On the western coast of the island of Thronehold, in the remains of an ancient city whose name was forgotten before the founding of Galifar, sit the flooded port city of Estaby.

The city’s inner harbor is protected by a giant maze of shipwrecked war-barges, crumbling walls, and haphazard jetties of iron and wood. These defenses prevent larger trading vessels and warships from entering the harbor itself, and the deeper waters of the bay are often crowded with ships at anchor. Inside the maze of lies a wide bay called the Shallows, which provide calm waters and safe passage to smaller rowboats and flat-bottomed cargo vessels. The Shallows flow into a series of wooden and stone walkways which stretch below the city, possessing various docks and bunkers called the Underdocks.

Most of the town stands suspended on pylons above the Underdocks, or hangs precariously on the rocky shore of the bay. A large merfolk village and corresponding amphibious community of gillmen have existed here for centuries, thriving together. Ships anchor in the harbor and transport their goods to shore over the Shallows in large barges. Traders meet with caravan captains at the Harpy’s Gate to arrange overland transport to Throneport.

Estaby is mainly a fishing village, and has developed an oyster- and pearl-gathering industry. Smugglers and less savory or more cost-conscious merchants have preferred to ship goods to Thonehold through Estaby for centuries, in order to avoid Throneport’s stiff harbor taxes, its law enforcement, and its strictly controlled docks. This popularity has made Estaby one of the largest markets for contraband in the Sound. Throneport’s law enforcement generally turns a blind eye to contraband coming into Estaby, so long as it remains beneficial to the city and does not endanger too many of the city’s citizens.

Even less under the thumb of Throneport’s City Watch than Field Ward, Estaby is heavily populated by House agents and secret police eager to do illicit business without being observed.

Statistics

Population 16,975
Demographics 82% Human, 7% Gillmen, 5% Merfolk, 4% Half-elves, 2% Other
Government Overlord
Ruler Lord Dinal ir’Varid (Human)