Freeport is a city built at a natural deep-water harbour and is the first reprovisioning point for vessels travelling west from Skydria. About 45,000 citizens call Freeport home and at any time another 5,000 to 10,000 inhabit the city temporarily or as non-citizens. Citizenship is awarded to those who pay taxes, and it bestows a citizen with a number of rights, most importantly the right to own property and cast a vote for the mayor. For a young city, Freeport has grown to an impressive size and despite, or possibly because of, the various powers that seek to influence Freeport’s fate, the city is prospering.
When the Grey Veil was lifted and sailors from every nation scrambled to explore the seas, it soon emerged that the most viable route to the West led through the Gateway Islands. The rivalling powers, vying for wealth and resources soon began to clash and small fights led to open conflict and war, shifting alliances and death and destruction. The first major settlement on the Gateways, Baran, was founded by a coalition made of the Nagendran Empire and the League of Vakno and was run by a consortium of absolutely ruthless merchants and slave traders. They amassed piles of gold and other loot from the islands until one day the entire city fell victim to an unknown calamity.
On the other side of the island a group of sailors and explorers from the Five Powers had come to an unofficial agreement and built a small settlement which the jokingly referred to as Port of Freedom. In the meanwhile, the fate of Baran and the continuing losses on all sides had paved the way for a diplomatic agreement which later became known as The Accords. Representatives of the Five Powers signed this agreement in the spot that is now the Square of the Accords. Part of this agreement was the foundation of a harbour and reprovisioning station, accessible to all signees but ruled by none of them. Thus, the existing small settlement was expanded and eventually fortified, and it grew into what is now Freeport.
The system of government of Freeport is quite complicated, especially for a city so young. The citizens of Freeport are represented by the Assembly which consists of the heads of the most important businesses and guilds. There are 28 members currently in the Assembly, additional seats can only be opened by the mayor. The mayor is elected by the citizenry every 5 years. He has the power to veto laws the assembly passes and to nominate city officials. The veto of the mayor on the other hand can be overridden by the Council of Five who also must approve any new city officials. The Council of Five are the ambassadors of the Five Powers. Under these circumstances, political intrigue and scheming are rife. Mayor Grax Goldtusk, a half-orc and formerly a privateer of some infamy is very much a man of the people, but hardly much of a politician. Add into the mix that Freeport, while prosperous, has very limited resources to enforce the laws it has and it becomes a minor miracle that the city functions at all.
Freeport is protected by a fortress called the Fist that overlooks the harbour. This fortress is manned by about 200 mercenaries and, should an emergency occur, around 100 volunteer militia from the citizenry. Technically the mayor commands the fortress but the person really in charge of the Fist is a grizzled mercenary captain called Nemessa Ventris, a woman in her late 40s who has fought in various wars in Skydria and beyond and on more than one side. The mercenaries are paid for by a fund into which the Five Powers pay and by taxes from the city. The Fist is also armed with twenty 42-pounder cannons and numerous smaller guns. In addition to this, the city also has two small patrol vessels at their disposal which are each manned with a crew of 10 sailors and 20 mariners. The streets of Freeport are patrolled by the City Watch under the command of Sheriff Bartleby Whitlock. Since Sheriff Whitlock has only around four dozen Watchmen under his command, policing the city is a near impossible task. The harbour master has an additional 20 Harbour Guards under his command, but they are more thugs than soldiers, tasked with enforcing order and making sure fees and customs are paid.
Since over three quarters of all vessels travelling between Skydria and the Shining Seas pass through Freeport, reprovisioning and sometimes repairing these ships are both major sources of income. Considerable amounts of trade between captains coming from different Slices is also conducted in Freeport. This of course means that there is huge demand for taverns, inns and other forms of entertainment year-round.
The local gunpowder mill is a huge boon to local trade, the same can be said for the tannery, the lumberyard, and the sail and ropemakers. There is also a local brewery, and a distillery and by-products of the tannery gunpowder mill are various alchemical substances which Freeport exports.
On the other hand, Freeport needs to constantly import metals, coal and finished products like tools, weapons, and metal armour as well as fabrics and luxury items from Skydria.
As Freeport has become home to people from many races and creeds, there is no really pre-dominant religion or faith. Accordingly, there are no major temples in the city, but the House of Gods boasts shrines to many, many different faiths. Generally speaking, everybody is left to worship as they see fit as long as their religion does not pose a threat to Freeport and no crimes are committed as part of the religion.
Petty crime is rampant in Freeport. Pick pockets, muggings, card sharks and fences ever-present and the City Watch does not have the resources to chase down anything but the worst crime. Order is therefor often upheld by whatever guards or enforcers a business or neighbourhood can afford. Unfortunately, this has led to a number of gangs thriving in Freeport. Various drugs are being smuggled in and out of the city, documents are being forged and all manners of shady deals are being struck in backrooms of smoky taverns and the nice offices of merchant houses. Nearly anything can be found in the black markets of Freeport. There is a local joke: Visit our markets, your belongings are already there.
Roughly half the population of Freeport is human, and the majority of the other half are made up of dwarves, gnomes, goblins, kobolds, half-elves and half-orcs, but members of just about any humanoid race can be found in Freeport. Citizenship is awarded to those who possess property in the city and who are paying a minimum of 10 gold pieces of taxes per year.
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