====== Local Information ====== | Government | Democratic Council | | Population | 80% humans, 4% halflings, 3% elves, \\ 2% amurruns, 2% iruxi, 9% other | | Languages | Mwangi, Dwarven, Elven, Gnoll, Iruxi, Amurrun, Xanmba | | Religions | Adanye, Gozreh, Mazludeh, Irez, Nethys, Shelyn | | Threats | Magical Accidents | | Service of the Magaambya | Spellcasting services of up to 13th level can be found in Nantambu with ease. Acquiring higher-level services requires 1d4 weeks of work and usually requires an additional donation of 10% of the value to Nantambu. | | Notable Resources | Books, Food, Jewelry, Livestock, Magic Items, Textiles | {{ :nantambu_better_city_map.png?400|}} ===== Notable NPCs ===== - Luchomo (human male): Nantambu's Head of Council - Ciko (human female glassmaker): Council representative from the Glassmaker's Guild - High Sun-Mage Oyamba (male human wizard): Master of the Magaambya - Ebele (female human restauranteur): Influential Socialite ===== Local Customs ===== More broadly practiced than any religion in Nantambu is the custom of leaving an empty seat. Every home has a spare chair or place at the table, every restaurant leaves one table empty even at the height of a dinner rush, and theaters always keep a box or seat open. Even the City Council has an empty chair in the corner of the meeting chambers. Only strangers are allowed to sit in these empty seats, and even then only if there’s no other option. Similarly, a stranger in need is never turned away but instead treated as a member of the family, if only for a meal—though rude guests are politely but firmly shown the door. Some claim this tradition began because Old-Mage Jatembe might return in disguise, while others believe it allows for an ancestor or deity to bring a blessing. Some simply think of it as a polite way to invite someone into their lives. Whatever their personal beliefs, most Nantambiyans are reluctant to take the last seat. While local roads are wide enough for carts, streets are typically reserved for walking while goods are transported via the many canals. These canals also serve a secondary function. Local racing. Nearly every citizen and shop participates in the local races, with several festivals being highlighted with a larger race that can take the various participants over the entire city. These races serve two different functions. Professional teams focus primarily on winning (mostly for the bragging rights), while slower racers and shops focus on the free advertising. Sometimes purposefully building a slow boat to function more as a float to show off the various goods and services the shop serves, even throwing out free samples. This tradition is celebrated by the local population and has become an unofficial combination of a race and a parade. ===== Governing Council ===== - Head of Council [[Nantambu:Luchomo|Luchomo]], nicknamed "The Spider" - Glassmaker's Guild representative [[Nantambu:Ciko|Ciko]]. Former student of the [[magaambya|Magaambya]]. - Merchants and Traders consortium representative [[Nantambu:Enosha|Enosha]]. - Woodworker's Alliance representative [[Nantambu:Owethu|Owethu]] - Miller's and Baker's Collective representative [[Nantambu:Nobomi|Nobomi]] - [[Nantambu:Mongameli|Mongameli]] was voted in by popularity. Restaurant tycoon. This halfling is the only non-human on the council. - Glassblower's Guild representative [[Nantambu:Thuba|Thuba]] - [[Nantambu:Khwezi|Khwezi]] is the head of education for the city. This is separate from the university and is primarily concerned with childhood education and apprenticeships. - Head of Administration is [[Nantambu:Asanda|Asanda]]. He is the former city treasurer, but his quick thinking and excellent investments got him the votes needed for the council. - The last member voted in is [[Nantambu:Sifiso|Sifiso]]. She is a prominent member of the local clockwork guilds, but they do not have the power nor numbers to consistently guarantee a member on the council. As the youngest member on the council, she considers the needs of the youth her top priority. ===== Notable Locations in Nantambu ===== The following are a sample of some of the prominent locations that can be found in Nantambu. ==== The Battlefield ==== A distinct jungle clearing lies a mile or so outside the city limits. No crops grow there, nor does any animal graze in it. A field of knee-high creeping lilies with flame-shaped flowers and poisonous sap fill the area and spread for up to four miles. Locals know it as the burial site of the first force that sought to invade Nantambu, an army that made camp one night and prepared to attack the following morning. Overnight, every human, elf, dwarf, and animal perished mysteriously. The Council told the citizens to bury the bodies and equipment in this clearing and then leave them untouched. The softly glowing lilies that bloom year-round sprang up in the clearing over the next few years. A few brave souls have ventured into the field over the centuries, and all came back describing screaming and the sound of battles raging around them. Healers harvest flowers from the field’s edges for use in medicines to treat pain, parasites, and poisonings, while less scrupulous alchemists harvest them to craft poisons. The flowers die soon after being transplanted, and this field is their only known source. ==== The Black Crowned Crane ==== The Black Crowned Crane, located in the heart of the entertainment district, is the place to see and be seen despite—or perhaps because of—the rumors of nefarious dealings of its owner, Ebele. An adventurer in her youth, Ebele returned to Nantambu after more than a decade with multiple chest-laden pack horses in tow. She refused to open the chests or say what was in them, and locked herself in her family home for 12 days upon her arrival. Once she emerged, she threw herself into attending theater performances and sampling every high-end restaurant in Nantambu. After a few weeks, she favored the Black Crowned Crane and decided to purchase it. The previous owner won’t say what she paid for it, but he seems content with whatever arrangement they agreed to and is happily retired. The restaurant closed for a couple of weeks for “renovations,” during which neighbors reported building noises at all hours, including when no construction crews were present. When the establishment reopened, the changes were mostly cosmetic—some fresh paint here, a new window there, different cushions—but nothing that would have required the crew size or time apparently involved. The mystery of what was in the chests and where it is now remains, though some speculate whatever it was is now hidden in the walls or floors of the Black Crowned Crane. ==== The Carnivorous Gardens ==== A public greenhouse filled with carnivorous plants, this nature preserve resembles a small, lush jungle. Plants and vines of all sorts writhe noisily, looking for fresh meat. Despite the ominous atmosphere, the garden is a safe and peaceful place—“Not one guest nibbled!” caretaker and tour guide Natofo (NG female half-orc botanist 5) commonly assures. Most of the plants are not large enough to be threats to anything larger than a frog, and a stone path winds through the garden to keep guests from trampling any of the plants in turn. ==== The Civic League Boathouse ==== Most racers keep their personal flats in their homes, since they’re small and light enough to carry. Team equipment, however, is usually stored in boathouses owned by each team. The exception is the Civic League Boathouse and Repair Facility, which holds all the equipment owned and maintained by the city in a large dock and multistory building, with a lift to the upper floors for the flats and raw materials near the Council Building. Volunteers from the Woodworkers Alliance help keep the League’s flats safely afloat, and citizens are welcome to use the tools there to work on their own flats. Basic classes are conducted on the main floor before students are allowed out on the water. The Civic League Boathouse has a reputation for being haunted by ghosts, though no one knows whether it’s because of its proximity to the Black Heron side of the Council Building or a lingering effect of a prank by necromancy students decades ago. Most of the reported encounters are neutral and occasionally even helpful: a tool moved within reach, a window opened to let in a breeze, a door closed on a windless day, or a voice heard humming an old work tune. Rarely are the interactions malevolent, such as a heavy box toppling from a shelf onto someone below or a flat mysteriously shattering when no one is near it. Efforts to dispel the ghosts have thus far been unsuccessful, and some citizens would rather not change the boathouse’s quirky nature. ==== The Dance Courts ==== Nantambiyans of all ages like to listen to music and dance, but the young and unmarried especially gravitate toward the Dance Courts as places to see and be seen. Unlike the theaters and performance houses, where one must be respectful of the performers while they are on stage, at the Courts people can talk to others and show off their skills. New dances are constantly cropping up among the older classics. Some are group dances where two groups face off, others are ritualized couple’s dances where pairs move in patterns around each other and the other couples on the floor. Some Courts specialize in teaching dances to children and young adults during the day, while others host obscure musicians to help them get their first breaks. Newcomers are enthusiastically welcomed and prodded to teach the popular dances from their homelands. If they return, they may see some of the steps incorporated into new dances on the floors. Most of the Courts are comprised of a central dance floor with a small stage for the musicians and curtained alcoves with tables and cushions surrounding it. Open curtains are an invitation for servers to offer refreshment or friends to stop by and say hello. Closed curtains mean the occupants do not wish to be disturbed. It’s considered extremely rude to open the curtains, as business deals are just as likely to be discussed there as assignations are to be conducted. ==== Fire-Pot's Forge ==== An alchemist’s shop run by namesake “Fire-Pot” Ubanu (CN male human pyrochemist 8), Fire-Pot’s Forge is located in a cliffside grotto on the outskirts of Nantambu. Fire-Pot Ubanu crafts specialty weapons, more often sold for decorative or ceremonial worship in the peaceful streets of Nantambu, but sometimes picked up by Magaambyans or explorers looking to travel out from the city. He also sells highly specialized alchemical reagents for breaking down and destroying hard materials like stone and metal, highly sought after by local artisans and etchers. Fire-Pot feels more at home with fire elementals than other people, so he takes great pains to minimize his social interactions. Most people buy his goods from the minotaurs he hires as guards. ==== Goana's Carvings ==== One of the best woodcarvers in the city is the friendly Goana (LG female halfling woodcarver 3). While the shop sells plenty of hardwood furniture and decorative carvings, most of these are halfling-sized, limiting the regular clientele. Instead, Goana’s main business comes from the Magaambya, in the form of carving the school’s signature masks. One of the privileges of full Magaambya membership is the right to wear a Magaambyan mask, and few students are willing to pass up the prestige. As many students lack a background in carpentry, however, Goana is happy to give lessons to Initiates in preparation for their acceptance into the Magaambya’s ranks, with her rates comped by the university. Goana can also step in and offer a helping hand for those who are truly hopeless at the craft—though traditionally students are supposed to carve their masks themselves, Goana often winks and says a little help around the edges can’t possibly hurt. The carpenter remains eagerly on the lookout for rare and magical wood that might serve as a base for masks, selling to those who can afford to pay for something truly special or, when her soft heart gets the better of her, on a whim for a student who stands out to her. ==== The Last Chance Shop ==== The docks of Nantambu bustle with activity at nearly all hours of the day and night. Shuttles run between portage points north and south along the river while fishers cast nets and haul in their catch. Most outsiders find lodging in one of the hostels in the area, with only the wealthy or connected coming further inland to lodge. The docks are also where merchants without a permanent stall in the bazaar sell their wares, often right from the boat they arrived on. As a result, people can find deals on large quantities of basic goods, as well as some that have not made it to the hands of the wealthy or powerful yet. One of the dock’s few permanent buildings is the Last Chance Shop. Run by the same family for generations, the ramshackle structure is the place to go when someone doesn’t want to leave the city with an item in cargo, or if someone can’t find what they’re looking for anywhere else. It doesn’t hurt that the staff doesn’t ask many questions about where something came from or what’s going to be done with it. The Last Chance Shop buys low and sells high, but sometimes it’s the only option. The shop doesn’t appear to have any guards, but rumors abound about thieves who disappeared entirely after attempting to steal from there. ==== Oba's Wondrous Creatures ==== Run by proprietor Oba Eze (N female human animal vendor 6), this exotic pet shop has made good profits from being able to ensnare and train animals rarely seen in civilized places. Oba takes immense pride in her collection and expects the highest price for her rare creatures. This has been her main problem in business as of late, as her prices are too much for interested buyers to pay. Oba’s attitude has proved to be a similarly large hurdle, as she has an overly rosy opinion of the often wild creatures that she keeps. In Oba’s mind, her creatures are perfectly manageable with the proper care, and any issues people might have with them could be caused only by ignorance. ==== The Spotted Hyena ==== A plethora of stables and corrals host animals of all stripes on the outskirts of town opposite the river. Some pampered creatures stay in facilities owned by Nantambu’s wealthy, while others house the work animals of more common citizens. A few of the stables sell their mounts or rent them with proper collateral, but none is more eclectic than the Spotted Hyena. Spread out over most of an acre, the stable has every ridable animal imaginable, and a few that are probably harder to imagine. Lions, giraffes, hyenas, and zebras vie for attention against horses and mules. While more ostentatious clients want to rent a more exotic mount for a showy display or special occasion, the Spotted Hyena’s more sustaining sales are of its more mundane animals. The truly special service offered by the Spotted Hyena, however, is of hired grooms to accompany the animals they sell. The grooms won’t fight for the owners but will defend themselves and the creatures in their charge, all for a very reasonable rate. There are clauses in the sales contract and employment agreement stating that if the animal’s owner or owners die, the grooms are to return the animals to the Spotted Hyena.