Port Rigo

Port Rigo is a small port on Deadrun Island that lies off the West coast of a large continent named Balia.

Up until three years ago Deadrun Island and Port Rigo was controlled by the Free States of Balia, a loosely knit union of colonists who declared their independence from their home country of Albany twenty years ago.

Three years ago Albany decided to make one last attempt at bringing Balia back under their control and launched a large naval offensive against the Free States. Their gambit may have been more successful had the Free States not secured the assistance of a number of other nations in order to fend off the mighty Albish navy.

The Albish fleet was crippled and forced to retreat but they were able to hold on to a a few small territories in Balian waters. One of these territories was Deadrun Island and Port Rigo.

The Albish installed a governor name Percival Peasholme in Port Rigo and then to all intents and purposes deserted him for three years, occasionally sending a small ship to collect his taxes and deliver mail.

Relations between Albany and Valanar, a large, powerful empire in the west, have now broken down resulting in war and Percival Peasholme has done his best to govern Port Rigo despite his island being a speck surrounded by territory controlled by pirates and bandits and all the lawlessness of nearby Balia.

For some time Governor Peasholme, with paltry support from Albany was forced to watch his Port taken over by wild brigands who flouted his laws and wrecked his docks and taverns every night. Finally, with nowhere else to turn Peasholme struck a deal with a man who seemed to command the respect of many of the local sailors. The man, a Captain named Redbeard, restored a semblance of order to Port Rigo. In return for free bed and board in The Queen's Arms Captain Redbeard encourages sailors docking at Port Rigo to abide by the Governor's rules and obey the law.

Now Port Rigo is a small haven of calm where sailors from all nearby nations are able to meet, drink, trade and make deals. It is a place where Albish law carries little weight but where the chaos of Balia is muted.

Governor Peasholme is both relieved and concerned in equal measure, but his relationship with Albany has soured due to their prolonged neglect and he believes that although he may have made a devil's bargain he has made the only choice that was available to him in order to regain order.

Deadrun Island rises out of the Poseidic Ocean like a dark claw. It's black volcanic rock is stark and forbidding and much of its coastline would make a deadly lee shore for any ship carried onto its shoals. Still, despite Deadrun's grim appearance Port Rigo sits like a warm jewel on its south east coast, the one part of the island where a natural harbour makes an open invitation to sailors seeking land.

The harbour wall protects the mouth of the harbour itself from storms howling down out of the Albish channel. A small battery and garrison building stands attached to the wall, and although the guns are of good quality there are few soldiers to be seen manning them. Inside the wall the docks lie in a jumbled mass of strong stone quays and hastily thrown out wooden jetties. The buildings on the docks are just as patchwork with a number of temporary looking wooden structures acting as bawdy houses and taverns mixed with more sturdy and permanent stone structures such as the garrison, the harbour master's house and a number of warehouses and stores.

The land rises up beyond the harbour and the further one goes into town the more stone structures are to be seen. Main Street leads directly to the Governor's house, a beautiful stately home of Albish design made from the same black volcanic rock as everything else. Just east of the Governor's house, where Main Street meets Quayside Lane and Cutters Row, there is a tavern. It is one of the few buildings made of Balian bricks. The sign outside shows a pair of graceful female hands holding a crown, faded paint and split boards belying the regal name emblazoned there: The Queen's Arms.