Tradegate is the gatetown to Bytopia. It is situated on the Great Road of the Outlands between Ecstasy and Excelsior.
Description[]
Tradegate is a star-shaped town made of a dull grey stone. The five city gates are wooden. The roads are packed dirt. The center of the city is the Great Bazaar, and is tiled in gold and purple. As the city is primarily concerned with commerce, the architecture and the names of buildings/streets/etc. are somewhat unimaginative.
The five gates are: Spire Gate, Celestia Gate, Upper Gate, Lower Gate, and Elysium Gate. The main roads leading from these gates to the Bazaar are similarly named (Spire Road, Celestia Road, Upper Road, Lower Road, Elysium Road). These roads and gates divide the city into five sectors, whose contents are roughly defined by the main buildings which front onto the central marketplace. All of the buildings in a sector are of roughly the same architectural style. In addition to the specific type of buildings, each sector holds a workhouse for debtors.
The Armory also serves as the Barracks for the City Watch. The majority of the buildings in that sector are geared towards the Art of War. One can find numerous weaponsmiths, blacksmiths, academies, general suppliers, stables, and such. The air here is slightly polluted by the smoke from all of the fires and forges. This is also the sector where most of the laborers live.
The Parliament is where the Merchants' Council meets to run the day-to- day affairs of the city, as well as offices for most of the other administrative duties. The sector holds many 'light' industries - primarily those geared towards ordinary living (cobblers, tailors, butchers, etc.).
The Mint is also the city's central counting house. It is here that all residents go to report their total monetary holdings and receive their rank on the social ladder. This sector is home to many of the 'luxuries' in life - jewelry, art, and the like. It is also home to moneychangers and moneylenders.
The Library holds all of the records generated by the Parliament and Mint. While this is the main draw, it does hold a fair amount of information on the Outer Planes; but mainly on the nearby ones. This sector primarily holds sages and related shops - paper, books, ink. This is also where the few temples are located. The larger ones are (obviously) dedicated to various deities of trade, commerce, and money. The rest belong to a few 'support' deities (travel, healing, agriculture, etc.)
The final sector is the Hotel Sector. This is where all of inns and taverns and related facilities are located. The two most prominent places are "The Golden Hound" and "The Dragon's Son" . Both of these have been in place for a fairly long time.
Items of Interest[]
Given the focus on business, a planewalker can be almost guaranteed of finding exactly what he wants. However, the problem is that one has to find the EXACT merchant. If you want something in blue, and the merchant you are at only has green, be prepared to pay a 'finder's fee' to learn the location of the merchant who sells it in blue.
Inhabitants[]
The people of Tradegate are industrious, hard-working, and a bit snobbish. They care only for the earning, not gaining, of money.
When someone earns enough money to gain a higher status, they are expected to either move into a larger building, or expand their current one. Either way, this usually involves tearing down the building which currently occupies that spot and building a new one in its place. In nearly all cases, this new building looks almost exactly like the old one, except for a different floor plan. (Outward changes are subtle, but natives can easily spot them.)
There are three main people in Tradegate. Swider (who is the nominal head of the Indeps), Master-Trader Jeogi Gruuv (owner of "The Dragon's Son" and current head of the Council), and THE Master-Trader (who is, in fact, the gate to Bytopia).
Rumors/Recent Events
A lot of Indeps have been moving into Tradegate from Sigil. The reasons appear to be the combined effects of a Harmonium crackdown and a plague of some sort. The majority of those who have arrived are of the mind that it is good riddance to the City of Doors and that it's about time the League got out of there. The rest are of the mind to gather their forces and return armed for war to get rid of the Harmonium. There is a small collection of Indeps who are working on a cure for the plague - they do not appear to have made any progress. Or at least, they ain't saying if they have.
Of late, there has been a small, slow change in the nature of the city. More and more people are openly praising the ideals of hard work. Even the arts are beginning to reflect this shift in attitudes. This is the core concept of the city, but it is odd to hear this much more out in the open. It is probably a backlash against all of the newcomers.