Daggerhaunt

Daggerhaunt is a freehold settlement of nautical adventurers with a mercurial sense of ownership and a privateering spirit. Other Spirits may be available in the several taverns of the town.

"Oh, yeah, we have dragon whiskey here. Bought a fair share of that bitch's stash a few years back. Her sister comes back on occasion, too, and graces our poor little tavern with a tall tale or two."

—Martha Tarquist, Daggerhaunt's finest drinking establishments.

History

The history of Daggerhaunt is a nightly topic of conversation in the many drinking dens of the nautical persuasion in the harbour of the town. Walking a mere twenty yards and you will have not only heard three different stories of how the town was founded, and who by; but you will also be a coin purse lighter and happier for it, if you know what's good for you. The oral tradition of the retelling changes some key details depending on the quality of the drinks provided, but usually goes like this:

A seafaring captain was wrecked in the cove after a long voyage to the south; He declared he had seen Loxadon walking amongst the land, and bartered with them for ivory. He had drank wine with queens and kings, living a life of largesse, but was forced to flee when an unfortunate misunderstanding at the court in Ilwd Bywd...

The Dagger haunt

The name of the town may come from the practice of Dagger "haunts", a process that is designed to negotiate parleys and settlements between sailors. A dagger was used to settle this old legal procedure, with a single mark, or haunt, made in wood being symbolic of a complaint made in the presence of an observer of the town. According to the "Rules of the Common Mariner", an agreement must be made between the two parties to satisfy this code, or a punishment would be meted out. An unfinished parley often would end with the mutual banishment of both parties from the town until the Haunt was concluded and sealed by the King of the Delta;s judment or Quadross. The record of the daggerhaunts are stored somewhere in the town, and sealed with the oath of the Rules:

"In the presence of our common mariners here, we, the undersigned add our marks to this parley, and enjoin in peace and prosperity. Let these Haunts entrust this contract to the Rules and curséd be the first to break their oath."

Those foolish enough to break the agreement are banished and persona non grata. The last to this was an associate of The Ardence known to the world as Ser Traintel. His body was never recovered - believed to be slain by the King of the Delta himself. The legend of The Calmorian Way and Dagger haunts grows year on year.

Daggerhaunt in culture

The town is often described in literature and is commonly known as the pirate's town, garnering both a romantic and general terrified response in the population. Educated people will remember learning poetry from the town at school. The Trio of Ghasts is one of these noted poems written several hundred years ago by a privateer and adventurer who lived (and subsequently died in interesting circumstances) in Daggerhaunt. Rumoured to be a daughter of a viscous pirate and a consort of the Godtouched, the author's name has faded from collective memory.

- I -

The mist on water;

Eyes sharp and bleak.

Lessons that were never taught her -

Ships not changing tack.

Tall, deadly, silent: murderous eyes;

Vicious monster on the open seas.

Valiant sailors' last and final sighs

paying the ferrymans final fees.

—unknown mariner, A collection of examinable poetry for the young inquiring mind

Much of the poem continues in the same vein, describing an unfortunate mariner who finds themselves targeted through a fast descending mist and attacked and scuttled by three apparently dead pirates. In legend, the ship commands many names: The Morbid Ark, The Surruption and The Ghostveil. Many, if not all of these are folkloric, enterprising pirate contemporaries may use these names to strike fear into the hearts of the general population. The ghasts of the poem may be nothing more than a persona adopted by a mundane (albeit vicious) pirate group. In any case, zombie, undead, or just piratical, the general belief is to run from the mists on the seas.

Layout

Daggerhaunt is a town built into and sprawlling around a cove of spectacularly crystal clear waters. The harbour sits at the base of two cliff-sides, the harbourmasters's office and the local drinking dens are clustered around the water's edge, with the residential buildings nestled behind the town centre and clinging to the low hillside that extends west towards a wooden stockade. The Governor's House (aka the seat of the Mereton) stands proudly on the northern clifftop, accessible from a winding network of very narrow passageways that wind up the cliff-side between shops and houses that overhang the pavements. Opposite to the Mereton's cliff is a strange sight - a cobbled together Observatory with a telescope standing proudly and looking to the west.

"The lanes of Daggerhaunt aree densely packed and wind up the natural cove's cliffsides. The citizens pack as many dwellings into the bedrock and lanes as possible. The stench of the place is quite something."

—Tay, A memoir of dragons.

Daggerhaunt's streets blend the waterways into the cliffside, aided by the nautical public houses such as the Princely Sum on the water's edge. The Saddlery and stables are often overworked and the stablehands are often grossly underpaid: passing trade often sells thier horses to the town prior to embarking on longer voyages, allowing the town to do a fair trade in second hand nags. The stable-hands are notoriously hard bargainers and much more interested in coin than otherwise expected; and the walls in the alleyways have ears, eyes and often daggers. This allows the enterprising trickster or miscreants to experience the aspects of free trade that make the town a hot bed of capitalism - exploiting the careless adventurer. Mop-haired as a countryside lad can be, and with dreams of one day going to the big city of Abbatchtka, Jhet (a stableboy) is often seen walking around town, horse-holding for the richer traveler and running errands for the highest bidder. This is a dangerous job, and Jhet's continued survival seems to be related to his uncanny ability to stay neutral.

Taverns

Daggerhaunt is a nautical paradise, with multiple taverns proffering booze and work to the many sailors that pass through the port. Its nestled position in the Frayll allows it to be a relatively safe harbour for all, with traders and privateers sharing the quayside, an arrangement that often ends with booze-fueled arguments spilling out of the taverns and onto the streets.

There are many dive bars and hostelries, with the well known establishments all fronting onto Waterside. At the corner of Waterside Ave and the Longest Walk is the infamous tavern known as The Princely Sum. Run by the rose-cheeked Martha Tarquist, the "Some" often ends up more than the patron could soberly expect to pay, and the bouncer - a half giant known as "Quiet" - is employed to improve the clientele on occasion with educational visits to the waterside. The Princely Sum is tolerated by the Mereton of the town, who is quietly understood to have an arrangement of sorts with the landlady; and captains and traders often frequent the tavern trying to entice the patrons to offers of work and pay. Sometimes they are successful, and oftentimes rumours swirl around the place as only tales of unfathomable riches can.

The Broken Net is a tavern of repute. Ill or not, its reputable. Many rumours or tall tales are heard of here, with some indeed being true. Some folk talk of the "King of the Delta", a title often heard of in hushed tones, and believed to be the true power in Daggerhaunt.

Markets and Merchants

"It's more that I am a go between: You understand me, I understand them. And they need me to find you. For a moderate fee, of course."

—Raiffe, Overheard in the Sum.

The shops of the town are varied. Expensive magical items are relatively rare; often the freelancers and privateers will be contracted by Abbatchtkan noble patrons. The middlemen for the nobility are often identified on the quayside by their foppish fashion and over the top hats and demeanour. One such gentleman is called Raiffe. He acts on behalf of Ser Berthon of Lamoren, and antiquities dealer from the elf-human city to the east who covets historical magical artefacts. Raiffe seems to love his work as a subcontractor of adventurers, living off the shared fame and fortune without the fuss of stabbing things and getting his beautiful leather boots dirty: his turquoise cravat flutters in the wind, his cigarillo twirling purple smoke as the ships call into the port. Taking note of new arrivals is his business, and one that he does very, very well.

The Griffon's Arsenal

Located in the main market area of the town, on the North side of a small square is a squat shop on the ground floor of a 2 story building. A sign outside has a painted Griffon and the window displays faded armour and deadly looking spears and halberds.

Inside you'll find the proprietor, Flintfinder. A, 8 foot tallk, 70 year-old goliath who has run the shop since returning from the wars in his mid-20s. He normally wears short-sleeved shirts to better show off the large tribal tattoos down both arms. Life has taken its toll and Flintfinder is weary, tired but friendly to all visitors and is always willing to make a fair and equitable deal for passers by.

Factions & Personages

The Township is governed, officially, by three separate civic organisations: Politically by the Mereton of the town, appointed by the empire of Abbatchtka and the Glass Palace's representative in the town. Folklorically, the King of the Delta is the most important person in the town, and previously was the official governor - until the Glass Palace appointed a mereton after the events of Campaign 1. Following the reduction in the King's power, a third overt faction has developed, and the leadership of the local corps of the Calmorian Way has become more prominent in the wheels of government - especially the local Waymaster (Way-mistress!) "Maman" Verity.

The Mereton of the town is realistically the least important to the day to day running of the twon. He is responsible for taxation and official business conducted by the Empire, and is tolerated as a useful stooge by the more notorious sectors of the freetown. He lives in the Governor's House on the northern clifftop and overlooking the bay. This old Abbatchtka army fort stands proudly on the outcropping of rock, and seige weapons - trebuchets and catapults - are allegedly ready to reply invaders to the town. This old fort was developed into the Governor's house, and is known to most as Fort Mabel. It is used as a grain store and counting house, and stands as the last officially guarded area of Daggerhaunt by the standing garrison. Led by a realistic officer who understands that the town permits the guards to exist as long as they don't ask questions and tolerate the actions of the privateers of the town: after all, the bouncer of the waterfront, Quiet, is much more dangerous than one of the Brass Hats.

The King of the Delta is a nomme du guerre of the Calmorian Way and used by a thief called Alsander Maplewood during the events of the Third War of Ascension. It is an honorific title used in Daggerhaunt and the nearby islands. The King is the last judge and appeal for those that contravene "The Rules of the Common Mariner". It is a very democratic system: the King is One Man, and he has One Vote. During the events of the third war, the role was taken up by a lieutenant of Alsander, a half giant dragonborn behemoth of hulking muscle and scales that embodied fear. This king was a loyalist who was keeping the mystique alive during the disappearance and incarceration of the real king by The Ardence. The King's court, as much as it can be described as such, is convened on a shipwrecked skyship on the southern side of the cove. The wreck is known to all as "The Royal", and remains the only open and discussed location of the Calmorian Way outside Tor Valnari.

"Maman" Verity is a powerful figure in the town: she is a power broker, negotiator, and peacemaker for most, if not all, factions that bearth in Daggerhaunt. In order for business to be conducted on the land, Mamn's implicit consent must be obtained and if not her displeasure is voiced in an obnoxious and final way.

"Maman? She is the Dame of Daggerhaunt! She is the life of the place: consider her your mother and show her respect. Her moods are like the seas, beautiful, powerful and dangerous. Show her respect, boyos, and fall in love again!"

—Captain William Defrayne, Overheard in the Princely Sum, prior to Defrayne's disappearance.

The neutral observatory is perched on the southern cliffside. A hodgepodge building of pebbledashed shells and glazing, the telescope faces out to the ocean, with a clockwork turning system that acts as a gyroscope. Ladders lean against the outside, with flowerbeds encircling the building. A clock adorns the northern side of the tower, a focal point of the town. It also carries one of the leading lights for entrance into Daggerhaunt's harbour, leading vessels past the rocky shoals in relative safety. The Obvservatory is run by the retired sailor Phineas Sulk. This happy chap lost his left arm in his seafaring days, and the observatory reflects the adaptations he has made to assist his daily life. He wears a gentleman's dandy fashion. The Observatory has multiple basements, accessed by trapdoors on the telescope floor. Secret passages lead further below. A square, three doored room is contained within, with the walls covered in scratched. This is a room where parleys are reached by two antagonists and a neutral officer (often Maman herself).

Factions

• The Calmorian Way
• The Unified and Exceptional People's Front
• The Ardence

Personages

• King of the Delta
• The Mereton of Daggerhaunt
• Wayfarer __ ___