Kantor Kabljauhof

Following Cothon-Under-Star, the great Hanse-complex known as the Kantor Kabljauhof has proved the second-most interesting to adventurers, claiming to its membership two among the foreign barbarians currently make a name for themselves in the city for their adventures in the Tel al Safina. Though not technically of the city, nevertheless, the Kantor stands in the city, and operates a public house and maintains membership in such a way that it stands rival to the other three Great Taverns of Cothon-Gadeed.

The Tavern

The entire eastern block of the harbor, nearest the Gate of Fishermen is taken up by the high-walled complex known as the Kantor Kabljauhof. Housed within its walls are the warehouses of the Hanse, the public house and dormitories for visitors, alchemical and smithing workshops for resident Hansemenner, the fish market from which the Kantor takes its name, and along the harbor (the east side, least protected by the great breakwater and thus least desirable) the quays and slipsheds for Hanseatic cogs and galleys. Within the walls of the Kantor, the laws of Cothon-Gadeed cease to hold, for all the territory of the complex is foreign soil, and lies under the laws of the Hanse.

The public house itself takes up the ground and first floors of the complex around its gate, and is sometimes colloquially called "the Gatehouse". The floor above the gate comprises the common room, where anyone may come with a handful of silver for Hanseatic lagers; the ground floor to the west is reserved for private parties and more intimate gatherings, while the eastern side comprises the "inn" with rooms to let for the night, or small apartments for longer accommodation.

The aforementioned lagers, only able to be brewed in colder northern climes, make up a part of the attraction of the Gatehouse, along with strongly bittered ales, so bittered as to better survive the long passage oversea. These refreshments, along with a variety of seafood--raw cuts of fish and shellfish, pickled whelks, breaded and fried fillets dipped in vinegar, etc. etc.--are served under the watchful eye of Vala, chief quartermistress of the Gatehouse.

Of non-humans, the reptilian Sakkra are most likely to be found in the company of the Hansemenner. Their alliance is longstanding, born of old, perhaps, out of a mutual love of seafaring. The tribes of the Shen-Sakkra are perhaps most (in)famous in this, known both as great traders and pirates. Religious tensions inevitably exist between man and Sakkra, as each views the other as the archetype of their gods' enemy--the gods of men forever at war with dragons and the World Serpent, while the Sakkra devote offerings to the World Serpent, and sing hymns to their serudla and sro hero-gods who vanquish chnelh- and human-like demons. Nevertheless, the Kantor holds shrines to both mythologies, and somehow the tension is maintained without breaking.

The Kabljauhof Fischmarkt

As previously noted, the Kantor in Cothon is named for its fish-market, the Kabljauhof--the "Court of Kabeljau"--which is contained in the open court between its walls (locals often refer to it instead as the "Souk al Samak"). Rather than compete with a separate market, the local fishermen congregate in the same neighborhood to sell their catch, hence the name of the northeastern city gate.

While the Hanse fischmarkt deals largely in stockfish, bacalhau, ludefisk, and other such preserved meats (which can be shipped long-distance), the market around the gate is almost entirely devoted to the fresh catch of the day. Thus the two complement each other; and even for those seeking only fresh fish, the Kabljauhof offers deeper-water varieties than the local pangas can easily get, as well as access to all the other wares sold at other booths within the hof.

Spices, for instance, are sold in bulk, shipped in from distant ports; and the various items sold only through the Hanse's monopoly can only be obtained in the Kabljauhof, most especially Sakkra-blood potions, which are claimed to heal one's hurts better than the bacta-poultices peddled by the alchemists Under-Star.

These potions, and other wares like them, are produced locally in the alchemical workshops of the Kantor, but unfortunately for adventurers who would seek access to such, they are denied even to tavern-members. For the secret methods of the Hanse's alchemists are jealously guarded, only to be known by oath-bound Hansemenner, such that an adventurer wishing access would have to swear fealty to the Hanse.

The Quays

Though relegated only to the smaller eastern section of the harbor, only just protected from ocean storms by the breakwater mole, the quays of the Kantor make up a lucrative part of the city's trade. The Guild of Longshoremen who otherwise monopolize the breakbulk work of offloading ships' goods into the warehouses along the harbor, look enviously on the work of the men inside the Kantor, for the Hanse, as a foreign entity, has the privilege to disregard the Guild's monopoly and hire its own laborers.

For anyone wishing to use downtime to invest in Trading Ventures, this would be far from the worst place to begin, though non-members would of course be assessed a fee for going through the Kantor's agents. Tavern-members, on the other hand, would be granted preferential treatment, and many a merchant of Cothon, especially those without their own trading-vessels, pay dues to the Gatehouse tavern in order to ship their goods on Hanseatic ships, rather than risk their wealth to a private galley.

The Library

Housed in the top floors of the Kantor, well away from the bustle and noise of the markt and the workshops, the library holds but a fraction of the long-accumulated knowledge of the Hanse in its various cities and far flung Kantors. It is a common thing to find a ship-captain or pilot here, attended by a scribe, and either having copied out one of the peripli or navigation charts for his next voyage, or reciting the newest coastal details to be added to one of the peripli already amongst the stacks.

Tavern-members perforce have access to the library, and though the peripli may be of little use except to those who wish to organize sea-going expeditions for themselves, nevertheless, there is much else of interest amongst the scrolls and codices collected within. Those performing non-magical research at the Kantor would find themselves especially able to pursue inquiries into these topics:

• ship navigation and operations, found in various peripli, tidal almanacs, etc.
• shipwrighting and fishing
• sea creatures, their habits, habitats, and uses (and dangers)
• foreign cultures (especially northern ones) and their histories
• primers on various languages, and various grammars of use to interpreters
• Sakkra cultures, tribes, languages, history, etc.

The alchemical secrets of the Hanse are generally kept strictly among Hansemenner, and are not part of the more open information compiled in the library.

Undoubtedly also appealing to adventuring-interests, the Kantor library contains a section of spellbook copies which magic-using members may peruse in their quests to expand their magical prowess. Like those held by Cothon-Under-Star, these are not to be lent out, merely studied, and as copies, they do not confer any special bonus beyond the possibility to learn the spells contained within.

Three of the "books" are compilations of a series of musical works by the mysterious and arrogant Moq. The originals are said to have been engraved on black discs and contained in codices of fantastical art, and to have been enchanted to sing forth with the magician's own voice; but these copies are merely scrolls of a kind of mathematical notation indicating the rhythm and melody of the songs, along with notes about how the flow of the music corresponds to the flow of power, and how the power is thus shaped by the musician (or magic-user) to effect his will upon the world:

My Name is Moq
An operatic tale of a bright young man, born of humble origins and sold into slavery under the Dominator, an ancient sorcerer-king. So keen was his intelligence that his talent was quickly recognized, and he was allowed to rise high in the courts of the Dominator, despite his status as a slave. Ultimately, recognizing himself as superior to the dread sorcerer, Moq secretly organized a plot to assassinate the sorcerer by sending his voice to negotiate on its own; meanwhile, when the time came, he was able to unravel the protections of the Dominator's mantle of power and thus slay him, and then install himself in the sorcerer-king's stead--"In place of a dark king, you will have a god!"
I. ventriloquism
III. dispel magic

Triumph
Moq's magnum opus, a kind of heroic hymn or paean sung to himself as god-king. The melody, rhythm, and hymn all weave together in a hypnotic procession of inexorable logic that leave one with a firm impression that Moq is indeed a god, worthy of adulation. The original "book" was said to have been sent throughout the kingdom, singing unto itself, charming all who heard into recognizing Moq's godhead; the copies, however, require that a magic-user actually learn and cast the spell for himself, of course.
I. charm person
II. hold person
IV. charm monster

Pain and Suffering
Inevitably, Moq's power inspired envy and hate; his arrogance and cruelty became bywords of those who would stand against him; and seeing that his Triumph was not universally acclaimed, the magician ultimately turned to the forces of darkness to ensure his continued reign. The discordant songs contained herein are so effectively suggestive of gloom, fear, and phantasmagoric images that such things can be called up by them; meanwhile, the original of this "book" is said to have contained a fuller song, which if sung by the correct voice, would summon up such forces of darkness that none could stand against them ... perhaps not even the great Moq ...
I. cause fear, darkness
II. phantasmal force

Meditations of Amalasuenthas
A series of philosophical meditations following a stoical school, i.e. "the natural order is good, beings are part of the natural order, therefore thinking beings are good, and only thought deludes one from happiness." A chief tenet of this particular series is "that which must be endured, can be endured", and it seems the original philosopher put herself through a rigorously ascetic life to prove it. Those who grasp such ascetic ideals should be able to endure various hardships:
I. purify food and drink, resist cold
II. resist fire

The Saga of Valga Valatyr
This saga relates the deeds of the hero-shaman Valga leading his warriors against the encroaching armies of the Mangudai, chiefly concerning his own deeds which secured victory for his tribes. For Valga was a great shapeshifter as well as a magician; and as the Mangudai approached, Valga changed into various innocuous animals to damage the abilities of the enemy to come to battle (scouting as a kyni, for instance, and becoming a sekeker to infiltrate and destroy their food stores). Finally, at the battle itself, he called on his powers to change the enemy's spears and arrows into serpents, and the Mangudai were completely routed.
IV. polymorph self, sticks to snakes

The Guardian Wind, Galar the Pilot
The original of this "book" was really an unwieldy bundle of scraps of sail canvas upon which were scribed the famous pilot's songs to the wind, calling up a fine tailwind, rebuking a typhoon, or reveling in the raw power of a thunderstorm. The original is supposed to be held in the fortress of Jaer, who uses it to call the winds as he will; but this copy includes charms that bind minor winds to protect the caster:
I. shield
III. protection from normal missiles

Colours of the Mind I: Vibrations
The first in a series of technical treatises regarding psychical energies, and how to replicate them with arcane formulae. This volume is dedicated to demonstrating tried and true methods of observation that reveal the "vibrations" of "colour" from other minds, even those cloaked by spells of nondetection--and how to interpret the various combinations of "colour" and "vibration" such that one can "read" them as if they were one's own thoughts.
II. detect invisible, ESP

Colours of the Mind II: Emanations
The second volume in the series, this book builds on the first; once one is able to detect the "vibrations" of other minds, one is then able to perceive one's own, and understand better how to manipulate one's own "field" of "colours" to "emanate" for specific purposes. As detailed in this work, such purposes might include masking the presence of oneself and one's companions from detection by other minds; or alternatively, to produce such a cacophony of "colours" and "vibrations" that even the untrained cannot help but perceive them, and thereby be thrown into confusion.
There are said to be further volumes in this series, but the Kantor Kabljauhof does not hold any such publicly; perhaps the Mormaera Yrasi might possess further copies?
III. invisibility 10' radius
IV. confusion