Freeport

Freeport is a city that is in constant turmoil. All races have visited Freeport at one time or another and from here one can board a ship that will take them to the farthest lands. Freeport is a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but can be a ton of fun if you are smart and careful.

Freeport has been embroiled in a power struggle for some time, particularly between the Priests of Marr (Knights of Truth) and the Freeport Militia. The opening of the Planes of Magic, Music, and Rage caused an even greater struggle as both controlling elements of the city vied for control of the portals to the planes. All major factions in the city wanted to achieve power and to this end, they plotted and schemed. The city also found renewed threats from the Deathfist Orcs as well as other races and factions outside its walls. The Coalition of Tradefolk, among others, has been frantically trying to keep trade routes open and the economy running smoothly.

All the merchants of Freeport are required to join the Coalition of Tradefolk. If you are a merchant, I suggest you go and find the Coalition House and register. It would be best to request space in this part of Freeport, unless you like to share a percentage of your profits with the Freeport Militia.

The Freeport population has taken drastic measures to defend themselves from the coming hordes. The Freeport Militia and the Knights of Mar have begun actively recruiting new members and acquiring new weapons. The wall of Freeport has several towers and is topped with a full compliment of war machines. As is typical in dangerous times, Freeport residents have begun turning back to the gods in droves. Temples have begun to grow and prosper as donations begin pouring in.

Despite these reinforcements, Freeport has continued to experience its share of political troubles. A large den of drachnid skinwalker spies were uncovered by the Knights of Marr, which prompted a wave of panic and sparked a bloody witch hunt amongst the city's leaders. Many nobles and leaders were accused and a few were even put to the sword, although so far, of those executed, none have reverted to drachnid form after death. In addition to the strain caused by the paranoia, Freeport has found itself scrambling for resources to finance its military and defenses. Mines have been dug into the Deserts of Ro, lumber operations have spread into the Commonlands, and explorers have set sail across the Ocean of Tears to acquire much needed materials from Kaladim and Kelethin. Freeport has racked up a great deal of debt in the process, and many fear that the city will be bankrupt long before whatever looming danger arrives from Dreadspire.

Eastern Freeport

The sewers beneath the streets of Freeport have long been a shadowed pathway for shadowy activities. Despite the ravages of time, war and the sea, all levels of the Freeport sewer system are still functional. In many areas, gnomish mechanical devices pump materials through the levels, finally pushing them out the last drains to the sea.

There are three major sections of the Freeport sewer system. Thieves' Way connects outlying districts to the city's heart through a series of narrow passages. The Serpent's Sewer is a twisting maze of tunnels that channel debris and effluent from above to the Edgewater Drains. The Drains are closest to the sea into which the sewers drain and so are mostly underwater.

As with most underground areas, the Freeport sewers make up in smell what they lack in change. Although the lowest tunnels are constantly washed by incoming tides, they are also the repository for much solid waste material. This gives the sewers a noxious odor that lingers on one's clothing for many days after passing through the area.

The plants found in the Freeport sewer system are limited to lichens and mosses as there is generally not enough light for other types of flora. Occasionally, one may find creeping insect bane flourishing near grates, where small insects are known to congregate in shafts of light. These plants have become rarer since the Shattering, although it is not known if there is any connection.

Despite the smell, the sewers teem with life -- or forms of it. Rats, bats, snakes and toads are plentiful throughout. Additionally, one will encounter animated coagulated gelatins and in certain sections, skeletons. The sewers are still used as pathways for those who wish to remain unnoticed, so those attempting a short cut will need to keep an eye to the shadows at all times.

Final Entry—

It is with heavy heart on this long night that I write what I know to be my last entry here. I have deliberated on this issue, and always I come to the same conclusion. These are a brave people in Landing — noble, able, determined. Yet as long as I stay, they shall defer to me out of respect for what I have done in these early years. I would simply pass on the rulership to another, but any whom I favor shall be treated with the same thoughtless deference, and these people must have a ruler they have chosen from among themselves. For this to happen, I must be gone entirely, beyond any hope of their finding me.

Of course, in a matter of hours the question may be moot. An army of the Deathfist unlike any I have seen marches toward our walls, and at this moment a band of accursed Teir’Dal assassins positions itself beneath our feet. I am confident, with the warning I have received from these strange scientists of the arcane, that I have plotted a course through these troubles. But my sense that the city and its people shall endure is no guarantee that I myself shall live through this night. The paladins of Marr have sworn to lay down their lives to protect mine, but a stray blade or spell of death may always find me. Still, I must be the bait, and only a complete victory over the Teir’Dal allows my remaining forces to reinforce the walls and defeat the Deathfist.

After that, the city is safe. Difficult years may lie ahead, but these people deserve a chance to plot their own destinies. I cannot in good conscience bring the entire city along on the dread road I must travel. Lady Delailith shall return to Landing should it require help, but my heart tells me that she will never need to do so. A finer people I have not known on Norrath, and I love them enough to set them free of my shadow.

Tonight, even if he sees the end of it, Aataltaal dies to the mortal world. At least until such a time as events may require me to reveal myself again.

By Mine Own Hand,

Aataltaal