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Dwarves in the Coeur
Dwarves are, if not the largest, certainly the most influential racial minority in the Coeur. The Duchy’s close relationship with Durabar has made it relatively easy for dwarves to settle here, and a skilled dwarven workman can make a very good living in human lands.
The nobility in the Coeur have a high demand for dwarf-crafted weapons, armor, statues, and jewelry, which usually surpasses all but the best human craftsmanship. There is also money to be made in the extensive trade between the Coeur and the dwarven citadels in the Irontooths, and a dwarf with connections in both locales can make a pretty penny by shipping metal, stone, or finished goods to human lands and food and wood back to the mountains.
There are approximately one thousand dwarves living in the Coeur, though that number changes as the seasons progress. Only three to four hundred dwarves live permanently in the Coeur. Most of the others move here for periods of five years to several decades, making their fortune before returning to the comfort of the mountains.
While living in the Coeur, dwarves tend to live in one of several close-knit neighborhoods. When a dwarf moves into the city, members of his clan who already live here will arrange a place to stay, and often bring him into business with members of the clan. In return, clan members send profits back to the clan in the mountains and, once they become established, extend the favor to newer arrivals.
Most major mountain clans are represented in the Coeur. Having a representative here is of great value to a clan, because it offers strong potential to extend the clan’s wealth and influence and gives them a foothold for sending other dwarves to human lands to make their fortunes.
While clan wars still occur in the mountains, clans in the Coeur are by and large peaceful. No large clan has substantially more members here than any of the others, and the dwarves are conscious of their precarious position as a prosperous minority. Indeed, far from fighting amongst themselves, the Coeur dwarven community has taken it upon itself to keep crime and other problems under control.
This is spearheaded by the Industrious Council of Dwarven Elders, a broad group of prosperous and powerful dwarves who represent their community in the city and settle disputes. Their authority is generally recognized by law-abiding dwarves, in large part because of the involvement of the Hall of Faerg in the council.
Dwarves in the mountains often worship Gnorr, Tzaltos, or other, lesser-known gods, but in the Coeur, Faerg’s church is the center of dwarven activity. His doctrines of hard work and personal discipline have been demonstrated time and time again to lead to prosperity in the Coeur, and dwarves, a pragmatic folk, revere the Forge-Father here.
The Hall of Faerg is a low-slung, one-story building, with more warrens underground, built around a large market square. Faerg’s Hall does not hold church services as many human faiths do, but the clergy ask their flock to demonstrate their faith through works. Many dwarves donate heavily to the Hall, and it is not unusual to find a talented craftsman using the Hall’s forges or workshops to construct a work dedicated to Faerg’s glory.
Twice a week the Hall hosts a market day outside of the building, which draws merchants from all over the city interested in dwarven goods. This market is often a good place to find craftsmen for commissioned tasks.
The dwarves are by-and-large a model minority, joining the city guard in numbers beyond their makeup in the population. Dwarven neighborhoods are some of the safest in the city, due to tight-knit clan and city ties that keep criminal elements out.
One notable exception is the duergar clan of Bharzak Ironaxe, who runs a successful protection racket on the South Side by the docks. Most law-abiding dwarves despise Bharzak and think he gives the whole community a bad name.
In contrast to the predominantly wooden construction throughout the New City, dwarven neighborhoods are filled with solid stone homes. Furnishings, too, tend to be built to last. Even though a dwarf might only plan to stay in the city for a few years, he or she is likely to shape their living space with an eye for permanence that humans rarely aspire to. Dwarven houses also often have fully furnished cellars, an environment that feels more natural to dwarves used to living underground. Living in a coastal city, though, means a high water table, and dwarves can often be heard to grumble that they can’t dig deeper.
Most dwarves live in the blocks surrounding the Hall of Faerg. The full blocks to the south, west, and southwest of the Hall are entirely dwarven. Neighborhoods to the east, north, and southeast are also heavily dwarven but not entirely. This area has been dwarven to one extent or another for hundreds of years, and they have placed an indelible mark on the area. The most prosperous dwarves live here, and many have discrete workshops here as well. Many citizens refer to this area simply as “the dwarven quarter,” or, more derogatory, Beardtown.
Dwarves also occupy a full block near the House of Books, spilling into surrounding neighborhoods. It’s billed “Iron Street,” despite being larger than that. This became occupied by dwarves about seventy years ago, and has many less-established dwarven families. Merchants unable to afford the prices nobles pay for dwarven masters can often find a newly-arrived craftsman here to fill their needs for a reasonable price.
The final dwarven neighborhood of consequence is on the South Side, halfway between Sea Road and Tanner’s Road. Compared to the slums surrounding it, this is a stable, secure neighborhood, but crime is not unknown here. Bharzak Ironaxe is rumored to have a strong foothold here, though open acts of violence or brazen crimes are rare.
Dwarves are generally integrated well with the city’s non-dwarven middle class. While dwarves don’t frequent human parties or human bars, most merchants or craftsmen can claim to have met a dwarf on more than one occasion, and often to have done business regularly with one.
Dwarven social life is, like that of humans, strongly affected by social class. For working-class dwarves, the center of social activity is the tavern. Dwarven neighborhoods feature prominent taverns, and dwarves often develop enthusiastic loyalties to particular drinking institutions. In contrast to human bars, a dwarven brewer would be ridden out of town if he or she served watered-down swill. Brewmasters compete to serve high-quality alcohol, and dwarves consume it in ample quantities. After a week spent working long hours, tensions are often relieved in punishing brawls. Priests at the Hall of Faerg often do a very good business healing broken bones in the morning.
Contrary to common beliefs among non-dwarves, however, not all dwarves spend every night getting drunk and brawling. Appreciation for fine brews, of course, is almost universal, and even the richest dwarves will occasionally frequent a tavern. For affluent dwarves, however, entertainment of a more cultural nature is common. Though the theater as understood by elves and humans is scoffed at by dwarves, meeting halls in the Coeur host dramatic readings of traditional dwarven myths and stories. (These are often clan affairs focusing on clan history.)
Dwarves also appreciate music and attend performances. Dwarven music only rarely features stringed instruments, being built around complex and powerful percussion with brass flourishes. Connoisseurs insist that music in the Coeur is only a pale imitation of the real thing in the mountains, where the soundscape of the cave is itself an added instrument, often tuned and shaped for particular effects.
Though the Coeur lacks proper bedrock, dwarven merchants in the Coeur recently financed the construction of an echo chamber performance hall inside an empty warehouse near Duke’s Way. The “Soundforge,” as it is called in Common, has been very successful since opening (though it may take years or decades to make up its exorbitant construction costs), and has even become something of a fad among a certain, cosmopolitan segment of the human nobility.
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