From MercutioV@aol.com Sat May  6 14:58:05 2000
Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 01:40:12 EDT
From: MercutioV@aol.com
To: mike@thekeep.org, harnums@thekeep.org
Subject: Avalon Harbor

THE HARBOR

The True City's Harbor (note the capital H) is an engineering marvel, and, 
along with Citadel Avalon, arguably Prince Ludwig's greatest single 
accomplishment. 

Approaching the Harbor by ship from out at sea, the Harbor Tunnnel at first 
appears as a dark black blotch against the towering Citadel Peak. While a few 
tiny docks exist on the seaward side of the Citadel (some members of the 
Royal Family enjoy boating) any ship of significant size must pass through 
the tunnel to the Harbor Pool proper. Don't worry; we know it looks narrow, 
but you'll fit. Just before you enter, though, you'll probably be stopped by 
one of the Harbormaster's small patrol boats; it's just a formality. They'll 
assign you a dock to proceed to once you get inside and an Inspector will 
come aboard, if neccessary.

Once inside the tunnel, you may notice the massive chains hanging from holes 
in the walls, running down into the water. These can be pulled taught at a 
moments notice to form an impassable criss-cross barrier across the tunnel; 
these, and the gouts of Greek Fire that can be blown out of OTHER holes in 
the walls, are Avalon's primary defence against seaborne attacks.

Avalon doesn't LIKE it when people try to invade.

Once you're through the tunnel, you enter the Harbor Pool. It's big. Real 
big. Got Olympic-sized swimming pools in your shadow? Multiply by a couple 
hundred and line it with extremely precious jade and marble, then fill it 
with the cleanest, purest, bluest water you've ever seen. Kept that way 
WITHOUT chemicals, might we add. 

The Harbor is ringed round with docks, starting with small ones for romboats, 
pleasure craft, and the like on the eastern side, and curving all the way 
around to the western end, increasing in size geometrically until they reach 
the western side, where the huge stone quays that dock the great trading 
galleons of the Golden Circle are. A small train spur runs down to the Harbor 
from the Train station; sometimes, though only rarely, something will need to 
be moved from rail transport to sea transport. The Customs House, for 
convenience, is also located near the eastern half of the Harbor, right up 
against the River Running; if a ship is cargo-bearing, the Inspector put 
aboard outside the tunnel will report here after docking with a copy of the 
ship's manifest and the requisite customs payment.

To prevent corruption, Inspectors usually work in pairs, and random members 
of the City Gaurd are inserted as undercover operatives. It doesn't always 
work, but at least this way smugglers have TWO people to bribe.

On the western side of the River Running, opposite the Custom's House, is the 
Harbormaster's Tower. This is a squat, sea-green thing that is situated so 
that, from his office on the top floor (it's a small tower; only five 
stories) the Harbormaster has a totally unencumbered view of the entire 
Harbor, the River Running, and all the way through the Harbor Tunnel to the 
open sea in the distance.

The office of Harbormaster is a patronage position, bestowed by the Royal 
Family. Formerly, they were appointed by the King Without A Name or Ludwig; 
in recent years, Meredith has managed to insert his various cronies into the 
position.