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  PAUL “WIGGY” WADE-WILLIAMS
  •CITIES OF TRADE•
  •CITY BOOK 6•
  
  by Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams
  editor: Hans botHe 
  Cover & graPHiC design: robin elliott
  Cover illustration: simon todd
  CartograPHy: robin elliott
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  City book 6
   
  Cities of trade
  
  
  HAlfWAy
  HisToRy ................................... 3
  soCiAl HieRARCHy ................. 4
  GoveRnmenT .......................... 4
  The City Court ........................ 4
  lAW And oRdeR ...................... 5
  eduCATion .............................. 6
  ReliGion .................................. 6
  festivals .................................. 7
  miliTARy ................................... 7
  militia ...................................... 7
  Private forces ......................... 7
  TRAde & TRiBuTe ................... 8
  Taxes ....................................... 8
  markets ................................... 8
  ARCHiTeCTuRe ........................ 9
  THe sun ................................... 9
  mAjoR loCAles ....................... 9
  City Walls & Gates .................. 9
  outside the Walls ................... 9
  Cheap Ward .......................... 11
  foreign Ward ........................ 12
  Gold Ward ............................ 13
  market Ward ......................... 15
  silver Ward ........................... 17
  GlAssPoRT
  HisToRy ................................. 18
  soCiAl HieRARCHy ............... 19
  GoveRnmenT ........................ 19
  lAW And oRdeR .................... 20
  The Courts............................ 20
  Thieves’ Guild ...................... 20
  eduCATion ............................ 21
  ReliGion ................................ 21
  festivals ................................ 21
  miliTARy ................................. 22
  militia .................................... 22
  Private forces ....................... 22
  fire Watch ............................. 22
  TRAde & TRiBuTe ................. 22
  Taxes ..................................... 23
  markets ................................. 25
  ARCHiTeCTuRe ...................... 25
  THe sun ................................. 26
  mAjoR loCAles ..................... 26
  City Walls & Gates ................ 26
  dock district ........................ 26
  County district ..................... 28
  Glass district  ....................... 29
  merchant district .................. 31
  Contents
  
  HalfWay
  Gamemasters should note that much of the Hellfrost 
  Atlas entry for Coglelund applies to Halfway. This book 
  does not repeat that material verbatim. instead, it looks 
  at how existing information relates solely to Halfway.
  History
  in many minds, Coglelund and Halfway are the same 
  place—you can’t think of the former without automati-
  cally thinking of the latter. This is hardly surprising, since 
  Halfway is the center of temporal and spiritual power in 
  the realm, and around two-thirds of the small nation’s 
  population lives behind or close to its walls.
  it is widely accepted that Halfway’s origins lie back in 
  the turmoil following the devastating Blizzard War. Alas, 
  time has erased the historical origins of the village and 
  the Cogle family.
  The common view, pieced together by fragmentary 
  evidence and best-guess, is that they were a minor Anari 
  mercantile family living along the major trade road link-
  ing the ports of what is now the magocracy to Anari in-
  land holdings further north and east. it is quite possible 
  the original Halfway was little more than a trading post 
  or stopping point, somewhere weary merchants could 
  rest their mules and replenish supplies, and likely one of 
  many along the route.
  As the chaos that erupted after the War began to spread, 
  and disease and banditry whittled down the population, 
  merchants restricted their activities to short journeys. 
  With the Anari empire shattered and many soldiers turn-
  ing to banditry to survive, Coglelund as-was became a 
  wasteland, a sparsely-populated wilderness through 
  which many merchants refused to cross.
  As village after village and trading post after trading 
  post fell to disaster, the Cogles acted to safeguard their 
  meager holdings. first, they hired groups of bandits as 
  mercenaries to protect their home—the bandits received 
  room, board, and a regular wage, whereas other gangs 
  would now be forced to fight for their booty rather than 
  taking it from unarmed, frightened peasants. The gangs 
  who refused to swear fealty to the Cogles were either 
  weakened by their failed raids against the warehouses or 
  moved away in search of easier pickings.
  Having a small army was certainly a boon, but money 
  to pay and equip the soldiery wasn’t growing on trees. 
  it was now that the first seeds of the current city were 
  planted. in a move that drained what little remained 
  of their fortune, the Cogles invested in constructing a 
  number of fortified warehouses along the trade road. 
  The family was also quick to patronage the fledgling iron 
  Guild. An astute business move, it allowed them to offer 
  protection to caravans on the road. messengers were dis-
  patched into neighboring lands carrying proclamations 
  that the village was a safe haven. 
  no longer forced to carry their goods to distant mar-
  kets, with armed escorts available, and the land mostly 
  cleared of brigands and monsters, merchants could 
  safely store their wares here for a fee and purchase 
  goods deposited by caravans from other lands. Acting 
  as brokers, the Cogles soon found money pouring into 
  their coffers.
  At first, the site was simply referred to as “the halfway 
  point.” quite where it was halfway to or from depended 
  on one’s point of origin, of course. sages are of the 
  opinion that the name developed around in the late 2nd 
  century iR, with the village located roughly equidistant 
  from Ravensburg and the Green stream (which at that 
  time marked the border of the magocracy). The first writ-
  ten mention of the name Halfway occurred in a ledger 
  dated to 207 iR.
  The first temple to var was erected in 105 iR on the 
  site of an older shrine. This date is a verifiable histori-
  cal record—the contract detailing their purchase of land 
  near to the warehouses still exists in the temple archives. 
  Through their network of clerics and followers, the cult 
  soon brought new customers and settlers. Within a gen-
  eration, Halfway had become a town.
  until 237 iR, Halfway was protected only by a ditch 
  
                               
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  
  and palisaded bank. Worried that their investments were 
  vulnerable, the cult of var, acting as the mouthpiece of 
  various mercantile families, demanded Halfway be forti-
  fied. The merchant prince, Robert Cogle, opposed such 
  expense, but sly insinuations that his neighbors were 
  watching halfway with greedy eyes soon had him dig-
  ging into the coffers. despite his initial reluctance, the 
  merchant prince had the foresight to build the walls to 
  accommodate further population growth.
  The years 320 to 325 iR were a turbulent time. At this 
  point in history, the rules of succession required only that 
  a Cogle wield the title of merchant prince. Their hearts 
  and souls turned black by the insidious whisperings of 
  vali’s clergy, members of the extended family hatched 
  plots, sharpened their knives, and committed murder. 
  eight merchant princes ruled in just five years.
  As the power struggle threatened to send the city into 
  a spiral of chaos, the cult of var acted swiftly and harshly. 
  Hiring a mercenary army, the cult seized power. All 
  members of the Cogle family involved in the coup were 
  outlawed in perpetuity or executed.
  Acting as regent, the high priest of var nominated a 
  young child, elena Cogle, to become the next merchant 
  prince. To give them their due, the cult willingly relin-
  quished the regency when she reached her majority. in 
  order that history might not be repeated, the law of suc-
  cession was changed and the modern system introduced.
  Halfway has suffered minor troubles since, such as 
  plague (387, 419, and 422 iR), the strange simultaneous 
  disappearance of every cat in the city (401 iR), and vari-
  ous trade disputes (the worst resulting in the labor Riot 
  of 450 iR), but it has continued to prosper.
  soCial HierarCHy
  Halfway’s social hierarchy follows that of Coglelund as 
  a whole, as described in the Hellfrost Atlas.
  Regardless of any titles, the citizens of Halfway are 
  utter snobs when it comes to their rural cousins. in gen-
  eral, they see their rural kin as being one step lower on 
  the social ladder than their title presumes. for instance, 
  any of Halfway’s merchant-Counts, no matter how they 
  earned their money, would consider a rural merchant-
  Count to be of lower status than themselves simply be-
  cause he doesn’t come from the city. similarly, a citizen 
  whose very Rich edge came from rural activities (such as 
  farming or mining) wouldn’t be quite as respectable as 
  one whose money was made in Halfway.
  government
  The merchant Prince, currently leon Cogle iv, is ab-
  solute ruler of Halfway and the realm of Coglelund. no 
  one person can hope to run a city, let alone a nation, 
  single-handed, however. 
  Coglelund has two noble courts. The first, the national 
  Court, handles affairs outside the capital. its name aside, 
  it is very much considered the junior court, a poor sec-
  ond choice for those who want influence. The second, 
  the City Court, helps govern Halfway and is actually the 
  premier advisory and bureaucratic body.
  tHe City Court
  City courtiers, officially titled ministers, fall into cat-
  egories. The first comprises those whose existing titles 
  guarantee them a place at court. for example, the two 
  ministers of military justice are always the Commanders 
  of foot and Horse, while the minister of Trade is always 
  rules of tHe realm
  These setting rules apply in Halfway. since three of 
  the Coglelund rules of the realm apply in Halfway, 
  they are repeated here for completeness.
  * Caravan Hub: Characters who make a successful 
  streetwise roll can locate a caravan departing in the 
  next 1d6 days. on a raise, the caravan is leaving in 
  half that time.
  * Fashion Trends: fashion in Halfway is very im-
  portant to the nobility. unfortunately, trends are 
  set by leon Cogle, a man whose tastes change as 
  frequently as the wind. The Charisma bonus from 
  tailored clothing lasts just one season in Halfway.
  * Markets: The markets of Halfway are bursting 
  with all manner of goods. special Availability items 
  can be found in the Temple of Coin at double the 
  regular price, though the Gm has the final word on 
  exactly what is available to purchase.
  * Money Matters: in Halfway having money mat-
  ters—people want to be associated with the rich, 
  for wealth equates to social influence. Characters 
  with the Rich edge have +1 Charisma in Halfway. 
  This has no effect on the noble edge, which grants 
  its regular +2 bonus. Heroes with the very Rich 
  edge have an additional +1 Charisma bonus, +2 if 
  they also have the noble edge. 
  much of this bonus depends on how the hero 
  dresses. if he dresses to suit his wealth, the bonus 
  applies. if he walks around in adventuring gear or 
  otherwise acts to conceal his financial status, it does 
  not.
  * Native Language: Characters born in Halfway 
  must take Trader as their first language.
  * Snobbery: People with an income that comes 
  from a rural source have any Charisma bonus from 
  a noble title or the Rich and very Rich edges re-
  duced by one point in Halfway.
  Trade Center: village Availability items cost 50% of 
  normal, Town items 75%, and City items 90%. He-
  roes selling goods in Halfway have +2 to streetwise 
  rolls to find a buyer.
                                             
                                                             
  
  HalfWay
  
  the high priest of var. These individuals are known as 
  High ministers.
  As a plutocracy, Halfway’s second tier of ministers is 
  neither elected by the people or chosen for their experi-
  ence, but purchase their positions directly from the mer-
  chant prince. These individuals are called low ministers. 
  each time a position becomes open, candidates the title 
  is auctioned off. Any citizen can bid, but the price starts 
  at 5,000 gs a year and then rises in minimum bids of 250 
  gs. The sum is for a three-year term.
  many positions are filled by clerics, not because such 
  individuals are wealthy, but because their temple uses 
  its collective funds to help get one of its own clerics into 
  court where he or she can exert influence. in some cases, 
  regular citizens pool together to help an individual, cleric 
  or otherwise, become their mouthpiece.
  one notable instance occurred in 257 iR. After a hot 
  summer, the stench of raw sewage in the streets became 
  unbearable. The small cult of Brúni, god of dung, per-
  suaded hundreds of citizens to donate money in order 
  that a cleric might become minister of sewerage. Half-
  way still has no sewers, but at least the filth is regularly 
  scraped clear.
  There is no set number of low ministers. Any local 
  noble prepared to pay can petition leon Cogle to create 
  a ministerial post. Although greedy, the merchant prince 
  knows that having too many courtiers would result in 
  chaos. Thus, the post must come with some benefit to 
  the city. for instance, a minister of sewerage has a useful 
  purpose—to maintain the drains and runnels. A minister 
  of flower Arranging, on the other hand, does not.
  Being a minister means one has additional duties, but 
  there are plentiful perks. The obvious one is access to 
  the merchant prince, both at court and at social func-
  tions. likewise, it is a chance to befriend other people 
  with money and influence.
  Perhaps more importantly, it is a chance to skim mon-
  ies from the treasury. The merchant princes have always 
  accepted that ministers should be able to profit from 
  their posts, so long as they do not get too greedy. As a 
  rule of thumb, a minister earns a minimum additional 
  50% of his annual income from accepting bribes, over-
  charging for services, serving fines, using substandard 
  materials and charging for higher quality ones, and the 
  like. in many cases, a minister can double or treble their 
  annual income.
  laW and order
  Halfway has two separate law enforcement depart-
  ments, each with its own remit.
  The first are the Constables (also known as the City 
  Watch), who answer to the minister of the Constabulary. 
  They serve to uphold criminal and religious law. under-
  staffed, underpaid, and poorly equipped, they are more 
  likely to accept a bribe (known locally as “paying a con-
  stables’ fine”) to look the other way than make an arrest 
  for minor breaches of the law. The merchant prince takes 
  little notice of this practice—wise constables take their 
  “bonuses” into account when paying income tax and 
  always donate to the cult of Hothar.
  The Constables rarely venture into poorer districts, 
  where there is little opportunity for making a little cash 
  on the side. A token visit every few weeks and a beat-
  ing or two of known criminals is enough to remind the 
  citizens that the law is still present. At other times, mob 
  justice is the norm.
  Civil matters involving money and property fall under 
  the auspices of the cult of var. more specifically, the cult’s 
  paladins. They are also charged with the security of many 
  important mercantile buildings and the markets.
  Theft is a matter of contention in Halfway. it falls un-
  der criminal law, which means it is the mandate of the 
  Constables rather than the Thieftakers. no amount of 
  money has persuaded the merchant princes to alter the 
  law. As it stands, while Thieftakers can arrest a thief, they 
  must immediately hand them over to the Constables for 
  questioning and charging.
  The thieves’ guild suffers almost no harassment from 
  the Constables. not only does the guild pay income tax, 
  albeit at only 25% thanks to some creative accounting, 
  straight to the merchant prince to keep the crime of theft 
  becoming a matter for the Thieftakers, but the minister of 
  the Constabulary is in their employ. The latter is an open 
  secret in Halfway, but little can be done about it—she has 
  paid for the office (she has two years left to run).
  Her only crime is ignoring her officers’ taking bribes, 
  but so long as they drag enough captives before the 
  courts to keep the judiciary happy she isn’t about to 
  have them arrested. in return, the constables keep quiet 
  about the true extent of their larcenous activities.
  tHe Courts
  As noted in the Hellfrost Atlas, Coglelund has four 
  courts. save for the military Court, all judicial positions 
  are filled by clerics.
  The courts typically impose only three sentences. 
  misdemeanors are punished by fines, though these can 
  be excessive by the laws of other lands. death sentences 
  are rare—a dead citizen is not a viable source of income. 
  instead, serious crimes are punished by slavery, as is be-
  ing unable to pay a fine within one month.
  slaves are sold off at public auction on the first market-
  daeg of every month. starting prices are set based on the 
  convict’s skills and the length of their sentence—the lon-
  ger the sentence, the more the city charges. since they 
  are considered state servants effectively being loaned out 
  for the duration of their sentence, their new master may 
  not kill them out of hand.
  tHieves’ guild
  The resident thieves’ guild is known as the equalizers. 
  members are permitted to employ their trade only in cer-
  tain wards, as determined by their status (see City Book 
  #5 for more on thieves’ guilds).
  Apprentices are limited only to silver Ward. Thieves 
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  6
  may target both Cheap and foreign Wards as well. Guild 
  thieves are permitted to work market Ward, while the 
  few master thieves have the run of the entire city. 
  These restrictions have little to do with a thief’s tal-
  ents or risk of getting caught. Rather, they are a means 
  of ensuring low-rank thieves are not earning as much as 
  their superiors.
  While its members specialize in the “liberation of unat-
  tended wealth,” they are not above extortion. in return 
  for a yearly donation, the guild marks properties with its 
  sign. no theft is permitted from these establishments on 
  punishment of mutilation. The guild also polices crime 
  in the city, making sure outsider rogues do not ply their 
  trade. Those caught are given a severe beating before be-
  ing handed over to the city watch. if the thief has been 
  particularly harmful to the guild, the watch may be paid 
  a small bribe to ensure he meets with a nasty accident 
  guaranteed to end his larcenous career.
  The guild is currently at war with the cult of vali, who 
  it sees as a threat to their gambling enterprises. so far the 
  war has been waged in the shadows, but it is in danger of 
  spilling out onto the streets.
  greasing tHe Cogs
  money greases more than just the cogs of bureaucracy 
  in Halfway. from innkeepers to Constables to priests, 
  everybody expects to be offered a few scields in order to 
  facilitate their best services.
  A lowly craftsman might “need” a few silver scields to 
  have goods ready more swiftly, a messenger to run rather 
  than walk, or an innkeeper to pour the good wine rather 
  than the usual watered-down fare. if a priest is needed 
  to cast a miracle, a few gold scields ensure there is no 
  delay while he performs “other temple business” first. 
  ultimately, a citizen with enough money can have almost 
  anymore do anything he wants.
  natives of Halfway learn how much of a bribe is re-
  quired early on. strangers, however, may end up paying 
  too much (which is never a bad thing in the long run) or 
  offering too little (which results in bad feelings).
  similarly, giving a gratuity after paying for goods or ser-
  vices can help facilitate better service next time. Round up 
  the bill for a night’s entertainment in an inn a few times, 
  for example, and the innkeeper is likely to seat his favorite 
  patrons near the hearth, add an additional ladle of soup to 
  their bowls (maybe even with extra meat!), and be more 
  open to discuss his other patrons’ personal affairs.
  Crime
  Halfway has a problem with crime, but visitors have 
  little to worry about with regard to their person—assault, 
  murder, and rape are unusual. Petty theft is rampant, de-
  spite harsh penalties and the vigilance of the Thieftakers.
  most crimes involve coinage—it is believed that around 
  10% of the coin currently in circulation are forgeries, and 
  as much as 50% have been clipped. The latter is easily 
  foiled by carrying a set of merchant’s scales—ideal for en-
  suring you are not short-changed by coins of lower weight 
  than their face value.
  A popular scam is the “switch.” A shopkeeper or crafts-
  man accepts an order for goods, but says the item needs 
  altering to suit the customer. This is especially true for 
  weapons, armor, and clothes, but it also includes animals, 
  who must be fed and groomed beforehand. 
  in order that the seller doesn’t do the work and the 
  customer not return, he asks for payment in advance. A 
  receipt, stamped with the holy symbol of var, is issued so 
  the buyer has peace of mind that his money won’t van-
  ish. When the customer returns, the items he purchased 
  are handed over. The switch comes in the item handed 
  over being of poorer quality, and thus cheaper than the 
  original.
  eduCation
  Basic education is compulsory in Halfway—not be-
  cause the merchant prince gives a damn about the wel-
  fare of the citizens, but because it is yet another means of 
  screwing the populace out of more money.
  one upside to enforced education is that most of the 
  population, even in the poorest areas, is literate. With 
  advanced education an expensive must-have for those 
  who want to climb the social ladder, Halfway boasts 
  some of the most educated citizens anywhere.
  religion
  Worship of var has been the state religion for centu-
  ries. The god of trade is also Halfway’s patron deity. As 
  well as dominating the city’s religious landscape, the cult 
  wields much secular influence. merchant Prince Cogle is 
  under no compulsion to heed their advice, but he is at 
  least attentive when the high priest speaks.
  Aside from the jobs the cult provides, the average citi-
  zen doesn’t benefit from the cult’s power. for a cleric of 
  var, though, Halfway is a land of opportunity. Whether 
  running a private enterprise or enlisting in one of the 
  cult’s many ventures, there is plentiful chance for pro-
  motion for those who work hard, keep their noses clean, 
  and earn the cult money. There are pitfalls, of course—
  competition is a constant problem, and advancement 
  requires one to pay one’s superiors.
  var does not have the city entirely to himself—most 
  every deity has some worshippers. Those whose occu-
  pations rely on agriculture or livestock honor eostre as 
  normal, bureaucrats favor Hoenir, many constables and 
  most judges worship Hothar, craftsmen pray to ertha or 
  kenaz, and so on. With Halfway almost entirely reliant on 
  trade for its prosperity, the other cults have little chance 
  of usurping var any time soon.
  Halfway’s prosperity hides a deep-seated rot gnawing 
  at its foundations. from the poor who would pay any 
                               
                                       
  
  HalfWay
  
  price to achieve their dreams of becoming influential to 
  the already-rich who seek new pleasures to fill their dull 
  days, the cult of vali’s corruption aspect has wormed its 
  way to the city’s core. some clerics of sigel (whose pres-
  ence here is minimal) claim that no one in Halfway is free 
  of vali’s taint, either being beholden to the cult in some 
  manner or as an innocent pawn in the cult’s games.
  The cult is actually at war with followers of pestilen-
  tial aspect. While the latter see a crowded city ripe for 
  infecting with vile diseases or bringing to its knees with 
  famine, the corruption cult sees the city has a perfect 
  playground for its own devices and has no wish to watch 
  its potential victims diminish.
  festivals
  Citizens not working are not making money for the 
  merchant prince. While Cogle would dearly love to abol-
  ish all festivals, he also knows that happy workers are 
  productive workers. He would also face a severe back-
  lash from the cult of var.
  Auction day and Tally day (see Matters of Faith) are 
  public holidays. ordinary citizens are permitted to honor 
  any other high holy day as they wish, but must do so in 
  their spare time. local holidays are detailed below.
  The third endedaeg of Plohmonan (which also happens 
  to be the last day of oath Renewal day) is the merchant 
  prince’s official birthday, as it has been for every ruler for 
  at least five generations. The prince graciously allows the 
  common citizens a day off work so they can drink to his 
  health. He also expects gifts from the nobility. Thus who 
  decline (it is optional) quickly fall out of favor and find 
  themselves socially excluded not only by the merchant 
  prince but also those toadying up to him.
  Regardless of the weather and the proclamations of 
  eostre’s cult, the first Heafoddaeg of eostremonan is 
  marked as the start of spring, the day when trade cara-
  vans take to the roads after the winter lull. Although of-
  ficially a holiday, workers are expected to use this day to 
  prepare for the trading year ahead by ensuring vermin 
  are cleared out of storage buildings, all their tools are 
  ready for use, and the roads are cleared of any snow and 
  ice. mostly the citizens take advantage of the fact the day 
  gives them three consecutive days off work to drink and 
  feast before another year of hard work begins.
  military
  High walls alone are not enough to protect any city. 
  despite it being around three centuries since Halfway 
  was bothered by any real threat, there is vast wealth 
  stored in its warehouses and it has a reputation for being 
  a safe haven. There is also the potential threat posed by 
  the orc hordes should they crush vestmark. in order to 
  appease the magocracy and Royalmark, not to mention 
  his own merchants and citizens, merchant Prince Cogle 
  has stationed almost one-half of his army inside the city.
  At present, the barracks house 1,000 heavy infantry 
  (one entire division) and two companies of light cavalry 
  (including their mounts). of these, some 80% have never 
  tasted battle and the remainder has only dealt with ban-
  dits testing Halfway’s resolve to punish those who might 
  threaten its livelihood.
  due to the enforced, non-paid sabbatical imposed on the 
  army to reduce costs, there are only 700 infantry and 150 
  cavalry serving in Halfway any time. Their duties are divided 
  between manning the walls, guarding the gates, and stand-
  ing ceremonially to attention at outside key buildings.
  lacking enough weapons and armor to supply the en-
  tire army, only those on active duty are armed. soldiers 
  on the wall wear chain shirts and carry short bows, while 
  their comrades on the gates have short swords and me-
  dium shields. Ceremonial guards wield long spears.
  Halfway has artillery pieces, but since they have never 
  been required they were dismantled and placed in storage 
  26 years ago. damp has warped the timbers and worms 
  have burrowed through the wood. of the ten catapults 
  and thirty ballistae in storage, only enough parts could 
  be salvaged to field just 10% of the weapons. Combined 
  with its weak city walls (see major locales) and ineffec-
  tual army, it is very unlikely that Halfway would be able 
  to resist a siege for long.
  Coglelund’s three senior officers, the lord marshal 
  of the Realm, Commander of foot, and Commander of 
  Horse, are stationed at Halfway. much of their time is 
  spent socializing or ordering new dress uniforms.
  in times of need, the merchant prince has the author-
  ity to draft every paladin inside the city—every cult has 
  agreed to this as part of its being permitted to operate 
  here. The exact number of paladins inside the walls var-
  ies from day to day, but there is usually enough to muster 
  an entire company (100 men).
  The only other military unit is the merchant prince’s 
  bodyguard. They are considered a personal unit and 
  thus not part of the military chain of command. mer-
  chant Prince Cogle maintains five squads (50 men). of 
  these, three squads are trained warriors and two squads 
  (one male and one female) are kept because they are 
  handsome or beautiful respectively. Cogle doesn’t dally 
  with his troops—he just like pretty things.
  militia
  Halfway has never had a militia—the merchant princes 
  have been never fond of arming peasants, more so since 
  the labor Riot of 450 iR. no provision is made for teach-
  ing them any combat skills, either.
  The merchant prince could call the citizens to muster 
  in the defense of their homes, but any who turned out 
  would be armed with makeshift weapons and no clue 
  how to fight effectively.
  Private forCes
  Both the various cults and Halfway’s nobles are permit-
  ted to raise private forces from their own coffers. With 
                                 
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  
  roughly a quarter of the army being involuntarily fur-
  loughed for four months at a time, there is no shortage 
  of trained (well, semi-trained, at least) men and women 
  looking for short-term employment in the private sec-
  tor. With such a large pool of workers available, hirers 
  have the luxury of being able to pay low wages—there is 
  always someone looking to earn a crust.
  save for those who truly require guards to protect 
  their properties or person, most nobles employ guards 
  as nothing more than a status symbol—it is just another 
  way of saying, “look at how much money i have.”
  trade & tribute
  Halfway still exists because of the amount of trade car-
  avans that enter through its gates. As well as benefitting 
  from storage fees, brokering deals, and loaning money, 
  there is an entire industry centered on provisioning 
  merchants, building and repairing wagons, raising mules 
  and draft horses, and so on. save for the greater scale 
  and amount of money involved, modern Halfway is little 
  different to its humble origins.
  Halfway is synonymous with trade as far afield as far 
  west as Crystalflow Confederacy and north to Aslov. few 
  outsiders realize that the city actually has a prosperous 
  manufacturing base centered around clothing, jewelry, 
  and pottery. in order to encourage suppliers of essential 
  raw materials to sell in Halfway, the city offers significant 
  tax breaks. This has the added benefit of allowing local 
  craftsmen to purchase resources at lower prices. locally 
  produced wares are also subject to tax breaks, making 
  them attractive to merchants looking to load up their 
  wagons before heading home.
  taxes
  only the merchant prince has the authority to create 
  taxes and set their levels. Although there is a ministry of 
  Taxation, collection falls to the cult of var. Their auditors 
  are diligent in their duties and scrupulously account for 
  every last silver scield owed by the populace. They cannot 
  be swayed by bribes or sob stories. if they suspect fraud, 
  they send Thieftakers to drag the unfortunate soul to the 
  temple of var, where he is subjected to a full audit.
  The city’s tax revenue is vast, yet only a portion is fun-
  neled back to maintaining the infrastructure. The bulk of 
  it is spent keeping the merchant prince in the opulent 
  and lavish lifestyle he demands. His clothing bill for a 
  single month exceeds many people’s annual income and 
  the costs for even a minor feast can exceed 1,000 gs.
  Typically, citizens hand over around 50% of their wage 
  in various taxes. The biggest single charge is income 
  tax, which accounts for 40%. Added to that are property 
  taxes, religious tithing, road maintenance tax, cistern 
  maintenance tax, and many more besides.
  only the taxes imposed in Halfway and likely to affect 
  visiting player characters are described below.
  Gate and Road Maintenance Tax: first implemented 
  as a means of keeping the city’s gates and roads in a fit 
  state, the revenue is put to proper use. living creatures 
  are charged 1 ss per leg (and yes, characters with only 
  one leg pay just 1 ss) and vehicles at 2 ss per wheel. 
  There is no fee for leaving the city.
  Sales Tax: Whether it is a single loaf of bread or a suit 
  of plate armor, every transaction incurs a sales tax. Any 
  transaction completed in the Trade Hall market is taxed 
  at 5%. outside the temple, the fee is 10%. There is a 
  minimum 0.25 ss fee on every transaction. since there 
  are no coins with a denomination lower than one silver 
  scield, coins are cut into quarters. sales tax is collected 
  weekly from traders. The cult of var receives one-quarter 
  of the revenue.
  Weapon Permit: Although the merchant prince is little 
  concerned with armed strangers wandering through his 
  lands, he is reluctant to have them wandering the streets, 
  at least not without profiting from them.
  A permit is required for every weapon brought into 
  the city or purchased there. The cost is a modest 1 gs 
  per damage die step of the weapon. for instance, a short 
  sword has damage str+d6 and thus incurs a 6 gs charge. 
  Bows are charged at a flat 5 gs, long bows at 7 gs, and 
  crossbows at 10 gs.
  The permit remains valid until the bearer leaves, at 
  which time he must hand over his permit. There is little 
  use trying to bribe the guards—entry to the city always 
  requires the issuing of a new permit.
  Being caught carrying weapons in public without a 
  valid permit incurs an automatic 100 gs fine. legally, 
  only the Thieftakers can impose the fine, it being a civil 
  matter. Constables are not beyond approaching armed 
  people, demanding to see a permit, and issuing an on 
  the spot fine.
  markets
  Halfway has five markets—one in Cheap, foreign, 
  Gold, and silver Ward, and the Trade Hall (see location 
  #22). The various markets are open every marketdaeg 
  from dawn to dusk, and from dawn until noon on Raest-
  daeg and sangdaeg.
  The Cheap market is entirely devoted to foodstuffs—
  meat, vegetables, grain, bread, beer, and so on. Rather than 
  being administered by the cult of var, management and 
  security fall to the cult of eostre (both aspects). unlike the 
  food shops, some may have stock on display for days or 
  weeks, the produce here is fresh.
  The foreign market caters for saxa and engro tastes. 
  Goods imported from the marklands and the vale can 
  be found here. The Gold market serves the needs of the 
  wealthy. stall owners display their best quality wares here 
  at marked up prices. Any items purchased here cost 20% 
  more than normal, but are engraved, inscribed, studded 
  with gems, have filigree, or use rare materials. The silver 
  market sells nothing with a value higher than 10 gs (after 
  rules of the realm modifiers). many of the items are of very 
  poor quality, though this is not reflected in their price.
                                                         
  
  HalfWay
  
  arCHiteCture
  To talk of Halfway is to talk of wealth. stories of its 
  riches fill the minds of listeners with images of grand 
  houses and broad streets. like its denizens, Halfway is a 
  city of opposites.
  The trade road cuts straight through the city, its cob-
  bled street wide enough to accommodate three wagons 
  abreast. The structures along its length and just behind 
  it are a mix of functionality and style. Here, drab stone 
  warehouses, adorned only with merchant marks and 
  the symbol of var are interspersed with noble mansions, 
  gaudily decorated and painted to show the owners’ 
  wealth. Glass windows, usually too dirty to see through 
  thanks to the dust kicked up by wages and mules, are 
  another indication of prosperity.
  Behind the splendor of the main road sprawls the city 
  proper. A network of narrow lanes and alleyways, the 
  cobbles long gone and surfaces caked with filth leads one 
  past through colorless brick (middle-class) and wattle-
  and-daub (lower-class) houses. Windows are minimal, 
  and those that exist are covered with membranes to keep 
  out the flies and rain.
  Where the trade road is well lit at night with lantern and 
  braziers, much of the city is cast into darkness once the 
  sun sets. Here, travelers need a lantern or candle to find 
  their way, not to mention detect any lurking thieves.
  tHe sun
  As elsewhere, the inhabitants of Halfway base their 
  working day on the rising and setting of sigel’s Hearth. 
  Below are the local sunrise and sunset times and the 
  hours of daylight for the first day of each month.
  Month 
  Sunrise 
  Sunset 
  Daylight
  snaermonan 
  0723 
  1627 
  9h 4m
  frostmonan 
  0709 
  1700 
  9h 50m
  eostremonan 
  0632 
  1737 
  11h 4m
  Plohmonan 
  0544 
  1813 
  12h 32m
  sowanmonan 
  0457 
  1843 
  13h 46m
  Werremonan 
  0422 
  1914 
  14h 51m
  scerranmonan 
  0412 
  1933 
  15h 21m
  Hegmonan 
  0427 
  1928 
  15h 1m
  Haerfestmonan 
  0455 
  1856 
  14h 1m
  falmonan 
  0425 
  1810 
  12h 44m
  Huntianmonan 
  0557 
  1720 
  11h 23m
  fogmonan 
  0631 
  1638 
  10h 7m
  Wulfmonan 
  0707 
  1617 
  9h 10m
  major loCales
  in addition to the locales detailed below, all the major 
  crafts are represented. Although it may require a street-
  wise roll to glean the address of a particular business, 
  the characters should have little difficulty finding a crafts-
  man. inns, taverns, and hostelries to suit every budget 
  can be found on most streets, though the quality of the 
  fare and the patrons vary from disgusting to luxurious.
  Halfway is divided into five distinct wards, each sepa-
  rated from its neighbors by a 30 feet high brick wall. A 
  means of controlling traffic rather than part of the fortifi-
  cations, they are broken only by a handful of gates. The 
  walls were erected with only a few gates, and in many 
  cases with little regard for existing streets. Thus, one may 
  turn down an alley to see it blocked halfway down.
  City Walls & gates
  Halfway’s city walls are a sham. stretching 40 feet high 
  with a base of width of 50 feet at the base and 15 feet at 
  the top, they appear to be an imposing stone structure 
  capable of protecting the city from siege. in truth, the 
  stone is a mere facing some one foot thick, with the rest 
  a mass of packed rubble and dirt.
  There are two main gates. The Wizards’ Gate leads 
  out into the magocratic end of the trade road, while the 
  Prince’s Gate allows access from the northern arm of 
  the trade road. each gate is wide enough to accommo-
  date wagons through a double arched gatehouse. each 
  gatehouse serves as a barracks for 40 soldiers, with 20 
  on duty at any one time directing traffic, checking for 
  contraband, and hoping for a bribe.
  located around the perimeter are six smaller gates, 
  each wide enough only for foot traffic. from north mov-
  ing clockwise they are the Gem Gate, east Gate, old 
  silver Gate, new silver Gate, West Gate, and forest Gate. 
  each gate is guarded by a single squad of heavy infantry.
  The gates are open only during hours of daylight. Ac-
  cess after dark requires a small bribe, and even then only 
  a postern gate is opened.
  outside tHe Walls
  1. tHe CryPts
  untroubled by the liche-Priest and the cult of Hela, 
  the citizens of Halfway still inter their dead in the ground 
  with their grave goods. The main cemetery lies outside 
  the city walls, where a solitary priest of scaetha maintains 
  watch and intones prayers over the dead. 
  mausoleums stand in honor of the wealthy dead, 
  though none are occupied. The wealthy dead are actu-
  ally laid to rest in a necropolis excavated from the chalky 
  soil. lining the walls are numerous niches fronted by 
  engraved stone panels, behind which corpses are laid to 
  rest. While a common burial costs just a few silvers, a 
  noble burial costs upward of 100 gs. such is the price of 
  being buried out of the grasp of tomb robbers.
  no one has opened any of the vaults in decades, there 
  being little need to inspect the dead. That most of them 
  are empty would shock the population of Coglelund.
                                                 
                                                    
                             
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  10
  
  HalfWay
  11
  CHeaP Ward
  The name cheap comes from the Classical Anari word ceap, 
  which means bargain or market—it has nothing to do with the 
  quality of the goods sold here. Cheap Ward is the industrial heart 
  of Halfway. Roughly half the buildings have a shop or workshop 
  facing the street, with living space behind.
  . travelers Quarter
  situated near the trade road, the industries are dedicated to 
  keeping merchant caravans on the move. Cartwrights and wheel-
  wrights work alongside farriers, harnessmakers, wineskinners, 
  grocers (sells provisions), ropemakers, coopers, and boxmakers.
  a. PaCks for baCks
  despite its name, this shop sells backpacks, bandoliers, pouches, 
  scroll cases (waterproof and mundane), and waterproof satchels. 
  A former adventurer, solveig vidarsdohtor’s (the proprietor) days 
  of excitement were cut short by an arrow through the knee.
  she has a number of maps showing the location of tombs and 
  ruins in the Hearth Range. Adventurers who make purchases are 
  allowed to copy one map per 25 gs spent in the shop. solveig 
  makes no claims the maps will lead to treasure, as she has never 
  investigated and no customers have bothered to return to the 
  shop to relate their tales of fortune and glory.
  b. tHe mule market
  odric ap-martense breeds mules. As well as ordinary mules (150 
  gs each), he has several excellent bloodlines at higher prices. Pric-
  es below are in addition to the basic cost of a mule. These options 
  can be combined. odric accepts part exchanges on “used” mules, 
  offering a flat 25% of their price regardless of their condition.
  Gutsy: the mule has fighting d6 and Parry 5 (+200 gs), Relaxed: 
  the mule has no ornery special ability (+250 gs); Strong Back: the 
  mule has the Brawny edge (+300 gs); Swift: the mule has Pace 8 
  (+250 gs).
  . ClotHing Quarter
  Whether it is hard-wearing everyday garments for peasants or 
  exquisite outfits using silk and fur for the high nobility, one can 
  find weavers, tailors, dyers, broderers (embroiderers), cordwain-
  ers (shoes), mercers (sell silk and lace), feltmakers, woolers (sell 
  woolen clothing), fullers (beat cloth), girdlers (belts), hatters, 
  haberdashers, furriers, shearmen (cut cloth or leather), and leath-
  erworkers hard at work in the Clothing quarter.
  C. butterCuP tHe tailor
  keeping up with the latest fashions in Halfway can be expen-
  sive. Buttercup, an engro seamstress, has an almost magical touch 
  with a needle and thread. for a mere 150 gs, she can transform 
  any existing set of tailored clothes to resemble a new outfit. many 
  nobles make use of her services, though none would be seen hav-
  ing old clothes altered—they leave their servants to make all the 
  arrangements.
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  1
  one trick Buttercup uses is to add exotic furs to dis-
  tract the eye from the rest of the garment. The fur of 
  Hellfrost beasts is most favored, but by the time the skins 
  from the northern lands have passed through the hands 
  of a dozen merchants or more the price is astronomical. 
  Buttercup always asks adventuring customers if they 
  are heading beyond the icebarrier mountains, in which 
  case she offers to purchase any furs at a good rate (10 gs 
  for size 2 and increasing by 25 gs per point larger).
  . jeWelry Quarter
  A district within a district, the jewelry quarter is home 
  to the majority of Halfway’s jewelers and gemcutters. 
  The workshops and shops are built of solid stone bro-
  ken only by sturdy, iron-banded doors. The thieves’ guild 
  does good business offering protection here, though 
  not every craftsman or trader is prepared to pay. These 
  individuals safeguard their wares by hiring guards and 
  investing on quality locks.
  . lanterns-for-Hire
  With much of the city unlit after dark, moving around 
  requires a source of illumination. lanterns are a luxury 
  for most citizens, who often have little need to walk the 
  dark streets on a regular basis.
  for those who want to light their way inexpensively, 
  the shop rents out lanterns. Rates are 1 ss per night or 
  6 ss for a week. The owner has little concern about lan-
  terns not being returned—she pays her dues to the cult 
  of var and the thieves’ guild.
  The shop also sells homemade tallow candles (8 ss 
  each, but they produce a lot of smoke), lanterns (at stan-
  dard prices), and oil (also as standard rates).
  6. breWery on tHe Hill
  standing on the summit of a low, flat hill, the building 
  is Halfway’s largest and most notable brewery. Currently 
  owned by Wilhelm the swift, the brewery has supplied 
  Halfway’s thirsty citizens with ale and beer for well over 
  200 years. Among the brewery’s best brews are Auld 
  money (3.5% ABv), merchant’s Tipple (5% ABv), and the 
  potent eira’s Bane (8% ABv).
  The brewery currently has a clurichaun infestation. 
  Wilhelm is offering free ale to anyone who can rid him of 
  the drunken fey without it growing vengeful.
  . WorkHouse
  families who cannot support their children have the 
  option of giving their children to the workhouse. Here 
  they are fed by the state at taxpayer’s expense. in return, 
  they are hired out to families and businesses as cheap 
  labor. since they are too weak to work as laborers, their 
  tasks include sweeping floors, clearing hearths, chasing 
  away vermin, scooping out dung, carrying small loads, 
  running errands, and so on.
  Recently, a number of children have disappeared from 
  their cots during the night. A reward is offered for their 
  safe return and a lesser one for information leading to 
  the capture of the perpetrators.
  foreign Ward
  Race and culture mean little in Halfway, for here only 
  money matters. Halfway considers itself a cosmopolitan 
  city, its population is made of Coglelund and magocratic 
  Anari, saxa (primarily from Royalmark and vestmark), a 
  healthy quantity of settled engros, and even a handful of 
  hearth elves. Although Halfway has its own cultural iden-
  tity, many engros and humans of saxa tend to congregate 
  together in the foreign Ward.
  . eastHeatH alCHemiCal sCHool
  A recent addition to the many services available in 
  Halfway, the eastheath Alchemical school offers courses 
  on alchemy and arcana. unlike a traditional heahwisard 
  school, this one accepts tutors and students from any 
  arcane art or cult. it is run by mage-knight Henelex Prae-
  tor of the Third Circle.
  The school has a license to sell alchemical devices at 
  the standard rates (and cannot offer discounts). The li-
  cense forbids the school from selling destructive devices, 
  except to the cult of var. nothing prevents the students 
  from actually creating such devices, however. such cre-
  ations are usually exported.
  not every heahwisard is happy with the school’s loca-
  tion, not to mention it accepting students from “lesser 
  arts.” House eastheath has not bothered to defends its 
  decision, either to its own heahwisards or those of other 
  provinces—the school makes good money, the heah-
  wisard tutors get to broaden their knowledge of other 
  arcane arts, and the House is forging contacts with a 
  variety of mages and clerics.
  if you are using the rules from Arcane Lore, the school 
  has the following statistics: Enrolment Requirement: 
  Arcane Background (Any); Course Length: 3 years; 
  Graduate Requirements: knowledge (Alchemy) d6+, 
  knowledge (Arcana) d6+; Schooling: Skills: knowledge 
  (Alchemy), knowledge (Arcana); Edges: Alchemy.
  . street of Wagons
  of the settled engros, around two-thirds choose to re-
  side in houses. The others maintain a traditional caravan. 
  no houses border this street. instead, each marked space 
  is occupied by an engro wagon. during winter, nomadic 
  families park up their wagons here, whiling away the 
  days until the thaw comes and they can leave for the 
  open road.
  d. jonty’s roastery Wagon
  jonty, a jovial engro with a bald pate and thick, mutton 
  chops, owns both a house and a wagon. His house is 
  
  HalfWay
  1
  his home, while his wagon has been converted into a 
  thriving business.
  from dawn until dusk he and his two teenage daugh-
  ters, Petal and Petunia, offer passersby a variety of freshly 
  roasted meat. from a few nuggets of gristle on a stick 
  (hard to chew but great for sucking, and cheap at 0.25 
  ss) to whole legs of lamb and pork (2 gs each), each is 
  basted with jonty’s secret blend of herbs and spices.
  jonty is always happy to talk to customers, especially 
  about his travels. not only has he seen much of the west-
  ern Hearthlands in his time, he once spent three years 
  in Al-shirkuh. This, he claims, is where he learned to 
  blend spices and where he discovered his signature dish, 
  döner kebaps—slices of succulent meat wrapped inside 
  unleavened bread.
  jonty is always in need of exotic spices—there is little 
  call for them this far north and prices are astronomical. 
  Characters who have adventured in Al-shirkuh can sell 
  native trade goods here as spices. jonty pays 10 gs per 
  unit, to a maximum of 200 gs in any calendar month. 
  Customers can take payment in hard coin or credit to-
  ward future meals.
  gold Ward
  Gold Ward is home to the city’s rich elite. Whereas 
  the gates to the other wards are left open day and night, 
  those offering access to Gold Ward are kept closed. only 
  those who live or work in the ward, who have a written 
  permit issued by an inhabitant, and members of the Con-
  stabulary or cult of var are permitted entrance. natives 
  of the ward wear a gold amulet to identify themselves to 
  the soldiers on duty here.
  10. Cogle’s mansion
  The most garish building in the city, the sprawling, 
  single-story mansion of merchant Prince leon Cogle iv 
  utilizes building styles from differing cultures (including 
  Al-shirkuh) and is furnished in the same style.
  from the solid gold door knocker shaped like var’s 
  holy symbol to the carved wall panels made of rare 
  woods harvested in the far north to the erotic mosaics 
  made from chips of gemstones, everything screams ex-
  treme wealth and lack of fashion sense.
  few commoners have ever seen inside, but this does 
  not prevent them from spreading talk of marble foun-
  tains that pour wine, scantily clad serving girls, solid gold 
  drinking vessels, golem servants, bathtubs filled with 
  milk scented with rose petals, and other extravagances. 
  not all the rumors are false.
  11. House of Pleasure
  known locally as the House of sin, Cogle maintains 
  an extravagant hostelry close to his mansion in which 
  he entertains important merchants and dignitaries. The 
  hostelry is not open to the public—entrance is by invita-
  tion only—but the services are free.
  The establishment is run by vesper ap-Penrith, one of 
  Cogle’s courtiers in his capacity of minister of entertain-
  ment. The House of Pleasure is actually is a temple to 
  vali, though Cogle is blissfully unaware of this. vesper 
  ap-Penrith is a Corruptor of vali.
  Herald street
  located just behind Cogle’s impressive mansion, Her-
  ald street houses the residences of foreign dignitaries. 
  The magocracy, Chalcis, Aspiria, vestmark, Royalmark, 
  spyre, and even the distant Crystalflow Confederacy 
  maintain permanent ambassadors to Coglelund.
  embassies are not interested in the plight of citizens 
  who fall foul of local laws or who need support—each 
  exists solely to improve the interests of their home na-
  tion at the court of the merchant prince. naturally, with 
  so many ambassadors with varying goals, the street is a 
  backdrop of political intrigue.
  king nagrat of orcmark has recently sent letters to 
  the merchant prince asking for permission to open an 
  embassy. While the thought would be abhorrent to most 
  citizens, Cogle sees orcmark as another possible trading 
  partner, not an enemy at his door. Besides, if he funds 
  both vestmark’s and orcmark’s economies, the war is 
  likely to drag on even longer, and war is profitable.
  1. embassy of magoCraCy
  in order to prevent abuse, the magocracy appoints its 
  ambassadors from the Great Houses on a rotating basis. 
  each ambassador serves for three years and brings with 
  them their own bureaucrats, advisors, and security.
  The current ambassador, two years into her tenure, 
  is mage-Baroness Alectrix Hergenwald of the second 
  Circle, a scion of House Hergenwald. like most of the 
  magocracy’s ambassadors, her only goal is to ensure 
  trade continues to flow through Halfway and that its 
  merchants are not unduly tied by needless bureaucracy.
  no one outside the embassy staff realizes that the red-
  headed, stern-faced lady to whom they are introduced by 
  fawning heralds is not actually the ambassador. Rather, 
  she is mage-Baroness Alectrix’s Arcane Hand and lover.
  Alectrix spends much of her time acting as a lowly 
  functionary. While high-ranking people keep their cards 
  close to their chests and say little of value, servants are 
  more open to talk about their masters’ and mistresses’ 
  affairs. Thus, the true ambassador learns far more about 
  events than she would at balls and dances.
  1. embassy of CHalCis
  Problems in Chalcis have reduced its iron imports 
  to Halfway to a trickle, but is beginning to take up the 
  slack with the loss of silver from vestmark. As a result, it 
  remains an important trading partner, at least until the 
  scavengers reach the silver mines.
  Chalcian ambassadors are appointed by the High 
  Council, though the duke has to sign his consent. Ambas-
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  1
  sadors serve for four years. The incumbent is Profiteer 
  mederic ap-victorin, a recent appointee. so long as the 
  ore continues to flow, mederic has little to do but show 
  his face at social events (which are not his thing) and try 
  to make a little extra money on the side by any means 
  open to him.
  1. embassy of asPiria
  Aspiria trades three commodities to Halfway in any 
  quantities. Wine and luxury goods are minor imports, 
  sold only to sate the wants of the wealthy. Gems are its 
  sole major import. With little threat to ongoing trade, As-
  piria sends only a minor functionary as its ambassador. 
  Being Aspiria’s ambassador brings with it no influ-
  ence back home and little opportunity to expands one’s 
  personal fortune. The role is nothing more than a token 
  nod to diplomacy, the appointee there to maintain an 
  Aspirian presence in court and smooth over any minor 
  political ripples. should a major issue arise, a more se-
  nior official would be dispatched to replace them.
  Thundersister suzette ap-Genotin, an attractive priest-
  ess of eylúðr, minor deity of heralds, is the current post-
  holder. she attends numerous social events every week, 
  never wearing the same dress twice. The other ambas-
  sadors treat her with contempt, seeing her as nothing 
  more than a pretty face with no political authority. What 
  they do not realize is that suzette is a Puppeteer, quietly 
  and gently pulling on the many threads she has woven 
  run deep into Halfway’s high society.
  Her current missions are to foment war between Co-
  glelund and Royalmark, keep vestmark from expanding 
  its influence in court, and ensure that merchant Prince 
  Cogle continues to hoard iron.
  1. embassy of vestmark
  A veteran of the war against orcmark, Ridder oddr Ag-
  mundrsunu was sent to Halfway with orders to negotiate 
  a treaty for the supply of iron for vestmark’s ever-hungry 
  forges. oddr doesn’t give a damn about trade agree-
  ments or political niceties. As far as he is concerned, the 
  thousands of male vestmarkers should be released and 
  sent back home to serve in the military.
  At present, he is butting against his head against a wall 
  in his attempts to sway the merchant prince to open the 
  gates of the internment camp. until local merchants have 
  bleed the refugees of their last silver scield they are cap-
  tive consumers, desperate for food, water, and clothing, 
  and the merchants’ taxes are worth more to Cogle than 
  appeasing an impoverished state. even when forced into 
  total poverty, many refugees likely work as slaves rather 
  than return home and be forced to carry arms.
  16. embassy of royalmark
  Royalmark maintains an embassy only because it is 
  a neighboring state, not because of any trade treaties. 
  indeed, between the nations is minimal.
  Ambassador Hauld stigr jatvarðrsunu spends half his 
  time attempting to convince his Chalcian counterpart to 
  have his nation increase its silver exports to Royalmark 
  and the other half denying rumors that Royalmark is pre-
  paring to expand its western borders to encompass the 
  northern trade road.
  stigr would dearly love to find whoever is whispering 
  these vile rumors into the merchant prince’s ear. An 
  official investigation would likely be met with a wall of 
  silence. To that end, the nobleman is prepared to hire 
  outside investigators with a reputation for discretion to 
  look into the matter on his behalf.
  1. embassy of sPyre
  Ambassador Tregar ap-Peredur is not happy with his 
  position. Rumors say that on learning of his appoint-
  ment he tried to fly spyre and was physically dragged to 
  Halfway in chains. He goes nowhere in public without 
  two bodyguards, and astute observers are aware that 
  their eyes are focused on the ambassador rather than 
  watching out for potential assassins.
  Tregar’s reluctance stems from spyre having sent four 
  ambassadors in the past four years. each and every one 
  of his predecessors met a gruesome death within a year 
  of taking up the post. in every case, the murders were 
  committed behind locked doors, with no evidence to the 
  nature of the perpetrator, how they gained access, or why 
  they might wish to see spyre’s ambassadors butchered.
  Twelve months have passed since Tregar was installed 
  in the embassy. As the days tick by he is becoming in-
  creasingly paranoid. in the last week alone, his body-
  guards have thwarted escape attempts. Tregar claims 
  he has witnessed strange shadows in the embassy and 
  heard ominous voices. in his mind at least, the building 
  is haunted by a vengeful or demonic spirit.
  1. embassy of tHe CrystalfloW 
  ConfederaCy
  The Confederacy and Coglelund dominate trade in 
  the Hearthlands, though there is minimal competition, 
  or indeed direct trade, between them. The Confederacy 
  maintains an ambassador in Halfway as both a mark of 
  respect and to gather information about Halfway’s trade 
  deals with its mercantile partners.
  As the largest trading centers, Bridgewater and drake-
  port were given the right to assign ambassadors to speak 
  for the entire Confederacy. The cities take turns with this 
  duty, with each official’s tenure lasting two years. The 
  current ambassador, Treasurer lukan ap-Trevain, a priest 
  of Auðun, minor god of wealth, was assigned here by 
  Bridgewater just three months ago.
  An accountant by trade, he is very keen to learn more 
  about the financial status of Halfway’s major merchant 
  houses. since that information is not common knowl-
  edge, lukan is prepared to offer adventurers good 
  money to locate and copy their ledgers.
  
  HalfWay
  1
  1. sHrine to eylúðr
  The covered shrine of eylúðr, minor god of heralds, 
  houses a statue of the god and a long, rectangular table. 
  Rather than portraying the god in human form, he is 
  shown as a broiling storm cloud carved from basalt with 
  a solid silver lightning bolt emerging from the bottom.
  The table is permanently set for ten people. each place 
  setting has a wooden plaque exquisitely engraved with 
  the emblem of one of the seven embassies, the cults 
  of ertha (representing most craft guilds) and var (the 
  merchant houses and related crafts), and leon Cogle’s 
  personal seal. These denote where the representative 
  sits when the ambassadors gather. The embassy plaques 
  are removable, whereas the others are permanently af-
  fixed—that of var to Cogle’s right and that of ertha at the 
  foot of the table.
  even when dealing with important dignitaries, there 
  is an opportunity for Cogle to profit. on the first day of 
  the year, the ambassadors bid to have their plaque posi-
  tioned close to that of the merchant prince.
  0. grand tHeater
  entertainment is big industry in Halfway—visiting 
  merchants need something to fill their time when not 
  working. for a few silver scields, one can find a skald in 
  one of a number of playhouses and hostelries.
  Given its location, it is not surprising the Grand Theater 
  caters to wealthy patrons. Admission ranges from 3 to 
  10 gs, depending on the quality of the entertainer. many 
  patrons pay attention to the performance only when a 
  renowned skald takes the stage. otherwise, the song or 
  poetry is a convenient cover for hushed conversation.
  skalds can earn 5 gs times their knowledge (folklore) 
  die, plus 10 gs for each point of positive Charisma, for a 
  single night’s work. naturally, there is plentiful competi-
  tion for this lucrative gig.
  1. Cogle’s folly
  Always ready to proclaim his greatness to the masses, 
  leon Cogle erected a 30 feet tall statue of himself in the 
  center of the trade road. made of wood, it is covered 
  with beaten gold. debates about the value of gold used 
  are commonplace in Halfway’s inns and taverns, with es-
  timates ranging from a few hundred to ten of thousands 
  of gold scields. 
  The statue holds the holy symbol of var in its right 
  hand and a lantern held aloft in its right. The lantern, 
  which, in Cogle’s own words is representative of his en-
  lightened guidance of the nation, is functional and is lit 
  every night. The lantern’s glass is colored and changed 
  regularly to suit Cogle’s mood.
  despite the constant presence of a squad of soldiers, 
  large areas of the statue’s legs from the knee down have 
  been stripped of their gold covering. Cogle has recently 
  decreed that anyone caught defacing his statue faces 
  lengthy torture before being executed.
  market Ward
  The heart of Halfway’s mercantile affairs, market Ward 
  dominates the center strip and the streets behind. Al-
  though primarily a place of business, it is home to many 
  wealthy citizens.
  WareHouses
  many of the buildings lining the trade road are ware-
  houses. Around half of them belong to Halfway’s mercan-
  tile families, having been passed down through the ages. 
  others belong to the cult of var, magocratic merchants, 
  and consortia of lesser merchants.
  not every warehouse owner concerns themselves with 
  buying and selling goods—some just rent out space to 
  merchants waiting to find a buyer for their cargoes. Rates 
  vary with owner’s greed and reputation, and the security 
  in place. Warehousing space is most expensive in the cult 
  of var’s buildings, but customers are at least comforted 
  that Thieftakers watch over their wares.
  Built to be functional rather than attractive, the great 
  stone buildings display a maximum of three signs—the 
  owners’ symbol, that of the cult of var (indicating the 
  cult provides security), and that of thieves’ guild (indi-
  cating the owner pays the guild to leave his warehouse 
  alone). it is rare for a warehouse to be marked with all 
  three signs—the cult takes offense that their security is 
  lax if the thieves’ guild is also involved.
  . temPle of Coin
  The true center of Halfway, the Temple of Coin is a 
  monumental site of worship and trade devoted to var 
  and his affiliated minor deities.
  initially found by nari Cogle in 105 iR as a modest 
  stone building containing just a shrine and a treasury, 
  every merchant prince has shown their devotion by ex-
  panding the temple. it now covers 250,000 square yards. 
  inside are offices, auction houses, moneylenders, evalua-
  tors, vaults, separate temples (not just shrines) to Auðun 
  and forseti, inns, and a huge covered market known 
  as the Trade Hall. There is limited warehousing in the 
  vaults—the cult owns and operates several warehouses 
  along the trade road.
  only clerics of var or craftsmen holding a license are 
  permitted to erect stalls in the Trade Hall. Rates are 
  higher than the other markets, but there is higher footfall 
  here and, as part of the temple, security is provided by 
  Thieftakers rather than constables.
  . guildHall
  An annex of the Temple of Coin, the Guildhall is the 
  center of guild activity in Halfway. The dominant guilds 
  are the Cartwrights and Wheelwrights, Porters and Team-
  sters, Potters, silversmiths, and Weavers and Tailors. 
  The resident guildmasters, all of whom are nobles of 
  varying rank, meet here each marketdaeg to discuss busi-
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  16
  ness they feel needs to be brought before the merchant 
  prince, albeit through the minister of Guilds. The guild-
  masters wield great power, being able to make or break 
  merchants by awarding choice contracts or refusing to 
  deal with them.
  . HalfWay investment House
  operated by the cult of Auðun, the investment house 
  offers loans and savings. money deposited here earns 1% 
  interest per year, less a 50 gs administrative fee. Thus, it 
  requires a minimum deposit of 5,051 gs before any profit 
  is earned.
  loans of up to 2,000 gs require good references (ide-
  ally from the cults of Hothar, sigel, or var) and 50% col-
  lateral, which is handed to the bankers in case of default. 
  not that defaulting is a wise choice—the cult of Auðun’s 
  paladins are adept at recovering loans.
  The loan carries a 2% compound interest per week 
  and must be repaid within one year.
  . tHe mint
  every major population center has its own mint, and 
  Halfway is no exception. local coins are referred to as 
  merchants (silver scields) and princes (gold scields). 
  since his reign began, leon Cogle iv has had every coin 
  minted here bear his image.
  The merchant princes have skimmed money and cut 
  investments on many projects, but never the mint’s secu-
  rity. The cult of lasesmed, minor deity of locks and traps, 
  is paid handsomely for its services. Considered part of 
  the Temple of Coin, security is handled by Thieftakers.
  very few people have ever stepped beyond inside, and 
  even the thieves’ guild is reluctant to try and rob it, but 
  rumors concerning the mint’s security are rife. most sto-
  ries, which typically involve glyphs charged with deadly 
  spells and mundane traps to mangle intruders in the 
  most ghastly fashion, were fabricated by the Thieftakers 
  as a deterrent to would-be thieves.
  6. tHe golden die
  Gambling is rife in Coglelund. The spin of a wheel, the 
  roll of a die, or the draw of a card can leave a man penni-
  less or raise him to nobility. At least that is the marketing 
  used to lure citizens into the many gambling houses. 
  The Golden die, which is in the Gold Ward, caters to the 
  wealthiest citizens.
  Although entry is free, as are the drinks, anyone wish-
  ing to step foot inside the door must be carrying a mini-
  mum of 100 gs in cash or gems and be wearing formal or 
  tailored clothing. no weapons are permitted. Although 
  not affiliated to the thieves’ guild, the owners do pay 
  them protection. As well a being a place one can gamble 
  large stakes (the upper limit is 500 gs), it is a place where 
  many of the rich come to do business they would rather 
  keep unofficial. As such, adventurers looking for wealthy 
  patrons are likely to be pointed here sooner or later.
  . iron guild barraCks
  Halfway maintains a sizeable force of heavy infantry, 
  but only to protect the town itself. merchants wishing 
  to protect their caravans must deal with the iron Guild, 
  which has a barracks complex just outside the town. At 
  any one time, the Guild has a 50 medium infantry, 30 
  heavy cavalry, and 20 archers here. in its heyday it had 
  twice these numbers.
  With caravans from vestmark now rarer than hen’s 
  teeth and the magocracy preferring to use house soldiers 
  as caravan guards, customers usually only protection for 
  the small stretch of road crossing between the lesser 
  Hills and the Hearth Range. As a result, the local Guild’s 
  fortunes have steadily waned.
  The current franchise holder, Guild-General matilda 
  ap-simon, is considering selling up and retiring. she is 
  currently offering her franchise for 25,000 gs instead of 
  the usual 30,000 gs. As the months pass, she is likely to 
  drop the price further.
  . iron WareHouse
  Arguably the second-most secure building in Halfway 
  after the mint, this warehouse is where Cogle keeps his 
  growing store or iron ingots. The sturdy, iron-banded 
  doors are engraved with the holy symbol of ertha, whose 
  paladins are charged with protecting the valuable stock.
  even with the high levels of security, the warehouse’s 
  contents are scrupulously checked each marketdaeg to 
  ensure there have been no thefts. According to the of-
  ficial paperwork, everything is in proper order.
  for the last three months, there have been discrepan-
  cies in the actual stock and what should be there. fearing 
  his job, and maybe his life, will be forfeit, the official in 
  charge, Walter ap-morgrui, has kept his silence. since the 
  last inventory, where more iron was found to be missing, 
  he has decided to act in a private capacity.
  He seeks adventurers to investigate the thefts without 
  raising suspicions—a difficult task since the hirelings 
  won’t be able to inspect the scene of the crime. There is 
  no point contacting the thieves’ guild—the theft of iron 
  ingots in such small quantities is not worth their time.
  . tHe rukH’s nest
  Halfway rarely sees visitors from Al-shirkuh, though 
  their expensive and exotic goods pass through its ware-
  houses. The tavern proprietor, who likes to be called 
  sultan, a title he heard from a merchant, has decorated 
  his inn in what he believes is the style of an Al-shirkuh 
  palace. sadly his garish furnishings are way off the mark, 
  though few locals know any better. The tavern offers 
  fine wine, exotic foodstuffs, and scantily clad dancers for 
  those who can afford the equally exotic prices.
  0. temPle of maera
  When merchant Princess Alicia Cogle granted the ma-
  
  HalfWay
  1
  gocracy permission to construct a temple to maera, the 
  mage-king seized the opportunity with both hands.
  The temple itself is a modest structure where mago-
  cratic citizens can worship and meet with their fellow 
  countrymen. An annex contains well-appointed suites 
  for use by mage nobles who don’t wish to mingle with 
  Halfway’s citizens or conduct business if private, while 
  there are common rooms for their servants.
  each of the Great Houses garrisons a handful of Arcane 
  Hands here. Heahwisards preparing to venture further 
  afield can hire a single bodyguard here at the cost of pro-
  viding the bodyguard’s food and board for the duration 
  of their trip.
  1. offiCe of entitlement
  Citizens who wish to purchase a noble title (see the 
  Coglelund rules of the realm in the Hellfrost Atlas) 
  must apply at the office of entitlement. Although it is 
  only money that matters, the scribes and heralds create 
  genealogical charts (adding ancestors of note as required 
  by the client for an extra fee) and a heraldic design.
  save for that of the main line of the Cogles, the heral-
  dic and genealogical archives are not open to members 
  of the public. of course, a handful of gold can soon have 
  the scribes scurrying for scrolls. Aside from names and 
  dates of birth and death, the information on the scrolls is 
  of little importance.
  . travelers’ guild
  Coglelund isn’t geographically central to the Hearth-
  lands, but traders and travelers from across the continent 
  pass through. The guild purchases information regard-
  ing various aspects of foreign lands (a maximum of 10 
  gs, dependant on the amount and quality of lore) and 
  writes them up as a series of region guides. While the 
  guild endeavors to ensure the information is accurate 
  and up to date, it takes no responsibility for the veracity 
  of its writings. Guides cost 1 gs apiece.
  silver Ward
  A cramped and run-down district, silver Ward is home 
  to the city’s poorest inhabitants—which is the bulk of 
  them. The name derives from the belief the citizens are 
  so poor they only possess silver scields. in most cases 
  this is true.
  . frederiCk & snare
  frederick ap-marl is the head of the rat catchers’ guild. 
  snare is his hunting cat, a mangy, vicious feline. Rats are a 
  common problem in a city this size, and frederick is kept 
  busy, particularly in the wealthy homes and warehouses. 
  He professes to follow veth, goddess of rat catchers, but 
  is actually a cultist of nauthiz. His access to rich homes 
  allows him to scope out the contents and layout, infor-
  mation he then sells to the thieves’ guild.
  . tHe arena
  in days of yore, the Anari nobility would force pris-
  oners to fight to the death for their entertainment. The 
  practice had long been abolished before Halfway came 
  into being, but the Cogles were aware that spectacle 
  brought in money.
  The Arena is a private enterprise. Here, citizens can 
  pit their luck against a range of champions in pugilistic 
  bouts. The fights draw large crowds from among the 
  city’s poor hoping to see a good show and turn their 
  silver into gold through wagers. While few nobles attend 
  the fights, believing it beneath their station, most have 
  agents placing bets on their behalf. 
  for those with enough cash, the owners can organize 
  armed conflicts to the death. This is illegal, but the own-
  ers bribe the constables to be elsewhere.
  . tHe temPle of eira
  until recently, the cult of eira had a monopoly on 
  health services. While their rates were tailored to meet 
  a citizen’s income, medicines and treatments still cost 
  money. since the House of mercy (see below) opened, 
  the small temple has seen the number of poor clients 
  drop dramatically, though the number of worshippers 
  attending services has not altered.
  The cult of eira is growing suspicious as to the nature 
  of the recent outbreaks of disease, but lacks the staff to 
  investigate more fully.
  6. House of merCy
  Halfway’s largest hospital is operated by the sisters of 
  mercy. Their services are open to rich and poor alike—
  most of the city’s population owes them some small 
  favor, including leon Cogle.
  matron-sister Agatha ap-Bendrik, the senior official, is 
  actually in league with the cult of vali. every now and 
  then the cult causes an outbreak of disease, forcing the 
  populace to flock to the temple for succor. The last out-
  break was confined to the Gold Ward, placing many of 
  the city’s richest citizens deeper into the organization’s 
  debt.
  . barraCks
  since soldiers number among the poorer members 
  of society, the Cogles opted to construct the barracks in 
  silver Ward. The presence of hundreds of soldiers also 
  helps to keep the peasants from rebelling against the 
  system designed to keep them impoverished.
  There are nine accommodation blocks, each housing 
  a company, a mess hall and kitchens, an officers’ block, 
  the military courthouse, and extensive stables. A small 
  temple honors Tiw, with shrines dedicated to Atriðr (cav-
  alry) and Geirvaldr (spear combat). Given the amount of 
  manure the horses produce, the cult of Brúni has a small 
  shrine here.
  
  History
  Before the Anari empire invaded, the site where Glass-
  port would come to stand was a small Tuomi fishing vil-
  lage called Àite iasgaich (literally “the fishing place”).
  Arguments still rage as to whether the harbor was the 
  initial landing place of the Anari invasion force or not. 
  many scholars are of the thought that the Anari fleets 
  first sailed east and conquered what is now the magoc-
  racy. from there, possibly from Port Helgen, they sailed 
  directly north until they reached land at the spot now 
  marked by ruins.
  modern Glassporters, despite having no love for the 
  old empire and kits tyrannical ways, fervently dispute 
  this, and take pride in declaring that this is where their 
  ancestors first stepped ashore. After all, the Anari were 
  merchants before they were conquerors and it is more 
  than possible they traded with the Tuomi living here. 
  Thus, their armies would already be aware the site was 
  an ideal harbor.
  Historically, there is no written mention of an Anari 
  port here until –425, though records from the era are 
  extremely rare thanks to the later Blizzard War. A mili-
  tary logbook suggests the harbor was used to transport 
  troops from Alantaris isle to Aspiria to fight in the de-
  mongate Wars. Arguably, it would be very unlikely that 
  much-needed reinforcements would be landed at an 
  inhabited spot, especially since there was by then an 
  extensive road and trading network across Aspiria.
  The first mention of a named Anari settlement comes 
  a century later, during the time of the liche-Priest. 
  Then called southport, as it has been for most of its 
  existence since, the record makes clear mention of ex-
  tensive wharves and warehouses, as well as a “fortress 
  from which we commanded the seas.” unfortunately, 
  the records make it unclear whether the fortress was a 
  motte-and-bailey or a more substantial structure. Given 
  the settlement’s name included the word “port,” it is as-
  sumed the site was already a known trading enclave and 
  had been for some time.
  until the Blizzard War, southport went through an ex-
  tended period of booms and busts, its fortunes waxing 
  and waning the fortunes of the empire and the wonts of 
  the emperors.
  southport escaped the Blizzard War with minor dam-
  age, with only the fortress being destroyed outright. local 
  folklore tells how the brave and noble citizens drove off 
  a flight of marauding dragons, though modern scholars 
  quietly suggest it was more likely the Hellfrost army com-
  manders saw it as a target of no great importance—few 
  scholars doubt that the intention was always to cut off 
  the empire’s head at imperial City rather than strike at 
  mercantile settlements.
  With the empire broken and the provinces rapidly fall-
  ing into chaos, the town may have fallen into ruin. for-
  tunately, the newly self-appointed king moved quickly 
  to bolster the various ports’ defenders and ensure they 
  did not fall into other hands or declare themselves free 
  cities.
  By the middle of the third century, the town had be-
  come a small city, though it still competed with eastport 
  further along the coast. Although heavily damaged by 
  rampaging golems during the brutal Golem uprising, 
  southport fared better than its rival, which was razed 
  to the ground. While the dead of eastport were publicly 
  mourned, Glassporters also gave thanks, for their city’s 
  future was now assured.
  With parts of the city laid waste and the need to ex-
  pand the harbor to take advantage of the growing trade 
  passing through southport’s gates, the count ordered 
  the city to be expanded and reorganized.
  slabs of glass cut in the distant Glittersands had passed 
  through the port for many years, but they were seen only 
  as a raw commodity to sell on. it was Count Gobert ap-
  jaufre (367-415) who first suggested it would be more 
  beneficial to transform the glass into glassware here 
  rather than in the workshops of foreign artisans.
  As the fledgling industry began to lay down its roots, 
  1
  glassPort
                             
  
  glassPort
  1
  envoys were dispatched to the remote Glittersands with 
  orders to strike a deal for more glass to be exported. 
  Happy knowing they had guaranteed customers, the na-
  tives of Glaston quickly signed a trade pact.
  By 425 iR, southport began a period of great growth. 
  As more glassblowers and glaziers began opening busi-
  nesses, so more glass was imported, leading to more 
  workshops began operating and the need for raw materi-
  als. By 459 iR, glassware had become southport’s major 
  industry, outstripping all others combined.
  it was also a time of religious and civil change. neorthe 
  and var were relegated in stature as the cults of ertha 
  and sigel gained prominence, new guilds were estab-
  lished and soon entered into the city’s politics, and old 
  parts of the city were torn down to make room for new 
  industries. more importantly, the city changed its name 
  to fit its new identity. After some 800 years, southport 
  had become Glassport.
  soCial HierarCHy
  As the seat of the County of Glassport, the city’s high-
  est ranked noble is the count or countess. Aside from 
  her children, no true nobles live in the city—what few 
  nobles titles the counts have issued have lands on the 
  borders of the county, with the counts holding on to 
  areas surrounding the city and trade road.
  since Glassport’s renaming, three new count-barons 
  have arisen from the ranks of the guildmasters and cults 
  of ertha and kenaz respectively to take their place on the 
  noble Council. likewise, the upper-class now includes 
  master glassblowers, a station usually reserved for the 
  middle-class elsewhere in Aspiria. 
  government
  Countess erolwyn ap-Ceithern has ruled Glassport for 
  the last 25 years. she is known locally as the Glass Count-
  ess, partly because it was her ancestors who transformed 
  the city’s fortunes and partly because she is transparent 
  in her dealings with her advisors and her subjects.
  she has four adult children. Although she retains final 
  authority, the countess has nominated her heir, Baroness 
  salaberge (29, female) to serve as the city’s seneschal. in 
  daily matters, she is now the voice of Glassport, though she 
  is wise enough to act as her mother’s counsel. erolwyn’s 
  eldest son, sir Acostant (27, male), is a captain in the king’s 
  army and is rarely present at court. The youngest children, 
  jules (20, male) and Cadmar (17, male), are junior priests 
  of ertha and sigel respectively, having forfeited their noble 
  titles on taking their holy vows.
  As with the king, and having no wish to fall back into 
  the corruption of the old empire, the Counts of Glass-
  port have a council to act as a check and balance to their 
  authority. The City Council meets on the first endedaeg 
  rules of tHe realm
  These setting rules apply in Glassport.
  * Bad Air: Glassport is often blanketed in a thick 
  cloud of choking smoke. each week, characters 
  must make a vigor roll  at +1 or suffer a minor re-
  spiratory tract infection.
  Minor Respiratory Infection (Airborne, +0): vic-
  tims are fatigued while infected due to shortness 
  of breath. Any roll of 1 (regardless of Wild die) on 
  a physical Trait roll made under strenuous circum-
  stances causes the victim to be shaken by a hack-
  ing coughing fit. A vigor roll to remove the disease 
  made be made every four days.
  * Cheaper Goods: Goggles with smoked glass, 
  glass flasks, lanterns, sandglasses, and such like cost 
  30% less. likewise, such items are worth 30% less 
  before modifiers if sold as booty.
  * Justice for All: The courts of Glassport are run by 
  the cult of Hothar. in their eyes, all men are equal. 
  As such, nobles do not gain the usual +2 Charisma 
  bonus awarded them by dint of their social station 
  when involved in court cases.
  * Languages: Heroes used to conversing in Trader 
  are out of luck in Glassport. Aspirian is the native 
  language, followed by engrosi and Hearth elven. 
  very few natives speak more than a few words of 
  Trader.
  * Respected: members of the Convocation and 
  clerics of ertha are treated with great respect. They 
  have +1 Charisma when dealing with nonmembers 
  or cultists in Aspiria.
  * Transit Hub: Characters who make a successful 
  streetwise roll can locate a ship departing in the 
  next 1d6 days. on a raise, the ship is leaving in half 
  that time. With a suitable bribe (200 gs per point of 
  the ship’s Toughness), the ship can be made ready 
  to sail on the next tide (assume the next morning or 
  evening for ease).
  Hiring a ship costs 50 gs per point of Toughness 
  per week or part thereof if the captain is allowed to 
  trade on the voyage, or 200 gs per point of Tough-
  ness per week or part thereof if not. Allowing the 
  captain to conduct trade is cheaper, but it trebles 
  the journey time unless the characters are heading 
  to the next port anyway.
     native CHaraCters
  * Clerics of Ertha: Clerics of ertha trained in Glass-
  port cannot take darkness trappings. They may take 
  light trappings for their miracles.
  * Glassworking: during character generation, na-
  tive Glassporters with smarts d6+ may take Craft 
  (Glassblowing) d6 for one skill point. Characters 
  who take this benefit are assumed to have under-
  gone an apprenticeship.
                                                              
                                            
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  0
  of each month to discuss business, unless an emergency 
  requires immediate action. All laws and trade agreements, 
  and military action involving Glassport’s soldiery, must be 
  approved by the Council. The councilors have no say on 
  the appointment of nobles, since the lands are the per-
  sonal fief of the countess. each member has a single vote, 
  with the high priest of ertha’s vote breaking any ties.
  The Council is comprised of 12 members. The high 
  priests of ertha, neorthe, sigel, and var, and the senior 
  captain of the city’s garrison are automatically entitled 
  to seats due to their station. The others are elected by 
  their peers.
  The guildmasters appoint one of their own to speak 
  for them for a period of three years. Between them, the 
  Guild of Glassblowers and the Glass merchants’ Guild 
  represent a powerful mercantile and political bloc, and 
  are often in dispute with the countess over matters of 
  trade, not to mention each other.
  The nobles beholden to the countess send a represen-
  tative elected from their number for a single year. one 
  common citizen (in that they must be from the middle 
  or lower class) is elected from each of the city’s four 
  districts. Appointments are for two years. finally, the 
  Convocation elects one of its own to serve for one year. 
  This position is an honorary one—while the official is 
  permitted to raise business before the court and speak 
  on matters, they cannot vote.
  The names, gender, race, and age of the major Council 
  members are given below, along with a brief resume. The 
  details of the citizen councilors are left for the Gm to 
  determine.
  High Priest of Ertha: Incumbent: forge daughter 
  Abonde Glasshands (female, Anari, 62); Notes: named 
  for the many colored glass beads embedded on the back 
  of her hands. A staunch ally of the Guild of Glassblowers 
  and Guild of Glaziers, but dislikes her var counterpart. 
  Considered the senior cleric in Glassport.
  High Priest of Neorthe: Incumbent: navigator Rose-
  bud (female, engrosi, 35); Notes: Allied with the elected 
  citizen from the dock district.
  High Priest of Sigel: Incumbent: sun Priest Riton ap-
  Corneus (male, Anari, 56); Notes: official spokesman for 
  the cult of Heimdallr and Guild of lamplighters.
  High Priest of Var: Incumbent: Profiteer liliane ap-
  Gaidon (female, Anari, 41); Notes: seeks higher profits 
  for glassware, even if that means paying craftsmen less.
  Captain of the Guard: Incumbent: Captain serin 
  ap-Argius (male, Anari, 43); Notes: Has no interest in 
  politics.
  Guild: Incumbent: Guildmaster Argius long-lived 
  (male, Anari, 92); Notes: Head of the Guild of Glassblow-
  ers.
  Lesser Nobility: Incumbent: knight lanval ap-valeray 
  (male, Anari, 27); Notes: eldest son of Baron Remi, a bor-
  der noble. secretly courting Baroness salaberge behind 
  her mother’s back.
  Convocation: Incumbent: Arkhwisard Helosie ap-
  Gontran (female, Anari, 56); Notes: unofficial spokes-
  woman for the Alchemists’ Guild. ends every meeting 
  with a demand to raise taxation on alchemical devices 
  not sold by the guild.
  laW and order
  Glassport’s city watch comprises just 100 men and 
  women. They are divided into three watches. delling 
  Watch patrols from 4 am to noon, daeg Watch from noon 
  until 8 pm, and Heimdallr Watch works the night shift 
  from 8 pm until 4 am.
  The watches are divided unequally—delling consists of 
  30 watchmen, daeg has 20 members, and Heimdallr has 
  50 watchmen. each is sub-divided into five-man squads. 
  in addition to the watchmen, each Heimdallr squad is 
  accompanied by either a cleric of the god of light or a 
  member of the lamplighters’ Guild. neither has any le-
  gal authority, but serves as a lantern-bearer. They are also 
  responsible for refilling street lanterns as necessary.
  Thanks to the cooperation of the Alchemist’s Guild 
  and the Glaziers’ Guild, each Heimdallr squad carries 
  two alchemical devices—glass globes that cast light when 
  shattered.
  tHe Courts
  such is the Aspirians’ regard for justice that every 
  county capital has a temple to Hothar, and Glassport is 
  no exception. Across the land, the temples of Hothar use 
  the same system of justice—lesser cases are heard by a 
  lone cleric and serious cases by a panel of three clerics. 
  in military and religious trials, the clerics are assisted by 
  either the Captain of the Guard or a cleric of the faith 
  that has been wronged, who can advise on appropriate 
  matters.
  every member of guilds related to the glass industry 
  pays 1% of their annual income to the guild. As well 
  as providing for members who cannot work due to in-
  dustrial accidents, it pays toward legal representation. 
  most members are provided only with a junior cleric of 
  Hothar (knowledge (law) d4 or d6), while more senior 
  members have a more skilled cleric.
  tHieves’ guild
  Two thieves’ guilds operate in Glassport. so long as 
  the lesser outfit, the slippery fingers, keeps its activities 
  restricted to cutting purses, picking pockets, and petty 
  theft (burglaries whose total plunder doesn’t exceed 
  10 gs), its members do not draw the wrath of the true 
  thieves’ guild. most of the guild’s membership is drawn 
  from street urchins. Those with nimble fingers and the 
  ability to keep their mouths shut may be invited to join 
  the true guild as apprentices.
  The greater guild, the Broken shards, have a total mo-
  nopoly on major crimes. Burglaries form the bulk of their 
  larcenous operations, but they also control smuggling. 
  not that there is much profit in this—exercise duties are 
  so low that only the most desperate merchants feel the 
  need to involve the guild.
  
  glassPort
  1
  The shards were once heavily engaged in the protec-
  tion racket, but this has tapered off since the cult of ertha 
  ascended. Thieves who try to extort any persons involved 
  with the glass industry may find their second visit to col-
  lect payment results in a cleric beating them senseless.
  The two guildmasters—Alienor of the fingers and 
  varocher of the shards—are brother and sister, though 
  there is little love lost between them.
  eduCation
  With no temple of Hoenir in Glassport, only the rich 
  can afford to have their children educated beyond the 
  knowledge passed on by their elders or the temples their 
  family attends. since merchants deal almost entirely with 
  their peers in Alantaris isle, Chalcis, and the magocracy, 
  there is little need to learn Trader. As such, many Glass-
  porters are ill-suited to exploring further than realms 
  once part of the Anari empire.
  for children not accepted into the Convocation or the 
  cults, the only form of further education is through an 
  apprenticeship. families naturally wish the best for their 
  offspring, but masters must be paid to accept an appren-
  tice and vacancies are limited.
  There is a source of advanced education in Glassport. 
  The Guild of Alchemists in Glassport provides courses, 
  but only to mages and clerics. Courses last for three 
  years, after which time the student should have achieved 
  basic knowledge of the art. in game terms, any mage or 
  cleric from Aspiria with knowledge (Alchemy) is likely to 
  have studied here.
  religion
  Changes to the city’s economic focus have seen once 
  prominent faiths lose influence and faiths that had little 
  presence rising to the fore.
  nowhere is this most evident than in the cult of er-
  tha. until five decades ago, the goddess didn’t warrant a 
  shrine. Regarded as something of an upstart by the older 
  cults and some elderly citizens, ertha is widely regarded 
  as Glassport’s patron deity. ertha’s aspects concerning 
  the underworld receive little worship.
  Without heat to melt them, imported glass slabs are 
  useless for anything. in 472 iR, the local high priests of 
  ertha and kenaz performed a marriage ceremony, spiri-
  tually bonding goddess and god together as a couple. 
  Through this union, the fortunes of the fire god’s cult 
  have also waxed.
  The reaction of ertha’s cults elsewhere in Aspiria has 
  been mixed. many have declared this an act of heresy, 
  despite there being no doctrinal prohibition. others 
  are more open to the idea—the relationship between 
  deities has always been subjective and shaped by local 
  viewpoints.
  in decades to come, the union may result in the birth 
  of a new minor deity with a glassblowing aspect. The 
  creation of a new deity is not a mortal endeavor—one 
  cannot just think one into existence. Rather, clerics must 
  meditate long and hard, their minds extending deep into 
  the cosmos. eventually, they will discover the name of 
  the existing god of glassblowing, for one surely exists. 
  Then, and only then, can a new sub-cult be formed based 
  on the wisdom the deity sends through dreams.
  var, once the city’s main deity, is still important, though 
  the cult has slipped influence. The cult has repeatedly 
  attempted to ally itself with that of ertha, but the latter 
  has no wish to share its powerbase.
  As a port, Glassport has always had a small but fervent 
  cult of neorthe watching over its harbor. The temple 
  has never concerned itself with political machinations, 
  although it has a permanent seat on the City Council. it 
  has long acted as the unofficial voice of the dock district, 
  whose elected member is typically a follower of neorthe.
  The last major cult in Glassport is that of sigel. like 
  much of Aspiria, the cult gained influence during the de-
  mongate War. sigel technically remains Glassport’s war 
  god, though the military now favors Tiw. Arguably, the 
  cult of Heimdallr, minor god of light, has more influence 
  here than anywhere else in Aspiria thanks to support 
  from the lamplighters’ Guild and lantern-makers and 
  Chandlers Guild.
  festivals
  in days of yore, the counts permitted one high holy 
  day of each of the city’s primary deities to become a pub-
  lic holiday for all citizens. The number of festivals and 
  the specific ceremonies have changed over the centuries 
  depending on which cult was ascendant and its particu-
  lar bias, and the count’s personal beliefs. Today, there are 
  five public holidays—Auction night (var), delling day 
  (sigel), feeding day (ertha), Hearth day (kenaz), and 
  quenching day (neorthe).
  first ligHting day
  Deity: kenaz
  The day after Hard Clay Day.
  forges and furnaces are nothing without kenaz’s in-
  tervention. The day after Hard Clay day, a cleric of 
  the fire god inscribes his god’s holy symbol on the 
  inside surface while intoning prayers. 
  After placing firewood in the furnace, the cleric ig-
  nites it with a torch burning with flame from the sa-
  cred fire burning in the local temple. Where there 
  is no kenaz temple, the cleric must create a torch 
  from strips of his vestments, affix it with a wooden 
  holy symbol, and then ignite from an existing forge 
  or hearth. The cleric must then pray until the furnace 
  reaches its working temperature.
                                      
                               
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  
  only two other public holidays are celebrated in Glass-
  port. The first, held on the third Waescdaeg of Werremo-
  nan, celebrates the countess’ enthronement. While the 
  city’s elite attends a grand ball at the manor, other citizens 
  gather to host street parties (if the weather is good) or 
  meet in the homes of family and friends (if raining).
  The second festival marks the day the last golems in 
  Glassport were destroyed. This takes place on the sec-
  ond sunnandaeg of Plohmonan. Children spend the 
  weeks beforehand building “gols,” effigies of golems 
  made from wood and rages. during the day of the festi-
  val, they parade their gol through the streets, extorting 
  a few coins or sweets from adults under the threat of 
  “unleashing the gol on them.”
  The union of ertha and kenaz combined with the focus 
  on glassware has resulted in some alterations to ertha’s 
  usual festivals. on feeding day, for instance, clerics have 
  swapped sacrificing metal and gems for smashing glass-
  ware. Hard Clay day is now celebrated whenever a new 
  glass furnace is constructed.
  military
  one of the seven hereditary counts, Countess erolwyn 
  maintains a private army. With orcs and giants no threat 
  to the county, she maintains a standing army of just 200 
  heavy infantry (two companies) and 200 crossbowmen 
  (two companies). one-quarter of the crossbowmen are 
  also trained artillerists.
  Two companies—one of each type—are garrisoned 
  inside the city. The infantry mainly protects the city gate, 
  although there is a barrack block in the dock district 
  in the off-chance that the city is attacked by water. The 
  crossbow company patrols the walls, as well as a small 
  island at the mouth of the harbor.
  The other two companies are tasked with protecting 
  the trade road as far as the southern boughs of silverleaf 
  forest. Positioned every day’s march along the road is a 
  small motte-and-bailey, where merchants can camp their 
  wagons for a small fee.
  The companies are rotated every six months, not that 
  any posting brings with it anything other than routine 
  boredom and the occasional patrol.
  Although there are only four companies, Glassport 
  has five captains. The fifth is commander of the city’s 
  garrison and holds the title Captain of the Guard. While 
  officially the county’s senior officer, the role is largely an 
  administrative and logistical position.
  Paladins of ertha and kenaz form an auxiliary company. 
  The seneschal may call them to arms without having to in-
  form the City Council, but the high priestess of ertha—their 
  commander-in-chief—is under no obligation to obey.
  The city also has three snekkes for anti-pirate duties. 
  only a single vessel is at sea at any one time, its crew 
  serving for a month. A second vessel is kept at anchor in 
  the harbor in readiness for providing assistance or com-
  batting pirates. The third is usually undergoing routine 
  maintenance. The ships are manned by a mix of light 
  infantry and archers. The three ship’s captains are subor-
  dinates of the Captain of the Guard.
  militia
  Glassport maintains a fixed militia of just four com-
  panies (400 men and women). only the countess (and 
  currently the seneschal) have the authority to muster 
  them to war and even then it requires approval from the 
  City Council. in the event neither official is in the city, 
  the Captain of the Guard is next in line. The Council’s 
  vote is usually a token gesture—the militia is called out 
  only when the city is threatened and no official wants to 
  see their home plundered or razed. Regular training ses-
  sions are held for one company at a time. in that way, the 
  city guard is never outnumbered by armed peasants.
  The militia is not permitted to keep their official armor 
  and weapons at home. When a call to arms is given, they 
  are equipped with leather armor and spears from the city 
  armory. Richer citizens are permitted to purchase heavier 
  armor and different weapons from their own pockets, 
  but must deposit them in the armory.
  Given that adults are charged 10 gs a year for not serv-
  ing in the militia and there is a restriction on numbers, 
  there is a frenzy of applicants when a vacancy arises.
  Private forCes
  only true nobles beholden to the countess are permit-
  ted to maintain a private army of any strength, and even 
  then there are restrictions. A baron may keep a maximum 
  of 50 soldiers, a baronet a maximum of 30, and a knight 
  just ten soldiers. more importantly, for the safety of the 
  county, whose borders the nobility safeguard, the nobil-
  ity must maintain a minimum of 50% of these numbers.
  The cults have no restrictions on the number of pala-
  dins they may maintain, but no temple can hire more 
  than ten soldiers from the laity. similarly, the count-bar-
  ons are restricted to just five soldiers.
  fire WatCH
  Wooden houses and roaring furnaces are an incendi-
  ary combination. every citizen is required to help form 
  a bucket chain should a fire break out, and the cult of 
  neorthe and the Convocation’s water elementalists are 
  always ready to douse conflagrations using miracles and 
  spells. The city also maintains a fire watch. made up of 
  just ten officials, their sole responsibility is to patrol the 
  city and raise the alarm if they spy a fire.
  trade & tribute
  Glassport is the southern terminus of the Glass Road, 
  a long trade route that winds its way northwest to new 
  Asper before continuing north as the Winter Road. much 
                                                         
                                
  
  glassPort
  
  of the produce carried along the Glittering Road passes 
  through its gates and wharves as well.
  As Aspiria’s largest port, all manner of goods pass 
  through Glassport’s streets. metal ingots from Chalcis 
  (Witchwood and the Granite mountains prohibit land 
  trade), the largest export in terms of quantity, enter As-
  piria here before being sent to workshops in new Asper 
  and kingsmead. meanwhile, local merchants deliver 
  cargoes of gems mined in the Granite mountains, olives 
  harvested and pressed into oil on the chalky southern 
  hills, and wine, national’s drink, from across the south-
  ern counties.
  The city’s sole import of note is the slabs of raw glass 
  cut in the Glittersands. The Glass merchants’ Guild, 
  which has a monopoly on the commodity, then hacks it 
  into smaller chunks for sale to the various glassblowers. 
  These craftsmen then turn the glass into bowls, glasses, 
  vases, windowpanes, vials, and panels for lanterns.
  most of the bottles manufactured here head back up 
  along the trade road for use in the wineries. Chalcis pur-
  chases works of art crafted from glass, most of the ware 
  end up in the markets of the magocracy.
  The furnaces require huge amounts of fuel. silverleaf 
  forest’s hearth elves sell timber to Glassport’s charcoal 
  burners in return for glass. The elves could purchase 
  glass from the caravans passing through their southern 
  border, but in forging a trade pact with Glassport the 
  elves can ensure the forest is not stripped bare by greedy 
  woodcutters.
  Given that is in the elves’ interests to keep imports 
  of raw glass flowing, Glassport has formally asked for a 
  military pact. in return for the elves help manning and 
  maintaining the mottes-and-baileys closest to their realm, 
  Glassport offers to sell glass at a better rate. The elves 
  have acknowledged receipt of the treaty but have yet to 
  sign. While some on the City Council are growing impa-
  tient at the delay, others argue the elves have a different 
  view of time and will sign in their own good time.
  in order that the small Charcoalers’ Guild could not 
  bring the city to its knees by reducing the flow of char-
  coal, it was consumed into the Glass merchants’ Guild. 
  Private producers still exist, but the Guild always pur-
  chases from affiliated producers first, going to the lesser 
  suppliers only when the others cannot meet demand. 
  The individual charcoal-making families primarily earn a 
  living selling to metalworkers, private citizens, and cler-
  ics of kenaz and sigel (who dislike the Glass merchants’ 
  monopoly).
  taxes
  Taxation in Glassport is governed by the king, who 
  oversees taxes in the entire realm. The countess’ father 
  secured a single concession, allowing glassware to be 
  imported and imported at lower rates than other goods.
  Alchemical Tax: All alchemical devices except those 
  sold by the Alchemists’ Guild are subject to a 10% sales 
  tax. This raises the cost of alchemical devices in Aspiria 
  by a similar amount. 
  The king’s decision to tax alchemical devices yet 
  exempt the Alchemists’ Guild (essentially part of the 
  Convocation) has not gone down well with the cults. un-
  able to persuade the monarch to exempt them as well, 
  Aspiria’s four main cults have taken matters into their 
  own hands.
  instead of selling alchemical wares, they give them 
  away in return for a donation to their temples. naturally, 
  the minimum donation is exactly equal to the standard 
  price of the device. so as not to be seen to be snubbing 
  the law, the cults only offer this service to those who 
  have their deity as patron—other buyers must pay the 
  inflated price.
  Docking Fees: As a port, and with only limited wharf 
  space, Glassport is permitted to charge a berthing fee. 
  ships may berth for free for the first 24 hours. After that, 
  they are charged 5 gs per point of ship’s base Toughness 
  (i.e., ignoring armor) per day or part thereof.
  Customs Duties: imports are taxed at 4%, except for beer 
  and spirits, which are taxed at 10%, and raw glass, which is 
  taxed at 2%. export tax is set at 3%, except on glassware, 
  which is taxed at just 1% (approved by the king).
  Hearth Tax: All households pay 1 gs per annum for 
  each fireplace in the home. in Glassport, this helps en-
  sure the street lanterns are maintained and fuelled.
  Income Tax: Citizens pay 10% tax based on their an-
  nual income to their feudal superior and 10% directly to 
  the king’s treasury. The countess, whose only superior is 
  the king, pays 20% to the monarch. income tax paid to 
  the countess helps maintain the network of fortifications 
  along the trade road.
  Sales Tax: A fee of 3% is paid on each transaction.
  Scutage: males between the ages of 15 and 50 who 
  trade goods
  Trade goods is a catchall term for small, portable 
  goods of little individual intrinsic value. it is impor-
  tant to note that any items found for purchase in 
  gear lists or that have a game mechanic are never 
  trade goods. A few wooden plates, a bag of cooking 
  herbs, a few animal pelts—such day-to-day items 
  can all be considered trade goods. Trade goods can 
  be spent in any settlement in lieu of coin (barter-
  ing).
  Trade goods need not be detailed individually—
  their exact nature is unimportant, though charac-
  ters are always welcome to add flavor by offering 
  specific items. for instance, instead of saying he is 
  using 20 gs of trade goods in a purchase, a player 
  might say “i’ll barter using these engraved wooden 
  drinking cups i found.”
  A hero who finds or spends 100 gs on trade goods 
  need only record “trade goods: 100 gs” on his char-
  acter sheet, leaving the exact nature of the goods 
  flexible. for convenience, every 5 gs of trade goods 
  weighs 2 pounds.
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  
  
  glassPort
  
  do not join their local militia or an army are taxed 10 gs 
  per year to help maintain those forces. This is paid to the 
  countess’s personal treasury.
  markets
  Glassport has two markets located in the merchant dis-
  trict. The open market opens at dawn and closes at dusk. 
  it is closed on public holidays, as are most businesses, 
  and during times of city-wide crisis (such as outbreaks of 
  plague). The other temple is located in the temple of var.
  The wares on sale depend on the day of the week. Hea-
  foddaeg: fresh food and drink; Waescdaeg: metal goods, 
  including weapons and cooking pots; Marketdaeg: 
  glassware, candles, oil; Monandaeg: clothing (including 
  raw items, such as cloth and wool); Sunnandaeg: ser-
  vices (astrologers, messengers, mercenaries, miracles, 
  scriveners, and so on); Healfdaeg: wooden, pottery, 
  and leather goods (cutlery, bowls, storage pots, barrels, 
  pouches, backpacks, and such like); Milcdaeg: livestock; 
  Endedaeg: everything else.
  While most of the sellers also own a shop or workshop, 
  they rent stall space because it allows them to display 
  their wares and keep an eye over their rivals’ goods and 
  prices. Part of the rent goes toward paying Thieftakers to 
  protect the stalls from thieves. Thanks to their presence, 
  the city watch rarely bothers to patrol here.
  arCHiteCture
  situated far from easy access to quarries, much of the 
  city is made from wood. As the city grew, and with the 
  counts reluctant to spend fortunes extending the city 
  walls, buildings were extended upward. most houses and 
  three stories high, with each floor occupied by a family.
  due to the constant risk of fire, buildings are roofed with 
  wooden slates rather than thatch. likewise, they are primar-
  ily made of wood—only the countess’ house, temples, mili-
  tary buildings, and the Convocation’s holdings are made of 
  stone. in this way, buildings can be hurried to demolished 
  to make fire breaks in the event of a major conflagration.
  save for the subterranean temple of ertha, every build-
  ing has glassed windows. even the lowest peasant’s 
  house has at least one tiny window with poor quality, 
  and mostly opaque, glass. As the buildings grow grander, 
  so the amount of windows increases, as does the quality, 
  transparency, and color of the glass.
  most cities are cast into darkness after sunset, with only 
  the watch patrols providing any illumination. With glass in 
  plentiful supply, and whale oil provided by villages located 
  a short distance along the coast, the streets of Glassport 
  are illuminated by lanterns maintained by the lamplight-
  ers’ Guild. local by-laws (introduced by the cult of sigel 
  and accepted by the City Council) make it a serious crime 
  to tamper with or extinguish with the lanterns. The typical 
  punishment is the loss of one’s dominant hand for the 
  first offense and death by burning for the second offense.
                                                 
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  6
  tHe sun
  As elsewhere, the inhabitants of Glassport base their 
  working day on the rising and setting of sigel’s Hearth. 
  Below are the local sunrise and sunset times and the 
  hours of daylight for the first day of each month.
  Gms should note that Halfway and Glassport are, by 
  coincidence, at roughly the same latitude. As such, sun-
  rise and sunset times are identical.
  Month 
  Sunrise 
  Sunset 
  Daylight
  snaermonan 
  0723 
  1627 
  9h 4m
  frostmonan 
  0709 
  1700 
  9h 50m
  eostremonan 
  0632 
  1737 
  11h 4m
  Plohmonan 
  0544 
  1813 
  12h 32m
  sowanmonan 
  0457 
  1843 
  13h 46m
  Werremonan 
  0422 
  1914 
  14h 51m
  scerranmonan 
  0412 
  1933 
  15h 21m
  Hegmonan 
  0427 
  1928 
  15h 1m
  Haerfestmonan 
  0455 
  1856 
  14h 1m
  falmonan 
  0425 
  1810 
  12h 44m
  Huntianmonan 
  0557 
  1720 
  11h 23m
  fogmonan 
  0631 
  1638 
  10h 7m
  Wulfmonan 
  0707 
  1617 
  9h 10m
  major loCales
  in addition to the locales detailed below, which are 
  among the most important or interesting, all the major 
  crafts and services are represented. Although it may re-
  quire a streetwise roll to glean the address of a particu-
  lar business, the characters should have little difficulty 
  finding armorers, and weaponsmiths, herbalists, healers, 
  glassblowers, potters, weavers, dyers, tanners, black-
  smiths, farriers, parchment makers, carpenters, masons, 
  wheelwrights, scholars, and so on.
  inns and taverns are less common than in similar-sized 
  cities, there being fewer visitors. quality of furnishings, 
  entertainment, and service varies immensely from down-
  right disgusting to luxurious.
  City Walls & gates
  The chances of an army attacking Glassport from the 
  landward side are minimal. even if the orcs and giants 
  did manage to combine their forces into one vast army, 
  Glassport would have plenty of time to either bolster its 
  defenses by withdrawing from the mottes-and-baileys 
  and hiring mercenaries from overseas or, in the worst 
  case situation, evacuating the city.
  With stone an extensive luxury, the early counts opted 
  to create a huge bank of packed chalk and earth (50 feet 
  thick), directly in front of which was excavated a steep 
  v-shaped ditch. The height from the base of the ditch 
  to the top of the ramparts is 40 feet. The ramparts are 
  topped with an 8-foot wooden palisade, behind which 
  is a wide catwalk. Wooden towers, each an additional 20 
  feet higher than the rampart, provide firing and watch 
  platforms.
  The sole gatehouse is actually constructed from stone. 
  A major fortification, it is flanked by two 40-feet high tow-
  ers. Passing through the first set of gates, which can be 
  protected by a portcullis, the road takes a series of 180 
  degree turns before reaching the second gate. murder 
  holes in the roof allow defenders to fire missile weapons 
  or drop alchemical devices on attackers.
  The gates are kept open day and night, though the 
  number of soldiers on guard duty is doubled after dark. 
  A double two of large lanterns illuminates the approach 
  to the trade road. Any shadows spied outside their illu-
  minated area are automatically fired at by crossbowmen 
  perched on the gatehouse towers.
  doCk distriCt
  As Aspiria’s largest port, Glassport boasts extensive 
  wharves, not to mention industries related to shipping 
  and shipbuilding and provisioning ships from Alantaris 
  isle, Chalcis, and the magocracy regularly call here, and 
  the dock area is awash with foreign sailors.
  on rare occasions, a ship from Al-shirkuh, the desert 
  realm south of Rassilon, berths here with a cargo of rare 
  goods. When it does, folk gather from far afield to see the 
  dusky-skinned sailors and listen to their tales of endless 
  burning sands, strange beasts, and alien forms of magic.
  1. gateWay island
  Rising from the cold waters at the harbor mouth, Gate-
  way island is a craggy, seaweed-draped pinnacle of rock. 
  Built into the rock is a low, stone tower. 
  inside the tower are barracks for 20 soldiers. The cel-
  lar, hollowed out from the living rock, serves as a jail for 
  those awaiting trial. The building also serves as home to 
  the city’s only resident priest of Rigr, eye of the vigilant 
  josiane ever-Wake. 
  Pirates, which while a hypothetical threat, have never 
  seriously troubled Glassport. josiane spends much of her 
  time gazing out to sea for approaching ships or vessels in 
  trouble, her eyes augmented by farsight and her clothes 
  kept dry through environmental protection.
  Two trebuchets and four ballistae are mounted on the 
  flat roof, the first line of defenses against sea-raiders. 
  instead of rocks, the trebuchets launch a barrage of a 
  dozen glass orbs at a time, each one a fiery blast alchemi-
  cal device, packed in straw to protect them against shat-
  tering on launch. The city can only afford six loads of 
  orbs, but each one is enough to destroy several ships 
  sailing in close proximity to each other.
  A huge lantern hangs suspended from an iron frame. 
  Gluttonous for fuel, the beacon is lit only during storms, 
  when the color of the sea and sky merge into one in-
  distinguishable mass, and at night. smaller lanterns 
  positioned on the crags warn mariners of the island’s 
  treacherous rocks.
                                                    
                              
  
  glassPort
  
  . Customs House 
  Whether arriving or departing by land or sea, mer-
  chants must declare their cargoes to customs officials, 
  who then evaluate and collect exercise duty. unloading 
  or unloading cargo and storing and removing it from a 
  warehouse requires a valid tax receipt. This takes the 
  form of a carved wooden disc, the designs varying based 
  on whether import or export excise has been paid.
  Appraising taxation can be a lengthy process—most 
  officials insist on opening barrels, casks, and crates in or-
  der to check the contents. This can take anywhere from 
  a few hours to several days, depending on the quantities 
  involved and how busy the officials are.
  Captains who need to catch the next tide or who have 
  perishable goods can speed up the inspection, as can 
  those who would rather not have officials poking about 
  in their cargoes, with a small bribe. 
  . WareHouses
  straddling the boundary between the dock and mer-
  chant districts are wide streets bordered with wooden 
  warehouses. most are owned by local merchant families 
  or the Glassblowers’ Guild. The Principality of Herge-
  nald maintains three warehouses here for storing goods 
  going to and from Port Helgen.
  The warehouse area is not just a place for storing goods. 
  nestled between the large buildings are the workshops of 
  craftsmen devoted to producing various storage items. Here 
  one can find basketmakers, bottlemakers, boxmakers, cof-
  ferers (wooden coffers), sackers (sacks), and wineskinners. 
  While repairs to ships are handled at the shipyards (see 
  location #8), merchants using carts can find cartwrights 
  and wheelwrights also ply their trade here. similarly, there 
  are craftsmen producing pavilions, tents, bedrolls, and pro-
  visions—staying at the few roadside inns in Aspiria costs 
  money and merchants tend to be a frugal lot.
  Given its size, not to mention the businesses operat-
  ing here, many citizens consider the area a separate area 
  of the city. unofficially, it is known as the Warehouse 
  district. The borders are not particularly defined (many 
  warehouse workers live to the east and there are ware-
  houses to the west), but this doesn’t prevent the cult of 
  var and Glass merchants’ Guild from making a request 
  for the area to be considered a unique district. not only 
  would this mean adding a new citizen to the City Coun-
  cil, but it would undoubtedly expand the power of the 
  main proposers.
  . sHiP CHandler street
  every shop along this street is a ship’s chandler. Cap-
  tains can find everything they need to keep their vessels 
  seaworthy—oil, tallow, rope, hatchets and hammers, 
  nails, candles and lanterns, leather goods, sail cloth, and 
  even provisions.
  The shops do not compete on price. instead, they pride 
  themselves on the time it takes to fulfill an order—time 
  is money for merchants. Chandlers with a reputation 
  for timely and accurate delivery are naturally the most 
  preferable, but they also have more customers to satisfy. 
  unless the chandler has spare capacity, captains must 
  frequently use one with a poorer reputation.
  . tHe drunken oarsman
  A popular inn with sailors looking for employment, 
  the drunken oarsman has a reputation for bad food 
  (cheap meals, the only sort available, cost 2 ss), strong 
  alcohol, and drunken brawling. The back wall is covered 
  with notices posted by captains with vacancies. sailors 
  are usually conversant with the latest gossip. streetwise 
  rolls to learn gossip concerning Port or Port Helgen have 
  a +1 bonus here.
  The establishment is owned by fromondin ap-Begue. 
  A retired sailor, the innkeeper is troubled by constant 
  nightmares involving black tentacles and hungry maws. 
  His problems began a year ago, shortly after accepting a 
  curiously-carved statuette from a sailor from sirhan, City 
  of stars on the western coast of Al-shirkuh, in lieu of 
  payment for a week’s board. fromondin has yet to put 
  the two events together.
  6. CrusHing ClaW outfitters
  seafood is a major part of Glassporters’ diet. especially 
  prized by the rich is flavorsome flesh of the giant crabs 
  native to Crushing Claw island (see Hellfrost Atlas). 
  Good money can be made hunting down the gigantic 
  crustaceans. The shop is an outfitter for those wishing to 
  try their luck crab hunting. Racks of polearms, hammers, 
  and maces, crowbars (for prising shells open), bundles 
  of rope and nets, and grappling hooks fill the store to 
  the rafters.
  . tHe sand dWeller
  An inn located near the docks, the sandpit, as the 
  establishment is better known locally, caters for visiting 
  merchants from Al-shirkuh and those who wish to trade 
  with the free emirates located on the continent’s west-
  ern coast. The decor is thoroughly southern in style, as 
  is the cuisine, which uses a lot of unusual spices. meals 
  cost twice the usual rate.
  The innkeeper, omid ibn-Hazid, is an ex-patriot who 
  has taken Aspirian citizenship. Although omid is fluent 
  in both Aspirian and Trader, he permits only sand-
  speech, the trade language of Al-shirkuh, to be spoken 
  in the sandpit. Patrons who cannot speak the language 
  are shown the door. Customers may pay in scields or 
  dinars.
  . sHiPyards
  Glassport’s shipyards both construct new vessels and 
  repair existing ones. The shipwrights have a long history 
  of building busses, the most common merchant vessel.
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  
  standard busses cost 80% of normal here. Construc-
  tion takes five weeks. Buyers must pay 50% in advance 
  and the rest on completion. The craftsmen can also more 
  advanced busses, albeit at a much higher cost. Prices be-
  low are in addition to the basic cost of a busse. These 
  options can be combined, but only one of each modifica-
  tion can be added to any one ship. each modification 
  adds a further two weeks to the construction time.
  Greater Seaworthiness: Handling 0 (+2,000 gs); Rein-
  forced Hull: the ship has Heavy Armor, but its Armor rat-
  ing is not changed (+1,500 gs); Sleek Hull: Acc/Top speed 
  change to 2/8 (under oar) and 4/12 (under sail) (+5,000 
  gs); Strengthened Hull: +2 Toughness (+1,500 gs).
  . tHe temPle of neortHe
  out of long tradition, any ship that sinks within the 
  confines of the harbor automatically belongs to the cult 
  of neorthe, as does its cargo. Constructed from salvaged 
  timbers, the temple appears to be a ramshackle structure 
  ready to blow down with the next storm though it is ac-
  tually extremely strong.
  inside, the structure is adorned with many statuettes 
  carved from whale bone and scrimshawed bone objects 
  or shells. some of these items have been donated, but 
  many more were purchased from the sale of cargoes 
  salvaged from sunken vessels. most often, the cargoes 
  are sold back to their original owners for a percentage of 
  their market value.
  for much of the day, navigator Rosebud, the high 
  priest, sits in a small rowboat anchored near Gateway 
  island. visiting captains can hire her as a pilot to guide 
  them through the swirling currents of the harbor for 5 
  gs. she also offers departing captains a blessing for 2 gs.
  County distriCt
  situated on the western bluffs, County district is 
  the political center of Glassport. Home to many of 
  the wealthiest and most influential citizens, it is rarely 
  troubled by the veil of smoke that constantly hovers over 
  the rest of the city.
  10. tHe manor House
  Constructed by the countess’ grandfather, this grand 
  edifice serves as the current seat of power for the County 
  of Glassport. unlike its predecessor, which can be barely 
  seen from the city below, the new manor is located on 
  the leeward side of the bluffs.
  A tunnel runs from one of the cellars to the Convoca-
  tion’s tower. The passage allows the seneschal and her 
  advisors to meet with the arkhwisards in secret.
  There is another door in the cellar. made of solid iron, 
  it has no lock and no handle, and no adornments save for 
  a poorly scratched symbol of scaetha. The older servants 
  claim it marks to the catacombs, where the counts of old 
  lie in rest, though can mention it without an involuntary 
  shudder and a whispered prayer. Given the door must 
  have been installed by the countess’ grandfather and that 
  the crypts are located on the other side of the hill, not 
  to mention is being unopenable, many younger servants 
  wonder as to why it was installed at all.
  11. tHe old manor
  With a commanding ocean view and mostly hidden 
  from the city, the modestly-sized fortified manor served 
  as the counts’ seat of power for countless generations. 
  Constantly battered by wind and rain, its stonework 
  is crumbling, the beams are rotting, and the slates are 
  cracked, though it remains structurally sound.
  Having chosen to withdraw from public life save for 
  appearances at grand feasts and visits to the appropriate 
  temples on public holidays, erolwyn has chosen to make 
  her home in the old manor. Aside from two guards and a 
  handful of elderly retainers, she resides here alone.
  Her closest servants are worried their mistress is losing 
  her mind. erolwyn has complained about strange noises 
  in the dead of night, unusual odors, and shadows that 
  seem to move on their own. despite a thorough search 
  and sleeping in the otherwise vacant wing, no one else 
  has detected anything unusual. The general agreement is 
  that the noises and odors are nothing more than the old 
  stones settling and the occasional waft of mold.
  1. barraCks
  surrounded by a low wooden wall, the barracks can 
  accommodate all four infantry companies, though only 
  two are resident at any time.
  Although sigel is the official god of war, counts born 
  after the liche-Priest was defeated were keen not to of-
  fend Tiw. instead of constructing a fortified temple, as 
  would the norm, the decision was made to cover the 
  parade ground with stone slabs. A huge version of Tiw’s 
  holy symbol is carved across the slabs. Technically only a 
  shrine, the soldiers gather here in their massed ranks to 
  celebrate Tiw’s high holy days.
  The parade ground’s corners are marked with stout 
  poles from which flutter the banners of the county’s 
  infantry companies. Those of the companies operating 
  outside the city are lowered to half-mast to indicate that 
  they are not resident.
  1. County CourtHouse
  Properly the temple of Hothar, the building is circular 
  with four small, square extensions. The central hub is the 
  temple proper and contains the clerics’ rooms, storage, 
  the main library, and the hall of worship. The four an-
  nexes house a court, these being those for civil, criminal, 
  military, and religious offenses.
  The library is stacked with scrolls and books of law, 
  as well as a record of all judgments passed down by the 
  courts dating back to the end of the Blizzard War. for 
  those using the library rules in Hellfrost Expansion 1, 
  the temple has the following statistics.
  
  glassPort
  
  Admission: Restricted to clerics of Hothar, laity who 
  work in the temple and have reason to consult the collec-
  tion (such as court clerks or scribes), and those who can 
  prove knowledge of the law (knowledge (law) d6+).
  Specialties: The law, County of Glassport legislation 
  and judgments.
  Investigation Rolls: +1 for specialties only.
  1. toWer of tHe four tHat are one 
  The Convocation of elementalists has long been an ally 
  of Aspiria. established in 36 iR, and largely unchanged 
  since that date, the Tower of the four that are one is 
  both a refuge and a place of learning.
  Any member of the Convocation in good standing may 
  stay here for as long as they like at no charge, though 
  they may be asked to work if they intend to remain here 
  for more than a week. As a major Convocation facility, 
  all the major offices (see Arcane Lore) have at least one 
  resident member.
  The Tower is not divided by element or title. Although 
  the arkhwisards have suites and the apprentices shared 
  common rooms, they eat, work, and study without divi-
  sion. The Tower is run by a council of four arkhwisards, 
  each representing one of the elements. Age rather than 
  skill determines who sits on the council. When it comes 
  to appointing a representative to the City Council, every 
  elementalist of Prynciple rank or higher has a single vote. 
  despite the more informal nature of the Tower, most el-
  ementalists vote for a candidate with the same principle 
  element as their own.
  The senior arcanologist, maegister Gormlaith “dancing 
  spiral” Argentocoxus (female, Tuomi, 40), has recently 
  come into possession of a document that purports to 
  show the location of the fabled Golem Workshop (see 
  Hellfrost Atlas). Wary the workshop may be protected 
  by deadly traps or active golems, and with all study of 
  golems prohibited, Gormlaith seeks to hire adventurers 
  with no ties to the Convocation.
  1. guild of alCHemists 
  A branch of the Convocation, the elementalists estab-
  lished the first alchemical workshop in Glassport (see 
  location #20) in 471 iR to take advantage of the cheap 
  glassware, as well as the city’s trade network. As part of 
  the agreement struck with the then-count, the guild sells 
  alchemical devices to the city at a reduced rate.
  master Alchemist maegister ivold soot-face (male, 
  saxa, 46), so-named because many of his experiments 
  end in explosive failures, is the current guildmaster. el-
  ementalists make up the bulk of the membership, but 
  any mage or cleric can join. many do so only in order to 
  access the guild’s advanced laboratories.
  using the laboratories grants +2 to die rolls when 
  creating alchemical devices. Access to the laboratories 
  is highly sought after, however, and the guildmaster has 
  recently imposed a charge of 100 gs per day, something 
  many elementalists resent.
  As well as workshops, the building runs a shop. Any 
  citizen can purchase a device here, but the guild only 
  sells destructive alchemical wares to mages and clerics.
  glass distriCt 
  despite its name, the Glass district serves as the main 
  industrial area for the entire city. many traditional crafts 
  have fallen out of favor in the last 40 years, but one can 
  still find everything from armorers to tailors and potters 
  to vellum-makers. Among the industries of interest to ad-
  venturers looking their way through ruins are chandlers 
  (candles), lantern-makers, torch-makers, and tinderbox-
  men (tinderboxes).
  The constant streams of smoke belching from glass 
  furnaces blankets this district in a constant cloud. Ten-
  drils of soot-laden smoke drift lazily down the cliff and 
  sit across the harbor and the lower parts of the city, with 
  only County district spared from the acrid fumes. keep-
  ing the city clean is a thankless and endless task.
  16. glass merCHants’ guild
  neither the largest or most powerful guild, the Glass 
  merchants’ Guild is still a potent influence on city poli-
  tics. Whereas the Guild of Glassblowers sides with the 
  cult of ertha, the Glass merchants are allied with the cult 
  of var. it is the merchants who control the price of glass-
  ware, but doing so in a delicate balance of appeasing for-
  eign merchants—who want the lowest prices—and the 
  glassblowers—who want a high price for their produce.
  1. guild of glassbloWers 
  True guild power in Glassport lies with the Guild of 
  Glassblowers and the affiliated Guild of Glaziers. The 
  guild’s main functions are to speak out for its members, 
  ensure quality standards remain high, and argue for the 
  highest prices (and then profits) possible.
  Guildmaster Argius long-lived has run the guild for 
  over 50 years. Although he speaks for the members on 
  the City Council, he has passed down daily running of 
  the organization to his subordinate, deputy Guildmis-
  tress Alix ap-Brantome (female, Anari, 34), his sister’s 
  eldest grandchild.
  Rumors have spread along the trade routes of a city in 
  the easternmost part of Al-shirkuh. Called Balyana, the 
  city shares the same industrial focus as Glassport, but on a 
  much grander scale. Alix is desperate to learn the secrets 
  and techniques of the native glassblowers. Through this, 
  she hopes to boost the guild’s fortunes to newer heights. 
  she has no idea of where Balyana lies, nor the vast distanc-
  es that must be covered to reach it, but she is prepared 
  handsomely to fund an expedition to the desert lands.
  1. tHe temPle of glass
  Glassport’s largest temple is actually two holy places 
  in one. The surface buildings are devoted to kenaz. in 
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  0
  the holy of holies burns the sacred, eternal flame, from 
  which all furnaces in the city are lit. The windows are 
  glazed with panes of orange and red glass. Candles are lit 
  behind each pane after dusk, giving the impression the 
  building is on fire.
  Carved into the cliffs is the extensive temple of ertha. 
  Rather than being decorated with gold, silver, and gems, 
  the temple has numerous works of art made from col-
  ored glass. The only affiliated minor deity honored here 
  is fjörgynn, goddess of industriousness (see Bonus Mat-
  ters of Faith web update). As befits the city’s focus, she is 
  depicted blowing glass.
  Bee of fjörgynn yon ap-Begon, head of the sub-cult, is 
  deputy high priestess of the temple. she is also the liai-
  son between the temple and the Guild of Glassblowers 
  (of which she is a senior member in her own right).
  1. guild of Pigmenters & Pastelers
  Clear glass vessels can be beautiful, but colored objects 
  fetch a considerably higher price. Guild workers are a mix 
  of herbalists and alchemists, grinding and mixing biologi-
  cal material and minerals into dry pigments. molten glass 
  can be rolled into the resultant powder to add color or the 
  pigment used to produce canes (colored glass rods).
  The guild is very secretive about its methods. Guild-
  master elizabeth ap-Richard is thus prepared to offer 
  a sizeable reward for the retrieval of a manual of tech-
  niques stolen from the guildhouse last month.
  0. old alCHemists’ guild 
  The first guild building was constructed in the Glass 
  district in 471 iR. it exploded in 487, killing everyone in-
  side and a number of innocent civilians living in adjacent 
  buildings. The half-ruined structure was abandoned in 
  favor of constructing a new sanctuary elsewhere.
  The cause of the devastation was diligently investigat-
  ed by a team of experienced arcanologists, inquisitors, 
  and master alchemists from imperial City. Their report 
  was sent to the four and was hastily consigned to the 
  restricted archives. As far as everyone in Glassport is con-
  cerned, the final verdict was “human error.”
  The ruins are enclosed behind a wooden wall marked 
  with warning signs. The Convocation used to assign a 
  junior heahwisard outside the wall as a deterrent to the 
  curious, but when three of the wardens vanished over a 
  six-month period, the practice ceased.
  not that many citizens are interested in scavenging in 
  the ruins. not only did the investigators remove anything 
  they considered of interest or value, strange magical ef-
  fects are produced periodically. Among the effects have 
  been transformation to mundane animals, twinkling 
  lights of colors that cause temporary entrancement, and 
  even explosions that produce no noise. 
  1. temPle of Heimdallr 
  Traditional worship of sigel is waning—the military 
  now favors Tiw and the city has faced no threat from 
  the forces of darkness since before the Blizzard War. The 
  old temple has been repurposed and is now devoted to 
  Heimdallr, the god of light. despite this, the high priest 
  is always a cleric of sigel. The highest-ranking cleric of 
  Heimdallr, currently lightbringer senach “Torch” Perta-
  cus (female, Tuomi, 25), serves as temple seneschal and 
  as the guildmaster of the lamplighters’ Guild.
  The old temple’s roof was torn down, replaced with 
  large panes of glass donated by the Guild of Glaziers. in 
  this manner, worshippers can honor sigel in his form of 
  the sun whatever the weather. The entire temple is bril-
  liantly lit with lanterns and candles, day and night.
  With fewer clerics working here (many work as glass-
  blowers, chandlers, lantern-makers, and lamplighters), 
  one outbuilding has been given to the Guild of lamp-
  lighters (see below).
  . guild of lamPligHters 
  The guild is responsible for maintaining the many lan-
  terns that light the streets and ensuring they keep burn-
  ing through the night. At dusk, workers move through 
  the streets with long, glowing tapers. during the night, 
  it falls to those serving alongside the city watch to keep 
  the lanterns burning. As the sun rises, so their colleagues 
  dampen the lanterns and begin the task of refilling their 
  reservoirs.
  . silverleaf suPPlies
  Burns are an occupational hazard for those working 
  with molten glass or metal. eldaerneth (female, hearth 
  elf, 212) has lived in Glassport for 25 years, where she 
  works as a herbalist. As the shop of her name indicates, 
  she sources herbs from silverleaf forest. Although she 
  sells a range of raw ingredients and concoctions, her 
  best sellers are healing (burns & regeneration), hydrat-
  ing, and restorative herbal balms and salves. members of 
  the Glassblowers’ Guild, the metalworkers’ Guild, clerics 
  of ertha and kenaz, and elementalists with a knowledge 
  of fire magic can buy these remedies for just 30 gs.
  silverleaf’s residents are not fond of outsiders picking 
  roots, buds, and flowers from their forest. Herbalists may 
  leave eldaeneth a list of their requirements. she then has 
  her peers in silverleaf pick the ingredients. she charges 2 
  gs per bunch for this service, but it is better than ending 
  one’s life peppered with elven arrows.
  . tHe House of ligHt
  Renaud ap-Girber (male, Anari, 54) is a master crafts-
  man. He is unusual in that he blows his own glass, using 
  secret techniques passed down by his father. in addition 
  to ordinary lanterns and bullseye lanterns, Renaud man-
  ufactures and sells a range of specialist lanterns. Prices 
  below are in addition to the basic cost of an appropriate 
  lantern. These options can be combined.
  Bright: provides light in a 6” radius, can only be added 
  
  glassPort
  1
  to a standard lantern (+50 gs); Fuel Efficient: burns for 
  five hours per point of oil (+30 gs); Sturdy: 20% chance 
  the lantern breaks if dropped (+30 gs).
  Renaud has tried several times to purchase the secret 
  of the colored glass by eldaithas (see below), offering 
  ever larger sums. Rebuffed every time, the glassblower 
  has become embittered to the point of madness.
  . lantern glass
  eladithas (male, hearth elf, 356), a glazier, arrived in 
  town only a year ago. The elf products and cuts his own 
  glass for lanterns, but has no interest in producing or 
  selling lanterns. most of his wares are ordinary glass and 
  primarily sold to replace broken panes. He has two spe-
  cialist panes he produces in his small workshop. These 
  can be added to any unmodified lantern or bullseye 
  lantern and cannot be combined. Prices below are in ad-
  dition to the basic cost of an appropriate lantern.
  Green Glass: sheds invisible light that grants those 
  in its radius the low light vision ability (+500 gs); Red 
  Glass: sheds invisible light that grants those in its radius 
  the infravision ability (+1,000 gs).
  The red and green lensed lanterns are especially fa-
  vored by adventurers. The light they shed is not in the 
  visible spectrum, so their glare cannot be discerned by 
  distant opponents. The lanterns are not magical devices, 
  but works of exquisite skill. Crafting these special lenses 
  requires powdered calmstone or fatestone (both red) or 
  huntstone or luckstone (both green) to be added during 
  the molten stage in exacting quantities.
  eladithas is always short of these precious stones and 
  is always ready to buy them at full price. He insists that all 
  gemstones be appraised by the cult of Auðun, though.
  6. godbert’s goggles
  Godbert (male, engro, 69) spent his youth exploring 
  the High Winterlands. Arrogant and overconfident—traits 
  he has grown out of with age—he suffered permanent 
  semi-blindness from the glare. Hearing talk of special 
  lenses that could offset problems with vision, he traveled 
  to Al-shirkuh, where he purchased a set of corrective 
  lenses. What little was left of his adventuring earnings he 
  sank into a glassblowing and glazing apprenticeship.
  Godbert has learned to create corrective lenses, 
  though they are bulbous things. They are held in place 
  with horned rims to prevent them coming loose and a 
  thick leather strap to prevent them being dislodged.
  A single set takes two months to grind, requires consul-
  tation with the customer (they must be available at least 
  one day each week), and cost 300 gs. When donned, they 
  offset the minor Bad eyes Hindrance penalty.
  merCHant distriCt
  The merchant district is home to the city’s mercantile 
  families, the temple of var, and the city’s sole market. 
  There are grand houses here, but the district is not an 
  Working for a living
  Hellfrost is a game about heroes, not merchants 
  and shopkeepers. That said, characters who have 
  invested points in a knowledge (Craft) skill should 
  be able to use it. Two options are given below. note 
  that neither is likely to make the average character 
  rich, and it will certainly cramp his adventuring.
     emPloyment
  sometimes the characters might need to rest up for 
  a few weeks or months. maybe a comrade needs to 
  recover from wounds, for instance. Characters with 
  a Craft skill can find employment with a success-
  ful streetwise roll made each week. The craftsman 
  doesn’t have to make the roll himself—any hero 
  can try to find him work.
  no die roll is required when working for someone 
  else. instead, the character is paid 5 gs a week times 
  his knowledge (Craft) die type. This assumes an 8-
  hour working day, eight days a week save for two 
  rest days at the end of the month and maybe one or 
  two holy days.
  A character with knowledge (Craft: jewelry) d6, for 
  example, would earn 30 gs a week, or 1,560 gs a 
  year, before paying any taxes.
     self-emPloyment
  A character may craft items he can sell himself. 
  Whether or not he can work his art away from a 
  settlement depends on the nature of his craft, and 
  is left to the Gm to determine. for instance, a potter 
  can construct a rudimentary kiln from mud or sand, 
  but making a complete forge to work iron to any 
  degree of skill while in the wilds is unlikely.
  At the end of each working week (as explained 
  above), he makes an appropriate knowledge 
  (Craft) roll. success gives him 25 gs worth of com-
  mon trade goods, and a raise 50 gs worth. This isn’t 
  much, and it certainly won’t let the hero retire in 
  luxury, but there are several limiting factors to what 
  a single person can produce in a single week with 
  rudimentary facilities.
  The craftsman has to source and purchase raw 
  materials (which are taxable). He likely lacks a full 
  set of tools—few heroes are likely to be transport-
  ing a forge and anvil around on their mule, for in-
  stance—and space to work, forcing him to build or 
  hire them.
  Without additional staff to complete basic and/or 
  time-consuming tasks, his work takes time—pots 
  have to be formed, fired, painted, and glazed; creat-
  ing silver jewelry requires patience and precision; 
  and daggers need to be forged, sharpened, and pol-
  ished.
  
  Hellfrost: City book 6
  
  especially wealthy one. Common laborers and ware-
  house workers live here in their ramshackle homes, as 
  do workers related to the production of vellum and ink, 
  while the middle-class includes accountants and scribes.
  . tHe glass House
  devoted to var, the temple is a vast, stone hall with 
  many brilliantly painted stained-glass windows, a gift 
  from the Guild of Glaziers.
  The indoor market is held only on marketdaeg, al-
  though the Glass merchants have a concession allowing 
  them to trade daily. few citizens bother to attend this 
  market, as it is concerned with the purchase and sale of 
  bulk goods, rather than daily wares. An accommodation 
  block and tavern cater for merchants wishing to engage 
  in trade deals, as well as visiting clerics of var.
  . market
  save on sunnandaeg, the market is bustling with citi-
  zens. on this day, the regular stalls are replaced with small 
  stands and pavilions occupied by those with services to 
  sell. The market’s by-laws consider anything which does 
  not involve the sale of physical goods.
  The services available fall into two categories. low 
  services include cobblers (who repair shoes but do not 
  make them), servants-for-hire, blade sharpeners, the 
  Rat Catchers’ Guild, fortune-tellers, and tailors (making 
  repairs only). High services tend to attract higher class 
  citizens. These include accountants, architects, builders, 
  sages-for-hire, bookbinders, scribes, heralds, bodyguards, 
  and even adventurers looking for employment.
  Any person can apply for a space here, so long as the 
  application is made at the Glass House before the sun 
  sets on monandaeg. The initial fee is a mere 1 gold scield, 
  but the cult of var takes 5% of the value of any sales. 
  Where an agreement involves a true service rather 
  than one involving a repair made there and then, it 
  must be sealed in blood. every seller is given a stack of 
  wooden disc bearing Hothar’s holy symbol. When a deal 
  is struck, both parties prick their flesh and smear it on to 
  the wooden disc. All discs are collected when the market 
  ends. used ones are ritually burned by Hothar’s clergy, 
  thus sending the oath straight to their god.
  . Hergenald trade mission 
  The Principality of Hergenald maintains a trade mis-
  sion in Glassport. Whereas the magocratic’s embassy 
  is located in new Asper and speaks for the nation as a 
  whole, the mission is a private enterprise. its sole pur-
  pose is to maintain Port Helgen’s status as preferred 
  trading partner for all Aspirian goods. some merchant 
  ships do sail to dargon, but thanks to the mission’s influ-
  ence, goods sold by local mercantile families or handled 
  by the cult of var only use Port Helgen.
  its members have their work cut out trying to ward off 
  constant interest from dargon, through whom Chalcian 
  goods enter the magocracy. The exchange of favors and 
  payments to merchants and the cult of var have so far 
  stymied dargon’s attempts.
  dargon is not alone in its effort. sailing to dargon 
  would extend maritime journeys, but it would cut travel 
  times from the ports to Coglelund and thus ultimately 
  lower prices. mage-Princess olvia Hergenald cannot 
  prove that Coglelund and darovia are colluding, despite 
  the best efforts of her spies.
  0. iron guild offiCe
  With the countess’ army watching over the trade road 
  as far as the opur Hills, few merchants are prepared to 
  pay the iron Guild for protection they don’t need. even 
  after passing beyond the county’s borders, the road is 
  rarely troubled by bandits or orcs until Chepwyke.
  The maritime trade routes to Port and Port Helgen are 
  extremely profitable, which means that are attractive to 
  pirates. With this in mind, the iron Guild hires out ma-
  rines (sailors trained to fight aboard ships). in addition, 
  merchants can hire out ballistae and artillerists. The iron 
  Guild has 100 marines and 20 artillerists on its books.
  1. tHe Hireling Hall
  merchants and nobles rarely go far without having 
  menials to make their camps, carry torches and personal 
  items, or even keep clothes clean. Adventurers, however, 
  rarely have such minions in their employ. The owners of 
  this business hire out lowly servants for long durations.
  Torchbearers, camp-makers (experts at lighting fires), 
  porters, cooks, armor and weapon cleaners, and even 
  tailors can be hired here. The hirelings are not trained in 
  combat and, in general, are poor specimens of humanity. 
  many are young children whose parents cannot afford to 
  keep them. in game terms, they may not possess a skill 
  with a die rating and they never earn experience unless 
  turned into a sidekick.
  Rates vary with the intended duration of their employ-
  ment. The longer the employment, the less it costs. The 
  base rate is 2 ss per day. employment for a week or more 
  comes with a 10% discount, whereas a month or longer 
  has a 20% discount. Payment equal to double the length 
  of the contract is required up front, along with a 300 
  gs indemnity in case of a hireling’s death. once the em-
  ployee is returned safe and sound, any excess payment 
  is returned.
  . tHe House of teetH and ClaWs
  This large house is entirely populated with semi-feral 
  hunting cats. no one knows who owns the property or 
  who ultimately pays the butcher’s bill for the fresh meat 
  brought here every day—the cult of var receives money 
  every month to pay for the provisions, but they have no 
  other records. suspects include the cult of veth, the Con-
  vocation (who get blamed for many odd events), and a 
  nobleman using the cats to protect a valuable treasure.
  
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  Halfway, where money can buy power and inﬂ uence, and where having 
  the right clothes is as important as having the right contacts. A place where 
  adventurers can buy and sell all manner of goods, and use their loot to buy 
  noble titles.
  Glassport, gateway port to Aspiria, wreathed in smoke from the many furnaces 
  that burn day and night, has become famous for its glassware. It is also a 
  major center of alchemical learning and production, where mages and clerics 
  can hone their arts and turn a tidy proﬁ t at the same time.
  Both cities are centers of trade, but both have a unique ﬂ avor. Which one will 
  your adventurers seek out?
  Inside you will ﬁ nd: 
  * Information concerning the cities’ history, social hierarchy, government, 
  military, religion, and more. Gamemasters can weave this information into 
  their adventures, while native player characters can use it to enhance their 
  heroes.
  * A full color map of each settlement. 
  * Dozens of unique locales that can serve as places to visit or spend money, or 
  as the focus for an adventure.
  The Hellfrost City Books are guide books that expand upon the information 
  detailed in the Hellfrost Gazetteer and Hellfrost Atlas. They are written for 
  the epic Hellfrost setting, which is designed for use with the award-winning 
  Savage Worlds RPG.
  TWO CITIES, ONE AIM - PROFIT!
  © 2018 Triple Ace Games Ltd. Hellfrost and all related marks and logos are trademarks of  Triple Ace Games. Savage Worlds, and all related marks and logos are 
  trademarks of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. © 2018. All rights reserved. Used with permission. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Triple Ace Games/Hellfrost/Savage Worlds - Hellfrost - City Book 6 - Cities of Trade.pdf