Highton and The Silver District

[Maeve]

This is the financial and political center of the city. Highton remains within the old city walls of a former age, housing the government buildings that hold the most powerful offices and institutions of World's Mouth. Surrounding this is the Silver District, home of the Merchant Families and many of the institutions that support and control the city's staggering business and trade. NorthBridge spans the Upper Scillus River, providing access to the city from all points North.

The Turcotte Building
The massive Turcotte building was certainly not one of the more austere or pleasing constructions of World's Mouth, but it was critical in it's function, which was to be the active, restless brain of the city's government system. Deep within it's rectangular pass were the offices and employees that worked tirelessly to run the mechanics of the city's policies as they were accepted by the Merchant's Council just a short distance to the West. The building was a testament to solid, government construction, with it's heavy, blocky construction and high, wide columns topped with graceful, faded gargoyles.

Unlike so many days before, a row of quiet, sharply-dressed guards stood vigilant outside the building, inspecting all that moved to enter the building with quiet apprehension. One of the double doors to the building remained bolted shut, constricting entrance to a very slow crawl.

Within the broad double doors that served as the facility's primary entrance, a broad, granite desk housed no less than four attendants, each a young lady with clear, attractive skin and wide, cold, judgemental eyes. They wore shapeless smocks of white and silver, and were all tastefully groomed to crisp perfection.

Elsewhere in the massive entrance foyer, large trees grew from floor planters the size of modest water wells, trees that grew to reach up the height of the bright and almost angelic room, some twenty paces into the air. A series of decorative benches spread out around these trees, offering no comfort but a pleasing view none the less. The back room of the massive chamber was covered in a breathtakingly massive banner of the city, it's double-headed falcon crest blazed in black over a field of scarlet, a clear icon of great power to be found within these very walls.

A group of guards stopped all that entered, inquiring about their business before they would let them proceed deeper into the massive, critical, government facility. Among other things the Liaison Office of the Purificatio found its offices here.

[Maeve]

The Avaritia forum
If the foundations of the Mouth and it's society were rooted deeply in the trade and commerce that happened within it's walls, this foundation's cornerstone would be the great Avaritia Forum. Great pillars that rose over a dozen paces in the air held aloft a magnificent arched rooftop and ceiling over twenty paces wide and over a hundred long. Below this magnificent rooftop was an broad, open area that would have been empty but for countless booths, sitting areas, and semi-permanent stages from which all the materials traded in the Mouth were negotiated.

While the forum was once the center of a wide, large pavilion, the wealthy and privileged institutions that made and lost fortunes within the Avaritia every day have collected within the pavilion to enclose it almost completely. Still, a small gap still exists between the Forum's wide roof stones and the surrounding buildings, giving it an open, comfortable feel while remaining in the heart of the city's trade district.

To the visitor, the Avaritia seems like very little, for nothing was bartered but small pieces of paper. However, these papers represented wealth beyond imagination, as they contained deeds to land, certificates of stock held in the bondhouses, and shares of the various trade companies that operated at public ownership. Money lenders, accountants, civil servants, and runners packed the Avaritia as well as the wealthy traders and representatives from the trading houses and banking offices all over the Mouth.

Standing before and around the forum stood the Tunairre, a fighting force that routinely stood watch over the avaritia, though they often expanded their duties to include assisting those new to the forum as well as greeting all carriages and chases that arrived. They stood at attention outside the great forum, very aware that their own appearance and awaiting the next arrival, for no one was refused entry into the Avaritia, but everyone was watched and protected.

[Maeve]

The Council Hall

A strangely low building compared to those around it, the Council Hall of World's Mouth, the seat of governing power in the vast city, sat amid the most opulent and aesthetic buildings of Highton. An architectural wonder, the hall is dominated by a single magnificent dome of unbroken granite, a dome that reaches over eighty paces up from it's base and spreads out to twice that width. By some trick of artistic design, the dome is layered such that it glimmers in even the worst of lighting.

Running out for several hundred paces before the Council Hall is the Golden Plaza, a broad stretch of cobbling lined by massive statues of leaders past that stand over ten paces in height apiece. To either side of the plaza is a stretch of lawn and park, part of which joins the gardens that surround the Cathedral only just to the West of the Hall. The shops and buildings within sight of the Council Hall are all decorated to their finest, with scrubbed stone and freshly painted facades a requirement for remaining within Highton.

Pushing out to each side of this massive dome are short wings that house some of the clerical and administrative offices of the city, while the front entrance wing houses a massive hallway of over a two hundred paces, a hallway lined with great columns and alcoves from which many of the city's wealthier members meet to discuss local matters both before and after a Council session. It is into this hallway one must enter, an intimidating vision and experience for those unprepared for the savage cunning of government in World's Mouth.

[Maeve]

The Prodesse Dominicus
Within the high city center at the middle of town, protected by the old walls that marked the town's limit countless generations ago, sat the Prodesse Dominicus. A great cathedral measuring over a thousand paces long, the cathedral was both a monument of architectural pride as well as religious. With it's high, narrow towers pointing regally into the sky and it's carved statues and pillars that decorated every face of the magnificent building, the citizens of the city spared no expense to express their deep spirituality to the One with such a magnificent construction.

No buildings were built within a hundred paces of the structure, and few were built that close, for the grounds surrounding the church were as austere as the building itself. Paths of carefully cut stone wound around fountains and gardens, each tended carefully by those that sought to earn the One's favor or blessings. Trees, a rare sight within the city itself, were planted and maintained, giving the grounds an almost lush appearance yet never blocking the view to the great cathedral's glory. The highest point of the city was at the top of one of the cathedral's high parapets, a point topped with the holy symbol of the religion.

And the doors, famous for never being locked, were just that. Visitors came and went at all hours, travelers in need of spiritual guidance, holy inspiration, or just a hot meal. The church never closed its doors, a policy of the current Archbiship, and one that lived today.

[Maeve]

Caer Doom
The sight of the fortress gave one to feel small, for it's massive stones and dark, ominous silhouette rose high up into the air, a jumble of parapets and crenulations. Once the seat of the local aristocracy when they still ruled the township, Caer Dumnare remains even today, converted into a prison and barracks for the local guard.

Despite it's new use, all of the traditional innovations of the fortress it once was remains. It's massive gate, protected by an immense portcullis of iron, rose some fifteen paces into the air and were topped by numerous murder holes that have since been boarded up. All the windows of the great citadel are each no wider than a hand, meant to allow archers to fire out. The battlements high above are no longer patrolled by anxious guards, but the dark and depressing interior of the castle is still very much alive with inhabitants.

The extensive complex reaches well into the ground, down to the level of the river itself. The Vedicus Canal runs under the Caer as well, providing an enclosed lock underneath and allowing prisoners to be taken away or brought in by boat as well. The upper and outer chambers are reserved for the less dangerous felons, such as those arrested for debt, while the inner and lower chambers and dungeons house the most ruthless men and women ever to be apprehended by the law. Despite it's important civil function, the forboding appearance of the complex has earned it the name of 'Caer Doom', a depressing yet strangely appropriate name.

[Maeve]

The Arsenale
At the far western end of the city, where the Upper and Lower Scillus rivers meet, stands a fortress known as the Tooth. Often the first sight one received of the Mouth when arriving by boat, the Arsenale and the massive construction that defended it can be intimidating, for it was built more recently than many other major buildings in the city, and it's gleaming, new, stone walls housed a long row of lethal bronze cannons poking out towards the approaching waterways with unspoken vigilance. A magnificent tower, reaching high above the waters that surrounds the fortress, serves as both a beacon in the misty waters and as a post from which the city might stay ever vigilant. The complex commanded both the approach to the city from the West and both rivers themselves.

Behind the Tooth was the Arsenale itself, a massive lock between both rivers that housed many of the city's government and private vessels. Accessed from either of two different sea gates, the Arsenale was lined with numerous docks and yards on all sides, an inland harbor of great size and never sleeping activity. Cargo from the Arsenale could be stored in the modest bondhouses located just on hand, and the wide and winding Parade Street ran from the great shipyard to points with Southbridge and beyond. Just off the Arsenale was the Armorie, the government shipyards in which all of the city's warships and some of the Magister's private ships were constructed, each a great dry dock of stone leading into a smaller section of the locks.
All around the Arsenale were buildings of all kinds, from ale houses to service the mariners to warehouses to make cargo delivery easier. The harbormaster's office, a strangely small and unimpressive building, stood at the edge of the larger lock itself, overseeing day to day use of the precious docking locations, charging wharfage fees for private merchants and controlling all traffic into and out of the Mouth. Fewer places in the city truly demonstrated the mass of goods that flowed through it's markets like the Arsenale.

[Maeve]

The Kinsington Club
In the heart of the Northern Quarter, nestled among the wealthier shops and homes of the city's more affluent and powerful, sits a rustic old building of wood and stone that might have appeared as little more than a successful inn or tavern. It's large, cut granite bricks that formed the lower levels were placed with careful precision and washed to a gleaming white, and the dark, sturdy boards that enclosed the upper level were well sealed and painted to give the old establishment a certain dignity unparalleled in much of the city.

But the building's similarities to a tavern ended there. Bright oil lamps illuminated the front steps, and a large brass plaque beside the richly polished double doors read "The Kinsington Gentlemen's Club, est 1182". This building was the leisure spot of the Mouth's more notable personages, with many Councillors and Patricians alike calling it home. The membership fees are quite steep, and by invitation only...and no woman has ever enjoyed the benefits of such a membership...but the quiet, settling interior of the club more than made up for the trials of gaining acceptance.

Kitchens were open and responsive twenty four marks in a day, and numerous private rooms, studies, dining halls, banquet rooms, and even bedrooms were available on demand. For members, these services were free, though dues to the club more than made up for the seemingly profitless existence of the club. Rich, sumptuous furniture and constant attention to cleanliness and order gave the place an immaculate look, while the rich scents of pinion wood and roast meats were never distant in the light and comparatively clean air.

[Maeve]

The Flying Dortman
It was still quite early in the day, and what crowds might be expected for lunch had not yet filled the common room.

The inn and pub were well-known institutions within the Mouth, and only it's long history within the city itself accounted for it's oddly placed foundation. Nestled among the noble, towering spires of the great architectural achievements of the city's public center, the large inn seemed almost...squat and primitive. But the interior was anything but: dark mahogany wood lined the walls giving The Flying Dortman Tavern a dim but cozy atmosphere. The thick leaded glass filtered what sun made it past the heavy red brocaded curtains, now faded with age but not threadbare. A large ornately carved bar ran nearly the length of one wall, worn with handling but still kept highly polished. Behind the bar a soft colorful fresco depicting Pecunia and her followers had been painted, a sharp contrast with the deep rich wood that dominated the rest of the room.

Behind the bar stood a pair of men, both wearing fine buff coats with frilled, billowing sleeves and broad grins as they chatted and laughed with their patrons. And patrons there were: the taproom was large, and much of it was unoccupied at the moment, but that still left quite a few people milling about at tables, booths, or just standing near the hearth. The smell of pipe smoke and food filled the air, and the floor, different from most wayside inns, was of polished wood that, while well worn, was sturdy as ever.

A smart looking bartender wearing the same flamboyant, well designed clothes so common in the Mouth looked up and welcomed newcomers with a rather curious inspection. "Good day to you, traveller. How may I help?" He asked.

[Maeve]

Savanti General Store

Made of stone but a lot of wood support and standing in the outerskirts of Highton this small store did not call the attention immediatley. Inside a bell called the attention of the owner each time a new costumer entered the store. A musty languor hung in the air. A little sign in the window showed the shop to be open morningtide and tradetide.

[Morg]

The Door (World's Mouth portal)

A large, newly-built hall just inside the Arsenale complex houses the main public portal for all incoming and outgoing traffic. Inside, as well as a vast hall containing the portal itself, are small offices for Home Guard and Nashorn staff as well as detention cells for unwanted immigrants. At any given time, even at gravetide, there are usually long queues of people waiting for their turn to pass through. Some bear trade goods, others large coffers. All must carry enough money with them to pay the not inconsiderable portal charges. No one has yet thought to provide benches, so that some are sitting on the floor.

The portal itself is a marvel of engineering, the largest of its kind yet produced by the Nashorn. It is almost broad enough in diameter for a full carriage to pass through. A ramp with a shallow gradient leads up to its rippling surface, and at the top of the ramp stand two colourfully dressed soldiers of the Home Guard. At the bottom, a gaggle of further guards and functionaries wait to take the details and the coin of those who come and go.