Dens
The district from which the city earned its name. The Dens are a vast network of volcanic caves that have been inhabited since the dawn of civilization. Heated by the steam vents below the Maw the Dens have been a source of refuge from the harsh northern winters for millenia. Today the Dens are a dark ghettoized labyrinth that houses the countless thousands of the cities undesirables. Largely inhabited by freed elves the Dens has long been home to Densport's unwanted underclass. In recent years the brutal victory over the elven kingdoms has led to a massive influx of refugees from their devastated homeland. Many thousands of elves have been enslaved to serve on the estates of Densport's nobility, but many more live in silent poverty beneath the streets of Densport. It is believed that The Dens are too large to be mapped, and many expeditions over the years have given up in frustration. Despite the vastness of the tunnels most residents of The Dens understand the basic layout of their home district. Central to the Dens are a series of massive vaulted chambers that serve as gathering spaces for the community. Many of these chambers are over 100 feet tall with vast, and hauntingly beautiful, formations of volcanic crystals. In recent years the Dens has withdrawn from Densport society, and has instead attempted to live in increasing autonomy. Many of the elvish tribes have adopted a deeply xenophobic attitude massacring any City Guards foolish enough to wander into Elvish territory. With increasing danger the city has largely withdrawn from the Dens and has issued a stern warning to any citizens seeking to travel there. Though many think that there is more than simple poverty being hidden below the city.