Palma Noor

Palma Noor is a large city built onto the side of a dormant volcano, Noor. It is one of the main cities within the Palma Archipelago, and one of the two claimants to the ancestral home of the Island Dwarves. The city climbs up the side of the mountain, and is built alongside a series of large, complex ruins built by ancient Island Dwarves which are still being excavated today. Being the one of the ancestral homes of Island Dwarves, they are the main inhabitants of the city.

The city itself is comprised of four "Villages", each built around or on top of ancient ruins: Noor Porte, Montemaro, Noor Alta, and Old Noor.

## Location

Palma Noor is located XXXXXXX

Pre-Destruction, trade routes leading to Palma Noor from the ports at A, B, C, D, and E were protected, and many boats used these passages as a means of avoiding attack by pirates. Of course, these pathways make travel considerably slower, and many ships risk traveling through the open seas as a means of expediting their travel.

## Villages

Though there are no formal demarcations that differentiate between the four villages of Palma Noor, each one of them has a particular vibe.

### Noor Porte

The village of Noor Porte is comprised of the old port of Palma Noor, and the surrounding neighborhood, built alongside ancient Island Dwarf ruins. Following the abandonment of Old Noor, which has its own port, Noor Porte is the second oldest of the four villages, and the first one that most people see upon arriving at the Island. The Village is comprised of three distinct neighborhoods -- a trade port where goods and cargo are shipped, a commercial port, where visitors are greeted by restaurants and bustling markets, and a series of beaches with small settlements on the quieter side of the island towards Old Noor.

Being at the base of the volcano, Noor Porte is the least steep of the villages. Major roads run up the mountain itself, but people tend to traverse the zone through a network of stairways and tunnels carved into the mountain.

Noor Porte is a vibrant community, but is exceedingly poor, especially compared to the decadence of Montemaro and Noor Alto.

#### Trade Port

The trade port is a functioning port containing docks and warehouses for trade goods and cargo. Unlike the rest of the island, The Trade Port is largely flat land. It is a maze of stout warehouses that block out the sun from much of the street except for high noon, and most of the neighborhood smells like fish and stale water. These warehouses provide ample cover for more insidious trades, and a black market exists in the shadows of the port, where nearly anything can be found for a price. Compared to the rest of the island (with the exception of Old Noor), the Trade Port is dangerous; it wouldn't be so rare to bump into a pirate or a band of cutpurses in the port at night. Besides for this, there's little of interest here to visitors of Palma Noor.

Small communities dot the district, and the Island Dwarves from this neighborhood are considerably more brash than their laid-back and fun-loving compatriots, and are more likely to leave the island in search of adventure.

##### Places of Interest

###### Cora's Rest

Most of the inns in the Trade Port are just abandoned warehouses. Cora's Rest caters to people who want an actual bed to sleep in. If you're looking for someone in the Trade Port, you should start your search here. Just don't expect to see Cora any time soon. She left the island as a stowaway on a cargo ship years ago and hasn't been seen since.

**Costs:** Prices to stay at Cora's rest are half normal, though they only offer **squalid** and **poor** accommodations... and you definitely get what you pay for.

###### Chui's Crudebar

If there's one reason to visit the Trade Port it's to dine at Chui's crudebar. Chui was an adventurer in his past life, but has since retired to the Trade Port where he operates a restaurant specializing in raw, or cured fish, or "crude" as it's referred to in Palma Noor. Chui takes his boat out himself every morning before sunrise to catch fish for the day, and once he runs out you're out of luck. Unless you want ale. Which Chui manages to keep ice cold with the help of a magical apparatus that he acquired on his travels.

**Costs:** Plates of Crude vary depending on the fish of the day, but rarely exceed 5sp per portion.

###### The Open Market

Between the crates being processed at the port itself lies an enormous market selling products that may have fallen out of an open crate. This grey market is the place to go when you're looking for discounted goods. Just keep in mind that the previous owner of that unique jewelled sword you bought might be surprised to see you holding it.

#### Commercial Port

Most visitors to Palma Noor fall in love with the island as soon as the step off the dock and into the bustling Porte Plaza, with its elaborate blue and white tilework, and tiers of restaurants and bars stacked on top of one another, built into the sides of cliffs. Everyone in this neighborhood seems perpetually happy, and the air itself smells like fine dwarven pipeweed.

##### Places of Interest

###### Porte Plaza

The main square of Noor Porte is a sight to be seen, and has been welcoming people to the leisurely world of Palma Noor for generations. White and blue stones from inside the volcano were carved by ancient dwarven craftsmen into the tilework of the plaza itself, and an elaborate marble fountain that illustrates the story of the Sleeping Goddess, Nooria, sits prominently in its center, surrounded at all hours of the day and night by happy dwarves.

Restaurants, Inns, Cafes, Bakeries, Bars, and other places of leisure are stacked atop one another at the edges of the plaza, built into the cliffs of the mountain, with steep and narrow staircases as their only means of access. If you're looking for a good time, you're almost certain to find whatever you're looking for in Porte Plaza.

###### The School of Steel

When Thanolim Strongjaw, a Mountain Dwarf, arrived in Palma Noor he was surprised to see that there weren't any blacksmiths selling weaponry in the area. He setup his blacksmith shop in a quiet corner of the Commercial Port, where he receives few visitors. Still, he's an accomplished dwarven blacksmith with the bounty of the volcano and its superior mineral deposits, and can produce masterwork arms and armor.

###### Fila's Emporium

Fila's Emporium stands out as a store of alchemy and magical instruments on an island with no interest in magic at all. Fila spends most of her time alone, out of the sunlight, reading books and waiting for someone to cut through the soul-crushing ennui of her existence. She sells uncommon magical items, and has the occasional rarity.

###### Atelier Moura

Moura is considered to be one of the most famous clothiers in the Palma Archipelago, if not the known world, and her flagship boutique a few blocks off from the plaza sells ready-to-wear clothing at extortionate prices. Bespoke pieces can be arranged as well, but require an invitation from Moura herself.

**Costs:** GM's discretion, but ready to wear outfits start at 200gp, and trigger perception checks (DC 10). Bespoke pieces are nearly impossible to ignore (Perception DC5), and can turn the tide in negotiations with nobility, or people who recognize the brand (Advantage on CHA skills).

#### Beaches

Outside the ports themselves are miles of pristine beaches served by small Dwarven settlements. These settlements also provide farming to support the city, with terraced farms built into damp cliffs. Each town has one or two inns, and general stores, but blacksmiths are few and far between, and will mostly cater towards equipment for farmers or fishermen.

##### Beach Towns

###### town 4

The beach by town 4 is somewhat rocky, and is rougher than the other towns along the beaches due to its proxmity to Old Noor.

### Montemaro

Halfway up the volcano sits the more affluent neighborhood of Montemaro, where wealthy Island Dwarves and other non-dwarven merchants live lives of leisure. Much of this neighborhood consists of wide open

### Noor Alto

High up at the top of the mountain sits the Noor Alto enclave. A small, closed community of something

### Old Noor

No one knows exactly why the old city of Noor was abandoned, but what remains of it today are a set of ruins, largely occupied by Pirates. It climbs a third of the way up the volcano on the north side of the island.

## Timeline

### Pre-Destruction of Palma Noor

Palma Noor is as described above. A relatively safe area to stop and relax, and to meet with the locals, whose problems are plentiful, but superficial. There's a tacit agreement with pirates occupying Old Noor that they will not harass citizens or visitors to Palma Noor, or ships that are clearly bound for the port itself, in essence, accepting agreed-upon safe paths through the archipelago leading to the island. Besides for this agreement, the island has a very strict anti-piracy laws, with draconian punishments, including the death penalty, torture, and public shaming.

### Post-Destruction of Palma Noor

The destruction of Palma Noor resulted in landslides that scarred much of the old city, devestating Noor Alto and Montemaro in particular. Though the port is still active, it has largely been taken over by pirates. The sprawling markets of the past have been replaced by black markets and fencing rings, selling goods stolen from merchant ships across the entire archipelago. There are no longer any tacit agreements to cut back on piracy within routes through the archipelago. Most Island Dwarves left Palma Noor following its destruction.