Highport

Overview

The largest humanoid city on The Pomarj, located on the northern side of the peninsula on the shores of the Wooley Bay. It is ruled by the Orcish Empire, and is known to have a large contingent of uruk-hai as well as a sizable human population.

The currently ruler of Highport is, at least theoreticlly, a relative of the original Count who founded the city all those centruies ago. The Count had dedicated his life to his magic and plans for conquest and had no heirs when his empire suddenly collapsed. A distant nephew -- who happened to be a bandit king on the Wild Coast and have a small, loyal force of mercenaries -- immediately claimed rulership of the city through blood line.

The city was the only part of his uncle's empire that this new Count was able to hold on to. And, as the Pomarj fell evermore under the control of the humanoids, even this faltered. The current ruler is still called a Count, but his edicts are toothless -- the real force in this city are the generals leading the armies of Turrosh Mak.

The City

The City Gate

Unlike other walled cities its size, Highport has only one main entrance to the city. This design, dicatated by the original count of the city, was intended as a defense against the maurauding humanoids of the pennisula. It has worked, but it has also created massive logisitical problems in the city.

On major trade days its not uncommon for traders trying to get into the city to be backed up for several miles along the High Road, the highway that runs from Highport to Blue. Before the Wars, Highport's rulers allowed only select individuals -- mostly fishermen and farmers -- to set up settlements outside of the city's foritication.

The Wharf

The Wharf is the collective term for the city's sprawling warehouse and shipping district. Most of its streets are cluttered, claustrophoic and generally unsettling for most people. Rangers especially despise the place.

Some of the buildings here are made from stone, but most are made from wood harvested from the surrounding woodlands. Exposure to the corrosive, ever-present sea air has ravaged many of the buildings to the point that most are near the point of collapse. That inevitible occurance has been postponed in many cases by the addition of new, but still inferior, wooden supports.

Bands of thieves, pirates and other cutthroats fill the Wharf like vile human rodents. Blood is spilled nightly in bar fights that can quickly grow to include more than 200 combatents.

What passes for the city guard here -- the Count's Men -- rarely enter the Wharf, and when they do, it is usually to escort a particular cargo to some of the better warehousing facilites outside of the district.