Jahur

Jahur, City of Jewels

Iano

Connects to: 17.30, 19.30, 19.31.03, 20.32, 21.27, 21.29, 23.32, 29.14.36, 46.01, 51.29 and the City of Shuttered Windows.

Every merchant and romantic in the Shrouded Lands longs to set foot in Jahur. Jahur is an ancient, exotic city along the Sea of Typhoons. The Zhuriman Empire established it as an overseas gem mining colony long centuries ago. When the empire collapsed, the city became one of the few gateways between the Shrouded Lands and the world at large.

All of the city’s bombastic imperial architecture is preserved. Red concrete forums, palaces and basilicas profuse with arches, buttresses, domes and spires blot out the sun above some neighborhoods. Many are practically abandoned, but they remain well-maintained by mechanical custodians known as the Janissaries. The Janissaries are animated metallic constructs painted in a mockery of humanity. Each Janissary contains the soul of a worthy servant or warrior. Those who bear a warrior’s soul serve as zealous guardians of the city. Many citizens hold the warriors in awe and terror, and defer to them despite the constructs’ rigid beliefs and allegiance to a dead empire. The ruling class, who call themselves the Viceroys, play up the citizens’ fear and reverance for the past and style themselves after decadent Zhurimani aristocrats. They do not have the level of control over the Janissaries that their ancestors did, but they often manage to woo and coerce them to their wills.

Despite keeping trappings of the old empire, Jahur adopted a strange deity known as Iano. He is depicted as a man with a single head, but two faces (19.31.03). As god who allegedly sees all that was and all that will come, he is popular among merchants. The prophet of Iano is said to have the same deformity of his god, and that he descended from the moon. Some believe he still dwells deep within the Temple of All Time.

Jahur maintains relations with Shuttered and the City of Smoke (51.29), which is called the Burning City in these parts. Their jewel-laden caravans are protected by columns of Janissaries as well as more conventional guards. The people of Jahur In this city, all walks of life appreciate visual art, especially bright colors. Ceramics, patterned rugs and calligraphy from all parts of the Shrouded Lands are popular. But they don’t go in for the north’s naturalistic paintings. Too much brown and gray, they mutter. Accordion music is popular among working class Jahuri because it enhances bucket kelp hallucinations (19.31.04).

A Jahuri man’s vitality is measured by his beard and mustache. Thin-haired men may spend fortunes on various poultices and oils in hope of attaining admirable facial hair. Even with a strong beard, it can be difficult for men to find a suitable wife because they are expected to serve their potential father-in-laws as they would their own father. Some father-in-laws knock on their son-in-law’s doors demanding coins and favors as if they were moneylenders! Most only visit their son-in-laws once or twice a year and expect modest gifts. A man with many daughters is certain to have a comfortable dotage.

Many Jahuri women long for lives of ease and luxury. Society women drape themselves in silks and jewels that their fathers, husbands or lovers provide for them. Outsiders consider them exceptionally beautiful, but few are willing to have a Jahuri father-in-law. Women from wealthy families spend their days pursuing whatever interests them, be it weaving, sorcery, music or scholasticism. Those unsuitable for marriage, mostly due to a having cruel or greedy father, may flee their families to become adventurers or concubines.

Features

Duxton Academy is an orphanage that sunk below the waves but continues to operate.
The Ghoul in the Gilded Cage is suspended above the ichor of the Sublime Divan
The Undying Cycles of Creation is the calendar used by local diviners - it also reflects the old faith of Jahur.
Lunfar sells the best illegal maps in Jahur.
Isane the Beauty is a concubine who maintains an extensive snake library.
Bloodwretches are used in Jahur’s army and manufacturies.
The Serendips are a prominent family here, running casinos and the Botanical Gardens.
The Inconsolable
The Dead Fish

Subhexes:

19.31.01 (Viceroy Orhan‘s Madness): the city‘s treasurer has not been himself since a botched assassination attempt.

19.31.04 (The Dead Fish): a rough bar full of fist fights, narcotic kelp, accordion music and even more horrid things.

19.31.05 (The Wives of Viceroy Orhan): they were grown in vats. Orhan was most pleased with the result.

19.31.06 (The Inconsolable): one of the strangest boats currently docked in Jahur is a boat of a million human fingernails that hails from the Isle of Thalanyl.

19.31.08 (Alleys of the Woman in Red): it is difficult to lay traps for one‘s dreams but that doesn‘t mean that people haven‘t tried.

19.31.09 (The Last Fiendslayer): after the windows of Shuttered closed this ancient order withered away.

Connections:

There is a ring of ancient obelisks in the city but one is missing and has been uncovered far to the northeast (46.01).
Jahur was ruled for twelve years by the octoids (23.32).
The rulers of Jahur have access to the feared fire centipedes (17.30).
This location is mentioned in a strange journal which discusses why it rains but once a year (29.14.36).
Jahur is defended by the Scent Barrier (21.29).
Deugar took a valuable ruby mine during the War of the Six Fingered Hand. They rule there still (21.27).
Jahur exports diamonds wrenched from the backs of crabs that live in a deep abyss (19.31). They can be bought from Kwalish the Thrice-Drowned or Isane the Beauty. Buying from Isane may be problematic as she is a Viceroy‘s concubine so any man speaking to her must be executed or castrated.
The worst Jahuri criminals are teleported to the top of the Spire of Idjit to be obliterated by lightning (19.30).

Hooks:

What now dwells in the city’s immaculate ruins?
Do any Janissaries live abroad? Why did their leave their posts?
What famous jewels are in Jahur?
Tell me about Jahur’s thriving thieves’ guild. Is it connected to Blind Midshotgatepool’s organizations (26.20.01)?
Is Iano for real? Is he part of the moon’s scheming, or something else?
What dives do adventurers haunt?

People

Viceroy Orhan: Jahur has been on edge since Viceroy Orhan, the city’s treasurer, was attacked in his bedchamber last month.

Erebus: The Last Fiendslayer is staying at The Gushing Ruby, a tavern in the blue quarter.

Execution in Jahur (‘Death in the Old Way’)

Inspired by: Goblin Punch (Post-Poning Empire)

In Jahur, they reserve an ancient punishment for the worst criminals: murderers, kidnappers and vendors of quicksilver. It is to be hung from the walls of the city by the hands, with the feet weighed down by a chunk of lead in the shape of a giant sword.

The practice is rare these days, a disappointment to Jahur’s swordsmen and women. A sword forged from metal that once hanged a murderer (an ‘executor blade’) is considered one of the most formiddable weapons in the Shrouded Lands.

The Duke fights with such a sword, an heirloom used ever since Broderick’s sword Caledbrand became animated by that unfortunate ghost.

One criminal hangs to this day. He is a vampire, unkillable by this method. He was fortunately - or unfortunately - positioned in a nook in the wall so direct sunlight never touches his flesh. Even the ambient light is enough to blister and warp his skin.

A Viceroy will sometimes drag the vampire up to the wall’s upper edge for questioning about supernatural events in the city. His answers are always rewarded with a full meal.

Hooks

Why are these swords so effective?
Who else has such a weapon?
Why is this a rarely used form of punishment? Are the alternatives even worse?
What crime did the vampire commit? Is anyone tempted to cut him down?

Alleys of the Woman in Red

Connects to: 08.27.01, 19.31.07, 19.31.10 and 26.33.

Viceroy Duygu was vexed by a recurring dream about a beautiful, long-haired woman in a red gown. She would always spurn his advances and flee down lanes and alleyways. Duygu always awoke, exasperated, before catching up to her. Despite having two wives and a harem of concubines, the viceroy felt he should have his way in his dreams. Isane the Beauty (19.31.07) recommended that he present himself as a commoner and try to win the heart of a lowborn woman. So in his idle time, Duygu donned a disguise and began exploring the alleyways of Jahur. He realized that the alleys around the central bazaar were the same as the ones the woman used to escape him in his dreams.

Duygu began buying up the buildings along the alleys. He erected walls and iron gates in hope of cornering the woman in his dreams. But when he finished changing the alleys, the dreams stopped. To this day, he is frustrated that his quarry eluded him.

Thieves and the heretical cult known as the Holy Fools (briefly mentioned in 26.33) take advantage of the alleys’ dead ends and irrational turns. Cutpurses and cutthroats often elude watchmen by fleeing into the labyrinth. The Holy Fools use isolated courtyards as open-air meeting places.

Connections

These alleys are rife with bucket kelp (26.33) chewers. Viceroy Harun, captain of the watch, has deployed undercover agents in the neighborhood in an attempt to identify major dealers.
Hypno (08.27.01) tries to prevent mortals from having recurring dreams.
Lunfar sells illicit maps within the alleyways (19.31.10).

Hooks:

Were Duygu’s dreams sent to him by someone with an agenda?
How much influence does Isane the Beauty have over the Viceroys who seek her counsel?
Do Viceroys often pose as commoners? What shenanigans do they get into while trying to pass as porters, beggars or wallahs?
Who are the major players in Jahur’s thieves’ guild?

The Sandmines Neath Jahur

Inspiration: The Peel St Caves on BLDG Blog and Real Dungeon Hazards: Snotties and Slime.

As houses and temples crumbled in Jahur, they were built on top of, slowly compressing the sand, brick and stone together into what masons call ‘city brick’. It carries some memory of the buildings that it once was - city brick will always stay in place, even if its supports collapse. Only the scrubbing out of the mason’s mark placed on each block causes gravity to reassert itself.

The masons that know this trick carefully guard it. Careful are they as well to keep the location of each mark a secret. In the Basilica, the ceiling is totally unsupported. Every inch of its surface is covered with symbols - the mason’s mark is hidden in plain sight.

The forum is ringed by citybricks that neatly fit together, and the mason’s mark of each block covered by the block that proceeds it.

The mining - both authorised and illicit - of this distinctive stone has left vast tunnels and passages beneath the city. The basements of some homes open onto the cave system. During times of war, the citizens of Jahur have also sheltered here: in fact, the alchemists discovered the main component of the Scent barrier here in these tunnels, and used it to fight their way out.

From the ceilings of some of the caves hang archaes, which look like stalactites but feel like mucus to the touch and are powerfully acidic. Giant red worms ooze through these tunnels, suckling on the archaes as if they were teats.

Hooks

What is the component of the Scent Barrier?
What other tricks have people used citybrick for?
What power do the masons wield in the city?

The Lampbearing Octoid

An octoid will approach strangers and then lead them on a path through Jahur. The path is never to their intended destination, but the octoid always leads people to a serendipitous meeting, usually in a part of town that they’ve never visited. Perhaps they meet a former lover by the quayside or a man idle comes across a party reading themselves for adventure.

The octoid takes advantage of the lucky encounter to scurry off, its lamp trailing in one tentacle behind it.