Mongeet

Mongeet – The Beating Heart of the River Trade¶

"The tide brings fortune, and the tide takes it away." – Common saying in Mongeet¶

Mongeet, once called The Fishmonger's Meet, is the bustling river district of The Shallows of Hammerfall. Over time, the name was shortened through common speech, but its essence remains: trade, toil, and tides. It is the lifeblood of commerce, where boats from the wider world unload goods, fishmongers and dockworkers battle for the best catch, and smugglers slink in the shadows.

Mongeet is a place of constant movement—the river carries ships and secrets alike, and those who cannot keep up with its flow drown in its currents, figuratively or literally.

Layout & Atmosphere¶

Mongeet hugs the riverbank, its streets a maze of wooden walkways, half-flooded alleys, and piers that stretch into the water like reaching fingers. Buildings are stacked haphazardly, some built on stilts, others dangerously leaning toward the river. The smell of salt, rotting fish, and spiced rum fills the air, mixing with the ever-present sound of gulls, creaking timbers, and shouting merchants.

By Day:

Fishmongers gut and sell their catch at crowded markets.
Cargo is hauled from ships by dockhands, many of them half-drowned in sweat and ale.
Merchants barter for exotic goods brought from across the sea.
The Black Tide Tavern is a resting spot for tired sailors, though a brawl or two is never far off.

By Night:

Lanterns cast eerie reflections on the black waters, illuminating back-alley deals.
Smugglers load and unload contraband under the watchful eyes of paid-off guards.
Drunken sailors stumble from taverns, some never making it back to their ships.
Stories of the River Wraith keep the superstitious indoors.

Notable Locations¶

The Black Tide Tavern ¶

A notorious drinking hole and smuggler’s den, built on stilts over the river. The owner, Varka "Low Tide" Brogg, runs it with a mix of old pirate wisdom and brute strength.

The Salt Market¶

A sprawling open-air market that never fully closes—even in the dead of night, someone is selling something. It is the best place to buy:

Fresh & smoked fish (some from the deep, best not to ask).
Rare goods smuggled in from distant lands.
Alchemy reagents taken from the river’s depths.
Cursed trinkets—at least, according to their desperate sellers.

The Sunken Steps¶

A half-submerged staircase at the edge of the docks, visible only during low tide. Locals say it leads to the drowned ruins of an ancient temple, but no one who ventures down has returned.

The Fisher’s Lament¶

A shrine dedicated to Njord, where fishermen and sailors pray before voyages. Offerings of silver coins and fish bones are placed in the water to ensure safe passage.

The Drowned Wharf¶

A section of the docks that collapsed into the river years ago. Some say it was an accident, others whisper that something dragged it down. Now, it is a resting place for those who don't wish to be found—alive or dead.

People of Mongeet¶

Mongeet is home to a mix of dockworkers, merchants, sailors, and criminals, with a few desperate souls trying to carve out a respectable living.

Common Denizens¶

Norsemen Dockworkers & Fishmongers – Hardy and weathered men and women who work the docks and fish the river. Many come from generations of riverfolk and take pride in their craft.
Ork Haulers & Laborers – The backbone of Mongeet’s workforce, Orks are valued for their raw strength, loading and unloading cargo at a brutal pace. Many work for a daily wage of ale and meat, though some form their own independent crews.
Smallfolk Scavengers & Tinkerers – Goblins, gnomes, and halflings make a living scavenging shipwrecks, repairing nets, or running small market stalls selling exotic trinkets. Their small size and cunning make them excellent at navigating the city's tightest alleys.
Dwarven Traders & Mercenaries – While rare, Dwarves occasionally pass through Mongeet on trade routes or as hardened sellswords looking for work. Some banished dwarves carve out a living as brutal enforcers for smugglers or criminal enterprises.

Notable Characters¶

1. Varka "Low Tide" Brogg (Owner of the Black Tide Tavern)¶

Race: Ork
Description: A towering, scarred Ork with a weathered coat, a single golden tusk, and a deep, gravelly voice.
Personality: Gruff but fair; doesn't tolerate trouble unless it makes him money.
Secrets & Hooks:
- Knows every smuggler worth their salt in Mongeet.
- Has a secret tunnel beneath his tavern leading outside the city.
- Rumored to have been a river pirate in his youth and still has a bounty on his head in distant lands.

2. Kvarrac (Leader of Loki's Hand, Mongeet’s Crime Syndicate)¶

3. “Grandmother” Yrsa (Matron of the Fisher’s Lament Shrine)¶

Race: Norsewoman
Description: An ancient, half-blind woman in sea-weathered robes, always clutching a knotted wooden staff.
Personality: Wise, mysterious, and deeply feared despite her frailty.
Secrets & Hooks:
- Said to be over a hundred years old, yet some claim they’ve seen her in old paintings looking exactly the same.
- Whispers to the river at night—some say the water whispers back.
- Keeps a ledger of names, marking those who will soon drown.

4. Ulf "The Hook" Jorgarson (Harbormaster & Corrupt Official)¶

Race: Norseman
Description: A burly, red-bearded man with a large iron hook replacing his left hand.
Personality: Greedy, pragmatic, and always looking for an opportunity.
Secrets & Hooks:
- Controls all river trade taxes, skimming off the top for himself.
- Takes bribes from smugglers, but only if they pay him more than his rivals.
- Lost his hand to something in the water, but he refuses to speak of it.

5. Borug “The Barnacle” (Rogue Ork Smuggler & Boat Thief)¶

Race: Ork
Description: A thick-muscled Ork with barnacle scars on his arms and a permanent river stink.
Personality: Loud, brash, and completely fearless—or completely insane.
Secrets & Hooks:
- Specializes in stealing entire boats, selling them downriver.
- Claims to have a treasure hoard hidden beneath the docks.
- Once cheated death, and now believes he is truly unkillable.

6. Selka the Riverborn (Wandering Seer & Diviner)¶

Race: Smallfolk (Gnome)
Description: A tiny, waterlogged-looking woman with webbed fingers and a necklace of river stones.
Personality: Eerie, sings incomprehensible river chants, rarely speaks in full sentences.
Secrets & Hooks:
- Appears suddenly when something bad is about to happen.
- Can foresee drowning deaths, but only tells those who will listen.
- Claims "the river remembers"—but what it remembers, she won’t say.

7. Grettir “The Leech” (Healer & Illegal Surgeon)¶

Race: Norseman
Description: A hunched, bald man with deep scars on his arms and a belt full of bone saws.
Personality: Morbid, calculating, and fixated on anatomy.
Secrets & Hooks:
- Will treat any injury, no questions asked—for a price.
- Harvests organs from the dead, selling them to strange buyers.
- Hears things whispering beneath the floorboards of his clinic.

8. Captain Svarri “One-Eye” (Veteran River-Pirate Turned Ferryman)¶

Race: Norseman
Description: A weathered old sailor with one eye and countless river tattoos.
Personality: Gruff, pragmatic, and secretly sentimental.
Secrets & Hooks:
- Once commanded a fleet of pirate raiders before his men betrayed him.
- Has an old treasure map, but he refuses to follow it.
- The river owes him a debt—but he won’t say what that means.

9. Mohr "Ol’ Mohr" Harkensen (Cook at The Black Tide Tavern & Former Monster Hunter)¶

Race: Norseman
Description: A massive, one-armed man with a burn-scarred face and a permanent scowl.
Personality: Gruff, no-nonsense, and haunted by his past.
Secrets & Hooks:
- Used to hunt river-monsters, but something made him stop.
- Refuses to cook certain fish because he claims they whisper to him.
- Drinks heavily to forget something, but he won’t say what.

10. [[Fex]] "The Whisper" (Information Broker & Shadow in the Market)¶

Race: Smallfolk (Halfling)
Description: A frail, hooded figure who seems to always be in the right place at the right time.
Personality: Soft-spoken, enigmatic, and terrifyingly well-informed.
Secrets & Hooks:
- Knows everything worth knowing in Mongeet—for a price.
- Never seen entering or leaving a building, yet is always present.
- Has no known past, yet old sailors swear they’ve seen him before—years, even decades ago, looking exactly the same.

Secrets & Rumors¶

The River Wraith – Sailors swear they’ve seen a ghostly figure walking atop the water, calling out names in the night. Those who answer vanish beneath the waves.
The Smuggler’s Tunnel – A secret tunnel, hidden under the Black Tide Tavern, leads to a hidden cove outside the city. Only a select few know its location.
The Drowned Ledger – A book washed up on the docks, filled with names and cryptic symbols. A local gang is willing to kill to retrieve it.
Something Beneath the Water – Old sailors claim that deep beneath the river, something ancient and hungry stirs. They say Ol’ Mohr, the tavern cook, knows the truth but drinks to forget.

Adventure Hooks¶

The Smuggler’s Heist – A powerful noble from Upper Hammerfall is using Mongeet’s docks to transport illegal artifacts. Someone wants them stolen before they leave the city.
The Missing Sailor – A ship arrived without its captain, who was last seen leaving the Black Tide Tavern at midnight. His cabin contained strange waterlogged pages…
The Sunken Vault – A half-mad beggar claims that beneath the Drowned Wharf, a forgotten vault still holds untold riches—but it is guarded by things not meant to be woken.
The Fisherman’s Curse – A local fisherman claims he caught something that spoke to him before he threw it back. Now he believes he is cursed. The next storm might decide his fate.