This prosperous city brings goods from the Dwarven city of Forge to the rest of the Empire and brings Imperial goods to the Dwarves. Gnomes, Half-Elves, and Humans dominate the city. It's affairs are intertwined with those of Shadowport, the city of the Prince of Shadows. The city is a collection of islands linked by bridges and waterways; while they cannot feed the city, some islands are dedicated to corn, beans, and squash, fertilized by muck scraped from the Fangs and shipped to the city. The city is noted for its whiskey production, fed by island corn.
This building is a coffee shop (floor one), bookstore (floor two), and restaurant (floor 3), run by a brass dragon named Amylar, and his Draconic followers. Amylar loves to gossip with people and discuss books; he usually knows much of what's going down in the city. He has a house band on the third floor, who mostly play mood music but sometimes do patriotic tunes in times of war.
There is an eight-layered complex under the city, most of it underwater, dug by out of control automatons at the end of the Second Age. Every so often, some mad wizard takes it over and runs it as a full-blown dungeon, or monsters just move in. The mad wizard Broin, who is obsessed with some mithril axe to the point of getting his entire clan wiped out trying to recover it, now lurks there, ruling aquatic monsters and rumor has it he thinks this will somehow bring the axe to him. There are treasures to be had but the city warns that mad wizards are a definite health hazard.
Founded in the Sixth Age, it hit its peak in the Seventh; the difficulties of crossing the Iron Sea have caused it to dwindle to a minor guild, whose main asset is that its members control the Imperial side of trade with Shali (Manzabwe); much of the guild complex is crumbling and abandoned, and there are persistent rumors that part of it is now basically a dungeon, though most people assume that is an exaggeration. There is an airship landing facility here, and the guild now functions as the city's airship port, which helps it to stay functional. There is also a high-class restaurant which sells Shali cuisine, another major source of revenue.
Scattered through the city are islands which grow crops; most grow food, especially corn, beans, and squash, which were the central diet of humans in this area back in the time of the Serpent Folk, though a few grow cash crops, mainly tobacco and tea. Halflings control cash crop production, and humans the food farms. Collectively, this is known as the Ward of Pelor, whose temple watches over farming, along with Melora, who has a shrine in the district.
The Spelljack had a notorious battle with the Inquistor here in the First Age. He was forced to flee, and ever since this island has grown strawberries in profusion, year round; a new crop ripens once a month. The city itself owns the fields and uses sale of strawberries as a minor revenue source. It also has made strawberries popular in the city.
Some islands in the cities are temples; the districts of the cities, ironically, are organized around the temples, even though the folk of Glitterhaegen are not as religious as Santa Cora, or even Axis. The biggest is the temple of Avandra, not in her aspect as Goddess of Halflings, but as Goddess of Trade. It is a giant six story tall cube of marble on its own island, which also includes many lesser buildings, including a hotel which caters to wealthy visitors to the city. The Ward of Avandra is where all the richest people in the city live on a set of islands, many of which are basically one big estate. The second biggest is the pentagon-shaped temple of Erathis, goddess of Civilzation and Law. The Ward of Erathis is where the government of the city is located, along with the scribes, booksellers, and other information brokers. The temple includes a shrine to Ioun, who does not have an independent temple. There are many other temples in the city as well but those are the most prominent.
Penny Lane is a working class district, on a strangely round island, whose roads are a mix of spokes and concentric circles around a plaza known as the Roundabout, which serves as a cheap market. Many workers live here and travel elsewhere to work. However, the social center of the district is barbershops, which double as teashops; Penny Lane's inhabitants blow much of their money on fancy teas, imported from around New Port, mostly. There's been a fad lately for 'Dragon Teas', which have a smokey taste, from Drakkenhall.
This version of the page was edited by John at 2020-06-02 01:14:17. View the most recent version.