The Market

The Old Everglow Market, or simply, The Market is the central hub for all illicit goods and services for the entire Aradian continent, run by an enigmatic leader that nobody knows the identity of, simply called The Boss by their staff of loyal underworld managers. If you want anything beyond a two bit operations in your little slice of paradise, you set up in The Market. From the smallest time counterfeiters and fences, to the biggest names in crime, all congregate in this enclosed fortress that lies in the depths of Old Everglow. There are no rules to be followed, no Blackjackets will pester you as they're also there for a good time, and nobody who will care if you die or worse here, the only thing that matters is coin and favors.
Blackjackets are well paid to leave the area well enough alone in an official capacity, as if they needed an excuse not to patrol more of Old Everglow. The Market is open to all, at all hours one can come through and find themselves a spot in the ever beating heart. Weapons are highly discouraged, as that can give people the wrong idea, but still nobody is actively going to try and take them away. The implied consequences are that if you're seen with it out and ready to use it, the gangs will know who the fuck to shoot first. Gangs are responsible for their own protection outfits, and you can expect to see their own brand of security forces.
The Market has been around since the death of Queen Talia, with roots going as far back as the Pirate War in its foundations, though it only flourished after King Gordon's death and the chaos in the wake of the Revolution. The whole of The Market is constantly coated in an exceedingly thick ankle high miasma of filth, wretchings, dense smog, and damp fog, it is inescapable unless you can manage to stand at a higher elevation, and even then the rest of the air isn't much better, due to the pollution of the city everything's vaguely tinged sickly yellow green here. While the gates are opening it rolls out like a monstrous entity as if it were the tide of the Sorrows, however those in the best areas of the Market tend to position themselves above the general smog and seem to breath a lot more like the middle class of the city as a show of dominance and wealth that their buildings can stand so much higher than the common rabble they rely on in the first place.
== The Bazaar and Wall Shops ==
=== The Bazaar ===
A wide open area, or at least it would be if not stuffed with every stall merchant and blanket sitter that could cram themselves into a position to hawk wares and services. The Bazaar is the central pull of The Market as a whole, where the lowest rated and poorest sellers, traders, and criminals are operating out of stalls, on blankets, and patrolling around trying to make deals at all hours. The Bazaar is thick and crowded at all hours but there is an unspoken rule, transactions can't happen if people are getting in the way, so you make sure to keep out of the way of the foot traffic.
You can buy and sell anything here, but generally these central sellers are one or two man operations, shabby fences, stolen produce, trinkets and baubles, services and trades. They are not the best, frankly they're some of the worst, and you might even be better trying your luck legitimately anywhere else, but they're a reflection of just what this world truly is, and there will always be someone vying to take a spot up and see if they can make themselves rich.
=== Wall Shops ===
Those who operate wall shops are typically long standing members of the black market who have gone a long way to secure their positions, either as individuals, or small groups of like minded souls. These shops are still using ancient bricks harvested from the days of Everglow, quite a few are cooks and tradesmen plying crafts, no different than on the outside, except here they service a different clientele. There's a pleasure shack or two sitting along the stretch if you don't mind bedding a worn out whore rather than getting wrung out for every coin at the brothels. There's better marked fences, small timer thieves, and thugs looking for work and trying to make a name out from the crowds.
At the Walls you can enjoy a nice sloppy bowl of overcooked noodles and rat meat, get your shoes cobbled by a half blind dwarf, and get your rocks off with a forty year old tramp all in one stretch for a reasonable price compared to the 'reputable' services elsewhere in the Market. While that might sound insane, these places are generally packed in at all hours same as the Bazaar because people need services, they want food, they want to go somewhere and do something. The Walls supply them all that they need and a place to drop off their coin in exchange for a fleeting feeling of something.
== Main Street ==
Next you have Main Street, a slice of front facing buildings at the other end of the Bazaar that house the main facilities the Market was original founded on: a brothel, a bar, a gambler's den, an inn, a drug den, and a bank. These are some of the largest buildings in the whole area, and are multiple stories each. They form a solid backboard the separates the main beating heart, from the outer border that are home to larger organizations and Vas Comorah, the largest and most politically ingrained crime family on Terros. This area is always bustling with people and trade, and is the only place in the Market where one will never be able to set up shop, as the people who own and operate this slice of demented heaven are all cadres to the Market Boss. They're the criminal family that holds the keys to this place, and if ever they should feel that you're not welcome, that's your cue to leave before you wind up with a bullet in your brain. This area is protected by the market's own security forces, the Snow Wolves, a fairly heavily armed mercenary outfit that's loyal to the cash that the big boss shells out for their continued cooperation. 
=== Town Hall ===
The central building and the highest of the assemblage, it is where a lot of record keeping goes on, that is to say, there are legitimate clerks and special observers who are cataloging who is in what stall, in what building, who's encroaching on whose turf. This isn't to be helpful to anyone but the cadres, and is thus all calculated behind the closed doors of the Town Hall, sometimes information is used to forcibly remove certain players from the Market to ensure the natural stability of this chaotic sham continues to function, but generally it's notations for leverage purposes and who can be extorted for what, and when. There is no way anyone not affiliated with the cadres can enter, not unless they want to catch bullets from some Snow Wolves. It is purported that the enigmatic Boss of the Market lives on the top floor in luxury snubbing their nose at everyone beneath them. The Maintainer also calls this location home, and can be generally seen outside of it, patrolling around and making sure that things are operating as they should be. 
=== Drow Steel Bank ===
A money laundering service that sits on the left of Town Hall, run by a former noble executive that helped to run the Maiden's Shield Trust during the Great Houses era. This bank goes through tens of thousands of dirty plats per day and ensures that no matter what, everyone's piece of the pie can be eaten. Granted, they take a gnarly cut for 'administration' fees, but many small timers who can't afford their own operation or who otherwise are too scared to trust others in the area, turn to the security of Drow Steel. While somewhat intimidating on the face of it, they have a proven track record of not shitting where they eat, so they are the gold standard for illicit fund transfer. They are also hands down the most expensive supplier based on how secure they are in their reputation. 
It does a bank no good if the people believe them incapable of protecting assets, or to believe them to be thieves, so the bank is known to employ certain odd measures to make sure that every last platinum bill is accounted for and every coin, down to the last nooner, is where its meant to be. Those caught attempting to embezzle suffer a very public and very drawn out execution by the old ways of the drow methology to serve as a warning to all employees. You don't touch the customer's money. 
=== Demon's Moon Inn ===
Situated next to the Drow Steel Bank is a rather famous inn, despite the outside being stained puke bile by the air outside over the course of decades, the inside is no different than what uptown merchants get to stay in. It's rather upscale for anything that the poor folks of Old Everglow and the industrial district are used to, there's tables with cushioned seats, tablecloths, there's art on the wall and a big hearth, fine looking maidens and a welcoming atmosphere. Staying in one of it's several rooms is a piece of luxury, they even have wash basins and thick wool blankets. the cost is quite a chunk of salary but it seems to be all inclusive, you get dinner and a bed for the night and there's always some kind of entertainment going on. all overseen by a rather mysterious innkeeper who keeps tabs on everyone who comes in. the food served is leagues above anything one can find short of managing to get into one of those fancy restaurants the middle class and the elites can eat at. 
=== The Wyvern's Eye ===
Greed is a powerful entity, and this gambler's den is one of the most popular in all of New Bastion City, there's sports betting on how the Sportsball match will go, there's an underground pit fighting scene, orc wrestling, syker (poker), twenty-one (blackjack), spinners (roulette), dice, shells, knife games, there's so much to bet and gamble away on at every corner which is why the Wyvern's Eye is so much bigger than most of the other main street buildings. The place is always so flush with people it can be hard to find a spot at any given game, there's always someone losing, sometimes someone is winning, and typically at least one person is having a meltdown. The Dealer knows his trade and knows this is how to ensure the operation is always on the right foot, the Wyvern's Eye makes the Main Street an absurd level of profits.
The layout is barebones and no frills, wooden tables everywhere for games to be played, games separated by room, and security keeping a close eye on everything going on. The whole place nearly rattles with the amount of commotion going on at all times of the day and night.
=== The Maw ===
Drug den that sits at the right of Town Hall, it is notorious for how utterly addictive their offerings are, but nobody knows where the supplier keeps his stash or what he cuts it with to give it that tantalizingly strong kick they can't seem to find elsewhere. They don't even know how he gets his drugs inside without anyone being able to ever spot a shipment, but the den is always fully stocked with opium, redfist, muze, deathroot, and other narcotics, but they all have some certain tweaks and shifts to them that make they stronger or longer or something else that keeps addicts hooked. whatever it is, the den is always packed tight and full, with plenty of lounging space being boggarted by tougher addicts who managed to fight their way into a space to zone out for twelve hours. The rest of the space is cushioned with filthy pillows and rugs as there's always the disgusting wretches from outside willing to roll about in them in the ecstasy of their highs. The place is even hazier than the outside, near blinding with smoke and incense. Entering the building there's a foyer that houses a small counter with a young woman behind ready to deal anything the client desires, then to either side are great gateways into the smoggy chambers for one to fall into a stoned stupor for hours. There's no glamour, no veneer to even try to act, it is barren and smells of what it is, a disgusting gaping maw of narcotics and escape.
=== Ebony Rose Brothel ===
To the right of the Maw is another sinkhole of a different breed of pleasure, one where an appetite can be whetted by the most succulent fruits, and where a patron's wallet is wrung dry by the denizens within. The Ebony Rose prides itself on top of the line whores, of all races and creeds, for any taste or perversion, minus any creep wanting someone under the age of their eighteenth year, even whores have morals. From Wrow to Drow, Dwarf to Midori, Behs to Birhor, even Orc to Kyn there's a flavor for all patrons, and most of them are willing to cross the racial boundaries that may otherwise pose issues in more polite society. Run by a stern and strict Madam, the girls are put through the utmost of hygiene, perfuming, and high caliber clothing to be worth every last plat they can drag out of their clientele. This place could bankrupt a noble, that is if their member didn't fall off midway through from the marathon of lovemaking, the whole place stinks of (insert mystical aphrodisiac) and it is kept dim by the candlelight to ensure the utmost of seduction. 
Women are not exempt from the canal pleasures of the den, and are just as free to have every last bit of their vitality and their purses eaten up by the succubi that reside within this startlingly enticing hall of unlimited desire. The price may be steep, but within this chest are prizes well worth the cost of entry, and many a fool has had all his riches siphoned off in return for unforgettable evenings under silken sheets.
=== The Frothy Tit Tavern ===
Lastly in the opposing corner to The Wyvern's Eye, is the Frothy Tit, one of the oldest taverns in all of Everglow, having been established back during the 400's and remaining in the same family for generations. It is said that it was what began the whole idea for The Market, as the Oldway Thorns, the gang who owns and operates this black dealing trade center, were all at one time its patrons. Beyond that, it is possibly the only thing on Main Street that doesn't try to milk you for all that you're worth, it's a cozy place, but it's also a large place. Just like the Wyvern's Eye, this place is a large ending structure at the end of the strip, and it makes full use of every inch of space it gets. Typically, it's packed with every person under the sun, from blackjackets off duty, to ganglords, to hookers, to some of the minor nobility and merchants who ventured down for the afternoon. What were once upstairs rooms were converted into another floor of the bar, allowing more patrons and more drink to flow.
Mead, ale, liquor, and wine, it all flows so freely through the tavern you'd wonder where the fuck they keep it all, to be sure it's a constant battle to keep the place stocked with how many come to relish in the space. However, somehow the barkeep finds a way, and keeps everyone satiated with lusty bar wenches and free flowing booze. If you want to meet someone of importance, you can typically find them here.
== Town Square ==
The Town Square is a rather large raised platform that separates the elevated Main Street, and the lower sitting Bazaar, this platform has a podium, fencing along the front, and a centralized gallows sitting to the rear. This spot is to be loaned out to any gang, organization, or persons who wishes to share an announcement, execute a prisoner, or simply put on some kind of a spectacle at any given time. From time to time, The Maintainer may come through and use the space to announce changes going on in The Market, there may be public shows of alliance between gangs that take place on stage, or thee might just be general jackassery being displayed for the pleasures of everyone looking on.
Generally if any big event is about to happen, it's marketed in advance to ensure that people are paying attention, such as high profile executions, or special gang alliances. The stage is guarded by the Snow Wolves, whose only job is to make sure that the unauthorized use of the Square is prohibited with a show of force if necessary.
== Corner Shops ==
Considered the middle class as it were, Corner Shops are where lesser known organized groups or those that associate with them will station, actual buildings means there's less overall real estate so you have to put down not only real amounts of money but you also have to have enough clout to win a bid whenever a vacancy arrives, some of the buildings are tiered to allow each gang to run out of a singular floor and are actually respectably modern despite the area, having been built during the Pirate War as tenements. 
== The East and West Districts ==
The Districts are where things go form open air market and a sense of chaos into the orderly maintenance of the criminal underworld, even the Corner Shops tend to only straddle the line, but to the East and West marks a significant change in operational capacity for the Market and those within its confines. This is where real gangs set themselves up and operate, generally in a regional office situation, but that's a testament to how robust the criminal outfits actually are that this is merely an outpost to them. Part of this is due to the Vas Comorah being so intertwined with New Bastion City that any other group that tries to gain too much of a foothold will find themselves in an untenable war with the dwarves. However, a different, yet equally important pillar of logic, is that the gangs operate through Terros, and need to keep their resources strategically placed to world wherever they need to, and to provide a counterweight to the expansive nature of the central syndicate in charge as nobody wants a repeat of the Great Houses Era where all crime became so centralized it crumbled when it came under siege.
The gangs are divided by the fact that the districts are forced to sit to either side of the Bazaar, and buffered further by the fact both abut Vas Comorah's commanding presence to their backs, this tends to keep things relatively balances as nobody can make a play for any real reason without opening themselves up to danger and without a good incentive to try something. There isn't enough territory to gain critical control and so it becomes a losing equation, which is exactly what the creator wanted to happen, a constant status quo nobody could break from to ensure that the sole purpose was to keep making money.
=== Eastern District ===
==== The Revolutionaries ====
A formerly insurrectionist movement founded by Sir Garin Dul-Sansiska in 1000AE as an answer to the unchecked powers of the nobility, though ultimately fruitless and only serving to get the former pirate into even more trouble, it would remodel itself in the wake of the Blackthorne Monarchy's rise. Hired as mercenary forces during the Aradian Civil War they chose their lot with the Queen due to the other option being a return to old form. For this they became forever known as another brand of mercenary, though they offered their services cheaply and usually only to 'noble' causes that excited the fires of liberation and freedoms.
In the modern day they continue this tradition, and usually work in crushing certain gangs, killing bandits and highwaymen, and overall acting as a quiet vigilante force for the less served members of the commons. So why are they housed in The Market? Because anyone can hire them to take down a rival, break an upcoming syndicate, or flush out some bandits so the client can take the plunder, they'll happily even slay knights and nobles because they see the old hierarchies as destructive and arrogant in the first place. Their only morals are ensuring 'liberation' for the commons, they couldn't give a shit about their fellow criminals and will work to beat, kill, and capture anyone who is the ire of another with more bills.
Garin has not led the Revolutionaries for a very long time, but he still hires them for work that he wants out of them, and tends to keep his nose out of their affairs. They're currently under contract to find and interrogate so called Divanists and report back any information or captures, yet they fail to actively hold their captures long enough, as other mercenaries force them off of their prize each time.
==== The United Pirates Guild ====
In the wake of the destruction of the Requiem Pirates and the great armada that launched the Pirate War in the mid 1040's, splinter groups, fragmented privateers, and lost souls scattered tot he four winds in sheer terror that the monarchy would pursue them. It was not so, when Requiem died, so did the wind in the sails of any would be pirate hunter, and for good reason, without a unifying faction to rally behind, they were now merely bandits among the Sorrows. Their greatest base, Nagari, was now and forever under dominion and every other captured land they had called home had been retaken through blood and steel.
So many just gave up, and hid away, but others rallied, found new homes and new coasts to rally around, and made connections, while most have either been relegated to extremely minor excursions and preying on weak points in the trading routes across the Sorrows, there are some who have made a lot of money in the collapse of the Monarchy to start offering up services yet again. Enter the United Pirates Guild, a group of ten crews who raid, skirmish, plunder, and pillage before coming back to sell their ill gotten gains, they work for coin and medicine, and will attack whoever you want them to if they can keep the spills. Their unified presence ensures that clientele can't backstab them, united by contracts and at will standing, each man or woman is afforded their share and can eave at any time without forfeiting their goods.
Highly democratic for a bunch of lowlife sea bandits...
=== Western District ===
==== The Brokerage ====
Founded by the enigmatic Axel, though through intermediaries, as he does not like the be witnessed due to the fact her is simply a demon wearing the flesh of an unfortunate hybrid elf. Zar'Taka, a once legendary general of Vermithrax reduced to a living sword and now persisting in the mortal realm as a mere criminal. He's quite the broker, he has fingers in every pie and fears no man or entity, his enforcers are always ready to collect on debts and his employees can ensure that you can get anything. The Brokerage is a simple affair on the surface with many moving parts underneath, all run by Axel and his closest cohorts. In the most basic way he is a dealer for other criminals. If you need drugs, bullets, weapons, people, animals, anything that you need sold off to the masses, he'll typically act as the middleman between smugglers and heavy suppliers, and the more modest outfits and lesser gangs who need them but don't have connections.
Need loans? He's got them, he's got access to plenty of capital and is more than happy to front new criminal enterprises the cash if they're willing to fulfill contractual obligations. Axel is the undisputed middleman of suppliers and end retailers, while there are plenty who will deal in their own circles, the Brokerage is open to anyone about anything for any reason. Axel even ells his own stock of wares, chemical weapons, slaves, magical artifacts, and deadly hardcore drug combinations are all accessible if one has cash or willing to make a deal. The Brokerage is one of few entities unafraid of Vas Comorah because they trust their boss is strong enough. For Axel's part, he communicates with the dwarves and asks for permission before he makes moves or shifts into new territories. Unlike his supporters, he's more concerned with making money that acting as some proud jackass swinging his dick about.
It is unknown what the end goal for the monster is, but it's clear he has been trying very hard not to let his true identity be seen or sensed by the drow for a lot of years. Clearly he's up to something, but what that is, will just have to be cleared up as time moves forward.
==== Thieves Guild ====
Gray Fox an shit
== The Vas Comorah District ==
This is a placeholder for IP to write whatever he wants the Vas Comorah district to look like
Category:Location