Éléder
- Each month, my father walked thirty miles to the salt mines. He stayed there for the entire month, working from dawn till nightfall, and sometimes longer. For one or two days, hed return, his feet dry and cracked and his palms as rough as granite. When his brother came with the news of his death i cried, not because i lost him, but because i never knew him. So ask me again if these shackles hurt, and i shall tell you the same—you cannot hurt a freeman.”
- —olamuni freeman, soldier of the freeman’s brotherhood, as stated to a sargavan officer upon his capture.
Présentation[1]
Eleder gouges itself into the craggy coast ofSargava’s western shore. Chelish troops founded the port under the imperialistic expansion efforts of mad Prince Haliad I at the place of their first landing in Desperation Bay. In the beginning, Eleder was no more than a small coastal settlement of fewer than 200 colonists eager to build a new life in the southern continent. The small harbor rested between the Laughing Jungle and the Bandu Hills, impractically located leagues north of Sargava’s only major inland water routes. Nonetheless, the excitement of a new settlement brought settlers by the thousands. From across the north they came, eager to strike it rich. Miners sought to harvest salt, diamonds, and gold in the Bandu Hills, while foresters arrived to log the exotic hardwoods to the south. By 4138 ak, Eleder was granted official status as a Chelish colony.
Eleder prospered swiftly, fed from the coffers of trading companies and the colonial aristocracy, both operating on sizable stipends from the Chelish government, with additional funds arriving from ever-increasing, likely crooked tax policies. Expansionists paid great sums to acquire official charters to explore inland, where they hoped to claim the riches of the pristine land. After the discovery of the city ofKalabuto, these same individuals pushed to establish overland routes traveling east. Kalabuto’s distance from the coast served as a powerful lure to those seeking autonomy and financial stability. Yet the intrusions of foreign colonists caused extreme tensions with numerous Zenj tribes. These tribes deemed the colonists exploitative, both in their ruthless trade and abusive labor practices. Conflicts arose, with several tribes openly declaring war against the foreigners. This unrest made travel unsafe and further expansion difficult. The overland route between the two cities broke down completely when most of Kalabuto’s trading companies began shipping goods down the Korir River. Kalabuto no longer needed to rely on Eleder for trade, and thus continued to prosper while Eleder’s growth stagnated.
At present, Sargava’s capital has only three-fourths as many inhabitants as Kalabuto. Despite its smaller population, however, it remains a stronghold for the nation’s political structure. The bulk ofEleder’s economy is divided between its shipping industry and the trafficking and processing of gemstones, gold, silver, and salt brought in from mines in the Bandu Hills. Eleder’s harbor is huge, perhaps one of the biggest along the southern coast. Enhanced by dredging, it can handle the deep drafts of massive merchant vessels and similar ships too large to travel up the Korir. At the harbor mouth, jetties slow currents and tempestuous waters. They also provide the harbormaster a modicum of power over ships entering and leaving port. Within the harbor, a sprawling array of granite block piers provides docking for ships of almost every size from a dozen different countries. Vessels docked there run the gamut from huge merchant galleys to tiny fishing boats belonging to tribesmen.
Eleder’s architecture readily displays its Chelish roots, though it has evolved to accommodate Sargava’s far warmer clime. Rooftops are designed to collect rainwater, rather than brush away wind and snow, while open courtyards pull in cooling drafts. Trading company warehouses and shipyards offset the homes ofearly settlers with their plain, but practical, construction. A large wall ofweathered stone encircles properties around the harbor, isolating them from the remainder ofthe city. Beyond the wall, a noticeable shift in construction style occurs, as Chelish colonial-style buildings give way to thousands of crudely constructed mud-daub huts. These house Eleder’s impoverished Zenj, who live off meager wages earned working as day laborers or menial labor for various trading companies, picking pineapples, fishing, or mining. This ruthless class division is the source of much tension between Eleder’s wealthier colonials and its indigenous peoples.
Would-be adventurers who arrive in Eleder quickly discover the underlying resentment colonials bear toward their profession. Such sentiment is particularly strong in the district ofNew Haliad. The Lady Madrona Daugustana actively campaigns against adventurers, damning them as “thrill-seeking addlepates” and “would-be liberators come to rile up the natives.” Beyond the nuisance of their carousing and debauchery, adventurers have an uncanny knack for angering indigenous tribesfolk, who cannot tell the difference between a cultured colonial noble and a sword-swinging Pathfinder. Eleder’s militia has swift orders to approach any who stink of adventuring and give them a few hard-and-fast warnings about how to behave in their city, as well as threaten them with steep fines and a shackled visit to a putrid bilge of a holding cell in Grallus Lock should they prove unable to abide by the laws of decent society.
Eleder[1]
LN small city
Corruption +1; Crime +0; Economy +3; Law +3; Lore +2, Society +1
Qualities insular, prosperous, racially intolerant (Mwangi), strategic location Danger +5 demographics Government autocracy
Population 8,900 (8,000 humans [3,000 colonials, 5,000 Mwangi], 500 halflings, 200 dwarves, 100 elves, 100 others)
Notable npcs
Baron Utilinus, Grand Custodian of Sargava (LN male human cleric of Iomedae 10)
General Septimia Arodatus, Grand praetor of Sargava, commander of the Sargavan Guard (N female half-elf fighter 11)
Commander Ezio Egorius, praetor of Eleder (LG male human paladin of lomedae 8)
Lady Madrona Daugustana, matriarch of Eleder (LE female human aristocrat 12)
Briga, owner of the Sargava Club (CG female half-orc barbarian 6)
Marketplace
base Value 5,600 gp; Purchase Limit 37,500 gp; Spellcasting 6th Minor items 4d4; Medium items 3d4; Major items 1d6
City Geography
Eleder is visibly divided, a direct reflection of its varied populace. Architecture and landforms clearly indicate when structures were built and who owns them. The city is comprised ofessentially five distinct districts: Northcoast, Portside, New Haliad, Lower Harbor, and Outerwall, also known as the Zenj Slums. Northcoast, Portside, and New Haliad surround the harbor and are principally settled by colonials of Chelish descent. The Diomar Wall divides these wards from the other two. Lower Harbor rests along the coastjust south ofthe main harbor, naturally separated by the cliff face. It is chiefly populated by working-class fishermen, both colonials and Mwangi. The remaining two-thirds of Eleder’s population live in Outerwall, a sprawling slum outlining the central harbor.
Government and Politics[1]
Eleder suffers from extreme racial and class division, with colonials dominating the far larger Zenj population. The Zenj supply the bulk of the port’s menial labor for paltry weekly wages. Colonial law provides them few if any rights, and is geared toward trade, goods, properties, and the taxation thereof, as based on the charters of Eleder’s founding trading companies. Civil law falls to the responsibility of the Sargavan government. Sargavan law is overly complex, severe, and distinctly Chelish. It is designed with hundreds ofloopholes that favor the upper class, and a good barrister can reduce almost any crime’s punishment to a simple fine.
At the Baron’s Palace in New Haliad, the Grand Custodian’s primary duties involve tending to Sargava’s political affairs. Baron Utilinus maintains a personal court of eight barristers whom he relies upon for legal counsel, while an array of clerks and personal servants handle groundskeeping and more mundane responsibilities. The Grand Custodian serves more as Eleder’s figurehead than as its ruler, and other than enforcing taxes, he exerts little influence upon city politics. Instead, this responsibility falls to the upper classes. The aristocracy operates under a parliamentary high council, whose final decisions are determined by the heads of the most influential and powerful families in Eleder. While these families claim no official title, they hold the majority ofthe city’s wealth; thus theirs is the ability to determine the fate of their city. Council seats are allotted by heredity.
Currently, the Daugustanas are the most powerful of New Haliad’s politicos. The matriarch of the family, Lady Madrona Daugustana, is the oldest living woman in Eleder. Her influence stretches all the way to Baron Utilinus’s palace, and she controls almost a third of all major businesses in the port. Her family’s funds quietly make their way into the hands of many city officials and high-ranking members of Eleder’s military; few places fall outside the sphere of her personal influence. In addition to her extensive political influence, Lady Madrona bears responsibility for upholding the ideals and customs ofher forebears. All activities within Portside and New Haliad, from marriages to business deals, must meet with her approval.
Despite the colony’s 500 years of existence, at heart, most colonials still consider themselves Chelaxians. They believe themselves to be superior in stock and culture to the “ignorant savages” their ancestors encountered upon their arrival. Their prejudice almost exclusively targets the Zenj tribes, which provide the majority of Eleder’s menial labor and tend to be more passive than the Bekyar or Bonuwat. While recent Sargavan law has changed, granting full rights to all citizens, sadly the stranglehold of Eleder’s aristocracy has buried the implementation of this change, rendering Zenj civil rights an easily bypassed formality of state. As a result, life in the hundreds of mud-daub huts beyond the Wall remains one of abject poverty.
Trading Companies[1]
Over the centuries, trading companies have had a profound influence upon Eleder’s development. Many of Eleder’s first settlers worked for trade and shipping companies that came to the new colony seeking to expand their influence and increase their holdings in Garund. By and large, these companies were ofChelish origin, and traveled south in the wake of imperialist expansionism. In the southern continent, trading companies discovered vast, untapped sources of valuable goods—salt, gold, lumber, and slaves. Further, the tropical climate provides a longer growing season and the ability to grow cash crops such as sugarcane, hemp, and a variety of fruits. There are ample plains for raising cattle, while the waters ofDesolation Bay teem with fish and mollusks. In an effort to encourage expansion, the Chelish government drafted the South Arcadian Charter, a codified set of laws granting rights above and often outside the regulations of Chelish law to merchant collectives seeking to do business in Garund. The Chelish government offered them substantial financial subsidizations and military protection. Collectives applied for expensive writs that, when granted, allowed them corporate amnesty under Chelish law. The South Arcadian Charter expedited the process of colonization largely at the expense of the region’s indigenous people. Essentially, all chartered trading companies were granted the right to govern themselves—provided they paid marginal portions of their profits to the Chelish throne.
Operating under the South Arcadian Charter, trading companies soon formed the backbone of a new economy. Not only did they provide Cheliax with new resources, but they also became importers of northern goods such as steel, weapons, tools, books, wheat, and cotton. As these companies became increasingly wealthy, their political influence also grew. In the wake of House Davian’s fall following the Chelish Civil War, then-ruler Baron Grallus appealed to the trade companies for aid. He offered to fully honor all writs under Sargavan law, provided the companies joined Sargava in its secession from Chelish rule.
Currently, a handful of such companies still operate under the original South Arcadian Charter. The two most powerful of these companies are the Nine Forts Collective and Portside Purveying. Both are ruthlessly capitalist; they gear themselves toward the monopoly ofvarious industries and have already bought out most of their competitors.
Nine Forts Collective: Founded by a previously successful merchant’s collective from the Chelish port of Corentyn, this hard-nosed conglomerate holds high stakes in the lumber industry, shipbuilding, and the gold and gemstone trades. However, their primary source of income remains the buying and selling of slaves—many of whom they traffic to Avistan through Eleder, the city of their founders. Their main office is in New Haliad, though their holdings stretch throughout the city. Most scandalously, the Collective purchased the Grallus Lock and converted it into a private slave market.
Portside Purveying: Originally an import/export company, Portside Purveying now specializes in the trade of salt and other spices. For a long time they held a monopoly on Eleder’s salt trade, though recently they have sold off some of their less profitable mines. The bulk of the company’s holdings lie throughout the lower Bandu Hills, and their salt mines employ thousands of day laborers from Outerwall. These individuals make the long trek to the mines where they work for several weeks straight, earning meager wages. Not surprisingly, the company’s headquarters and most of its storage facilities are in Portside.
Eleder at a Glance[1]
Eleder remains Sargava’s capital city for two reasons. First, it is still the country’s only deepwater port. Despite Kalabuto’s growing exports trade, it remains too remote for many importers to reach, especially those seeking safe harbor or repairs for larger vessels. Second, Eleder’s government remains more stable than that of Kalabuto. While it remains racially biased, its leaders maintain more presence. Eleder’s military is capable of policing the city without substantial bribes, and its populace is less subject to the fickle whims of external criminal organizations, like those involved in Kalabuto’s thriving drug trade.
To a lesser extent, trading companies also contribute to Eleder’s continued political value. Provisions within the South Arcadian Charter have permitted them to become incredibly wealthy, and they are more than capable of defending their investments. For this reason, Eleder is perhaps one of the few places where organizations such as the Aspis Consortium hold little power. Sargavan law restricts the actions of such international corporations, while the Sargavan trading companies are moderated only by the rules of their charters.
Despite a sizable aristocracy and steady economy, the Sargavan Barony’s finances remain precarious. When Baron Grallus paid for Eleder’s freedom by enlisting the aid of the Shackles pirates, he forever indebted the city to them. Its coffers frequently run low, forcing the Baron to enact steep taxes, particularly on trade goods, to pay for ongoing protection. This makes him quite unpopular with the upper class. Taxes levied on foreign merchants can be steep, keeping most ofEleder’s food supply dependent on local agriculture. On the other hand, the city’s labor force consists almost entirely of unskilled Zenj, desperately eager to work, even for low wages.
Eleder Harbor: Eleder Harbor is a masterwork of oldstyle Chelish design and engineering. When the colony was first settled, the harbor’s calm, shallow waters were only accessible by small crafts such as oarboats and dories. Larger ocean-faring vessels would moor or anchor in the deeper waters of Desperation Bay. While the bay remained relatively safe from storms and rough waters, these ships quickly became easy prey for pirates and other such maritime scavengers. To protect their investments, wealthy merchants and other influential city folk commissioned the dredging of a new harbor—one able to accommodate the docking requirements of larger ships and safeguard them against attacks.
Jetties at the harbor’s mouth serve as a barricade against hostile ships and control and limit the number of ships entering the port. The jetties run between low watchtowers, which overlook waterways running into and out of the main harbor. Beyond, a curved and sandy shoal divides the harbor into two main sections, separating the Portside docks and the granite piers of New Haliad from the Grallus Locks—a large, dredged channel currently owned by the Nine Forts Collective.
Diomar Wall: Upon the completion ofNew Haliad, then-Baron Cymdon Diomar commissioned the construction of a mighty granite defense wall to protect the fledgling colony from the savage lands beyond. Built from large chunks ofrough-cut granite cemented together with mud-daub, the Diomar Wall stands over 15 feet tall and is easily 5 feet thick. Three well-guarded gates allow passage into the inner city—Militia Gate in Portside, and Baron’s Gate and Grallus Gate in New Haliad. To the colonials, the wall serves as a symbol of triumph, but to the indigenous residents living beyond its shelter, it is a symbol of oppression.
Lower Harbor[1]
The original site ofthe Eleder colony, Lower Harbor stands as one of the city’s few ethnically mixed neighborhoods. Inhabitants include Zenj who emigrated from up the coast, Bonuwat, and Bekyar, as well as more liberal colonial Sargavans and other colonists contemptuous of New Haliad’s genteel gluttony and pomp. Lower Harbor remains home to several of the city’s first and oldest businesses, particularly those involved in the fishing industry or those manufacturing mundane goods that require lots of space and cheap labor. Although outside the Diomar Wall, Lower Harbor remains geographically isolated from the slums by the ivory cliffs, while its beachfront connects to New Haliad via a narrow, rocky path that sneaks around the southernmost jetty. Thus, while the district’s residents tend to be more liberal and working class, prejudice still exists within Lower Harbor in more discreet forms.
Barter Markets: For a few hours each day, Lower Harbor’s beaches and side streets fill with vendors who lay out their goods on blankets and bargain with passersby. The middle and lower classes come to trade their goods to avoid paying taxes on income earned from selling them. Some days there are but a few traders, but on others they arrive by the hundreds. Over the course of a week, almost anything can be found at Barter Markets, and the majority of the city’s black market and illicit goods are peddled here.
Fish Markets: The fishing industry provides Lower Harbor with most of its income. At the far end ofthe beach sits a series oflong docks where fishermen tie off their boats and sell their daily catches. Because fish are so plentiful, competition is steep. As the tides pull in, fishermen race to get their catches to the docks first, where they soon become embroiled in competitive haggling. Latecomers are lucky to unload their day’s catch as bait.
Pearl Markets: Several miles north ofthe city lie miles of rocky shoals filled with oyster beds. For centuries, stalwart Gozreh-worshiping Zenj tribes have held this territory, which they consider sacred. Once a week, tribe members send boats to Lower Harbor to trade pearls for weapons, grain, cloth, and other supplies.
New Haliad[1]
More so than any other district, New Haliad upholds the religious and cultural traditions of Sargava’s Chelish forebears. The church of Aroden, though mostly defunct elsewhere, retains tremendous influence over the lives of the ruling class, compounding their overall beliefin racial superiority and god-given right to sovereignty over the masses. Yet Eleder’s isolation also influences New Haliad society. Northerners describe the city as woefully backward in regard to things like fashion, art, and architecture. Citizens living in New Haliad dress in styles centuries old, and are unfamiliar with contemporary works of Chelish literature and philosophy. In fact, most Chelaxians consider colonials backward and ignorant.
The Adventurers' Club: At one time, the Adventurers’ Club served as a meeting place for thrill-seeking aristocrats to launch covert and often reckless expeditions into the wilds. When news of such a club reached Lady Madrona Daugustana, she became outraged. Spearheading a group of influential aristocrats, she and her associates took it over, transforming it into a social club for New Haliad’s elite. Now under the control of the Lady’s close friend Sirquo (LE male aristocrat 2/bard 1), it has become most famous for hosting decadent “Chelish Masquerades.”
Baron's Palace: Built in 4219 ak, the Baron’s Palace belongs to the city of Eleder and is ceded to whoever currently possesses the title of Grand Custodian. The mansion rests on a huge, 2-acre stretch ofproperty located in the heart ofNew Haliad, near the very center ofthe city. The palace faces the harbor, overlooking both the great stone piers and Lower Harbor. High hedges and lattices isolate the mansion from the rest of the city and from the ever-increasing slums just beyond the Diomar Wall.
Of those marvels located upon the property, the most impressive are the Baronial Gardens, which contain a tremendous, multi-tiered fountain with inset pools teeming with colorfully scaled river fish and blossoming with flowering water-lilies, lotuses, orchids, and other exotic flora. An amateur equestrian, the Baron maintains a sizable horse stable that boasts an impressive collection of exotic, purebred Keleshite stallions. Also within his properties lie the Custodial Granaries, which serve as the emergency food stores for the city. The Custodial Armory houses Utilinus’s personal guards, crack colonial members of the Sargavan Guard, hand-picked for their loyalty and trained in what were once the highest forms of Chelish combat (somewhat outdated now). Secured somewhere beneath the Custodial Armory, Sargava’s dwindling treasury lies secreted away in a great stone vault.
The Colonial Archives: Near the Baron’s Palace stands Eleder’s sole library and seat of learning. The Colonial Archives hold records dating back to the colony’s founding, but the librarians are always eager to acquire more books ofa mundane nature from around the world to add to the library. The Archives house detailed collections of local interest, including maps, exploration and trade charters, ethnographic studies, and even a few volumes of the Pathfinder Chronicles, mostly dealing with exploits within the Mwangi Expanse.
Grallus Lock: Following the successful construction of Eleder’s harbor came failed attempts to create a lock for beaching and servicing large warships. For years, the city held on to the property, using the channel to dock smaller vessels, and for a short time during Baron Grallus’s rule, it served as Eleder’s naval yard. Eventually, the city sold it to pay some of the debt it owed to the Free Captains, and ever since then, its ownership has exchanged hands constantly. At present, the Nine Forts Collective owns the lock, though for how long remains to be seen. Both secure and defensible, the Collective runs their considerable slaving operations out of the lock. They purchase most of their slaves from the Bekyar, who bring them in by boat. From there, slaves are placed onto galleons and shipped to wealthier overseas buyers, mostly in Cheliax.
South Arcadian Whaling Company: Situated on a narrow beach just beyond the harbor jetty, this location is detailed on page 12 of this adventure.
Temple Street: A row of small temples serves as the unofficial border between Portside and New Haliad. Over the years, numerous missionaries from various churches have attempted to save the misguided souls of Chelish devil-worshipers and pagan totemists alike. While most of the temples remain in service, they are wholly reliant on foreign funding. Despite Temple Street’s draw for visitors, most locals consider it a novelty. Only the temple of Aroden has achieved local success, though in recent years it has mostly been absorbed by the church of Iomedae. In addition to offering regular services, it provides training as clerics for Sargavan youth.
Northcoast[1]
Most of Northcoast falls under the martial command of Sargava’s Grand Praetor, General Septimia Arodatus. Under Sargavan law, all Zenj citizens must serve compulsory military service for a minimum of 2 years. The majority of Zenj are born outside the wall, making accurate census counts nearly impossible, and those wishing to dodge military service can do so with relative ease. Most, however, enter the service willingly, in search of skills, education, and a better life. Aside from the spoiled children of the Sargavan aristocracy, many colonials also send their children to Northcoast for martial training. While their training is no less demanding, these conscripts begin their service with the informal title of sub-Praetor, and so hold rank over even seasoned Zenj veterans.
Crown Point: Built as tribute to Westcrown, this lighthouse serves as Eleder’s primary beacon, as well as a strategic observation post where guards keep a lookout for storms, pirates, and other seafaring threats. Over a dozen well-trained Sargavan marines crew the lighthouse, regularly communicating their observations to Praetor’s Block using a complex code of signal flashes.
Praetor's Block: This quarter serves as the training grounds for the Eleder militia. Commander Ezio Egorius holds the title of Praetor, which gives him responsibility for the census and the conscription of the Eleder Militia, as well as charge of the mandatory martial training. Training takes place as early as age 10, and conscripts range in age from puberty to adulthood. Youths, however, rarely perform active duties. After the mandatory training period, conscripts may apply to become career soldiers. While soldiery pays better than menial labor, many Zenj deride these individuals as racial traitors.
OUTERWALL[1]
Enveloping the colonial settlements surrounding Eleder Harbor is nearly a mile of tightly packed, crude, mud-daub huts and dusty, rat-infested streets, known to locals as Outerwall, or the Zenj Slums. While Outerwall’s population dwarfs that of the rest of the city, many of its community members lack even the most basic necessities. Crime, begging, vagrancy, hunger, and disease (malaria in particular) are endemic. Those able to find employment must often walk miles and stay away for weeks, even months, to work long hours in the salt and gold mines of wealthy Sargavans, or earn even lower wages breaking their backs in the pineapple fields. Those lucky enough to learn a trade may attempt to ply it in Lower Harbor or can apply to serve in the city militia as career soldiers.
Freeman's Brotherhood: Composed of notorious insurrectionists, the Freeman’s Brotherhood works throughout Outerwall distributing funds and food where they are needed. Within the district, its members enjoy the status offolk heroes and are highly recognizable to the general populace, though none would ever reveal their identities to those outside the Slums. The Brotherhood maintains no specific location, but instead moves throughout the district, relying on the efforts of community members to provide them with shelter and meeting places.
Pineapple Fields: Along the outskirts of Outerwall lie miles of pineapple fields. Originally planted by early colonists as a food source, trading companies soon sought to cultivate pineapples for export. The largest of these was Serepitous Exports, which at one time owned several large plantations. After blight destroyed the industry, Serepitous Exports sold the majority of its holdings to the Sargavan government. Currently, the government leases fields to both for-profit sharecroppers and Zenj subsistence farmers.
PORTSIDE[1]
Portside serves as the lifeblood ofEleder’s economy, housing most of the city’s merchant and middle classes. While not as urbane as New Haliad, its property-owning population consists entirely of colonials, largely of Chelish descent. In addition to residential homes, the harbor front is dotted with warehouses, shipyards, storefronts, and trading company offices.
Jewel Markets: Portside’s jewel markets rank among the finest in Garund. Occupying more than two blocks, shops specialize in appraisal, cutting, specific gemstones, and jewelry making. The jewel markets are heavily policed by both the city militia and guards hired by shop owners and their trading company financiers. While Sargavan law regarding theft is strict, charter law for jewel theft carries far harsher penalties, ranging from removal of digits to execution. Would-be thieves are well advised to educate themselves on their marks before attempting anything as foolish as pilfering gems in the jewel markets.
The Sargava Club: Set back from the Portside docks in a narrow alley facing the harbor is a two-story mud-brick building covered in plain whitewash. Upon its front door hangs a carved wooden sign that reads “The Sargava Club.” The bottom floor is split between a shop and a tavern, while the top floor serves as an inn. The Sargava Club is owned by a feisty and outspoken half-orc named Briga (CG female half-orc barbarian 6).
Originally a sellsword from the Varisian highlands, she came south as part of an expedition to explore the southern jungles. Subsequently, she fell in love with the region, purchased an old warehouse in Portside, and set up shop. Since opening, she has faced her share of discrimination, not the least of which has come from Lady Madrona Daugustana. The matriarch of Eleder has levied both fines and threats against her, but Briga remains unyielding in the face of her prejudice. The Sargava Club is one ofthe few places inside the wall where prejudice is not tolerated, and Briga demands that all who enter her establishment treat each other as equals.
The bulk of the ground floor is dedicated to a small but well-stocked pawnshop specializing in adventuring equipment, information, maps, and magical items. Those serious about launching expeditions may also use the club to contact and hire native guides. A modest tavern occupies the remainder of the ground floor. It serves reasonably priced local fare—mostly fish—along with beer and a sickly sweet but potent Zenj liquor distilled from pineapple and sugarcane called mupute.
Shipyards: Eleder is home to some ofthe finest shipbuilders on all Golarion. With an ample supply of cheap lumber from the nearbyjungles and a steady demand for large ships, Eleder has long attracted master-shipbuilders from around the world. Those who complete apprenticeships in Eleder can open shipyards anywhere. Quality woodworking tools are in constant demand, as are supplemental industries such as rope making, sail making, and machining, particularly block and tackle production. These industries place high demand on imports of steel, cotton, and hemp.
Smelting House: The majority of Eleder’s minerals come from the nearby Bandu Hills, but ore is chiefly processed in Portside. Almost as well guarded as the jewel markets, the sooty brick Smelting House occupies part ofa row known as Smelter’s Block. Daruk Bludwedge (LN male human expert 4/fighter 2) owns and operates the Smelting House with a crew of several dozen local Zenj. Within the house, Zenj laborers churn out unmarked coins, bars, and ingots for export to buyers around the world. Daruk ensures his workers receive skilled training and fair wages, in part to embitter the city’s aristocracy. Over the years, Daruk has become quite wealthy from brokering deals with various mining companies and now holds a monopoly over Eleder’s smelting industry.