Blightshore
The blackened seaboard that forms the easternmost edge of Wildemount is a savage wasteland struggling to recover from the arcane havoc wrought by the Calamity so many years ago. The Miskath Strand was once a temperate expanse of arboreal pulchritude and coastal tranquility, but it has since become a lonely stretch of hazardous terrain and maddening isolation. This coastline of cursed earth and the surrounding area have come to be known as Blightshore, a fitting moniker for the once-proud seaside paradise defiled by the Betrayer Gods. Here, among the Miskath Strand's smoldering remains, explorers vie for the opportunities offered up by Blightshore's weird new varieties of flora and fauna—not to mention the hidden wealth that lurks within the lightless vaults of the Betrayers themselves. Life in Blightshore is difficult at best; for many, it represents a true test of spirit as they weather the persistent chaos of Blightshore's terrain.
While the Dwendalian Empire and its constituents seek to establish a foothold in the more hospitable regions of the Miskath Strand, these efforts are consistently hampered by Blightshore's less scrupulous denizens. Remote operatives of the Myriad and the Revelry, intrepid pilgrims from the Kryn Dynasty, outcasts from the fallen city of Draconia, and goblinoid nomads from the Xhorhasian wastes form the motley civilization of Blightshore. Moreover, this land is home to many undead horrors and wandering hollow ones
Rotthold
Population: 8,800 (30% humans, 15% dark elves, 15% goblins, 15% tieflings, 5% hollow ones, 20% other races)
Government: Rotthold has no official governing body but is held together by a consortium of local guild leaders, merchants, and veteran adventurers who meet in secret once a week to discuss current affairs, shared interests, and potential threats.
Defense: The small but precious amount of sanctuary Rotthold provides from the Blightshore wastes is upheld by a militia of battle-hardened locals and dutifully concerned citizens. Other fortune-seekers often join this militia simply for the opportunities and information the alliance provides.
Commerce: Almost anything can be bought or sold in Rotthold, where the merchants are just as unscrupulous as in the surrounding Blightshore wilderness. Rotthold is the center of black market trade in Eastern Wynandir, and perhaps in all of Wildemount.
Organizations: In addition to the city's handful of merchants and thieves' guilds, a confederacy of agents representing the mercantile interests of the Myriad and the Revelry operate in public throughout Rotthold, while a covert sect of the Cerberus Assembly carries out their own clandestine business.
Some say this lawless harbor city is as dangerous as the arcane wilds of Blightshore that surround it. But whether or not visitors enjoy its chaotic disposition, Rotthold is an unmistakable center of travel and commerce in eastern Wildemount. The decayed stone dwellings and wooden tenements that line Rotthold's ramshackle streets are enveloped by a luminous, rust-colored moss that bathes the city's evenings in a sick crimson glow. Many outlanders view this crime-ridden settlement as little more than a collection of degenerate safe houses and slums, while others see it as a raw jewel—full of potential—that shines bright among the dusky shadows of the poisoned east.
Government
Multiple factions operate in and around Rotthold, including covert agents of the Cerberus Assembly and a tenuous coalition between members of the Myriad and the Revelry. While the Plank King's remote forces maintain the southern waterways and oversee the export of Blightshore's esoteric resources, Myriad spies monitor and manipulate the exchange of goods and services inside the city limits, and the fragile alliance between these two is the closest thing this unruly corner of the Miskath Strand has to a governing body.
Crime
The open trade of illicit goods and services is the lifeblood of Rotthold's mossy streets. All manner of pleasures are available for those willing enough to pay the price, which can be quite steep. Many of Rotthold's denizens owe the Myriad one favor or another, and the constant exchange of these debts keeps the city full of new faces. Crime is a way of life in Rotthold, where the Dwendalian Empire and Kryn Dynasty have no sway over its opportunistic, unethical inhabitants.
Geography
No walls protect Rotthold from the surrounding Blightshore wastes, but eleven watchtowers serve as a line of defense. The city is roughly divided into four quarters: North Rotthold, East Rotthold, Dockside, and Cairn Hill. North Rotthold houses the city's most impoverished denizens, who encounter the Miskath Strand's impinging monstrous wildlife on a regular basis. Most of the city's trade is conducted in East Rotthold, where a bazaar known as the Red Market takes up a majority of the quarter. On the south side of the city, Dockside is the purview of the Revelry and houses Rotthold's most affluent citizens, who no doubt believe they are safest when located as far away from Blightshore's savage interior as possible. On the west end of the city, the quarter known as Cairn Hill rests above a mysterious lattice of pre-Calamity catacombs. Here in Rotthold's graveyard, furtive agents meet in cemeteries to carry out their agendas.
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