Skyport

Skyport was a small spaceport in Pirtelspace in orbit of the planet Archin, built as a base by the crystal sphere's discover, the explorer-mage Anthonius Pirtel.
==Location==
Skyport was situated on the terraced surface of a gray stone disk, in diameter, that floated perpendicular to the surface of Archin. It floated no more than a few hundred miles over the surface of the planet, locked in orbit above the Quarinaron Archipelago, by means of a powerful artifact left behind by Pirtel.
==Description==
The small town was rounded by a turreted wall and had 17 stone wharves. that extended radially outward from the disk's rim. Each wharf bore the moniker of "Berth", followed by a numerical designation. Unbenknownst to most Skyporters, the interior of its disk was somewhat hollowed by Pirtel into four dungeon levels that housed powerful demi-artifacts he left behind. In addition to maintaining Skyport's orbit, these demi-artifacts recycled waste from the port's gardens into compost, created drinking water, and provided aid for Skyport's inhabitants.
The wharves and the roads of the outer docks were separated from inner Skyport by a high wall, punctuated by six enormous gate towers measuring in diameter and standing tall.
Each of these gate towers had three levels to them. The first floor was a gate room with three entrances giving admittance to the outer docks and inner city. The second floor hosted the armory and guard room, giving access to the wall walks and winches that controlled the gates. The floor was a barracks hall large enough to accommodate 300 people. By the 14 century DR, the three southern towers were the only ones in operation, with the northern ones left deserted and their gates firmly locked and bolted shut.
The residential portion of Skyport was separated into two concentric terraces, referred to by residents as Downtown and Uptown. These terraces were apart and connected by a set of long curved steps. The gates opened up into the wedge-shaped plaza that was Downtown and its sole circumferential avenue, Key Street. It boasted hundreds of warehouses and gray stone buildings.
Uptown was host to a great deal of beautiful, stately mansions. Its sole circumferential avenue, Crown Street, afforded a wide ranging view of most of Skyport's buildings. A single tower with spiral stairway stood in the north and south side of Uptown, affording a still higher view of the surroundings.
==Government==
The Skyport government was headed by Grandmaster Azure, the only individual to hold the title in Skyport's long history. His duties included maintaining the Pirtel demi-artifacts, including a sphere of annihilation that was kept locked within a small warded chest. The government was tied to merchants from the Quarinaron Confederacy on Archin, having been established by them.
Its docks were overseen by the elderly Perrigin. The military branch of the government was headed by Admiral Gerard Antarra. All warehouses were operated by Ronald Telbar, a former captain in the Skyport militia. Grandmaster doesn't tolerate rogues.
Charged a daily, monthly, and yearly dockings fees that could be paid in advance. A daily fee was worth 5 gold pieces, a monthly fee was worth a 100 gp, and a yearly fee was worth 1000 gp. All of these fees were set by Grandmaster Azure.
==Trade==
Skyport saw a regular trade route procession of space galleons back and forth from it and the planet Archin below, doing a great deal of business with Quarinaron merchants.
The dock workers of Skyport's dry docks, whose skills had been passed down through generations, were excellently skilled at repairing space galleons. However, they were inexperienced when it came to repairing any other type of spelljammer.
The dry dock facilities of Skyport sold custom non-magical engines for 750 gold pieces per , which could power a spelljammer at , as well as standard non-magical engines for flitters and escape pods at 7,500 gp. The latter could power up to a 10-ton craft at , a 30-ton craft at , or an even larger vessel at .As per Concordance of Arcane Space p.25, the size of spelljammers was typically measured as their "tonnage", which reflected the volume occupied by a ship in spatial tons and was different from the typical tonnage of seafaring ships. One spatial ton was equivalent to a volume of . This meant a 10-ton craft would be and a 30-ton craft would be .
After the terror of Blacklight came to an end, the docks of Skyport started selling spelljammer helms as well as derelict ships. They sold major for 70,000 gp and minor helms for 35,000 gp.
==Defenses==
Skyport boasted a well trained and organized militia, with ranks that included such titles as Lieutenant, Sergeant, and Captain. The equipment of the militia composed of halberds, heavy crossbows, longswords, and shields. Standard soldiers were outfitted with chainmail, while Lieutenants and Sergeants wore plate mail.
It once boasted a powerful navy with many warships, but the vast majority of it was destroyed by the radiant dragon Blacklight. All that remained of the navy was Archin's Avenger, an ancient hammership, that was kept stored in a secret harbor in anticipation of a day when Skyport's very existence would be threatened.
A minimum of ten soldiers and a sergeant operated the southern gate towers. In times of attack, the tops of the gate towers were outfitted with two medium ballistae and a catapult. Additionally, each warehouse was guarded at any time by around 1 to 6 guards with guard dogs. Warehouses storing particularly valuable items were bolstered by additional defenses, such as invisible stalkers, fire traps, and wizard locks.
The central administrative building of Skyport was outfitted with a garrison of 150 soldiers, 15 Sergeants, and 3 Lieutenants, as well as 4 stone golems and 2 iron golems.
===Law & Order===
Uptown and Downtown had their own Watches. The Downtown Watch consisted of 20 soldiers, 2 Sergeants, and a Lieutenant. The Uptown Watch consisted of 30 soldiers, 3 Sergeants, a Lieutenant, a wizard, and several guard dogs. They frequently made the rounds of Crown Street, guarding any of the mansions that were left unoccupied by the Quarinaron merchants. They dealt out severe penalties, making crime in Uptown an unappealing effort to Skyport's criminal elements. The mildest penalty for being caught attempting theft in Uptown was a month in the dungeons and a cheek branding.
==History==
Over the few decades following its construction, Skyport blossomed into a bustling trade center that attracted many mercane. At some point Anthonius Pirtel left to explore the sun and inner asteroid field of Pirtelspace and never returned. Years would pass in his absence, during which the mercane on Skyport would profit heavily from trade with Archin's sea elves.
Sometime after Pirtel's mysterious disappearance, merchants from the Quarinaron Confederacy took over Skyport and installed Azure as its new leader. Roughly three hundred years later, the radiant dragon Blacklight attacked Skyport, destroying the vast majority of its navy. The dragon would not attack the town again, fearful of Pirtel's sphere of annihilation, though its damage would be long lasting. Trade between Skyport and the other crystal spheres in the Arcane Inner Flow would be severed for the next 200 years.
200 years later, circa 1367 DR, Blacklight started terrorizing ships in Pirtelspace again. Skyport largely went unscathed, though its trade suffered, leaving most of the warehouses in the northern section of Downtown and 18 of Uptown's stately mansions deserted. In the decade prior, warehouses in Downtown were being increasingly burglarized, causing the Downtown Watch to establish an active patrol.
A group of adventurers from Realmspace came to Skyport around that time in search of Blacklight. By that time the town had gone decades without being attacked, Quarinaron merchants were stockpiling all manner of merchandise in Skyport's warehouses to eventually sell to the distant regions of Archin. Having longed to slay the dragon himself, but constrained by his obligations to the Quarinaron merchants, Azure encouraged them to slay Blacklight. Unable to spare any spelljaming helms to them, he provided them a bevy of potions, even offering six potions of longevity in return for one of the dragon's teeth, and what he knew of the nearby ruins of Darkwatch. When the adventurers later returned to Skyport from their conflict with Blacklight they were hailed as heroes and Azure attempted to convince them to settle in the spaceport, proclaiming that it was "soon-to-be-revitalized" now that the radiant dragon had been slain.
==Notable Locations==
* Arrival Pad: A while marble pavilion in the southeastern corner of Downtown's plaza that was set up by Anthonius Pirtel to enable greater ease of access to Skyport through teleportation.
* Black Manta: the town's sole tavern and ale-house, which had been converted from a warehouse.
* Contractor: A large warehouse containing all manner of magical items that were common in wildspace.
* Pedrarcho estate: One of the mansions on Crown Street.
* Skyport Dry Dock: One of the 17 stone wharves of Skyport was converted into a dry dock and ship repair facility that was subsidized by merchants from the Quarinaron Confederacy.
* The Spur: The center of Skyport's administrative bureaucracy and military, which connected to four dungeon levels within the interior of Skyport's disk. It was a featureless tower, devoid of any noticeable windows, that rose from the hub of the disk.
* Terrace of Tranquility: A major park situated outside of the Spur and Skyport's only noteworthy tourist attraction.
* Skyport was also host to a number of fine restaurants.
==Inhabitants==
Skyport's population was made up of almost entirely humans, the majority of which inhabited Downtown. Quarinaron merchants made up much of the population of Uptown. These merchants typically traveled with a full retinue of servants, meaning they left no staff behind whenever they traveled down to Archin.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Human locations
Category:Settlements
Category:Small towns
Category:Spelljamming ports
Category:Imports food and drink
Category:Locations in Pirtelspace
Category:Year of Metropolises