Stilben

The largest tavern within Stilben, the Sunset Stride is where many of the blue-collar grunts of the local trades come to unwind.  Music and laughter permeate the warmly-lit interior, and a large job-board looms over the far wall.  The tavern's barkeep is Father Moordek Vart.

**Stilben** is a swamp port town in the kingdom of Tal'Dorei, nestled in the Lucidian coast at the southern end of the K'tawl Swamp. The small city stinks to high heaven so is also known as the "Rotted Lot" by the countless sailors and merchants who pass through it. Stilben is the largest port city on this coast of Gwessar, and is a focal point of all imports and exports to the East. It was in Stilben where Vox Machina first met.

## History

### Founding

As the Tal'Dorei Empire rose up to power after the war against the Drassigs society, began to develop and thus trade began to blossom. Overtime trade spread to overseas and the east coast of Gwessar became a centre for this trade with the Silvercut Crossroads connecting it to all other major settlements such as Emon in the west, Kraghammer in the north and Syngorn in the south. Stilben started as a shady town with no more than a thousand inhabitants but due to the spike in trading activity, quickly grew to the city known by many, despite the horrendous surrounding area.

The Empire continued to grow and build upon itself as did Stilben. The small town developed a thriving business class that stood in the centre of the city while the poorer inhabitants were pushed into the outer regions of marsh. Travellers and merchants set up their lives in the expanding city and made it the true centre of eastern trade of Tal'Dorei

### Vox Machina Origins

As fates intertwined the future members of the adventuring group Vox Machina each individually or in their respective groups aided an individual. This individual had conspired that more was involved in the current situation in Stilben, where inhabitants of the town believed the surrounding bog was cursed.

After solving the mystery of the curse they all maintained their previously divided state, only to gather together as a band of mercenaries in search of work. They found a job board posting that took them to Fendril Vas, an elven merchant within the town. He hired them to investigate a group called "the Myriad" that had been competing with his business. The job led them to a chamber containing a planar rift which pulled the group into the realm of Crysa-Thul, a stillborn god. The contract had been a ruse to feed the party to this god. They managed to slay the creature and return to Stilben, where they killed Fendril Vas in retribution.

### The Rise of the Myriad

After many years of misdirection, discrediting, blackmailing, and other overt violence, the myriad decided that they had enough control over the high families of Stilben to take over. They "replaced" people who did not share their wishes and over the course of two years they gained complete domination, and began expanding their domain. Overtime they became the puppet rulers of Bronbog, Dyranna and most of the Rifenmist Peninsula.

## Geographical Features

### Central Stilben

The centre of this port city is a thriving, bustling hive of trade. The majority of businesses are in the part of the city meaning that there is little room for housing, the buildings vary from large to small shacks but they are all simply build with only slight variations because the city sprung up extremely quickly to capitalise on the growing trade.

#### Other Notable Locations

* The Sunset Stride Tavern-
* The Vas Estate

### Marsh and Sulfur Surroundings

The city is nestled in the sticky depths of the K'Tawl Swamp, the lingering stink of marsh water and sulphur mingles with the humidity and the ever-present buzz of insects to produce an air of misery around Stilben's outer district. Pushed out of the cozy heart of the Stilben, the city's poor and disenfranchised citizens- dis-paragingly nicknamed "muckdwellers"- struggle to eke out a living in the K'Tawl's murky waters, where the air is usually sticky, humid, and uncomfortably warm.

### Central Stilben

Unlike the surrounding lands the centre of this port city is thriving as trade flows continuously. Taverns and Inns, house the ever present travellers and merchant that pass through and many shops have erected over the lifetime of the settlement as some decide to stay and set up their lives.

#### The Sunset Stride Tavern

The largest tavern within Stilben, the Sunset Stride is where many of the blue-collar grunts of the local trades come to unwind.  Music and laughter permeate the warmly-lit interior, and a large job-board looms over the far wall.  The tavern's barkeep is Father Moordek Vart.

#### The Vas Estate

The Vas Estate is a large—but not terribly lavish—mansion built over two hundred years ago by the Vas Lordship, one of the more powerful trade families that have held power in Stilben.  The estate was once home to the heir to the Vas family fortune, Fendril Vas, but it is not known what became of the estate, nor the fortune, after Fendril was slain by Vox Machina.

## Leadership

Stilben is governed by the council of Tal'Dorei and before that it was part of the Tal'Dorei empire that was then replaced by the Council.

## Culture

### Demographics

Stilben is a small city with a population of about 9,015. The population is mostly human (70%), but there are a significant amount of elves (10%), halflings (10%), and half-elves (5%) with small amounts of other races scattered about (5%).

### Trade

The port city of Stilben expected a wide variety of imports from the east that are then distributed all across Gwessar.

### Holidays

* **Winter's Crest-** The widely spread annual celebration the Winter's Crest is a large event in Stilben with feasts, a community fair with games and revelry, and the exchange of gifts.

### Black Market

Stilben has a dynamic black market influenced heavily by what ships arrive to port, and a loosely-kept set of laws that can be briefly "purchased" should they stand in someone's or someone's business' way. Mostly headed by the group known as the Myriad that used the wide trade of Stilben to dig their roots into Exandria in an attempt to bleed it dry for their own gain.