Number six, a bit more light hearted yet still has its own a message.
he started out in a house
on a suburb block
with much hope
and never-ending dreams
he thought that he could be
anyone or anything
little did he know
that was all a pipe dream
but he stayed clean
and he fought
to get past years of school
so he thought
all his dreams to be true
hit with adversity
when searching for open arms
feeling worthless
as he had always been
self-esteem had never really suited him
he read all the writings on the walls
but he never quit
never really thought
he had the right
never gave up because
he could always fight
he saw respect and decided to become
that in which he saw
he would change again
because he knew when he changed
he would fit in with everyone
then he saw
what a lie he purchased for himself
now hes stuck in his place
but it dosent sway him
its the last time
he will ever change his name
when he did find his peace
everything before was memory
now that he turned his back
towards the love that showed him
how he could be the same as the other guys
outgrew the mold took charge of his life
when he made it out
he found a wife and
bought a house on a suburb block.
/later
PSME part VI
-
EarthCurrent
- Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2002 8:27 pm
Kamoc...you're ruining the mood in the coffee house. 
I was diggin around on one of my old harddrives and I found some of my old Roleplaying notes...here are the notes for Sacelia, capital of the nation of Dalan. Man, I sure was creative back in the day, basing a country off of "Puss 'n Boots" and all...
Who Rules: The Marquis de Los Tesaillas Peter Tanal (NG hm F2). King Millerande’s faithful magistrate of the city is a foppish, winsome man, of simple tastes and idealistic outlook. He operates the daily functions of the city well, and the King’s daughters, as well as the Queen, are all fond of him. Thus, it appears that the Marquis will maintain his position for some time into the conceivable future.
Who Really Rules: Giuseppe the Cat (CG (cat)m W13). This grey haired, round bellied, tabby is the true voice behind the Marquis, who—according to Giuseppe—has not yet acquired the wisdom needed to be a truly effective ruler. However, Giuseppe hopes to guide his master in that direction, acting as both a mentor and a confidant with the young Marquis.
Giuseppe belongs to a breed of now rare cats gifted with intelligence far greater than that of their more common kin. Rescued from a flooding river by a young farm boy named Peter some twelve years ago, Giuseppe, to repay the favor, became the young man’s ardent and loyal servant. With Giuseppe’s aid and wisdom, as well as a little luck, Peter was able to pretend to nobility and win the favor of Dalan’s Royal family, thus gaining his current standing as Lord of Sacelia. So far only five people in Sacelia know of Giuseppe’s secret abilities and intelligence, those being Peter, his friend, the mage Arkin, Princess Cala DelGassi, the courtier, Anita Rainglow, and Old Miso. Of those, only Arkin and Old Miso know Peter Tanal’s true history.
Population: While being the largest of Dalan’s city’s, Sacelia’s population is still small compared with the cities of the neighboring kingdom of Prim. Sacelia has a comfortable population of some 31,000 permanent residents, with nearly a fifth of these dwelling in the territories surrounding the city rather than directly within Sacelia proper. Most of Sacelia’s populace is human (80%), but its proximity with the forest of Spierhameker has prompted a good sized number of elves (8%) and half elves (5%) to take up residency within the city. The remainder of the populace is of mixed races, mostly gnomes (3%) and civilized reliar (2%).
Major Products: apples, wine (Hildebrandt Applewine, a sweet drink that is produced by a group of local reliar vineyardists. It commonly sells for between 4 to 6 standard gold coins per bottle within the local market), pastries, violins, wood crafts.
Armed Forces: The regions surrounding Sacelia are lightly patrolled due to the relative safety of traveling within Dalan, with the only real threat being from the occasional highway bandit or crooked merchant. Between six or seven six-man units of the Dalani Army regularly make patrols along the roads and countryside around Sacelia, but these units are highly trained (F4-6) and are occasionally accompanied by a minor state-hired mage (W3). If an emergency occurs, however, these units can call upon another twenty to thirty soldiers (F1-2) from nearby garrisons within less than an hour’s time.
Sacelia itself is patrolled by the hundred or so officers of the Order of the Falcon, a lightly trained police force (F1-2) that does its job of enforcing local laws more by presence than by force of arms. If necessary they will engage individuals to stop innocent citizens from being harmed, but rarely will they put themselves in harms way if it isn’t absolutely necessary.
Notable Mages:
_ Anita Rainglow (NG hf W5). Rainglow is a local courtier, spending much of her days attempting to approve various policies with the Marquis and the royal family. She is quietly well off, having inherited a large fortune after the death of her parents, and has used her wealth to help those less fortunate than herself. To this end she has become a champion of the poor, and has pushed for laws to protect the more impoverished people of the region. Rainglow also knows of Giuseppe’s secret, though none of the others who know of the tabby’s abilities, with perhaps the exception of Old Miso, are aware of this. Rainglow is faithful to Giuseppe, however, and would never betray him, looking upon him as something of a wise grandfather. Rainglow also has become slightly infatuated with the brash Arkin and his somewhat boyish charms, so far she has been unable to bring her feelings to bear, and has instead lashed out at the young court wizard in fits of frustration on more than one occasion.
_ Arkin (CG hem W6), this young, rebellious mage of some skill is a close friend of Marquis Tanal, and is also one of the few people within Sacelia that knows of Giuseppe’s abilities. Arkin has a great respect for Giuseppe’s wisdom, and it is perhaps the fact that Giuseppe is a cat rather than a person that allows Arkin to be open and honest with him without fear of any serious repercussions. Arkin, despite the fact that few of the city’s nobles like or trust him, acts as an unofficial court wizard for the Marquis and is totally loyal to his friend, and would never betray him or Giuseppe. He views Anita Rainglow with amusement, and has become a little fond of her antics, especially when he goes out of his way to spur her into an argument. So far he is totally unaware that Anita has any feelings toward him, although it is obvious to all who know the two wizards.
_ Garshin (CN hm W5). The eldest son of a local merchant noble, Garshin is a jealous, tyrannical individual who believes that the strength of his magic will someday lead to him ruling Dalan or possibly the world. So far he has kept his goals a secret, to safegaurd him from someone more powerful than him deciding to teach the upstart a lesson. He is exceptionally resentful of the favorable light with which the King views Marquis Tanal, feeling that he was far more deserving of the post, and has set about searching for a way to either slander the young governor of the city, or get rid of him permanently.
_ Old Miso DelGassi: see under important characters
Notable Churches:
_ The House of the Moon; Temple of Tiana; Mother Diasa Lenile (NG hf P10), this soft spoken priestess of the Silver Lady has opened the temple to all people of the city, and many folk come here late at night to pray or meditate under the soft light of the moon. Diasa encourages her congregation to live their lives in quiet contemplation and to think before acting on impulse. The order of Tiana has the largest number of members within the city and Diasa’s elegance and charisma gets most of the credit for this; 32 priests; 49 followers. The House of the Moon rests in the northern half of Sacelia, directly adjacent to the public theater. The temple building is a simple, circular structure constructed from stone arches that wrap around an area roughly forty feet in diameter. With portions of its ceiling open to the night sky the temple offers worshipers a direct eye on the night. A large stone dias made from carved marble dominates the very heart of the temple and it is here that worshipers lay their offerings to Tiana, which most often take the form of small tithes of money, or glasses of wine. The grounds surrounding the temple have been converted into lovely gardens for the enjoyment of both the priests and the worshipers. During the daylight hours, the gardens are a popular place for family picnics as well as informal meetings.
_ Greystone Mount; Bounded temple; Bishop Laval Landseer (LG hm P12), the head bishop of the Bounded Faith in Dalan, he is considered both worldly in outlook on life and on religion, and for this reason is held in great respect by the rather pragmatic people of the nation; 24 priests; 36 followers. Greystone Mount dominates the second highest point in the city, and it is from this that it received its name. While not nearly as grand or as opulent as the Bounded temples of Prim to the northwest, Greystone Mount, or more commonly, the Mount, offers a simple place of worship. Shaped like a “T”, the Mount is composed of three wings. The first wing, which faces toward the street, houses the main hall and alter of the church, the second wing, to the right of the main hall, holds the housing of the church priests and servants, while the third wing houses the church’s small library and office of the bishop.
_ There are also shrines to Aylia, Lute, and Jhasail located in the city.
Notable Rogues’ and Thieves’ Guilds: Sacelia largest criminal problem is the number of pickpockets roaming its streets both day and night. These pickpockets, mostly homeless orphans, are organized into crudely structured gangs with the stronger, older youths controlling the smaller weaker children. Another problem associated with these gangs are the seemingly constant street fights between the gangs as they contest the roughly defined boundaries of their territories. Fortunately, the city watch has kept the violence to a minimum and so far no deaths have been reported.
Equipment Shops: Full
Adventurers’ Quarters:
Sacelia, like so many other cities, offers good inns at reasonable costs. And while most are not as extravagant as those of some other cities, Sacelia’s inns offer their guests what is needed most: a safe and comfortable place to sleep.
_ The Red Stag’s Rest is noted for its security more than anything else. Only guests of the inn are allowed into the upstairs area where the rooms are, and the innkeeper offers to store away any valuables a guest might have in his specially designed safebox which is strongly warded against unauthorized magic and can only be opened by the innkeeper or his wife. A lot of adventurers visiting the city will stay here for the fact that they can stash away any booty they might have and not have to worry too much about it or their own safety (good/ moderate).
_ The Sapphire Songbird Inn and Tavern. Named for the carved sapphire nightengale that is perched outside on the inn’s sign where it magically warbles at least sixty different songs to any passersby. The only time the bird doesn’t sing is when it rains, but as soon as the sun comes out the songbirds’ magic is reactivated. The bird is magically protected against theft, and those few foolish enough to think they could slip by the wards have been surprised by multiple lightning bolts and magic missiles suddenly springing out of the air to fry them to a nice blackened crisp.
The inn is run by Goodman Smith (P6 of Aril) who recently retired from his monastic life with the Arilian Order using his savings to purchase this inn. His knowledge on taking care of travelers from his years as a monk of Aril are evident in the way the inn is run, for operations are smooth with little in the way of delay in getting clean rooms or hot meals. The servants are well behaved and polite offering guests every amenity possible. Near unlimited drinks are free to guests, but drunkenness has never been tolerated and for this reason Goodman keeps at least one bouncer on staff at anytime to deal with troublemakers. Prices here are steep, but most of the inn’s income, after expenses, are donated to the Arilian Order and local charities (excellent/ expensive).
_ The Silent Coast Inn, this is one of those simple no-frills inns where the guest gets just what they ask for—a clean room and good food. Drinks are not served except with dinner and those that desire a stiff drink before retiring are invited to go to any of the nearby taverns if they are so inclined. The innkeeper and owner, one Jasan Penlark, is known to have once been a skilled smuggler but has now officially retired to run his inn. Whether or not he still has contacts or is willing to take illicit goods off of people’s hands is totally unknown (good/ fair).
Important Characters:
_ The Royal House of DelGassi, the current ruling family of the nation of Dalan. Its members are:
_ Millerande DelGassi (LG hm F6), His Majesty, King of Dalan. The King of Dalan is a merry, white bearded, jovial man, much in love with his country and its people. Now entering his mid fifties, the King spends his time reliving past glories with the aid of his court storytellers, as well as trying to finding suitable husbands and wives for his children. He is most concerned by Cala’s tomboyish ways, and is constantly scolding Prince Lucas for teaching her the art of swordplay. During the time that he isn’t pestering his children with petty complaints and worries, King Millerande focuses his attention on his love of feasting and parties. Such events are generally the centers of his attention, and he has been known to have taken as much a month to plan particularly large parties. In fact they are so important to him that he goes out his way to make them as full of pomp as possible with much in the way of heralding and court manners. Unfortunately, the King is much put off by the dreary business of politics, and therefore more often than not places the chores of decision making in the hands of his noble court advisors and children.
_ Arla Endaral DelGassi (LG hf F0), Her Majesty, Queen of Dalan. The Queen is a plump middle aged woman of charming personality. She is much beloved by her servants and by the people of the city and nation. The Queen spends most of her days doting on her husband and ushering her palace servants about on various tasks. Like her husband, the Queen has also taken up the task of finding suitable husbands and wives for her children. To this effect she has been trying to pair together Princess Cala with Marquis Tanal, whom she views as a true gentleman and a perfect suitor for her daughter’s hand.
_ Lucas DelGassi (LG hm F11), the eldest of King Millerande and Queen Arla’s children, and heir to the throne of Dalan. Prince Lucas is a noble and caring man, and is highly popular with the people he will someday rule. He is seen as both just and honest, and the Prince has done his best to live up to those expectations, especially now that his father has begun to give him more responsibilities to handle.
_ Jessa DelGassi (LG hf P3(Tiana)). Jessa is the second eldest of the Royal children, and though is by right of birth entitled to all of the benefits of a Princess of Dalan she has dedicated her life to the church of Tiana, and is now rarely found visiting the palace of Sacelia. Both of the princess’s parents are satisfied with her choice to join the church, and she has sworn to honor the family name through her service to Tiana. _ Arlen DelGassi (CN hm F5) is a perfect example of a rotten prince. Though in his twenties, Arlen still behaves like a child, throwing tantrums when things don’t go his way, and at times acting out right mean. None of the palace servants care for the prince, and all go out of their way to avoid him. Even his own siblings do not care for his company, for he is prone to both bragging and over-drinking. Another problem with the young prince is that he views himself as something of a swordsman, though he doesn’t have the patience to truly master the skill, and has become frustrated by the fact that his younger sister, Cala, is capable of easily defeating him whenever he becomes cocky or drunk enough to challenge her to a test of blades. Luckily for all, Arlen’s older brother, Lucas, is the heir to the throne.
_ Cala DelGassi (LG hf F9). The youngest of the King’s children, Cala has now just reached the age of majority, and thus has become the pride of court functions. The King and Queen both do their best to try and show off their beautiful daughter, and Cala tries to amuse them, but as of late has become increasingly agitated with her parents’ attempts at marrying her off. To this end she has befriended Giuseppe, Marquis Tanal’s cat, with whom she brings her grievances. Giuseppe has done his best to console her, and has suggested confronting her parents with her problems would be the best course of action. Cala however, is still working up the courage to do this for fear of hurting her parents’ feelings. In the mean time Cala has continued to advance her skills as a warrior, much to her parents’ chagrin — though her eldest brother, Lucas, is quite proud of her. Cala does her best to balance out her role as a princess and her desire to continue training.
_ Old Miso DelGassi (CG hm W18), King Millerande’s great uncle who is now in his hundredth-some year. Old Miso spends much of his time fiddling about the highest tower of the palace, where he conducts much of his magical experimentation. Queen Arla is quite put off by Miso’s tinkering and the possibility of a magical mishap leveling the palace and half the countryside around them, and is constantly censuring the elder to do his experiment elsewhere. Miso only nods, and pretends to deafness before hobbling back up the tower stairs. Miso is often aiding in his studies by Giuseppe, who, surprisingly to the old mage, is quite adept at magic himself. With the cat’s help, Old Miso has been able to develop several new spells and magic items, but so far he has kept their general nature and effects under wraps.
Others of Note:
_ Lauralin Shee (CG bf B(blade)10), a resident adventurer and free-lance spy who works for the highest bidder. Shee is most often hired by merchants to spy on their rivals doings, and she is content with this line of work. On occasion, however, she will take on more dangerous tasks, but at the double the cost to the hiring party—this excludes assassinations, which she refuses to do no matter how much she is offered. Recently she became acquainted with Prince Lucas and the two have become steadfast friends and occasional adventuring partners when the Prince finds the time to slip away from his duties.
_ Rhem (CG rm R(falconer)10), an “uncivilized” reliar who acts as the King’s personal falconer. With his tattooed body and face, and his thick red braided hair, Rhem looks far more fearsome than he really is. In reality the diminutive reliar is a clever, thoughtful person, much inclined to dwelling on philosophical matters although his fighting skills remain impeccable. For this reason the reliar has become closely acquainted with many of the city’s scholars who find his views on life to be impeccably fascinating. Rhem enjoys these conversations, finding them enlightening and a cure for occasional boredom, but his true love remains the falcons that he tends to and he has done much to secure both the safety and health of his charges.
Important Features in Town: Sacelia is a wide sprawling city, with very few of its buildings crammed close together. Only near the docks do things seem to become stifled, and this only from locals’ viewpoints. In truth, Sacelia is one of the most pleasantly laid out cities along the Sarl Coast, with wide paved roads running in regular arching paths paralleling the harbor with evenly spaced boulevards bisecting them. In fact, most newcomers to the city will find it quite difficult to become lost in this city for there are few dead-end alleys, and there are plenty of landmarks, and public parks to use as points of orientation.
Three major, “hills” also dominate the city, though these are only slight rises in elevation, and most gnomes scoff at the idea that the Sacelian’s think their bumps are even worthy of the title of a hill. The highest of these “hills” supports DelGassi Castle, home of the Dalani Royal family. The Castle, while not well suited for defense, is still a marvel of architectural genius.
Local Lore: Quite possibly the oldest bit of well circulated lore existing in Sacelia deals with King Ardith, who in the later decades of the 800's (history books tend to disagree on the exact dates of his reign) led a series of expeditions into southeastern Spierhameker forest, which at the time was still devoid of an elven populace. Legend has it that several of these expeditions proved highly fruitful and large amounts of treasure was recovered and brought back to Sacelia. At this point in the tale, it become uncertain as to the cause, but King Ardith was consumed by madness and abruptly disappeared in the flames of a massive fire which utterly destroyed his palace leaving nothing behind but rubble. Many historians have speculated that Ardith may have accidently unleashed some powerful Old Kingdom magik which he recovered from Spierhameker, or that or he purposely set the fire to cover his disappearance when he learned of plots against him. King Ardith has remained a curiosity in that the vast stores of treasure that he was known to have had in his possession all vanished as well. And like all rumors of lost treasure, this tale has drawn all types of adventurers with various ideas on how to locate the lost treasure. Increasing the difficulty of the task is the fact that reliable maps as to the past location of Ardith’s palace no longer exist and most of Old Sacelia has been replaced by newer constructions further confusing issues.
Most of the city’s residents are tolerant of snooping adventurers, but when they start tearing up the flagstone pavement and digging holes, as one group of inexperienced freelanders did some years back, they tend to be a lot less cooperative.
I was diggin around on one of my old harddrives and I found some of my old Roleplaying notes...here are the notes for Sacelia, capital of the nation of Dalan. Man, I sure was creative back in the day, basing a country off of "Puss 'n Boots" and all...
Who Rules: The Marquis de Los Tesaillas Peter Tanal (NG hm F2). King Millerande’s faithful magistrate of the city is a foppish, winsome man, of simple tastes and idealistic outlook. He operates the daily functions of the city well, and the King’s daughters, as well as the Queen, are all fond of him. Thus, it appears that the Marquis will maintain his position for some time into the conceivable future.
Who Really Rules: Giuseppe the Cat (CG (cat)m W13). This grey haired, round bellied, tabby is the true voice behind the Marquis, who—according to Giuseppe—has not yet acquired the wisdom needed to be a truly effective ruler. However, Giuseppe hopes to guide his master in that direction, acting as both a mentor and a confidant with the young Marquis.
Giuseppe belongs to a breed of now rare cats gifted with intelligence far greater than that of their more common kin. Rescued from a flooding river by a young farm boy named Peter some twelve years ago, Giuseppe, to repay the favor, became the young man’s ardent and loyal servant. With Giuseppe’s aid and wisdom, as well as a little luck, Peter was able to pretend to nobility and win the favor of Dalan’s Royal family, thus gaining his current standing as Lord of Sacelia. So far only five people in Sacelia know of Giuseppe’s secret abilities and intelligence, those being Peter, his friend, the mage Arkin, Princess Cala DelGassi, the courtier, Anita Rainglow, and Old Miso. Of those, only Arkin and Old Miso know Peter Tanal’s true history.
Population: While being the largest of Dalan’s city’s, Sacelia’s population is still small compared with the cities of the neighboring kingdom of Prim. Sacelia has a comfortable population of some 31,000 permanent residents, with nearly a fifth of these dwelling in the territories surrounding the city rather than directly within Sacelia proper. Most of Sacelia’s populace is human (80%), but its proximity with the forest of Spierhameker has prompted a good sized number of elves (8%) and half elves (5%) to take up residency within the city. The remainder of the populace is of mixed races, mostly gnomes (3%) and civilized reliar (2%).
Major Products: apples, wine (Hildebrandt Applewine, a sweet drink that is produced by a group of local reliar vineyardists. It commonly sells for between 4 to 6 standard gold coins per bottle within the local market), pastries, violins, wood crafts.
Armed Forces: The regions surrounding Sacelia are lightly patrolled due to the relative safety of traveling within Dalan, with the only real threat being from the occasional highway bandit or crooked merchant. Between six or seven six-man units of the Dalani Army regularly make patrols along the roads and countryside around Sacelia, but these units are highly trained (F4-6) and are occasionally accompanied by a minor state-hired mage (W3). If an emergency occurs, however, these units can call upon another twenty to thirty soldiers (F1-2) from nearby garrisons within less than an hour’s time.
Sacelia itself is patrolled by the hundred or so officers of the Order of the Falcon, a lightly trained police force (F1-2) that does its job of enforcing local laws more by presence than by force of arms. If necessary they will engage individuals to stop innocent citizens from being harmed, but rarely will they put themselves in harms way if it isn’t absolutely necessary.
Notable Mages:
_ Anita Rainglow (NG hf W5). Rainglow is a local courtier, spending much of her days attempting to approve various policies with the Marquis and the royal family. She is quietly well off, having inherited a large fortune after the death of her parents, and has used her wealth to help those less fortunate than herself. To this end she has become a champion of the poor, and has pushed for laws to protect the more impoverished people of the region. Rainglow also knows of Giuseppe’s secret, though none of the others who know of the tabby’s abilities, with perhaps the exception of Old Miso, are aware of this. Rainglow is faithful to Giuseppe, however, and would never betray him, looking upon him as something of a wise grandfather. Rainglow also has become slightly infatuated with the brash Arkin and his somewhat boyish charms, so far she has been unable to bring her feelings to bear, and has instead lashed out at the young court wizard in fits of frustration on more than one occasion.
_ Arkin (CG hem W6), this young, rebellious mage of some skill is a close friend of Marquis Tanal, and is also one of the few people within Sacelia that knows of Giuseppe’s abilities. Arkin has a great respect for Giuseppe’s wisdom, and it is perhaps the fact that Giuseppe is a cat rather than a person that allows Arkin to be open and honest with him without fear of any serious repercussions. Arkin, despite the fact that few of the city’s nobles like or trust him, acts as an unofficial court wizard for the Marquis and is totally loyal to his friend, and would never betray him or Giuseppe. He views Anita Rainglow with amusement, and has become a little fond of her antics, especially when he goes out of his way to spur her into an argument. So far he is totally unaware that Anita has any feelings toward him, although it is obvious to all who know the two wizards.
_ Garshin (CN hm W5). The eldest son of a local merchant noble, Garshin is a jealous, tyrannical individual who believes that the strength of his magic will someday lead to him ruling Dalan or possibly the world. So far he has kept his goals a secret, to safegaurd him from someone more powerful than him deciding to teach the upstart a lesson. He is exceptionally resentful of the favorable light with which the King views Marquis Tanal, feeling that he was far more deserving of the post, and has set about searching for a way to either slander the young governor of the city, or get rid of him permanently.
_ Old Miso DelGassi: see under important characters
Notable Churches:
_ The House of the Moon; Temple of Tiana; Mother Diasa Lenile (NG hf P10), this soft spoken priestess of the Silver Lady has opened the temple to all people of the city, and many folk come here late at night to pray or meditate under the soft light of the moon. Diasa encourages her congregation to live their lives in quiet contemplation and to think before acting on impulse. The order of Tiana has the largest number of members within the city and Diasa’s elegance and charisma gets most of the credit for this; 32 priests; 49 followers. The House of the Moon rests in the northern half of Sacelia, directly adjacent to the public theater. The temple building is a simple, circular structure constructed from stone arches that wrap around an area roughly forty feet in diameter. With portions of its ceiling open to the night sky the temple offers worshipers a direct eye on the night. A large stone dias made from carved marble dominates the very heart of the temple and it is here that worshipers lay their offerings to Tiana, which most often take the form of small tithes of money, or glasses of wine. The grounds surrounding the temple have been converted into lovely gardens for the enjoyment of both the priests and the worshipers. During the daylight hours, the gardens are a popular place for family picnics as well as informal meetings.
_ Greystone Mount; Bounded temple; Bishop Laval Landseer (LG hm P12), the head bishop of the Bounded Faith in Dalan, he is considered both worldly in outlook on life and on religion, and for this reason is held in great respect by the rather pragmatic people of the nation; 24 priests; 36 followers. Greystone Mount dominates the second highest point in the city, and it is from this that it received its name. While not nearly as grand or as opulent as the Bounded temples of Prim to the northwest, Greystone Mount, or more commonly, the Mount, offers a simple place of worship. Shaped like a “T”, the Mount is composed of three wings. The first wing, which faces toward the street, houses the main hall and alter of the church, the second wing, to the right of the main hall, holds the housing of the church priests and servants, while the third wing houses the church’s small library and office of the bishop.
_ There are also shrines to Aylia, Lute, and Jhasail located in the city.
Notable Rogues’ and Thieves’ Guilds: Sacelia largest criminal problem is the number of pickpockets roaming its streets both day and night. These pickpockets, mostly homeless orphans, are organized into crudely structured gangs with the stronger, older youths controlling the smaller weaker children. Another problem associated with these gangs are the seemingly constant street fights between the gangs as they contest the roughly defined boundaries of their territories. Fortunately, the city watch has kept the violence to a minimum and so far no deaths have been reported.
Equipment Shops: Full
Adventurers’ Quarters:
Sacelia, like so many other cities, offers good inns at reasonable costs. And while most are not as extravagant as those of some other cities, Sacelia’s inns offer their guests what is needed most: a safe and comfortable place to sleep.
_ The Red Stag’s Rest is noted for its security more than anything else. Only guests of the inn are allowed into the upstairs area where the rooms are, and the innkeeper offers to store away any valuables a guest might have in his specially designed safebox which is strongly warded against unauthorized magic and can only be opened by the innkeeper or his wife. A lot of adventurers visiting the city will stay here for the fact that they can stash away any booty they might have and not have to worry too much about it or their own safety (good/ moderate).
_ The Sapphire Songbird Inn and Tavern. Named for the carved sapphire nightengale that is perched outside on the inn’s sign where it magically warbles at least sixty different songs to any passersby. The only time the bird doesn’t sing is when it rains, but as soon as the sun comes out the songbirds’ magic is reactivated. The bird is magically protected against theft, and those few foolish enough to think they could slip by the wards have been surprised by multiple lightning bolts and magic missiles suddenly springing out of the air to fry them to a nice blackened crisp.
The inn is run by Goodman Smith (P6 of Aril) who recently retired from his monastic life with the Arilian Order using his savings to purchase this inn. His knowledge on taking care of travelers from his years as a monk of Aril are evident in the way the inn is run, for operations are smooth with little in the way of delay in getting clean rooms or hot meals. The servants are well behaved and polite offering guests every amenity possible. Near unlimited drinks are free to guests, but drunkenness has never been tolerated and for this reason Goodman keeps at least one bouncer on staff at anytime to deal with troublemakers. Prices here are steep, but most of the inn’s income, after expenses, are donated to the Arilian Order and local charities (excellent/ expensive).
_ The Silent Coast Inn, this is one of those simple no-frills inns where the guest gets just what they ask for—a clean room and good food. Drinks are not served except with dinner and those that desire a stiff drink before retiring are invited to go to any of the nearby taverns if they are so inclined. The innkeeper and owner, one Jasan Penlark, is known to have once been a skilled smuggler but has now officially retired to run his inn. Whether or not he still has contacts or is willing to take illicit goods off of people’s hands is totally unknown (good/ fair).
Important Characters:
_ The Royal House of DelGassi, the current ruling family of the nation of Dalan. Its members are:
_ Millerande DelGassi (LG hm F6), His Majesty, King of Dalan. The King of Dalan is a merry, white bearded, jovial man, much in love with his country and its people. Now entering his mid fifties, the King spends his time reliving past glories with the aid of his court storytellers, as well as trying to finding suitable husbands and wives for his children. He is most concerned by Cala’s tomboyish ways, and is constantly scolding Prince Lucas for teaching her the art of swordplay. During the time that he isn’t pestering his children with petty complaints and worries, King Millerande focuses his attention on his love of feasting and parties. Such events are generally the centers of his attention, and he has been known to have taken as much a month to plan particularly large parties. In fact they are so important to him that he goes out his way to make them as full of pomp as possible with much in the way of heralding and court manners. Unfortunately, the King is much put off by the dreary business of politics, and therefore more often than not places the chores of decision making in the hands of his noble court advisors and children.
_ Arla Endaral DelGassi (LG hf F0), Her Majesty, Queen of Dalan. The Queen is a plump middle aged woman of charming personality. She is much beloved by her servants and by the people of the city and nation. The Queen spends most of her days doting on her husband and ushering her palace servants about on various tasks. Like her husband, the Queen has also taken up the task of finding suitable husbands and wives for her children. To this effect she has been trying to pair together Princess Cala with Marquis Tanal, whom she views as a true gentleman and a perfect suitor for her daughter’s hand.
_ Lucas DelGassi (LG hm F11), the eldest of King Millerande and Queen Arla’s children, and heir to the throne of Dalan. Prince Lucas is a noble and caring man, and is highly popular with the people he will someday rule. He is seen as both just and honest, and the Prince has done his best to live up to those expectations, especially now that his father has begun to give him more responsibilities to handle.
_ Jessa DelGassi (LG hf P3(Tiana)). Jessa is the second eldest of the Royal children, and though is by right of birth entitled to all of the benefits of a Princess of Dalan she has dedicated her life to the church of Tiana, and is now rarely found visiting the palace of Sacelia. Both of the princess’s parents are satisfied with her choice to join the church, and she has sworn to honor the family name through her service to Tiana. _ Arlen DelGassi (CN hm F5) is a perfect example of a rotten prince. Though in his twenties, Arlen still behaves like a child, throwing tantrums when things don’t go his way, and at times acting out right mean. None of the palace servants care for the prince, and all go out of their way to avoid him. Even his own siblings do not care for his company, for he is prone to both bragging and over-drinking. Another problem with the young prince is that he views himself as something of a swordsman, though he doesn’t have the patience to truly master the skill, and has become frustrated by the fact that his younger sister, Cala, is capable of easily defeating him whenever he becomes cocky or drunk enough to challenge her to a test of blades. Luckily for all, Arlen’s older brother, Lucas, is the heir to the throne.
_ Cala DelGassi (LG hf F9). The youngest of the King’s children, Cala has now just reached the age of majority, and thus has become the pride of court functions. The King and Queen both do their best to try and show off their beautiful daughter, and Cala tries to amuse them, but as of late has become increasingly agitated with her parents’ attempts at marrying her off. To this end she has befriended Giuseppe, Marquis Tanal’s cat, with whom she brings her grievances. Giuseppe has done his best to console her, and has suggested confronting her parents with her problems would be the best course of action. Cala however, is still working up the courage to do this for fear of hurting her parents’ feelings. In the mean time Cala has continued to advance her skills as a warrior, much to her parents’ chagrin — though her eldest brother, Lucas, is quite proud of her. Cala does her best to balance out her role as a princess and her desire to continue training.
_ Old Miso DelGassi (CG hm W18), King Millerande’s great uncle who is now in his hundredth-some year. Old Miso spends much of his time fiddling about the highest tower of the palace, where he conducts much of his magical experimentation. Queen Arla is quite put off by Miso’s tinkering and the possibility of a magical mishap leveling the palace and half the countryside around them, and is constantly censuring the elder to do his experiment elsewhere. Miso only nods, and pretends to deafness before hobbling back up the tower stairs. Miso is often aiding in his studies by Giuseppe, who, surprisingly to the old mage, is quite adept at magic himself. With the cat’s help, Old Miso has been able to develop several new spells and magic items, but so far he has kept their general nature and effects under wraps.
Others of Note:
_ Lauralin Shee (CG bf B(blade)10), a resident adventurer and free-lance spy who works for the highest bidder. Shee is most often hired by merchants to spy on their rivals doings, and she is content with this line of work. On occasion, however, she will take on more dangerous tasks, but at the double the cost to the hiring party—this excludes assassinations, which she refuses to do no matter how much she is offered. Recently she became acquainted with Prince Lucas and the two have become steadfast friends and occasional adventuring partners when the Prince finds the time to slip away from his duties.
_ Rhem (CG rm R(falconer)10), an “uncivilized” reliar who acts as the King’s personal falconer. With his tattooed body and face, and his thick red braided hair, Rhem looks far more fearsome than he really is. In reality the diminutive reliar is a clever, thoughtful person, much inclined to dwelling on philosophical matters although his fighting skills remain impeccable. For this reason the reliar has become closely acquainted with many of the city’s scholars who find his views on life to be impeccably fascinating. Rhem enjoys these conversations, finding them enlightening and a cure for occasional boredom, but his true love remains the falcons that he tends to and he has done much to secure both the safety and health of his charges.
Important Features in Town: Sacelia is a wide sprawling city, with very few of its buildings crammed close together. Only near the docks do things seem to become stifled, and this only from locals’ viewpoints. In truth, Sacelia is one of the most pleasantly laid out cities along the Sarl Coast, with wide paved roads running in regular arching paths paralleling the harbor with evenly spaced boulevards bisecting them. In fact, most newcomers to the city will find it quite difficult to become lost in this city for there are few dead-end alleys, and there are plenty of landmarks, and public parks to use as points of orientation.
Three major, “hills” also dominate the city, though these are only slight rises in elevation, and most gnomes scoff at the idea that the Sacelian’s think their bumps are even worthy of the title of a hill. The highest of these “hills” supports DelGassi Castle, home of the Dalani Royal family. The Castle, while not well suited for defense, is still a marvel of architectural genius.
Local Lore: Quite possibly the oldest bit of well circulated lore existing in Sacelia deals with King Ardith, who in the later decades of the 800's (history books tend to disagree on the exact dates of his reign) led a series of expeditions into southeastern Spierhameker forest, which at the time was still devoid of an elven populace. Legend has it that several of these expeditions proved highly fruitful and large amounts of treasure was recovered and brought back to Sacelia. At this point in the tale, it become uncertain as to the cause, but King Ardith was consumed by madness and abruptly disappeared in the flames of a massive fire which utterly destroyed his palace leaving nothing behind but rubble. Many historians have speculated that Ardith may have accidently unleashed some powerful Old Kingdom magik which he recovered from Spierhameker, or that or he purposely set the fire to cover his disappearance when he learned of plots against him. King Ardith has remained a curiosity in that the vast stores of treasure that he was known to have had in his possession all vanished as well. And like all rumors of lost treasure, this tale has drawn all types of adventurers with various ideas on how to locate the lost treasure. Increasing the difficulty of the task is the fact that reliable maps as to the past location of Ardith’s palace no longer exist and most of Old Sacelia has been replaced by newer constructions further confusing issues.
Most of the city’s residents are tolerant of snooping adventurers, but when they start tearing up the flagstone pavement and digging holes, as one group of inexperienced freelanders did some years back, they tend to be a lot less cooperative.
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EarthCurrent
- Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2002 8:27 pm