Sageunay Fjord

[Yakk]

I am back from vacation on the Sageunay. And I am gonna steal some geography.

We have a body of salt water, and a briney fjord. At the mouth of the fjord there is a massive ancient stone bridge, with arches 100s of feet long and high, carved out of living rock.

Fjord city sits on top of the bridge. The docks are on the inside of the pillars.

Of the 7 original gargoyles, 5 are currently intact. 2 of them are used to power the lifts to bring goods up and down from the docks to the city proper. The remaining 2 are long gone; some say the cathedral was built from their rubble.

Control over both the only practical overland route, and access to the Fjord, keeps the city on the bridge wealthy.

The fjord itself has fishing settlements along its edge. Waterfalls feed the fjord, flowing over the hills, and at its far end a large crater lake has significant mineral deposits.

[brian 333]

Are you opening this up for suggestions?

Are the waters stormy and cold, tranquil and warm? Temperate seasonal? Is there a significant current, cold or warm, to induce fog or create a greenhouse effect inside the fjord?

[Yakk]

Yes, suggestions are welcome.

I really liked the "water effect" mist. It would form over the water to a reasonable height, but be clear above it. As the morning progressed it would clear. So you'd get a reliable daily reduced visibility period in the morning.

I think that requires temperate.

Also, having the inner deeper parts of the Fjord freeze over (on the surface) in the winter gives a great terrain change. Could have ice-boats that carry supplies through the winter if (say) I extend the frozen ice to the bridge. A nearby "winter" ice-free port could then be important - I you'd carry the supplies overland a short distance to the bridge-city, then transfer to/from ice sailing cargo boats up and down the fjord.

[brian 333]

A lifetime ago a giant sea turtle laid her eggs in the sandbanks at the head of the fjord. Hundreds of 6' diameter eggs hatched. The bridge and town were built later, and life went on. Now her descendents are coming back, only to discover the warm sands of their birth are covered by the local shipyard. 12-48 giant sea turtles of 40-60 ft length are converging on the shipyard and digging up the place, ruining years worth of infrastructure and destroying dozens of incomplete vessels.

In the winter, ice from a glacier-fed loch is sledded down the river to the fjord and stored in straw-lined caves for the city's use, while spring begins the logging season, during which winter-felled logs are bound into rafts and poled down to the shipyard.

The river is a highway for 'runners', which are flat-bottomed barges which can be poled or rowed. In winter, skis are attached to their sides and the barges become sleds. In the highlands bull elk are used, after the annual rut, to drag the sleds over ice-covered lochs and streams. When the elk begin to lose their antlers they are released for the coming spring and summer, and they will not be recaptured until the end of the fall rut. Doe elk are not harnessed, but the Runners leave bales of fodder for them along the rivers.

Furs, garden and wild seasonal vegetables, meat, and some mining and handcraft products are traded, and a long the brachiating river courses wooden trade tokens branded by city officials are used to denote trade surpluses. These tokens are occasionally used as money by the runners.

[Yakk]

There are 3 Ports near the mouth of the Fjord.

Mudport is an ice-free port outside of the Fjord itself (beyond the Bridge). Goods are exported by being lifted by the Gargoyles then slid down the roads to the port. Importing goods via Iceport is annoying; if it can wait, the goods are warehoused over the winter and carried in on boat after the spring thaw. In the summer Mudport external trade mostly is bringing goods back and forth the Bridgeport for the upcoming winter season.

Getting warehouse space is hard and corruption is rife.

Bridgeport is behind the bridge, and goods are lifted up and down by the Gargoyles.

Riverport is within the Fjord, defended by the bridge. It has a hot water spring that keeps the Harbour itself ice-free year round, but the channel to the Bridge freezes over. Capacity issues at Bridgeport means that ships are often told to wait in Riverport until their turn for loading/unloading. This has led to a black market in goods being unloaded or loaded in Riverport so seagoing vessels don't have to wait. The guild-masters of Bridgeport are not amused.

[brian 333]

Legendary Figure:
Black-Eyes Pete is a notorious pirate of the region, famous for his ability to target lucrative merchants and avoid not only patrols, but merchants with low-value cargo. He once forced a grain-ship onto the rocky headland known as 'Icebreaker' and discovered in the grain chests of fine crystal tableware worth several fortunes.

Seldom are Pete's victims killed, and injured seamen are healed by Pete's healers before he sails off with their profits. He is a sort of anti-hero, and locals love to gossip about how his clever agents steal the treasures of the local elites and sell it back to them.

His agents are blamed for most of the smuggling in the River.

Alderman and High Sheriff Namidae Guilford has sworn to capture Black-Eyes Pete.

Spoiler: DM Info

Show

Namadae is Black-Eyes Pete, and always has been. The Sheriff job was the perfect retirement for her, allowing her to learn about targets she is supposed to protect while vigorously pursuing her rivals.

[Yakk]

While the mouth of the Fjord is narrow, inside it widens to as far as 5 km across. The entire Fjord is nearly 200 km long and ends at a reasonably large (50x40) km lake.

A second of rough water, waterfalls and rapids makes sailing all the way to the inland lake impossible. Lumber, however, can make it, with a chute built to avoid the largest waterfalls.

Lakeport is the last safe harbour along the Fjord, and is a modest size settlement. Trade continues year round, as when the Fjord freezes ice ships can navigate the surface.

The inland lake has small communities, and the rivers that feed it are sometimes navigable for dozens of km deeper inland. Monster parts, lumber and fish flow down to Lakeport, and manufactured goods flow back in trade.

[Errorname]

Are the waters stormy and cold, tranquil and warm? Temperate seasonal? Is there a significant current, cold or warm, to induce fog or create a greenhouse effect inside the fjord?

It's based on the Sageunay, so cold. It also doesn't empty directly into the ocean, but rather into the St. Lawrence. It's still saltwater, it's a great whale watching spot, but you aren't getting sea turtles. Also not historically a hotbed of piracy, the river is too narrow and too heavily trafficked.

That said, the Fjord is deep and it's known to be a hotbed for great sleeper sharks, older than any living man and blind with parasites.