Dartmouth

The Dartmouth Protectorate

Like most cities, Dartmouth cannot exist on its own, no matter how much some of its cities might try to pretend otherwise. It is dependent on a large stretch of rural countryside that produces most of the food and many other of the resources that the city consumes. The wages for seasonal work are poor, and usually all the shops in one town are owned by a single merchant consortium that has pushed out all competition and now can charge inflated prices for all goods. It is little wonder that more and more young people leave for the big city, as there seems to be no future in living anywhere else.

Cott's Point (Small Town, 7,214): The central hub of the farming communities along the Dart river agricultural belt, Cott's Point serves as a way station for both food and people that need to be transported to Dartmouth.
Harrowhill (Large Village, 4,396): A fairly isolated coastal village, Harrowhill is the site of the Harrowhill Public School (also often referred to as "Harrowhill"), where the sons of the rich and powerful of Dartmouth (and more than a few from other cities) attend boarding school away from the dangers and temptations of the big city.
Discipline is strict, and bullying of the younger students by the upperclassmen is frequent. Still, attending this school is seen as vital by the elites of Dartmouth for learning the virtues and discipline neccessary to succeed later in life.
Harrowhill is also famous for the ruins of Castle Canadus, the former abode of King Kartias, a paladin who ruled these lands for a time after the fall of the Atalan Empire. He and his order of holy knights were regarded as mythical until the ruins were found five decades ago beneath the hill on which Harrowhill was built. Archaeological expeditions from Dartmouth have throughly explored the ruins and opened up parts for public view, but there are always rumors about secret tunnels, hidden chambers, and ghosts and monsters lurking in the ruins.
Kiergan's Hill (Large Village, 2,130): This village is unusual in that it does not actually produce anything for Dartmouth. Instead, it caters to the many mansions surrounding the village where members of the high society of Dartmouth go on vacation if they want to get away from the troubles and intrigues of the city. The annual fox hunts form the high point of the local "season". The village itself is kept clean and pretty with a certain rustic charm.

Industries

Life and Society

News

While juicy gossip is always appreciated by all levels of society, to be truly informed you have to read the newspapers. Unlike in many other cities, the press in Dartmouth is relatively free from government oversight, leading to a proliferation of magazines and publications that are read far and wide even outside of the Dartmouth Protectorate.
There are two consistently popular dailies which have existed for a long time and are unlikely to vanish any time soon. One of them is the Bay Times (2 cp per issue), a fairly conservative newspaper which to its credit tries to research its stories carefully before publishing them. On the other hand, its editor is an old friend of the current Lord Mayor, and stories in the Times that criticize the government usually focus on problems in specific departments, as opposed to the Lord Mayor and his Inner Circle. The other newspaper is the Dartmouth Enquirer, which is printed twice daily (1 cp each), and which is more known for its sensationalism than in-depth fact-checking. They are infamous for their lurid stories - faerie abductions are a favorite - and will readily pay adventurers for eyewitness accounts of strange occurrences. At the moment, they are focussing on an alleged "halfling crime ring" which supposedly abducts humans - especially human women - for indoubtedly nefarious purposes. That tales like these have increased incidents of random street violence against perfectly innocent halfling citizens does not seem to bother the editors. Occasionally, however, the Enquirer does publish a true and important story before anyone else does, though this is probably more a result of random chance than anything else.
Now and then, another daily newspaper tries to gain a foothold in the local market, but they rarely last long against the established competition. A few magazines published on a weekly basis exist, and there is a broad range of monthly magazines which cover specialized topics, such as the Journal of the Dartmouth Geographic Society (a favorite with those who wish to learn about far-off regions) or Architectural Review, which covers the latest advances in civic engineering.

Shopping

An odd quirk of Dartmouth is that shops of a specialized nature tend to congregate in their own street, as opposed to being dispersed over the whole city. For example, the finest clothing boutiques may be found in Crecent Row in Duriam, the spice markets are in Becknal Road, while a disturbing variety of erotic literature is for sale in the shops in Worble Alley (not that any upstanding citizen would be caught dead there... so they tend to go in disguise instead).

Government and Politics

Groups and Organisations

Dartmouth Geographic Society: The First Families: While actual nobles have been rare in Dartmouth since the collapse of the monarchy, the First Families fulfill a similar function. Consisting of a dozen different bloodlines, these families are all old and well established in Dartmouth and rose to prominence in the power vacuum that arose after the king fled. While there have been vicious intrigues and blood feuds between individual branches, they tend to unify against outsiders and kept most political power in their hands. When someone new in Dartmouth gained some measure of power, they either made sure that he was either adopted and/or married into one of the families, thus expanding their power base, or he was removed as a serious threat in one way or other, through means fair or foul.
In recent decades, their hold on power has been slipping however, as Dartmouth has attracted more and more immigrants and politics have become increasingly complex, preventing any one group from controlling everything. The most prominent proof of this is the new Lord Mayor, who, while a member of a First Family himself, has made it policy not to staff any important offices with members of the First Families unless he is completely sure of that person's personal loyality to him. As a result, many of his relatives see him as a traitor and scheme to have him removed.

Religion

Important NPCs

Venthirax (LG male old brass dragon sor4): Simply known as "The Brass Dragon" to most people in Dartmouth, Venthirax is the city's most prominent draconic inhabitant - and possibly its only one, since he regards Dartmouth as his territory and takes a dim view of other dragons overstaying their welcome.
Venthirax settled in Dartmouth during the Liberation Wars and lived here ever since. He is considered to be an accepted and respected citizen, though few actively like him, thanks to his habit of meddling in the affairs of humans from behind the scenes. It is known that he owns a number of businesses from behind the scenes, which contribute to his vast wealth. Few know what his ultimate plans are, though speculation is rampant in the press.
The truth is that Venthirax aims at nothing less than buiding the society of the future - a society where all races can live together freely and in happiness. He knows that reaching this state is still a very long way off - if it can be reached at all - but that doesn't deter him, since he enjoys the challenge and unlike humans can afford to take the long view of things.
Other dragons might become frustrated at the rapid changes periodically going through human society, but Venthirax only sees them as a new challenge for his wits and ability to plan. He likewise enjoys the battle of wits against the fellow master manipulators in the city - human and otherwise - and sometimes subconsciously allows them to pursue their schemes unhindered for longer than it would be prudent.
While his overall goals are basically benevolent, he has a hard time caring for humans as individuals other than those he genuinely respects (a fairly low number) or those who are useful to his plans. Thus, he won't go out of his way to help individual humans in trouble - especially since he knows that his resources are limited and that he cannot afford to overextend them. The main exception are paladins - Venthirax served as a steed for one of the paladins fighting against Negroth the Doombringer, and he still has a soft spot for them. As a result, paladins active in the city often get help from mysterious sources.

Geography and Neighborhoods

Dartmouth is divided into a number of administrative districts, or boroughs, that have evolved over time. They are listed here, together with a few noteworthy locations in each district that might be of interest to visitors.
Barslow: One a fairly remote and sleepy borough in the northern part of Dartmouth, Barslow is currently the center of much activity. It was chosen to host the World Magic Exhibition, and many old buildings are being renovated and new buildings erected to accomodate the vast stream of visitors the city is expecting this summer. However, many old-timers resent the changes brought to their boroughs, and others worry about what will remain of the economic boost after the Exhibition is over.

The Exhibition Grounds: This former mixture of wood and farmland was chosen as the site of the World Magic Exhibition, and the changes in the last year have been dramatic. Now it has been transformed into a vast parkland with many beautiful or spectacular buildings where the individual cities participating in the Exhibition will showcase their magical and technological advances. The resonance was even greater than anticipated, and even cities from far-away regions - even from beyond the Desert of Thunder - have chosen to participate.
However, many of these cities are open rivals, and the organizers worry about sabotage and espionage between them that might disrupt the Exhibitions. Thus, they are even willing to look for outside help if it means allowing the Exhibition to proceed smoothly.

Chafring: One of the oldest parts of the city, Chafring still has has many intact buildings dating back to feudal times. This has traditionally been a neighborhood where craftsmen have plied their trades, and though the monopolies of the guilds are long gone, some crafters remain. Since more and more goods are created in the big factories, the market cannot support many individual artisans, but those few tend to be well paid, since owning a hand-crafted item made by a master craftsman is considered a status symbol by many of the rich families. The quaint local atmosphere and the ancient buildings are popular with tourists, and some new pubs and restaurants now cater to them.

The Guild Cemetery: Traditionally, the members of the old Guild families are interred here after their deaths, and those few Guild families that remain cling to this tradition. Unknown to all but the caretaker (who is in league with them), a group of ghouls has established itself below the graveyard, and they use their hidden tunnels to prey on the inhabitants of nearby Gelberth.

Conall: A former farming village turned artists' colony, this borough on the outskirts of the city is rapidly swallowed up by new housing developments of solidly middle-class citizens, especially bureaucrats and clerks working for the city government. Their conservative mindset has frequently clashed with the remaining artists, who feel that "their" neighborhood is loosing its charm.

Conall Gardens: This large parkland was intended as a refuge for the young people of the upper classes, as well as families of all ages. There are always all sorts of amusements to be had, and open air dances are common during the warmer months when the weather is dry. The local artists love this place and visit it as often as possible in search for inspiration.
However, the rumors that prostitutes and other night folk prowl the park after dark are true (though the tales of encounters with vampires are almost certainly an exaggeration), and the existence of the park is currently being threatened by an alliance of morally uptight newcomers who want to close this "den of sin" and speculants who want to use the land to build more houses and apartment blocks.

Cordall Hill: One of the hills overlooking the harbor, this borough is the site of the oldest, pre-Atalan settlements in the Dartmouth region. While these ruins have long since been paved over and built upon, some can still be visited by the public with the help of licenced tour guides, while others are only accessible to archaeological teams who have dug deep below the surface, while others might still await discovery. The inhabitants of Cordall Hill take considerable pride in the "ancient origin" of their borough, and consider this to be a sign of superiority over the other boroughs - especially over their rivals in Horngate Hill to the north.
The District: Sitting on a peninsula of the Dart river at the center of Dartmouth, the District is where its banks, stock exchange, and other financial institutions are located. This district is ruled directly by the Board of Commerce, and instead of the regular City Watch, it is patrolled by the elite District Guard, who are better trained and equipped than their counterparts in the other guards. Frequently, veteran members of the City Watch are lured away to the District Guard by higher wages, a practice that has led to no little bad blood between the two organizations.
While there are several prominent and luxurious hotels, few people actually live here - space is limited and land prices are at a premium, which means that even the richest people prefer to have their mansions at the outskirts of the city and commute daily to the District instead.

House of Parliament: Where once nobles discussed laws and taxes with their peers, now the merchant princes of the Dartmouth region hold court. Only the very richest and well-connected people have a seat in the Board of Commerce which meets here, and they are very well protected from anyone who might wish them harm.

Duriam: Like the District, Duriam regards itself as the center of Dartmouth - but not of finance or politics, but of the social life of the city. It is here where the rich and powerful go shopping, have splendid representative buildings, and throw the most spectacular parties imaginable - affairs of whose pomp and splendor the lower classes can only speculate. Anyone who is anyone maintains a town house here which is meticulously cared for by an army of servants, and getting an invitation to the biggest parties is a sure sign that you have "arrived" on the Dartmouth social scene.
Perhaps not too surprising, most embassies of foreign cities are located in this borough, and their presence only adds an additional layer of intrigue to the many going on behind the scenes.

The Caprice: The Caprice is where the rich and powerful go to indulge in their gambling habit. Status and respect here are measured less in how much money you win, but how much you can afford to lose and still keep going - but those who cheat and get caught tend to suffer extremely unpleasant fates.
The casino has a nautical theme - remnants of sunken ships, a variety of exotic fish and other oceanic species displayed behind reinforced glass aquariums, and other nautical items are on display. The owner of the casino, who is only called "Mister Coffin" by his staff and customers, is shrouded in mystery and the subject of much speculation - the claim that he is a former pirate is merely the least outragous of the rumors surrounding him.
The Gentleman Callers' Club: A secret club with invitation-only membership, the "Gentlemen Callers" meet for the sole purpose of watching the erotic illusionary shows by the master illusionist only known as "Cardano the Magnificent". While paid-for illusions with erotic or even pornographic content are nothing unusual in certain sections of society (and more wizards than care to admit have earned some money this way when they desperately needed it), Cardano stands out with both his sheer skill at creating such illusions and his abilities as a master storyteller. His shows often exceed an hour in length, and some of them, like In the Court of Queen Arwanna or the infamous Gloria, slave concubine of the Surathi, have gained a legendary reputation far beyond those who have actually been able to see them.
While most of these shows violate the morality laws of Dartmouth, the Club is protected by the fact that some very influential members of high societies are among its members. The club meets at varying locations as an additional security measure - sometimes at actual brothels, but more often in various hotels or other buildings with rooms rented for the evening. There are also rumors that Cardano can create semi-solid illusions that can "interact" with high-paying customers in a direct and intimate way, but no one seems to want to admit to experiencing such a "service" first-hand.
The Terrarium: While officially the abode of the Brass Dragon has no name, unofficially everyone who believes himself out of the earshot of Venthirax calls it the "Terrarium". Actually, Venthirax does not mind, and the name has stuck now.
This building in the middle of Duriam, and has a large glass dome with a clear view of the open sky. Large doors open to similarly oversized balconies which allow the master of the house speedy egress. From people who have been invited here it is known that the uppermost floor - where the dragon receives guests - is enormous, filled with sand, and heated to desert temperatures through magical means. It is less well known what the lower levels are for. Certainly the dragon employs a number of human and nonhuman servants which can be seen entering and leaving the building, but few of them are willing to talk about what they do there - and the stories of those who do talk are often contradictory.

Fogsend: While Dartmouth in general has a reputation for being plagued by frequent fogs, Fogsend takes this to an extreme: It is covered by a thick, soupy fog at almost all times, whatever the season or time of day. This effect is attributed to the small but significant number of Fair Folk living in this borough who despite not being overly active in local politics nevertheless make their presence felt.
Unsurprisingly, Fogsend has a certain otherworldly quality, enhanced by the fact that most people travel around with lit lanterns even in what would be considered daylight elsewhere. The borough has also attracted a large number of both bards and makers of various musical instruments, and haunting melodies can often be heard in the streets, coming from indiscernable directions.

The Lady: Possibly the most famous pub in Dartmouth, the Lady is the favorite gathering spot of bards and musicians of all kinds. Songs and music are performed every evening by different performers, and many people even travel here from different regions just to play here - or to listen.
The pub gets its name from the Lady In Green, a powerful Fair Folk woman who resides here. Each year, she takes the most promising bard she finds here (not neccessarily the best - just the one she judges to have the most potential) and takes him as her lover for the traditional year and a day. During that time, she will inspire him to reach greatness. But after the year is over, many of her lovers end up as broken men, yearning for her embrace that they can never have again.

Gailsbreath: located just behind the harbor, Gailsbreath has long attracted all those immigrants who have arrived by sea - and that's many. The largest number come from the Parginian Rim, but people from Malundi, the Lake of Dreams, and even more distant regions are not uncommon. Outwardly this borough looks poor and run-down, but the buildings sometimes hide surprising wealth - its inhabitants know better to show off their wealth where people from outside their little ethnic enclave might see it, for organized crime and turf wars between various gangs of youths are not uncommon.
The other natives of Dartmough sometimes visit this neighborhood to seek out exotic goods and services not available elsewhere, and it offers real bargains for those who know where to look - but also dangers for the unaware. Of continuing interest to the wealthy are the drug dens, where they can partake of drugs otherwise unknown to the Flannish cities - and the owners of the drug dens know just how to take advantage of their addictions...
Gelberth: A former minor fishing village situated next to the Dart, Gelberth suffers from the fortification of the river borders. In old times, the Dart moved slowly and had lots of land to flood during the spring melt, but nowadays the river has been straightened to make it more accessible for river travel and consequently the water passes much faster to the ocean - and during floods, a significant portion always passes through Gelberth. Low-lying compared to the other neighborhoods and to poor to afford decent flood walls, the borough has now filled up with ramshackle tenement buildings occupied by people too poor and desperate to afford any building whose cellar and ground floor doesn't flood every spring.

Dartmouth Asylum for the Insane: It is here where most of those who are mentally disturbed and a threat to either society or themselves are locked up. Conditions are abysmal - many are locked up like animals and little is done to improve their mental health. Those who are lucid enough to follow orders are made to work by weaving carpets - the director of the asylum has lucrative deals going on with a nearby factory. Inhumane punishments are the norm. The wardens abuse their charges at will. For most inmates, this is close to hell as it is possible while still being alive.
St. Mordigan: This Thenaran church has long been the only real source of help for the inhabitants of this suffering neighborhood, and even then their soup kitchen and other activities have only been able to do so much against the rising tide. When a plague breaks out in Gelberth, its bells ring nonstop to warn the citizens to stay indoors. As a result, the people of Dartmouth regard the church bells as cursed, and it is said that if you hear their nonstop rining in your dreams, you will die soon.
The Warrens: The worst part of a bad neighborhood, the Warrens are a slum area covered in filth. An extended clan of wererats lives in many of the buildings close to the river. They oppress and extort the other residents of the Warrens and other parts of Gelberth, who are too afraid to seek outside help.

Harbor: While not as large as the one in Rondhaven, the harbor of Dartmouth sees a large amount of traffic, with ships setting sail for other regions or even continents on a daily schedule.
Hennigswoade: The former center of the Dartmouth High Society before they relocated to Duriam to the west, Hennigswoade still boasts many architectonically impressive buildings, even if they are beginning to develop a patina. Now it is the intellectual center of Dartmouth, since both Dartmouth University and most of the minor colleges are located here. Apart from the buildings associated with the various insititues of learning, there are plenty of student homes, bookstores, pubs and similar locales catering to students, lecturers, and other intellectuals.

Dartmouth Museum of Natural History:
Dartmouth University:

Hensington: While Duriam is where the upper classes go to play, Hensington is where they live. Here, stately avenues are flanked by opulent family mansions, and the only thing you see on the streets are the carriages of the rich, servants scurrying from errant to errant, and the ubiquiteous guards who make sure that only people who belong here move around in this district.

Dartmouth War Memorial:

Horngate Hill: Bitter rivals to Cordall Hill to the south of the Dart river, Horngate Hill is a residental area home to many of the people who work in the Harbor. The social status of its inhabitants rises with the position of their dwelling on the hill: Near the bottom live the dock workers in run-down tenement apartments, further up live the clerks and small-time business owners, and near the top are the grand estates of the nautical merchant princes and shipyard owners.

Old Faithful: Dating back to Atalan Times, "Old Faithful" is the oldest Nexus Tower in the city and (located at the top of Horngate Hill) a prominent landmark. There is an annual public holiday and parade commemorating the victory of the city over the pirate fleet of Tardruin the Black, in which old Faithful was of central immportance. Pranksters from Cordall Hill traditionally attempt to sabotage the parade in some way. Sometimes, they succeed, despite all the precautions the citizens of Horngate Hill and the Board of Works (which sponsors the parade) take.

Marvensgate: Like Gelberth, Marvensgate has a reputation for crime - but unlike in Gelberth, it tends to be exiting and fashionable crime which sells newspaper rather than the depressing varieties that polite society prefers to ignore and only interests Secondary revolutionaries. Organized crime revolves around gambling and prostitution, and relatively high-class varieties at that. But also mercenaries, smugglers, and soldiers-of-fortune make this borough their home, including many so-called adventurers. While the papers decry the villains living there (but secretly are grateful for the extra copies they sell because of their exploits), the rich and powerful have prevented the City Guard from cleaning up this borough throughly, since they often seek to attain the services of these people if they have a pressing problem that needs to be addressed quietly.
Still, far from every inhabitant of this area is a crook - there are many people who make a honest living here in a variety of businesses, though they usually know better than to ask just where the money of their customers is coming from.

Glenning Street: As far as the public knows, this street houses numerous shops dealing with minor magic items - potions, talismans and similar items of dubious quality - and the offices of wizards and sorcerors willing to work for hire. But those with the right connections know that some of these shops serve as fronts for the local black market dealing in magical goods - ranging from magic weapons and wands for which the buyer doesn't have the appropriate licence to materials required for demon summoning to the most vile necromantic tomes.
Tybald Mansion: The old family mansion of a noble line that seems to be extinct, Tybald Mansion is the most famous haunted house of Dartmouth, with moans that can be heard and apparitions that can be seen from outside at regular intervals during the night. The locals love the place and resist any attempts to "clean it up", since it attracts a considerable number of tourists, and neighboring bookstores sell a multitude of books with mutually contradictory stories about each ghost. It is perfectly safe to enter the building during the day, and in fact guided tours are available for 2 sp per person, but visitors are strongly warned not to take anything from the building, as this is one of the few known ways of getting the wrathful ghosts to leave the building in search of the offender.
It is said that the curse on the mansion will be broken if a "true heir to the line" stays in the building from dusk to dawn, and a few people who have fancied themselves to be a heir have tried that (especially since ownership of the mansion would fall to them by default). The luckier ones manage to flee during the night.

Serenwode: The smallest of the boroughs of Dartmouth, and the least populated, Serenwode nevertheless attracts its fair bit of attention, for it is the home of Dartmouth's elven community. Much of it is an open parkland where the humans are allowed to visit, but other parts are off-limits to outsiders - especially those where the tree-houses and other dwellings of the elves are. The park remains popular with the humans for its serene qualities.

Red Oaks: Named this way for more than just the color of the leaves on its trees, this part of the borough could be considered the red-light district of Serenwode by unkind tongues - although the Mistresses of Red Oaks are far more than a common prostitute. In their minds, it is only proper that they are waited upon by the rich and powerful of human society with opulent gifts, and if any sort of entertaining dalliance should arise from it, then there is nothing wrong with that. And if any of their suitors should press for something that they are not willing to give - well, the Mistresses are rarely as undefended as they appear at first glance.

St. Conroy: A fief owned directly by the Church of Thenos in feudal times, worshippers of Thenos still constitute the vast majority of the inhabitants of this borough, and unbelievers are only barely tolerated if they insist on displaying their faith openly. The area is generally described as "quiet" and "respectable" - most people here are more intersted in a hard day's work than anything frivolous. While the opulent mansions of other boroughs are absent here, there actually is a fair amount of wealth hidden behind the walls of many buildings - it's just that the rich people of St. Conroy prefer not to draw attention to themselves.

St. Conroy's Cathedral: One of the largest buildings in the city, the Cathedral dates back to feudal times - in fact, the kings of old were crowned here. Even today, the bishop of St. Conroy's wields tremendous influence both religious and secular - for he functions as the mayor of the borough in addition to his priestly duties.
Both kings and bishops of old are interred in the crypts beneath the city. And thus it is only appropriate that those who wish to restore the monarchy meet here, since many priests of Thenos (not the bishop, however - but several of his aides) feel that things were better when the ruler of the city was sanctified by the church, and the king in turn made the faith of Thenos the official state religion.

Wyvern's Cliff: A coastal neighborhood in the north of the city, Wyvern's Cliff is inhabited mostly by those who wish to have some peace and quiet from the bustle of the city, while still living close enough to it to have access to its conveniences. Many of these people are both old and wealthy, and they stenously resist any radical changes to their peaceful part of town. A number of sanatoriums can also be found here for those suffering from stress-related ailments.

Wyvern's Cliff Sanatorium for the Weary Mind: An upscale asylum catering to those suffering from mental illnesses. Only the wealthy can afford its care, and its patients include two main groups: Those who cannot deal with the pressures of living in society and who prefer to live in recluse while being cared for by professionals, and those who have become an embarassment to their families and are locked away by them. The former group comes here out of its own free will and usually can make trips to the outside world, though many don't bother. The latter group is rarely here by choice and sometimes need to be restrained to prevent escape attempts. Rumors say that some of the latter are actually quite sound of mind, but are kept here for political, social, or financial reasons...

Important Sites

Regional History

While there are a few archaeological hints that there have been earlier settlements in the Dart Bay area - some of human, and some of decidedly non-human origin - Dartmouth only truly came into its own as a city in Atalan times. The Atalan Empire needed a major port to support their northern provinces, and the Dart Bay was an ideal location and continued to operate as long as the Empire existed, though it was eclipsed at times by more northern ports at the sites of Torburg and Rondhaven.
After the city was sacked by a marauding orcish horde during the fall of the Empire, the city remained nearly uninhabited for over a century. This gradually changed as the region recovered and slowly returned to civilization. As feudal structures established themselves, Dartmouth became the capital of Wirland, a kingdom covering much of the south-western Flannish region. While its borders shifted and grew and dynasties rose and fell, the city gradually expanded as more and more people left their homes to seek opportunities in the "Big City".
This movement was temporarily stopped by the outbreak of the "Shambling Plague" in Dartmouth and the surrounding areas in 965. This vile disease was not only fatal if not treated by magical means, but it also caused the victim to rise again as a zombie at the next sunrise that attacked still living people, either infecting them or killing them outright. The fighting between the living and the dead was fierce, and the city was nearly abandoned to the walking dead, but eventually the living prevailed (though at a high cost). Many of the dead were burned on gigantic funeral pyres, but other bodies were simply dumped into the cave systems below the city through deep wells that were sealed afterwards - and which remain sealed to this very day, for no one knows how long the plague will remain infective, and no one but a madman would wish to try to find out.
A notable development during feudal times was the establishment of the Wirland Parliament in 991 NA, a body consisting of the landed nobles of Wirland who could first only air their grievances in it, but later gained additional powers - they could propose laws, veto taxes proposed by the king, and finally got some measure of control over the budget of the kingdom. This set a precedent for later forms of government that were much less hierarchical than those elsewhere.
This state of affairs came to an end with the invasion of Negroth the Doombringer. The reigning king, John III (now also known as "John the Fat", "John the Coward" and a variety of other, even less flattering names) was initially dismissive of the threat Negroth represented and only sent a small force to the Fields of Harrow, and when news arrived of their crushing defeat, he became absolutely terrified. While the army of Wirland was still fairly large and might have been able to mount an effective resistance to the forces of Negroth if led by a competent strategist (though this is debated even today, since Negroth's forces were very strong - war games at the Dartmouth Academy of War that use this conflict as a setting are popular, but remain inconclusive), the King insisted on drawing back all available forces to Dartmouth to protect the capital (and, of course, him). He lived in constant fear of assassination (probably exaggerated, since Negroth could hardly have wished for a better enemy than him) while the armies of Negroth ravaged the countryside, leading to serious food shortages and outbreaks of plagues among the refugees hiding behind the city wall. When the invaders began to assault the city, the king and most of the nobles simply teleported out of the city to the Parginian Rim (where their descendants live even today), leaving the citizens to their fate. One noble, Eldwen of Hecanshire, mounted a spirited defense and tried to protect the inhabitants as long as possible, but he merely delayed the inevitable. When he fell while trying to stop a breach in the wall, the defenses crumbled and the invaders ravaged the city.
For two years, the city suffered under their cruel governor, and its population declined drastically. When news of the death of Negroth arrived, the humans banded into militias and drove off the remaining occupying forces, who quickly retreated north or faded into the countryside and living off the land as bandits. The people of Dartmouth weren't sure what would happen to them now, but they were sure that they wouldn't tolerate another monarch lording it over them again. From the chaos of the time arose a man named Everett Carsliff, who united several militias under his banner and then started a purge of "royalists" (i.e., the remaining nobles) and their sympathizers - anyone caught by his forces were put on trial and executed in public. As his forces grew, be began to pass more and more restrictive laws to "forge a new kind of men who would never again bow their heads to a monarch". That might indeed have been his intention, but the net effect was that the people of Dartmouth and the surrounding areas lived under a military dictatorship with oppressive laws and crushing taxes. When Carsliff was assassinated by unknown parties in 1185 NA, most were relieved, though Carsliff was considered to be a hero by the backers of the later Liberation War, as well as the Secondaries of today.
The Greater Dartmouth area, whose population had once again shrunk drastically, dissolved back again into its component towns and villages, which were governed by a mixture of elected majors, local strongmen, and even the rare surviving scion of a noble family. Each town maintained its own milita/police force, and while there were the occasional squabbles over territory and jurisdiction, the people as a whole were tired of bloodshed and thus managed to solve most problems through peaceful means. Nevertheless, there are a few vicious feuds between families and boroughs that date back to that era and are still going on, despite the fact that the original bone of contention has ceased to exist for more than a century.
Dartmouth mostly kept out of the Liberation War - though a few people volunteered for the revolutionary side, on the whole the Revolutionaries reminded too many people of Everett Carsliff and his reign of terror. As a result, Dartmouth was spared the devastation the rest of the region suffered under, which proved to be a great economic boost. Trade florished, and more and more people flocked to the city in search of their fortune.
This caused tensions, however - while Dartmouth began to grow into one interconnected city again, the squabbling mayors of the individual boroughs were unable to agree on how to expand the city and how to cope with the increasing strain on the infrastructure. Furthermore, the boroughs each began to set up their own toll systems in an escalating battle for more tax revenue, causing traders to pay tolls on their goods several times even if they only wanted to pass from one end of the city to the other!
The situation became so bad that the leading merchant houses of the city staged a revolt. In 1303 NA they established the "Dartmouth Board of Commerce", which consisted of the (at the time) fifty wealthiest merchants of the Dartmouth region. These merchants settled on a common legal framework for business transactions and property laws and funded both a court system and a guard unit to enforce it. Taken by surprise, the mayors protested but were ultimately forced to accept the authority of the Board - especially after one particularly outspoken mayor was beaten into submission by the new guard and the militia of his borough was unable to protect him. The Board took control of the central part of the city, now rechristened the "Financial District" (or "The District" for short) and held their frequent meetings in the former parliament.
This represented the closest Dartmouth had to a municipal government for many years, but there was soon an impetus for more inter-borough cooperation from an unexpected source: Sewage.
The city had grown beyond its ability to cope with the waste it generated. Upstream communities simply dumped their sewage into the Dart river, poisoning the water for those downstream. Inter-borough tension grew to new heights, and the Board of Commerce realized that something needed to be done. But what?
Into this time of crisis stepped Charles Edwick, who proposed the creation of a new organization - the "Dartmouth Board of Works". This organization would be responsible for building and maintain the neccessary physical infrastructure to allow Dartmouth prosper and grow. While there was some resistance from parts of the Board of Commerce, Edwick proved to be a shrewd negotiator, and in 1341 gained the funds neccessary to found and operate the Board of Works - with him as its first director.
However, some obscure passages in the charter of the Board of Works also could be interpreted to allow him to build and maintain the Nexus Towers of Dartmouth, which had long fallen into disuse by that point. Secretly, he started refurbishing "Old Faithful", a former Nexus Tower dating back to the Atalan Empire located on a hill overlooking the harbor - a move that paid off when the city was attacked in 1346 by a fleet of pirates under the command of Tardruin the Black. That single Tower was able to destroy much of the fleet and drive back the rest.
Edwick became a hero, and while many members of the Board of Commerce were extremely worried when they became aware of just how much power the Body of Works had at its fingertips, they could not move against him openly. To this day, the Nexus Tower network is controlled by the Board of Works and gives it a steady source of income.
However, political infighting between the two Boards became common after Ewick retired, to the point where street fights between followers of the two factions became a daily occurrence, and a failed plot by Secondary revolutionaries in 1375 to destroy the House of Parliament with a metor swarm scroll while the Board of Commerce was in session only increased tension, suspicions, and paranoia. As the Board of Commerce weakened, the disenfranchised mayors of the boroughs saw their chance - in 1378 elected one of their own, the charismatic Everett Huffrey, as the first Lord Mayor of the city, and put all their militias under his command. He then set out to challenge the authority of the boards.
For a few days, it looked like the city would erupt into a full-fledged civil war, but after a few days of intense and secret negotiations the Board of Works accepted the authority of the Loard Mayor as long as its privileges were preserved, and the Board of Commerce eventually had to give in in the face of the power of their opponent. The negotiations that followed were even more intense, but eventually the three parties signed the new Dartmouth City Charter, which wrote down that the Board of Works was responsible for creating and maintaining the infrastructure of the city, the Board of Commerce was responsible for its commerce courts, the District, and generally regulating the commerce and trade of the city, and the Lord Mayor and his Council of mayors was responsible for non-commercial laws, foreign policy, law enforcement, maintenance of military forces and everything else.
The City Charter was a complicated document that reflected its origin - several hundreds of pages of densely written and frequently ambiguously worded legalese, and later addenda have only made it more confusing. The whole government infrastructure is full of overlapping jurisdictions where no one is sure who is responsible for what. Despite this, Dartmouth has kept functioning and even prospered. The latest Lord Mayor, Percival Shellard, has taken office only last year, and everyone is waiting to see in what direction he will steer the city.