View source for Forfeit Isle

[[Category:Nations_of_Igala]]
[[Category:Nations]]
{{Infobox_Country|
expert = none|
native_name = Forfeit Isle|
common_name = Forfeit Isle|
image_flag = Dia_nocharacterimage.png|
image_map = Dia_nocharacterimage.png|
official_languages = Common|
capital = n/a|
largest_city = n/a|
government_type = anarchy|
leader_titles = Captain|
leader_names = Blackpaw|
population = |
sovereignty_type = Settlement|
established_events = |
established_dates = |
currency = none|
religion = none|
footnotes = Original creator is [[User:Brother_Pervius|Uncle Pervy]]. Current government type is anarchy (technically a Totalitarian Republic; see background).|
}}
=== Briefly ===

Forfiet Isle is a small island about three hundred miles from the coast of [[Doma]]. It is about ten miles long and four miles across. It is the largest isle in a small chain of about forty or so islands. Save for the pirates, none of these are home to any intelligent life, but support a variety of animals. The islands are generally quite lush and verdant, covered with lots of trees and foliage. A few are barren and desert like, though. Rumor has it that a druid or two dwell on the smaller islands.

The Isle itself about forty percent forest. The pirate town sprawls over a good square mile or so, with outlying shanties reaching further into some areas. Some hills lie to the east of town, but nothing has been done with them yet.

The town is situated by a bay riddled with reefs. The reefs serve to keep fleets of larger ships from the bay; although a lone galleon can get through if the helmsman knows what he is doing. A large sandbar cuts off a lot of the bay, and creates two entryways. Both are too large to be blockaded at once, so the pirates can escape from one exit if someone tries to invade though the other.


=== History ===

Until the early to mid 1310s, Forfiet Isle was a just another island. Then [[Blackpaw]], a [[nekojin]] pirate, stumbled upon it and set up his base there. He then threw open his docks to anyone who wanted to stay there, claiming that life without his fellow pirates was just too boring. That, and more pirates tend to result in more ladies for him to chase.

Word of a free port spread quickly through the coastline, and pirates came there by the droves to resupply themselves and spend their loot. Quickly, a shanty-town arose around [[Blackpaw|Blackpaw's]] base, and thrives quite nicely.


=== Today ===

Forfeit can be accurately described as a shanty town built around an open air sewer. The pirates didn't have a whole lot of material to work with as they flooded in. Thus, they used debris from old ships, sail cloths, and just about anything else they could find to make homes and other buildings.

A majority of the structures are tents made of sailcloths draped over a pole. Some places by the beach front are set in hulls of ships run aground. Other buildings are made from old ship debris nailed together.

There is no planning at all to where the tents and shanties are placed. They spring up wherever the builder gets an urge to place them. As such, there are not a lot of main roads, and many, many winding dirt paths. Things are made even more confusing by the fact that the tents tend to move every so often, rearranging Forfiet Isle's road system about once a week on average.

Forfiet Islanders tend to deal with their trash the easy way, by tossing it out back. Thus, the streets tend to be clogged with decaying garbage. The town has a smell roughly comparable to a sewer drain. Recently, several enterprising provisioners have been letting herds of swine roam the streets between the randomly erected tents and deal with the edible refuse themselves.

There is roughly one tavern for every twelve residents of Forfiet Isle. Thus, it is possible to find nearly any kind of common liquor one could desire, and a great deal of uncommon and rare ones as well, if one knows where to look. There are all kinds of stores and outfitters dealing in 'previously owned' goods at dirt cheap prices. These merchants tend to deal with thieves the hard way.

There are also a few individuals who specialize in procuring rare and unusual items. Given enough time and enough money they can locate virtually any good that is not extraordinarily rare or foreign to [[Igala]]. These procurers tend to keep several skilled warriors, mages, and assassins around to deal with thieves.

Brothels are also quite common, but not so much as taverns. However, it can be hard to tell the difference between the two in many cases.

Although [[Blackpaw]] is technically in charge, he seldom gives orders, and the others seldom listen to him. He has instituted a policy outlawing riots that has been followed. Small scale fights are fine, but more than three or four people fighting have to take it outside of town. For the most part, Forfiet Islanders look after themselves and mind their own business, which works just fine. A few areas do have a sort of self-appointed boss, but they are usually not followed too strictly.

About half the town's population is out to sea at any given time. The rest are either permanent residents--such as merchants, barkeeps, prostitutes, and craftsmen--or pirates that are there to rest up and spend their plunder before heading out to sea again.


=== Points of Interest ===

==== The Harbor ====

The Harbor is run by a [[garoujin]] named [[Jarred Steinmeyer]]. Jarred makes sure that ships are taken care of, repaired, and reprovisioned correctly. He pays the boatswains and longshoremen with money he garners from docking fees, and money paid to him by merchants and procurers with their eyes on a particular good. Those caught tampering with others' ships seldom live to tell the tale. People still talk about how the harbormaster had one pirate publicly lynched for trying to sink another's ship.

Thanks to his efforts, Forfiet Isle has a particularly efficient harbor. There are an array of carpenters, shipwrights, and seamstresses willing to deal with damage any ship might have taken during a raid. Theft is kept at a minimum, and things run smoothly.

==== Blackpaw's Cabin ====

The fFounder of the town lives in his own home, made from the cabin of an old ship, a short ways from the main town. It is placed downwind of Forfiet Isle's pungent odor, which suits the [[nekojin]] just fine.

==== Smiggly's Custom Outfitters ====

[[Smiggly]] is a procurer with a particularly good record. The short, bald little man charges a steep price, but has been know to obtain some very rare objects in the past, including white magic spell scrolls and ornate Dark Elven wine chalices. If anything unusual passes through Forfiet Isle, there is a good chance that [[Smiggly]] knows of it. He also runs a brisk information business.

[[Smiggly]] himself is a short man whose head is completely free of hair, including eyebrows. He is never without his favored dark wire rimmed glasses, which have lenses just large enough to cover his eyes. Known for chuckling darkly at odd times, people tend to avoid [[Smiggly]] outside of business. They also avoid his bodyguard, a green haired assassin called [[Zed]].

==== [[The Red Crab]] ====

[[The Red Crab]] is one of the larger taverns on Forfiet Isle, found at the waterfront not far from the Harbor. The main bulk of the tavern is inside of a small circus tent that the owner procured from somewhere. This serves as the taproom, while a wrecked frigate at the rear of the tent serves as an inn.

It is run by [[Joshua Roberts]], a [[Riva]]n ex-pirate who found he preferred to get people's money by getting them drunk rather than robbing them. He runs a good place, with tasty food and warm beds. He is also infamous for hiring attractive bar wenches and dressing them in very little; favoring those of particularly loose morals. Still, he makes sure that they can take care of themselves before sending them to work; several particularly rowdy pirates have been quite dismayed to find that the barmaid they were harassing was in fact a traveling warrior down on her luck.

[[The Red Crab]] is also a favored haunt of Captain Pervy. Whenever he is at Forfiet Isle, chances are he can be found there.


=== Miscellany ===

==== Money Matters ====

There is no official currency on Forfeit Isle, though any usable hard currency is generally accepted, as is barter.


=== See Also ===

*[[:Category:Businesses_on_Forfeit_Isle|Businesses on Forfeit Isle]]
*[[:Category:Geography of Forfeit Isle|Geography of Forfeit Isle]]