Amrût

## Geography

Amrût lies on the border of Aidanse and Goudîle, along the river Énrualdarquë. The river flows through deep channels along the city's southern and eastern walls. The sheer cliffs of the ravine the river flows through make crossing from Aidanse to Goudîle - or vice versa - almost impossible for dozens of miles around Amrût.

## Description of Appearance

### Old City

The southern end of the old city is a ghetto in Amrût. The buildings are old and unsafe, being mostly made of old wood. The inhabitants of the Old City are the poor, usually escaped slaves, and farmers whose land was rendered unusable in the wars between Aidanse, Goudîle, and Denoria.

All entrances to the city are to the New City, the one bridge to the Old City was destroyed during the Goudîle Skirmishes. There are three gates from the New City to the Old; the North, Middle, and South gates

## Politics

Amrût is run by The Tribunal. The three members of this tribunal are the Amrûti Adventurer’s guild Chapterhouse Steward, The Head of the Merchants guild in Amrût, and the Mayor. The Mayor is considered ‘the voice of the people’, the Master Merchant ‘the voice of economy’, and the House Steward ‘the mediary’ someone between the other two.

The Mayor is voted into power by the registered residents of Amrût. Further, the Mayor must be a half-elf – to prevent nepotism – and a vote for new mayor is held every six years. Due to the culture it is extremely likely that a female be elected, many people believe, falsely, that a male cannot be mayor since so few have been nominated.

The House steward is the highest ranking member of the Adventurer’s Guild Chapter house. They are chosen by existing House Stewards of other houses based on the good deeds that member performed on behalf of the Guild. A new steward is chosen when the previous retires, is deceased, or is decided by their peers to be unfit. Further, all House Stewards are female.

The Master Merchant is often the head of the Merchant's Guild in Amrût, though this is not strictly the case. The exact process of choosing a new Master Merchant is not known to the public, though many citizens believe the position can be bought.

## History

The city was originally a small trading outpost and grew over time into a large town. In 876 AR the powers in the town, a group of dwarven merchants, commissioned a wall to be built around it. At this time the name changed to Amrût, meaning *stronghold* or *safe-place* in dwarven. The inital wall - which now surrounds the old city - was completed in 879 AR. The northern section of the Old city was mostly built at the time of the wall building, and the Cathedral completed shortly after, also in 879 AR.

In 880 AR a war between Aidanse, Goudîle, and Dénoria began. Because of this, many displaced farmers and village-folk moved into Amrût occupying the southern section of the city; they haphazardly built many small wooden shacks. The southern end of the Old City is still a slum/ghetto.

In 880 AR Amrût became an autonomous city state. When it became autonomous it marked the triple point of Aidanse, Goudîle, and Dénoria – since this time Aidanse has annexed much of Dénoria. Amrût is on the border of Aidanse and Goudîle, but is subject to neither.

The old South Bridge was demolished in 882 AR - and the Old South Gate closed and bricked over - when the city was under attack by Aidanse forces from the south. It is worth noting that the city was never besieged by Goudîle, and that Dénoria never had the chance, being quickly subdued by Aidanse.

In early 884 AR the outer wall began construction and was finished in 889 AR. Much of what is now called the New City was built when this new wall began construction. Also in 889 AR two gates were created connecting the New City with the Old City. The North Gate (which also connects the New and Old Cities) was originally the northern exit of the city.

The new South Bridge was completed after the new walls in late 889R.

The Tribunal was officially established in 899 AR though the Adventurers' Guild, Merchants' Guild, and Mayor had been working together for over a decade.