Nujel'm
Nujel’m is located on the northern tip of the continent of the Dark Unknown. It is pretty much a Britannian city, but it’s hot and humid climate soon allowed the inhabitants of the town to focus on tourism. Bathing Suits, pastel colours, swinging summer-dresses can be seen everywhere and only scarcely an inhabitant of Nujel’m will wear something different than light clothes.
Nujel’m is built of gleaming white and orange sandstone, intermixed by black and white marble. Many markets and bazaars can be found, the market stands are usually ornate with colourful draperies of clothes, and the slums are carefully hidden from the tourist sections. The architecture itself consists of many Grecian-style columns, arches, airy large palaces with pools and large gates, formed like elephant tusks.
Nujel’m largely depends on imports for everything. Tropical fruits and other exotica are cultivated to please their clientele, but other than that Nujel’m focuses on tourism as an income. Therefore the people of Nujel’m are particularly concerned to please the tourists who visit their town. The constant inflow of nobles and retainers, adventurers and brigands, merchantmen and privateers, and travelers of all sorts, keeps the city alive. Other than that Nujel’m is maybe the only city who maintains more or less friendly bonds with the town of Bucaneer’s Den, as the pirates of this town are able to fulfill almost every need of the town to a reasonable prize. If you take a stroll over one of the many bazaars it is relatively likely that you will find an item that has been “imported” from Bucaneer’s Den.
Nujel’m is ruled by a rather despotic family line that is quite aware of the stranglehold that they have upon the regional economy and fully intends to keep it that way. Soldiers maintained by this family can be found everywhere in the town, and to a certain degree those soldiers have the power to execute lawbreakers. It’s a dictatorial and far away from free society, a fact that is despised by many of the more enlightened people in Britannia. This fact, of course, does not hold them back from spending their holidays on the beaches of Nujel’m and supply the town with a good amount of their hard earned money. Despite the general dislike of the government there is almost no other town in Britannia that would not stand up and defend Nujel’m in times of need. The town of Nujel’m has perfectly understood the value of political allies early, and also referred to as the “City of Pleasure” one thing Nujel’m knows for sure is how please others.
Historically, Nujel’m rose as a colony of Jhelom, and although it is almost forgotten today the name of the town in fact comes for “New Jhelom”. It did not take long, though, that Nujel’m evolved into a tourist trap and trade stop. In its early history Nujel’m was little more than a den of pirates and eventually the strongest of them became the rulers of the town and parlayed its location into a future. To this days the ruling family in Nujel’m is very touchy about his origins. (For more information on the history of Nujel’m also see the town guide to Jhelom)
If you can pay for it, it is allowed. Except that you have to pay the Nujellans. Otherwise, it’s punishable by death. The only thing the average inhabitant of Nujel’m hates is anything for free. Mostly everything is for sale in Njuel’m – and the population could not care less about ethical and moral obligations regarding the “goods” they are offering. The term everything includes nasties like slavery, prostitutes, assassinations and other vices. In fact it is said that there is nothing you can’t buy in Nujel’m – as long as you are willing to pay a haughty sum of gold for it.
A Day at the Beach, by With Aseich, Master Thief
It is a hot day and the gleaming sun reflects from the polished orange sandstone buildings of Nujel’m. With hasty steps I leave the main streets behind me and enter one of the many bazaars of the town. The market stands are filled with goods, weapons, rugs, carpets, jewelry, glass, clothes, exotic fruits – a joyful, colourful sight of pleasure. The narrow paths are crowded and more than one of the tourists almost offers me his heavy purse. I look around and decide to not take the risk and steal from them here. I clearly can see two fully armed soldiers, although they try their best to blend in with the crowd. I know that if they would catch me committing a crime the my best perspective for the future would be to lose a hand – while the much more probable one would be death.
So I resist the impulse to reach out for the purses of the unsuspecting tourists and almost automatically my steps lead me to the beach. The white sand of the beach is covered with colourful flecks of tourists in all shapes and forms, intermixed by little boys and girls offering cool drinks and fruits for the according coin. Little umbrellas are stuck into the sand to offer a bit of shadow while the sun climbs to its zenith. The air is burning and the ground radiates waves of heat.
Nevertheless, I know that the hottest time of the day is the best to earn your income, as long as you are living of thievery at least. The people are lazy and tired, many are sleeping, others flounder about in the little, friendly waves of the deep-blue, wonderful sea. Soon I have spotted an unattended bag. I carefully look around – no soldiers, nobody is nearby. I grin and with a quick movement my hand reaches into the bag. I stay at the beach some hours, collecting purses and jewellery, but I am very careful to leave before somebody gets suspicious. An amused smile is on my lips – as if those tourists would pay attention to anything else then their pleasure! Nevertheless, tonight, far away from the paths of the wealthy and the tourists, my family will eat.
