This
part of the city is referred to as the ‘Beige Quarter’ by
residents of the city. Most of the day to day operations of the
government and the guard are served by the many Bureaucrats that make
the gears of government run.
Town
Guard Headquarters
This
large complex serves as the base of operations for the Town Guard of
White Willows. It consists of a defensive stone wall with a large
open courtyard in the center. Despite being here for centuries there
are very few permanent buildings on the campus and most of the Guards
offices are in large bleached canvas tents.
The
City Gaol
The
City Gaol
is a dark in foreboding block of gray granite with no windows, one
gate, and topped with a tangle of razor wire on top. The jail is
mainly used for holding criminals awaiting trial or as a ‘cool off’
for drunks, hot heads, and the occasional youth riot. The jail is
strictly split into sections for each class, the upper level for the
wealthy, whose cells are more like barred apartments, the ground
floor for the moderates and middle class, the most akin to what we
might think a prison is, and finally for the poor the squalid under
dungeons where the accused are kept chained to the wall until their
trial.
There
are older sections of the jail, where the canton keeps prisoners that
cannot be given a trial, or who have been
identified
as being too much of a risk to be made into a slave or catch the
executioner’s axe. This section of the jail has a bad reputation
and is feared as the place where they ‘lock you up and throw away
the key.’ Indeed there are cells in this area where the doors have
been bricked over and the whole are plays host to strange phenomena
and odd noises.
Visitors,
unless with legal counsel, are not allowed in, but the guards are
able to be bribed.
Tax
Collection Bureau
The
Tax Collection Bureau (TCB) is hosted in a building built like a
small fortress. Square, squat, and plain made of dark gray stone and
lacking windows a squad of specially made golems patrols the top of
the top of the building day and night. The stark building clashes
with its garish inhabitants as tax collectors for the canton dress in
bright colors and outlandish attire. The uniform for a tax collector
is similar to a landsknecht with wide floppy hats, bright hose, and
overly enlarged codpieces. Make no mistake however, Warwick the
Stern, the large nosed Halfling who runs the tax collection bureau,
is efficient and disciplined and expects no mistakes and nothing but
the best from his employees. The TCB is known for hiring a lot of
ex-adventures and demi-humans. The TCB has been cracking down on
illegal slave trading so the canton can get its 10%.
Nobles
Court
This
court is dedicated to the legal issues of the upper classes and of
maters of state. Run by Chief Magistrate Tallo he demands a court
free of antics, clean, and as quiet as a library. Tallo is harsh
with his settlements and many cases that would be considered minor
often get long slave times or the death sentence. This said Tallo is
extremely corrupt and trials are often just a farce for who can bribe
him the most.
The
Low Court
This
court is dedicated to the legal issues of the lower classes and is
undermanned and understaffed to deal with all of the issues. Chief
Magistrate Balfar is known for giving out strange and bizarre
punishments and has begun to charge spectators viewing rights to the
punishments. He has been using the funds to increase the staff of
the court and create a defensive fund to protect peasants from abuses
of the nobles.
Office
of Street Scoopers
This
office controls a small army of slaves and day workers whose sole job
it is to clean the city of trash and refuse. They are all equipped
in bleached white uniforms and sweep each street at random (but the
wealth areas get cleaned more often). The basement of the office is
a temple dedicated to the bald God of Cleanliness and everyone who
leaves smells lemony-fresh.
Involuntary
Fire Brigade
Made
mostly of slaves, criminals, and some randomly drafted citizens the
Involuntary Fire Brigade focuses on stopping any fires that might
flare up in the city. They are equipped with numerous axes, ladders,
and two Decanters
of Endless Water. Despite
its press gang origins the Involuntary Fire Brigade is well
respected.
City
Archives
This
large plain building is filled to the brim with old scrolls and dusty
tomes. Staffed by a single nearsighted bureaucrat the City Archives
contains copies of old city data – censuses, old deeds, and family
genealogies.
The
Golden Goose
One
of the few buildings on this street not dedicated to the government
The Golden Goose is a small restaurant run by old widow by the name
of Nanella. Famous for her bowls of roast goose and rice she opens
at noon and closes when she sells out, which is often within the
hour. Much beloved by the local bureaucrats it pays to be friends
with Nanella as she can get you in to many places that the
bureaucrats would normally keep you out.
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