The Golden Veil · Harbor of Polite Chains
Port Aureveil
"In Aureveil, no one forces you to kneel. They simply offer you a chair, a pen, and time."
Population
~45,000
Ruler
Lady Vaelith Duskwhisper
Naval Power
The Black Fleet
Faith
Slaasha — God of the Golden Chain
Currency
Guilders & Chain-marks
Alignment
Lawful Evil (recently shifted)
The Sensory Experience
Sound
Jazz-horns, temple hymns, chains clinking, harbor bells.
Smell
Sea salt, fried garlic, incense, spiced rose, decay dressed in perfume.
Light
Red-gold lanterns creating a perpetual warm glow across every district.
Touch
Humidity like a second shirt. Warm stone. Everything costs something.
Feeling
Port Aureveil feels safe. That is its most dangerous feature.
City Overview
Port Aureveil is an open sandbox — a coastal city of stone and suffering where the sea crashes against cliffs that rise like prison walls. On the surface, it functions as a merchant's paradise: ships from across Asphodel dock at its sprawling harbor, caravans arrive daily laden with spices, silks, and secrets. The city trades in everything — goods, information, favors, and most profitably, people.
The city is ruled by the Temple of the Gilded Cage, whose priests command through institutional control rather than divine revelation. They've built a system of "donations," taxes, and contracts so interwoven into daily commerce that escape is nearly impossible. But one month ago, the Black Fleet arrived with fifteen warships and a new order, seizing control of the harbor and trade routes. The Temple still rules the city proper, but the Fleet rules the sea — and in a port city, control of the sea is control of life itself.
This collision has transformed Port Aureveil from neutral evil to lawful evil almost overnight. The old guard — smugglers, fence-runners, crime lords who thrived in chaos — find themselves squeezed between two inexorable forces. The Black Regent himself has not yet arrived. But he is coming. The city waits, balanced on a knife's edge, holding its breath.
The Black Codes
Posted on iron plaques throughout Port Aureveil. They are not barriers — they are ledgers. Everything converts to debt. Everything converts to control. In Aureveil, the law doesn't punish criminals. It invoices them.
Registration
All visitors must register at the Lantern Docks within one day. Unregistered persons face impressment by the Fleet or 'voluntary service' by the Temple.
Commerce
Transactions of 100+ guilders must be registered with the Ledger Courts. Breaking a registered contract transfers all obligations to the breaker.
Violence
Permitted only under listed conditions: authorized duels, sanctioned raids, tribunal verdicts. Unauthorized violence in the Chainward carries automatic execution.
Theft
Temple and Fleet property are civil pillars — attacks bring automatic execution. Theft of registered property incurs triple-value debt.
The Sea
No ship leaves without Fleet inspection and tithe. Smuggling carries vessel confiscation and crew impressment.
Magic
Magical violence requires a Temple permit or Fleet commission. The Obsidian Spire handles all licensed arcane services.
Aureveil Rewards
- Politeness — Courtesy is currency
- Preparation — Know the rules before you play
- Paperwork — If it's documented, it's real
- Patience — The city respects those who wait
- Discretion — Silence is more valuable than gold
Aureveil Punishes
- Spectacle — Draw attention and you draw chains
- Moral absolutism — Black and white thinking gets you killed
- Impatience — Rush and the city eats you
- Loudly asking about the Chain Crypts
The Wards of Port Aureveil
Port Aureveil has over a dozen recognized districts, each with its own character, dangers, and opportunities.
The Chainward
Temple Quarter
Cobblestones scrubbed white, buildings faced in golden sandstone. Every intersection has a shrine — a golden chain link and a bowl of scentless flame. The Temple of the Gilded Cage dominates the skyline with its 200-foot spire. Contains the Confession Parlors, the Vigil Gardens, the Chain Crypts, and the Grand Staircase.
Stoneset Square
The Commercial Heart
The largest open plaza in the city, paved in dark basalt worn smooth by centuries of boots, blood, and spilled coin. By day, it is commerce and spectacle; by night, deals are finalized that doom ships, families, or entire crews. The stone beneath the square is etched with old binding sigils — contracts sworn here have a habit of sticking.
The Chain Docks
Naval Piers
Reinforced stone piers curved inward like a hook, designed to shelter warships and corsairs. Ships that dock here submit to inspection, tithe, and binding contracts. Heavy iron rings and massive chains embedded directly into the dock walls.
The Saltward Piers
Working Docks
Pier boards slick with salt spray and fish scales. Stevedores haul crates under Fleet marine gazes. Between warehouses, narrow alleys lead to taverns called The Drowned Rat, The Barnacle, and The Last Port. A wanted poster offers 500 guilders for the Ashvein Ghost.
The Ladders
Vertical Slums
Stairs groaning underfoot, swaying in the harbor wind. People live here — laundry lines strung between supports, cooking fires in cliff-carved alcoves, children playing on platforms with no railing and a hundred-foot drop. Home to the Gutter-Sparrows, the Orphan-Spire, and the hidden Moonlight Shrine.
Rust Row
Industrial District
The heat hits you first — air shimmering above foundry rooftops, smelling of hot metal and sulfur. The Frostvein Mining Company operates here with 200 dwarf miners extracting volcanic iron, sulfur, obsidian, and ley-line quartz. A massive elevator descends 400 feet into the mines.
The Veilmarket
Underground Bazaar
Red and violet lanterns hang from the low ceiling. Vendors operate from blankets, upturned crates, and curtained alcoves. There are no names here, no receipts, and no refunds. Elegant statues of blindfolded saints line the street. One turns its head when no one is looking.
The Lantern Docks
Registration Piers
Massive stone piers with 20-foot angel statues — wings folded, swords snapped, chains wrapped around their torsos. All visitors register here within one day. The Registration Office records everything in triplicate. The Lantern of Veils lighthouse can reveal illusioned ships.
The Lashrow Quarter
Pleasure District
The quarter never sleeps. Jazz-horns, singing, dancing feet. Buildings draped in silk banners of crimson and violet. The Velvet Labyrinth — a pleasure house of mirrors — and the Moonfire Promenade where lanterns set adrift on the harbor each night. One lantern always returns.
Lowhook Quarter
The Desperate
A maze of leaning buildings, rope bridges, and tide-flooded alleys. Dockhands, indentured workers, smugglers, and the truly desperate. The sea regularly claims entire basements. Debt collectors, street preachers, drug dens. The Black Fleet recruits heavily here.
Shadesound
Underground Caverns
Ceilings alive with bioluminescent fungi glowing soft blues, greens, and purples. Sounds behave strangely — voices carry too far, or not at all. The walls remember secrets. Exists partially in the Shadowfell. Neutral ground for clandestine faction meetings. A deal struck here cannot be forgotten.
The Obsidian Spire
Arcane Tower
A black tower rising like a nail driven into the sky. Chains hang from iron buttresses as declarations. High Magus Calder Veyl runs the Cinder Market — the best place for spell components, scrolls, and enchantment commissions. Every transaction is written into the Ember Ledger.
Notable Shops
| Name | Owner | Wares | Ward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone & Sigil | Althoren Marr (human) | Runes, wards, civic magic | Stoneset Square |
| The Sunleaf Emporium | Selyra Windmere (half-elf) | Herbs, incense, remedies | Stoneset Square |
| Hammer & Harbor | Borim Deepforge (dwarf) | Smithing, maritime gear | Stoneset Square |
| Gorrim's Curiosities | Gorrim One-Eye (dwarf) | Solaran artifacts, maps, smoke grenades | Stoneset Square |
| Thalindra's Map Table | Thalindra (elf) | Cartography, Golden Rebellion contact | Stoneset Square |
| Ironwake Chandlery | Hadrik Coilhand (human) | Ship supplies, maintenance | Chain Docks |
| Keel & Compass | Eryndel Wavewatch (elf) | Navigation, famously accurate charts | Chain Docks |
| Barnacle & Bone | Thess Nine-Tides (half-orc) | Salvage, ship charms, figureheads | Chain Docks |
| Kreska the Fence | Kreska (tiefling) | Stolen Temple journals, cipher keys | Veilmarket |
| The Cinder Market | Maelis Vanthe | Spells, scrolls, enchantments | Obsidian Spire |
| Ironmonger Delk's Armory | Delk Hammerspark (dwarf) | Best armory in city (150% prices) | Rust Row |
Taverns & Inns
The Hearth & Cask
Stoneset Square
Warm food. Strong drink. No knives drawn. Owner Branna Oakshield buried three husbands and tolerates no trouble. Even Black Fleet officers respect her authority.
The Gilded Anchor
Stoneset Square
A finer drink for a heavier purse. Private booths with sound-dampening drapery. Being invited to a private booth means someone wants something — politely.
The Rusty Bucket
Saltward Piers
Built inside a capsized ironclad hull, tilted ten degrees to port. Neutral ground. House special: Rust-Wine (5 temp HP, disadvantage on Int checks, 1 hour).
The Ironstay Inn
Chain Docks
Thick gray stone and iron-braced timber. Former Black Fleet captain Halvren Moor runs it with naval discipline. The cellar connects to old dock tunnels (sealed... mostly).
The Brass Wake
Lantern Docks
Built in a warship hull. Loud but secure. Best place for rumors. Where coin and gossip buy rounds in equal measure.
The Smelter's Rest
Rust Row
Tavern for off-duty miners. Volcanic mineral water and thick stews. Dwarven songs echo off stone walls.
Side Quests
The Deep Tremor
Strange tremors from sealed tunnel in deep mines. Three Specters seeping through from a Solaran tomb. Respectful approach or combat — leads to a carved archway sealed with a Noctis disc.
The Unfastening
Temple auction tomorrow — Miriel Starweave, elven artisan, to be sold for her mother's debt. Outbid the Fleet (1,500 gp) and Temple loyalist (1,800 gp), or create a distraction. Silka Writhe reveals an assassination plot.
The Ashvein Ghost
Fleet losing supply barges — three vanished in a month. A water elemental bound by a Solaran ward-stone. Destroy it or find an elegant solution: adjust the ward to permit passage.
City Encounters
1.
A Chainpriest patrol probes questions about faith, debts, and secrets.
2.
A debtor draped in golden chains is led weeping to the Chain Crypts.
3.
Two merchants stage a heated dispute requiring arbitration in Stoneset Square.
4.
A mechanical music box demonstration draws a crowd — perfect cover for pickpockets.
5.
A Fleet press gang pressures dockworkers (DC 16 Intimidation to intervene).
6.
A crate marked as grain hums faintly with necromantic energy.
7.
A child begs the party to hide her from Chainpriests.
8.
A statue's eyes briefly glow when a false oath is sworn.
9.
A chained figure is lowered into the sea at night — alive.
10.
A rival crew sabotages a shipment tied to the PCs.
11.
A Lamplighter patrol breaks up a confidence scheme.
12.
A gang war breaks out in Lowhook over a stolen temple token.
Rumors & Whispers
DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) or a round of drinks (2 gp) yields one rumor.
1.
"Temple buying old Solaran maps with sun-symbols. Whatever they want isn't in the city."
2.
"Black Regent's got a new project — controlling ley-lines, make his ships unsinkable."
3.
"Tomb in the highlands — old Solaran, tests your soul. Go in greedy, come out screaming."
4.
"River's running warm. Dwarves say volcanic activity. Cousin says magic bleeding from underground."
5.
"Gutter-Sparrows say someone new talks through moonlight. A woman's voice. Island remembers."
6.
"Frostvein mines hit something old. Carved stone, golden markings, sealed up tight."
7.
"Watch from Orphan-Spire when both moons are up — you can see a map in the shadows."
What to Avoid
- Signing anything. Contracts bind in Aureveil — magically.
- Drawing steel in the Chainward. Your blood feeds the street, and the debt.
- Accepting Temple credit. Every coin becomes years of service.
- Insulting the Black Regent. Rudeness becomes mutiny becomes execution.
- Trusting Chainpriest healing without reading the fine print.
- Paying in chain-marks for anything you want private. They can be traced.
"Welcome to Port Aureveil, traveler. Mind the chains. And read the fine print."