Tolentok’s Roads and Paths (Petrichor 365)

The roads and paths in Port Imperial were often more by happenstance than by design, outside of the Imperial section by the Imperial docks which was laid out in a gridded design.  Some of the new sections have been properly laid out as the bureaucracy is cracking down on squatters and making sure that everyone has the legal title to the land they are building on.  But the point is, much of the city is haphazardously laid out and built.

But times are changing and the city is evolving into a proper city from a boomtown, this means, among other things, proper roads.  The Imperial military is building roads for Imperial purposes, though some of those are helpful for others as well.

The rest of Port Imperial is left to its own devices for better roads.  Enter Tolentok Breakstone and his company.  They gather discarded stones and shells, break them and use them to pave roads.  When they can find wood, they build boardwalks but their specialty is gravel roads.  They can do cobblestone roads as well, when they can get the materials, and brick pathways, but again getting the materials is the tricky part as most people would rather build houses than streets with stone and brick but gravel and broken shells do not have many other uses.

Honeycutt’s Warehouse No. 2 (Petrichor 365)

Port Imperial is foremost a port and ports thrive on in import and export of goods, good need a place to be stored after they arrive and before they are transshipped to their final destination.

Petrichor has only recently started producing reliable exports but it, and especially Port Imperial, are primarily a consumer of imports.  From the food they eat, to the clothes they wear, most of it comes from outside of the island (though it is becoming more and more self-sufficient).

Because of that, staple foods are warehoused before being sold on to local merchants and consumers.  One of the largest is that owned by Augustius Honeycutt, a Visse merchant who may have been partly financed by some members of Imperial Bureaucracy (in fact, yes he was, supported by cousins and other relatives who saw the potential money to be made).

The Silver Horse (Petrichor 365)

On the road down the coast, on the opposite side of Port Imperial from Fort Ajzure is the Silver Horse, an inn and stables.  When the city wall is completed around Port Imperial, it will be outside the city and, honestly, the people of the Silver Horse are just as happy with that.

The inn is made of turf and wood and is a single room with a stone fireplace and chimney at one end.  The fireplace is used for cooking and there is usually something bubbling away over it for a hungry traveler.  There are long tables and benches, easily stack aside for those who wish to sleep inside the inn.  It is not fancy but it is warm and the food is hearty.

Tuesday Magic Item – Soldier’s Plate

Gollaon looked at the greyish stew and the small chunk of cheese and larger chuck of bread, soon joined by another.  They sighed.

Voddick nodded.  “At least it is free and warm.”

“That is about the only positive thing that can be said about it.”

“Well, eat up, tomorrow we are back on our own with trail rations and what we can find.”

“That is almost a welcoming thought.”

Soldier’s Plate

These plates are usually of basic metal, such as tin, though sometimes of wood with the symbol of the organization they were made for on the bottom of the plate.  They are built to be tough and survive being tossed around.

The Cove Cat, a ship (Petrichor 365)

Most ships travel to Port Imperial and then return to their port of call or another port well away from Petrichor.  The Cove Cat is an exception, she travels up and down the coast from Port Imperial dropping off expeditions of venturers and other explorers, parties of miners and prospectors, and even small groups of settlers (and occasionally retrieving them as well).

Thom’s Luggage Carting (Petrichor 365)

For those newly arrived on the docks of Port Imperial, the city can overwhelming and confusing.  Of course, there are people willing to help, for a coin or two.

One of those is Thom the Luggage Hauler and his handcart.  He will help you with your bags and guide you to whatever inn you are staying at, for a reasonable fee, and if you do not already have an inn booked, he can take you to one that fits your requirements (and that gives him a small kickback).

Bars and Clubs, Shadowrun Seattle (c.2080) Edition

My Shadowrun campaign has been running, off and on, for about thirty years, with a move from the West Coast to the East and lots of player turn over but it is still the same campaign world to me.  Naturally, a lot of bars and clubs have shown up in my version of Seattle.  So here are a few of them, feel free to borrow or remix them for your games.

Gosthic Val, Merchant (Petrichor 365)

Working out of a small tent in the Open Market is Gosthic Val, a seller of charms, amulets, talismans, and such possibly magical knick-knacks.

The tent was once black but is now sort of a mixed gray having been bleached by the Sun and washed by the rain.  It has been repaired with the darkest cloth and thread Gosthic could acquire.  The interior is painted and sewn with wards.  The various charms and other items are in wooden cases that can be closed, locked, and taken away at the end of the day.

Hozjrik’s Pickles (Petrichor 365)

Want to preserve food?  If you do not use magic, your options are limited, salting, drying, and pickling.  For the Hozjrik, it is pickling!

Hozkrik‘s workshop a small building, with a deep cellar.  The preparation is done on the ground floor and then aged in the basement.  There is a large cast iron stove, various barrels, pots for preparation, and a small pen out back for a pair of goats (usually) who consume all of the leftover bits and pieces from the various processes.

The basement is full of barrels, casks, and jars and the smell of fermentation.  There is a winch above the exterior doors leading down to help in lowering and lifting items in and out of it.

He works with his wife, Lozia, who does much of the preparation work.  While their three children help with many tasks.  One of the most important is gathering empty jars and casks from the ships that arrive in port.

Aloysius’ Library and School (Petrichor 365)

Between Fort Ajzure and the Grand Market, though nearer to the market, is a round building, two stories tall with narrow windows all around.  The doors are iron-bound and close-fitting, anyone with the appropriate skills will notice the doors and windows are warded against pests and water as well as against thieves.

The front door has a sign reading ‘library’ over it while the back door has one reading ‘school’.  Both parts are useful for learning and Aloysius Inktouch prizes learning above almost everything else.  Finding that Port Imperial did not have a library, he took up a subscription among the Imperial bureaucracy and others to build a library and school on Petrichor.  It was quickly and efficiently built and books and scrolls were imported.