Re: (TFT) TFT town --> Hiquet --> part 2

[Rick Smith <rsmith@lightspeed.ca>]

	(C) 1994 Richard W. Smith

	The City of Hiquet:  Geography.
	-------------------------------
	The LaForque castle is built over and
around the spring, completely controlling the water
supply to the town.  Large cisterns and swimming
pools exist in the castle.


	Immediately below the castle is a killing
zone some 60 meters wide.  Over the years this has
shrunk somewhat as relatives and people associated
with the family have built large houses in this 
space.  However most of the houses are as far away
from the castle as may be, with yards facing the 
castle walls.  So the killing zone is now closer to
30 to 40 meters wide.
	It is death for someone to approach closer
to the castle than 60 meters with out an invitation
from the family.  In practice this has shrunk to 25
meters.

	Note that the underground areas in the 
lower area of town do not extend under this kill 
zone.  The castle can not be approached underground.

	
	Below the kill zones is the large homes of
the LaForque relatives.  There are a set number of
buildings (these numbers have gradually grown over
the years, but now no more room remains).  It is a
high status position to be allowed to live in these
buildings.  Each has a pipe bringing water from the
spring, so these homes have an unlimited amount of
water which their families, and their servants 
share.  This water source may be cut off with valves
at any time by the family, and periodically they do 
so in order to 'maintain the system'.
	There is constant political maneuvering &
sucking up to the family to try to move into a 
better home, have some other family evicted, etc.
	Currently the homes with plumed water number
28.  There are 11 large manors which have been built
higher on the slopes.  Above the level of the 
springs, they do not have flowing water, but do have
shallow wells that lead into spring fed cisterns.
These manors are usually considered in the first 
tier of buildings so the water wealthy have 39
homes.  In three cases two families share one of 
these houses to reduce expenses and double their
political influence with the LaForque family, so 42
families live in these buildings.



	Below the plumed buildings is the small
middle class.  They have a fountain that is always
on, but they must leave their homes to fetch water.



	Below that is the large poor quarter where
about 95% of the population lives.  Water access is
controlled thru neighborhood friend houses where
your friend gives you water.  Tho theoretically 
free, the neighborhood friends charge what ever 
they can get, paying a significant fraction of what
they get to the LaForque family for being able to
exploit the monopoly.
	Typically each friend gets a set number of
liters based on their population.  Those who like 
to bathe (and have the wherewithal to be able to
afford it) are much hated since this means that 
much less drinking water for everyone else.
	The exact amount of water sent down to a
friend, and the amount delivered is regulated with 
careful paperwork.  This is to prevent someone 
from tapping the pipes and draining off a half 
liter or so.
	If any neighbourhood makes trouble, the
friends water is cut off.  People are forced to
walk several more blocks to another friend who
charges a premium, (for not knowing them) and 
because the water is rarer.  It is very hard if
your friend loses water rights for a week.  More
than that, and some people may die.


	The soft sandstone is easy to carve and 
over the years a huge complex of tunnels and
rooms has been dug beneath the city.  The rock
remains cool in day time, and gives shelter from
the sun.  Tunnels continually break into others
basements, and much of this maze is walled up 
with poor quality, brick work.

	This city under the city has significantly
added to the problems the LaForque family has had
in finding the Patient Man and killing him.

	Rick




	

On Sat, 2004-02-21 at 01:46, Rick Smith wrote:
> 	(C) 2004 by Richard W. Smith	
> 
> 	This town or small city should be placed in mountains
> beside a desert.  It should be quite isolated and not on any
> major trade routes.
> 
> 
> 	The City of Hiquet
> 	------------------
> 	This small city is on the edge of the XXXXX
> desert based on an artificial spring that has drilled
> deep into the mountain to reach a deep aquifer.
> 
> 	Apart from the spring, the city lacks natural
> resources.  The city grows food on terraced fields &
> this food (and water) is the town's major export.
> 
> 	Other attempts to drill to this water have
> failed. (A flaw in the rock caused by an ancient earth
> quake carries the water down a narrow fissure.  The
> existing well found it by chance, other attempts to
> reach it have failed (tho only narrowly in some cases).
> 
> 	The rock is fairly soft sandstone.  Any 
> concerted attempt to dig to the water would succeed
> but no attempt has been made for many years.
> 
> 	The LaForque family have controlled all water
> in the city and have traditionally ruled it with an 
> iron fist.
> 
> 	For the first time in centuries this rule is
> being challenged, from the poorest of the cities 
> inhabitants.  An increasingly well organized thieves'
> guild has taken to assassination.  Led by the Patient
> Man, the night has become a time of terror for those
> of wealth and power.  (At least when they are not
> hiding behind castle walls.)
> 
> 
> 	The Cities Leadership
> 	---------------------
> 	More than 800 meters above the desert floor
> is the castle / manor of the LaForque family.  The 
> current leader is 'General' Ossateem, a gross fat
> man who considers himself to be a military genius
> based on the military romances he loves to read. 
> His military rank is assumed.  However he is not a
> complete fool, he knows well enough what his power
> is based on and brutally makes examples of those
> that have attempted to evade his whims.
> 	He married a 3rd daughter of a distant 
> lord for her rank.  She tired of his sexual appetites
> and tried to steal a horse and escape some years ago.
> Captured, she had both hands chopped off (the stumps
> were healed with healing potions) and she is 
> periodically tortured or raped.  She is half mad
> with grief.
> 	Ossateem keeps more than a dozen girls 
> under 16 years of age to amuse him.  Those that 
> survive to 20 or so, (about 2/3rds make it) are made 
> slaves of the fields or sold to the brothels or 
> (very rarely) released back to their families for 
> those that are especially pleasing to him.
> 	Ossateem is easily the most hated man in
> the city.
> 
> 	Ossateem LaForque.
> ST 15, DX 13, IQ 12, MA 8 (fat)
> Magic cloth, flesh spells etc.  -9 hits / attack.
> Enchanted Morningstar: 3d+8.
> Enchanted Poisoned Main-gauche.  1d+4
> Wish ring w/ 1 wish, Self powering Detect Enemies 
> ring (only picks up planned attacks in next 10 
> seconds).  Has a pouch with 3 summon 3 hex dragon
> gems (real last 15 turns) which are to be used
> in an emergency.  This is on a easy to break 
> string around his neck and will be thrown on the
> ground breaking all three gems if he is seriously
> threatened.
> 
> 	
> 	He has left ruling the town to his son,
> Maqut.
> 
> 	Maqut is the real center of the city.  He
> holds his father in secret contempt, and has little
> or no feelings for any other person in the city 
> beyond his daughter.  (She is a selfish, cruel 
> girl of 14 and he thinks the world of her.)  His
> wife committed suicide some ten years ago, but he
> has claimed she was murdered and searching for her
> killers is a ready excuse anytime he desires to 
> more obviously use his power.
> 	With the rash of assassinations, most people
> believe that she was the first victim and take his
> story at face value.
> 	Maqut hides his contempt for others thru
> a ready smile and friendly demeanor. He knows that
> tormenting others for no reason just creates 
> resentment, and uses his charisma and a rare 
> compliment to motivate his underlings.  He is a 
> very charismatic man, and most people are impressed
> with him.
> 	He is a religious man (of a local good 
> religion) and he and his priests have no problem 
> with his behavior, a Lord must occasionally break
> a few heads, no?  In any case the priest are well
> paid.
> 	The most obvious way he shows his contempt
> for those about him is his vicious, cutting and
> very public criticisms of those who make errors. 
> His people will go to extreme lengths to avoid 
> making (or at least hide) any mistakes. 
> 
> 	Maqut has talked his father out of cutting
> off water to the city in order to fight the current
> rebels.  He knows that any such action, would cause
> the entire city to revolt against their rule.  
> However, the general is more and more eager to lead
> an attack against the poorer quarter.
> 
> 	Maqut has little idea of the forces against
> him.  By torturing a large number of basically 
> random people he has discovered that the Patient 
> Man is organizing the resistance and is now working
> hard to find out more about this shadowy figure.
> 
> 
> 	Maqut LaForque.	
> ST 13, DX 16, IQ 15, MA 12 (running)
> Magic Leather, flesh spells etc.  -11 hits / attack.
> Shield with demon in it.  Eats or damages weapons
> that hit it.  -3 hits / attack.  Must feed it a 
> soul a month.
> Magic Fine Bastard sword:  3d+8
> Ring: Persuasiveness, Reverse Missiles, Spell shield.
> Ring: Telepathy (for questioning prisoners).
> Ring: Insubstaniality (2 fST / turn).
> 
> 
> 	Most of the 'middle class' are cousins or
> relatives of the LaForque family.  In particular,
> the guards leaders are all family.
> 
> 	Airquet is the chief of security.  Think
> Gestapo.  He has more than 50 informers and spies, 
> most concentrated in the servants and people who 
> visit the castle proper.  However he has started
> recruiting people in the poorer section of the 
> town in hopes of gaining information on the 
> Patient Man.  He is a mousy little man, not at all
> a good fighter.  He has many talents for running
> a spy operation, and enjoys torturing people.  He
> is not as smart as he thinks he is and a couple of
> his people have been  by the Patient Man and are 
> feeding him false information. 
> 	If the Patient Man got a chance, he would
> kill Airquet at once.  There is no body of similar
> ability to take his place.
> 
> 	Quemm is the chief of guards.  He is a
> pedophile and has gained his position because his
> sexual tastes amuse Ossateem.  He is a fast friend
> of the general.  He is very ineffective in doing
> his job, leaving it to his underlings to do the
> work.  (The competition of his lieutenants has done
> much to reduce the effectiveness of the guards.)
> Maqut hates the man, and would love to see him 
> killed.  The Patient Man knows that Quemm is an
> empty drum, and has instead had his more effective
> lieutenants assassinated. 
> 
> 	Klimcate is the most capable of the guard
> Lieutenants.  He dreams of letting the LaForque 
> family being killed off, and taking over himself.
> To this end, he has not done his utmost to track
> down the killers, and has subtly allowed some
> people to escape.  However he catches enough small
> fish to make him seem more useful than most of the
> other guard officers.
> 	The Patient Man does not realize that 
> Klimcate is working against the LaForques.  As
> far as the Patient Man knows, Klimcate is the 
> most competent guard leader left and has twice
> tried to have him killed, but so far Klimcate has
> survived.  
> 	If Klimcate could find the Patient Man,
> he would be more than willing to cut a deal, but
> all attempts to privately track down the crime
> leader have failed.
> 
> 	Sliver is the Master of the House Staff.
> He is so named by his daggers that he hones to
> a sliver edge.  He loves cutting up people but
> does a good job of holding this antisocial 
> tendency in check until a traitor is captured.
> He runs the household and is a favorite of Ossateem.
> Maqut is happy with Sliver, (virtually the only
> one of his father's men whom he approves of).
> Sliver effectively rules the house staff and has
> an uncanny ability to spot lies and people who
> are hiding things.  This has saved the LaForque
> family on several occasions.  
> 	Tho a hard master, he treats his people
> quite well.  (VERY well by this cities standards.)
> Even standing up for them against Ossateem three
> different times in the past.  Most of the workers 
> are very loyal to him.  
> 	Sliver approves of Maqut, and would 
> prefer that Ossateem passes away.
> 	Sliver has married 2 different women and
> they live together happily with 2 and 4 children
> respectively.
> 	Sliver very much loves his family.  They
> have been marked by the Patient Man as targets &
> tools to control Sliver with, but they are well
> protected in the castle and no opportunity to 
> kidnap them has yet occurred.
> 
> 	
> 	Mrot is the chief of everything else.
> In particular he sees to the supplies of the 
> castle, runs the stables and kennels.  He hates
> the LaForques, (particularily Ossateem) and is
> one of the few who is not impressed with Maqut.
> Sliver does not like Mrot, who reciprocates the
> feelings tho the two men work well together.
> He lives in terror that he will be found to be
> disloyal and bends over backwards not to do 
> anything that would indicate the least bit of 
> disloyalty.
> 	A very cowardly man, he is a weak tool
> against the LaForques.  He hates the way the
> lords rule this land and abuse people but lacks
> the courage to oppose them.
> 	The Patient Man has not fathomed the
> hatred that Mrot feels.  If he got the chance
> he would kill Mrot in hopes that someone less
> competent would take his place.
> 
> 
> 	
> 	A few people have been killed in the
> castle proper, but the windows have been bared
> and physical security has been greatly improved.
> 
> 	Maqut would like to hire more guards,
> but (wisely) is being very careful about who he
> lets inside the circle of his walls.
> 
> 	Rick
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