Pitax
Ruled by the megalomaniacal King Irovetti, Pitax is a place of garish, trashy art created by sculptors and poets tightly controlled by the city’s despot. As long as Irovetti’s massively bloated ego remains fed, all is well, but those who oppose him in the most trivial details soon learn that he sees himself as an all-conquering god. Underneath his mania, the small town struggles to survive in the face of hostility from Brevoy and borderland barbarian tribes of Numeria. Stories claim that Irovetti is himself little more than a bastard son of a minor Numerian lord, hounded from the kingdom by ancestral enemies. He leaves the hard fighting to others, and prefers to use bards and insults to tear down his enemies.
Pitax is a strange and disparate city, with distinctive sections. The original city sprang outward from the keep built long ago by the Silver Fox. However, the western half of Pitax partly burned to the ground during its rebellious war with Corvenn nearly a century ago, and only under Irovetti’s direction has this ruined section of the city been rebuilt. Sailors and newcomers to Pitax keep to the eastern parts of the city, known as Troutmouth. The merchants and rogues who have long controlled Pitax stay in the central heart of the city, known as the Shattered Ward. The newcomer artists and musicians keep to the west, in the New Ruins, where the Academy of Grand Arts resides.
Until Irovetti’s arrival in Pitax, the various merchant Trade Houses of the city—and the families that controlled those houses—ruled over the city. Though they only retain a fraction of the power they once possessed, the Trade Houses still control the city’s docks and warehouses, and also maintain strong financial ties with influential people in Numeria, Brevoy, and the other River Kingdoms. Most travelers staying in Pitax for more than a day or so invariably wind up allying themselves with one of the houses, as trying to accomplish anything in the city without the support of a house typically proves to be a complete waste of time.
The Thieves’ Guild of Pitax effectively controls the city. No shipments of goods may move in or out of the city without the guild’s blessing. Even the most honest of merchants know that they must pay bribes to the guild on a regular basis in order to avoid the unnecessary plunder of their caravans. Rumors abound that the guild’s headquarters lie far beneath the city, and are guarded by a large labyrinth filled with minotaurs who also serve as the guild’s enforcers. Those seeking to commit any illicit activity in Pitax would be well served to apply for membership in the guild, or at least seek its blessing, lest they face its formidable wrath