Crux, the Port of Crossing

[Mr. Pooka]

Crux (also called 'Port of the Crossing' on some older maps)

A small coastal city in Lamoria on a massive freshwater sea known as the Restless Deep. Crux has become a trading city and neutral ground between the rival Shadowlords. A dark, mysterious council rules the city from the shadows and enforces the neutrality. With magic, gargoyles and a collection of other frightening agents they keep the peace for unknown reasons. The regions surrounding Crux are either wild and dangerous or controlled by Shadowlords, menacing supernatural creatures, often with their protectorates filled with beings of similar types...
Crux has all the amenities that most people would need and is a bustling, if subdued trading post. It is one of the few places in Lamoria that has any semblance of night life even if a few people still simply go missing with modest frequency. Inns, taverns and halls are open at all hours more than happy to take the coins of travelers, sailors and adventurers alike.
There is a another curious magic about Crux. Several times a year trading ships, caravans and even the odd lone traveler just ... end up in Crux. It was not their destination and there is often a confusion about the whys and hows but the locals are always welcoming and wielding large bags of coins and gems the universal cure for most merchants unease.

[Mr. Pooka]

Crux Market and the City Square

Just far enough away from the docks to not smell like the fish market or hear the raucous songs from the portside taverns was Crux Commons. The large cobblestone square was simply a large open space used for many city needs and it was surrounded on all sides buy a constantly rotating assortment of shops. Public notices are hung on a post here, seasonal festivals are often held here and public examples are also made here… This is also where the weekend market pops up from nothing on the cities traditional day of rest. Traders from docked ships, Rani caravans, local craftspeople and occasionally more exotic traders can be found selling wares or services here. Many in the city stop by the market just to see what the shadows have pulled to the docks… While many guards can often be seen in the market place it is also well known, amongst the locals at least, as a place to absolutely watch your purse from pickpockets and grifters.

[Mr. Pooka]

Thieves of Crux

There is no currently known thieves guild in the city of Crux. Many have tried and many would be guild leaders have been made examples of in the city square. If more then two thieves are ever noticed working together the City Watch will put together a task force to bring the thieves to swift justice. There are always rumours of a very exclusive organization but who would be foolish enough to cross the council of Crux?

Most of the individual thieves of the city are constantly looking for methods to improve their craft or new scams to master. One of the more current, dangerous and outrageous schemes involves countering some nobles use of having large dangerous pets carry their purse to town. The daring thief would then provoke the beast as she ran by, often carrying some sort of bait to entice the beast to break free from its owner and chase the rogue into a trap where it is relieved of its valuables. While a success from some it has also backfired for a few others…

[Mr. Pooka]

Religion in Crux

The city maintains several temples and shrines in the open and equally as many hidden in basements or on the sprawling country estates. No one religion is given anything from the city or council funds and must maintain themselves. Most faiths survive on donations from the faithful or a wealthy patron though a few are funded completely from the workings of the devoted such as the clerics and paladins who find their way into the city guard or Nightwatch.

Temples and the Faith’s they support tend to wax and wane over time. Faiths of all types can be found in the city, dark, light and the indefinable but an openly evil or destructive Temple will never be supported openly by the people of Crux… but some may still be found lurking in the hidden backrooms of the deprived or decadent. This rule is also often ignored outside of the city’s influence and several Shadowlords who’s pride allows the worship of others will often have the support of darker faiths.

Here are some examples of currently active Temples in Crux.

The current Temple of Bastet is one of the few pseudo-Khemetian buildings of the city but little is know of its original creation with the exception of an ancient stone plaque engraved with a short Bastet prayer and a dedication of the Temple to Crux with the Blessings of the Most Eminently Blessed, Beautiful and Loved Selene. There are rumours that there was also a statue that accompanied the plaque but it was supposedly stolen generations ago. While not the biggest or most popular Temple in the city many still appreciate and enjoy the antics of the priestess embracing their message that all Sphinxes are created in Bastet’s image. Bastet encourages them to enjoy their gift of life to the fullest and that she loves and welcomes all into her afterlife kingdom where there are rivers of cream and all of the mice are plump and slow.

The Temple of the Stag performs the extra duties of hunting lodge, wilderness trading outpost and a home base for many Nightwatch who protect the wilderness borders of Crux. The Stag is known to be wild and free but also protective and giving of those in need. His worshipers interpret his works and signs in a multitude of ways and his worship can be quite varied, from feeding the poor to hunting the undead, guiding travelers to protecting farms from predation. He is prayed to for wishes of good hunting, safety in the wilderness, bounty, protection and fertility.

[Mr. Pooka]

Hartlet’s Orphanage

The Hartlet family has run an Orphanage in the city of Crux for generations. Like many family businesses there have been both good and bad rulers in this small kingdom of children. While the Hartlet’s themselves have a decent reputation as wealthy landowners and traders of the exotic, Lucy Hartlet who has been forcibly stuck with the job of taking care of these homeless little menaces is not known for her love of anything except for the plays of Troll’s Playhouse. If it wasn’t for the fact that she truly neglects her duties the children of the Orphanage would probably be in a constant state of suffering, but as it stands a few enterprising young teens have been making the orphanage much more bearable for those stuck inside. When Lucy is around the children are quiet and do their best to stay out of her way lest they draw her attention. When she is not around the orphanage becomes the most organized and proficient Thieves Guild in all of the city of Crux! Several generations of the oldest teens have been passing on leadership of the guild for decades now in a constant cycle of learning passed down to every child who passes into the building. Once the teens are old enough to leave they are out of the guild for everyone’s safety and the continued success of the guild. While the many graduates of the guild recognise others on the outside for the safety of the next generation they almost never work together and usually only share a knowing wink in memory of their younger days.

[Mr. Pooka]

Cari’s Cloaks and Corsets

Mannequins laced tightly in corsets posed in eternal dance in the front window of this popular and well stocked clothing shop. Shelves and racks were crammed full of finery while hats and wigs balanced along the top of every shelf. Cari herself seemed to work day and night in her shop but no one wanted to ask her how she always seemed to be open. Oh there were rumours of course, the most popular being that she had helpful elves working in the basement or that perhaps she had an identical twin? Gossip aside hers was the place to go if you were looking to be dressed in the latest fashions for a masquerade or just to make sure that you are seen walking the entertainment district.

[Mr. Pooka]

Gargoyles


Dr. Vune was one of Lamoria's secret guardians and the creator of may of its secret defenses the greatest of which was the Gargoyles. Vampires created to have the stony bodies of the horrid statues believed by many to protect their houses, business and mansions from thieves, monsters and whatever evil spirits that the stone carvers could imagine while peddling them. The Gargoyles watched the streets at night and rested during the day, able to keep watch but not move while the sun warmed their skin. When the Dr. was still living in the city the Gargoyles were compelled to serve him, but after he 'left' they continued their work. Originally it was rumoured that they were bred/created to be fairly dimwitted but this is a complete fiction. The good doctor also engineered a few different creatures also in the likeness of the gargoyles who could act during the day to ensure that everyone always felt like they were being watched at all times... The Doctor's recipe included many different Sphinxes from faraway lands as well as a few other monstrous creatures for good measure... but it was the blood of a local vampire clan that became the real secret of his success making the gargoyles both tougher on the outside possessing all the powers of vampires with the ability to not be destroyed by the sun.