Punth: City of Compartments II

 Following on from last time...

Presence

As might be imagined, there are two major groups in the City of Compartments other than the Hydraulic Dwarves. The Nirvanite Empire and the state of Punth both maintain an official presence within the city, though in different fashions. The most obvious thing to note is that the Empire fully occupies the north-most compartment, treating with the Hydraulic Dwarves in the condescending but predictable way that they deal with non-humans. Punth maintains a heavy presence in the two south-most compartments, but does not act out every civic function they might normally do so. 

This is due in significant part to the ways in which Punthite thought must deal with this uncontrollable influence on their borders. Every other foreign power is at something of a distance - over the deep desert, over the sea, over the mountains. A neighbour - especially a neighbour that they must cooperate with - is unthinkable. Therefore, it is asserted that the Hydraulic Dwarves are merely an arm of the Punthite state. Punth possesses and controls the City of Compartments - pardon me, City 37 - therefore why would it duplicate key functions like gate guards or water suppliers? To the Imperial mind, by contrast, Erukha is simply another neighbour to be influenced, courted, implored, threatened, cajoled, persuaded or conquered. 

Structures

Of course, Punth has bowed to certain inevitabilities. City 37 has what is called a Ziggurat in the south-most compartment, but it wouldn't cut make the grade in any other city. But south of the city lies Fort 690: nominally a defensive structure like many another on the highways of Punth. However, Fort 690 larger and better supplied than any of these: it is the Punthite contingency - in case City 37 should be overwhelmed by the madness of foreign merchants abusing the hospitality of the Sky-Princes. Fort 690 would bar - or at least delay - an army passing through the Arcaded Pass and, as needed, would act as a staging ground to retake Punth's compartments. 

The Empire has a similar approach to Punth, and is undergoing the construction of a cathedral on a terrace to the north of the city. Despite the availability of Dwarven labour and craftsmanship, this has been going on for several generations - which gives ample scope for the laying out and resetting of defensive plans, earthworks and the like. Most actual worship by humans of the Faith of the Eight goes on the Church of St Ludmilla in the northern-most compartment (for the Manifest Rite) or that of St Bernard Finisterre in the second northern-most compartment (for the Unified Rite). The protean Cathedral is in theory dedicated to St Berengaria. Their centre of local government is tucked the northwest of the first compartment; it is known as Cornerstone Manse - and is the seat of the Ducal Envoy. 

Both the Empire and Punth have carved out cisterns in their respective compartments. These are secret, highly frowned upon by the Masters of the Aqueduct - and would be in no ways adequate to maintain the respective populations claimed by either state in the City of Compartments. Even restricting water rations to their soldiers, they would struggle to last above a week. 

People

The Nirvanite Empire has as its most notable representatives the Ducal Envoy (Lord Oderic of Saragotha) and the Dean of St Berengaria (Mthr. Ysodor); an assortment of merchants with significant ties to the courts and civic governates of Lameravis and the Novopolis also maintain houses in the City of Compartments. 

The Presiding Magistrate of Ziggurat 37 is the Qryth official Prudent Vanadium. Fort 690 - again, unusually for a fort of its nominal status - has a Qryth castellan, Commander Amorous Cordite. 

Recognition by Punth or the Empire is a different thing to recognition by the Masters of the Aqueduct. The Hydraulic Dwarves will sometimes 'recognise' an Imperial or Punthite subject different to the Presiding Magistrate or Ducal Envoy to act as the responsible party in contracts between them. This has occasionally been a very useful way to sow division between Imperial parties or to goad haughty Sky-Princes. 

The Hydraulic Dwarves regulate entrance to the City, and maintain registers of the Qryth; diligent record-keeping has also enabled them to keep tract of individual Punthites, no matter what badges they wear. Likewise, they note the comings and going of Imperial subjects and groups. They have been quite willing (for instance) to bar admittance to the oft-belligerent Knights of St Castrum or the Order of the Steel Suns. It is for this reason that numerous different knightly orders are encouraged to dwell in the city by the Dean of St Berengaria. Similarly, opportunists and mercenaries regularly trickle into the City - including a few highly-prized Half-Giants of distant Trygvir, who find the old compartment walls curiously familiar. 

Violence

Is, of course, quite common. Tempers run high, cultural clashes are common and neither Punth nor the Empire sends people known for deescalating to their garrisons in Erukha. Clashes are sickeningly swift and bloody, with combatants disengaging before the guards on the Aqueducts respond. 

The Qryth have adjusted their preferred fighting styles to fit the narrow streets of the compartments. One of them may equip themselves as a 'breacher', carrying a vast hammer to cave in the thin tenement walls of the city and enable access for themselves and their gendarmes. A Qryth may also take the role of a 'street fighter' and carry four smaller sabres, with which to cut and jab in many directions.

The men-at-arms of the Empire have likewise adapted. The usual Imperial counter for the Sky-Princes is (laying aside considerations of magic and certain artefacts) the chevalier and the wall of pikes. Both options are impractical in the City. Shorter and more flexible halberds are the norm for Imperial footmen and have some popularity with dismounted knights. If an Imperial group know a Qryth they absolutely must have dead (and there are no Half-Giants to hand), the usual tactic is to draw them into a close, tight combat with well-armoured knights. While thus distracted, a lightly armoured swordsmen runs up onto a tenement roof or balcony and jumps onto the Qryth's back, where they can stab something vital. This has been attempted many times, has been successful often enough - and so there is now a training apparatus for this in the northern-most compartment. Those who use it are known as the Vaulting Squires. 

Next time: non-aligned residents of the City of Compartments. 

I've linked to some very old stuff for Terrae Vertebrae in the above. Such details didn't make it into The Primer - in part to maintain the separate character of Punth. But it's all fairly broad material, and can be swapped out relatively easily.