The Garden
The Lap of Luxury
The Garden is the seat of power for almost every noble house in the Valta Empire. Food and clean water are abundant, as well as the luxuries of the entire empire. Because of this, manors and estates of every noble family are at least present in some capacity, with each street closer to the Palace District being more exclusive and luxurious than the last. However, that is not to say that this is not a place of extreme danger. With little to fight over in food and riches, deadly politics are engaged over land, leverage, political clout, and court position. The wrong move will result in execution or exile from the Gardens themselves, with many a noble vanishing into the night one way or another.
The Queen’s Wardens
Within the Garden, many nobles already have a variety of knights or guards in their entourage to defend them. However, the Queen’s Wardens are specially tasked with maintaining civil order within The Garden. They report directly to the Empress herself and are the penultimate authority inside the Garden’s secure borders. Hand selected from imperial forces, they are no ceremonial guard and comprised of skilled warriors, diplomats, and investigators. They ensure exiles stay out and enforce the strict level of security necessary at the heart of the empire.
The Magnagoria
One of the largest markets in the world, merchants apply for licenses to trade within the Garden for years and end up here to make riches and ascend their lower births. Since there are no trains and few airships allowed in the Garden, many canals lead here. Docks are busy day and night preparing merchandise to be sold to the extravagant noble classes of the Valta Empire. Almost anything can be purchased for the right price here, although under the watchful eye of the Queen’s Wardens, discretion is needed to procure more illicit goods.
The Canals
Canals criss cross the Garden, providing some sewage removal, irrigation and transportation to a variety of places inside and a few places outside the high walls surrounding the Garden proper. Patrolled by Queen's Wardens, it is one of the few major means of transportation allowable in the garden, with many Nobles on the outskirts having personal pleasure barges to get around. Because of the topography of the Garden itself, a series of Canal Locks are in place, not only as a security check point but also to allow barges to travel up in elevation and towards the prestigious Palace District. However not all these locks are in service, with a few even privately owned by certain merchants and noble families.
Hooks
- An exiled noble needs to get inside the Garden to clear their name and needs help.
- A member of the Queen’s Wardens is committing multiple murders and outsiders need to be hired to find out who.
- A merchant is willing to pay top dollar to smuggle in illegal goods deeper into the Garden. She has access to a secret canal lock.
- A rival noble house is seeking to usurp your family’s hold on their lands by sabotaging your operations and slandering your name to the Empress’ court.
- A noble house has been put in turmoil over a missing heir in the midst of an assassination of the head of their house.
Themes - Political Intrigue, High Society, Investigation, Cloak and Dagger, Espionage, Law Enforcement,