Lorthol

## History

The city of Lorthol divided into its 5 districts (Crag, Grotto, Tower, Fissure, & The Lashes)

### Inhabitants

Population: ~75,000Demographics: 50% Human, 20% Orc, 20% Mutant, 10% Other Magi

Lorthol sits at the end of the Cutlass, a snaky peninsula which juts out into the midst of some of the busiest trade routes in Eluseus. Lorthol is an enigma of a city, a hive of scum and villainy that is also a booming urban area. This seeming contradiction is by design, as Lorthol’s Beholder overlord Lorthok has intentionally opened its city to pirates and reavers of all flags, demanding only a hefty cut of their loot in exchange for safe harbor, abundant recreation, and provides valuable information to them on the trade routes they can expect to find the juiciest of booty on, courtesy of his diviners. As a result of this, Lorthol has become a pirate haven, and has garnered the affectionate nickname “The Evil Eye” to describe both its tyrannical ruler, and its perception by the rest of Eluseus.

## Geography

Lorthol itself is built upon the cliffs that surround Brigand Bay, at the end of the Cutlass Peninsula. At the center of the city lies Lorthok’s Tower, which overlooks the **Tower District**. Lorthok’s Tower also doubles as a lighthouse, guiding ships through the treacherous waters, although the tyrant will occasionally muffle the light or project it elsewhere as a sort of sadistic prank on sailors. The grounds of the tower are strictly off limits to all commoners, and the sheer cliffs which surround it are patrolled day and night by Lorthok’s gazers, tiny aberrations made in his image. The lower half of the tower serves as the Divination school of Oculus Mors, run by the albino tiefling Headmistress Frillia, while the Necromancy school is located beneath the rocky cliffside, administered by the foreboding dark elf Tomularch. Below even that, in the Grotto of Gore, lies the Blink, Lorthok’s personal arena. The tower district itself is by far the most civilized part of Lorthol. Though there are no truly “upstanding” figures in the Evil Eye, the one with the most wealth make their home here, where Lorthok’s Eyestalks keep most criminals off the streets, and the taverns are just quiet enough to finish your grog without a fistfight or a stabbing erupting.

The east of Lorthol comprises the **Fissure District**, named so for its multitude of blowholes. These strange geographic formations are natural tunnels in the earth which lead to the sea, blasting water in fantastic spouts whenever waves hit the eastern rocks. This phenomena leaves Fissure District continuously drenched in water and the smell of the sea. It is here where the most wretched of Lorthol live, in crowded tenement blocks. Many make their living harvesting fish and molluscs which fall from the sky, blown through the blowholes. It is also a rather open secret that, when less active, the blowholes are often used as a convenient garbage chute for things that are best kept unseen. The Eyestalks have largely abandoned Fissure, meaning that many of its inhabitants can practice their religion in relative peace. The blowholes to the north, in the shadow of the forested Loon mountains, are far less active then those close to the coast, and are rumored to contain an intricate cave system.

To the north of Lorthol, along Corsair’s Cove, the **Grotto District** sits. It is here where every day hundreds of mariners and pirates dock their ships and make for the innumerable salty taverns which blanket this district. Like the rest of the city, the Grotto district is built vertically with the cliffside, and on a walk along the seaside docks one can expect to hear a medley of sea shanties, scuffles, and seagulls echo down from the rickety inns and rope bridges above. The Grotto District is also known for its dangling markets, where vendors, suspended by haphazard rope and pulley systems, hawk their wares at every level of the district.

Along the west side of Lorthol is the **Crag District**. Situated atop the highest cliffs of Corsair Cove, it is in this section that Lorthol’s verticality is most pronounced. Hundreds of tiny shacks are stacked, looking as though the slightest breeze could push them into the bay below. This district is mostly residential, with poor fishmongers at the bottom, lieutenants and merchantmen to the middle, and the most powerful pirate lords posted in chateaus with a view of the entirety of Lorthol at the peak. Of note, the pirate lords Ogol Gold-Tooth, an orcish reaver from Sicklemaw, Myrhas the Steamer, an exiled sahuagin baron with a penchant for boiling his enemies alive, Gulth Thrallgore, a rogue Githyanki who enslaves captive sailors to row his majestic flagship galley The Golden Shackle, &  Annis Teague all reside here when they drop anchor. Teague, also known as Black Annis or Lady Lorthok for her close partnership with the beholder, used to be first mate to the infamous Captain Felhand, who was once the most feared swordsman in Karvhat. However in a now legendary betrayal ten years past, she turned his own crew against him and chopped his sword-hand clean off, feeding it to the sharks before kicking him in to follow. Teague is generally considered to be the most powerful pirate in Lorthol, and is Queen of the Brethren Court, commanding a degree of deference from all the other pirates in the region, and is known to be especially ruthless in keeping her throne.

To the south, a small Archipelago known as **The Lashes** closes out the cove. While nominally part of Lorthol, the Lashes are furthest from the prying eyes of Little Lorthok, and as a result are the best place to go for illegal dealings. Although few goods outside of powerful explosives or magical items are forbidden by Lorthok, the tyrant always expects a hefty cut for any deal done on its soil. As a result, captains who wish to cut out this middleman often engage in risky midnight deals on the Lashes, though they must beware of surprise raids by the Eyestalks, who show no mercy.