Dragon Gold City

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Dragon Gold City (龙金城)
Type	Independent city-state
Affiliation	Lord Alliance
Location	Eastern coast of the continent; built against the southern mountains and the Inner Sea
Occupation / Role	Trade hub, adventurer center, and political center governed by the Council
Status	Active
First Appearance	25

Background / History

Dragon Gold City was founded by survivors of the fallen Golden Country, led by Princess Eve Edel. They built a prosperous city upon the bones of dragons, and the survivors became the basis of its twenty-seat Council. Leon Lionheart later murdered Eve, took her crown, and became the Lionheart Lord. 177 205

A later account records that, following Leon's betrayal, the Golden Country's people incorporated their souls into small dragons while awaiting their awakening. Yiwu, the dragon hatched from the egg protected by Tang Qi, is Eve Edel's reincarnation. 177 205 Yiwu's past-life memories are sealed to protect her developing mind and are expected to return gradually as she matures. 403

Eve also built the Southern Great Wall in Lost Era 103. During Leon's seizure of power, the resulting turmoil and a prison uprising allowed Beastfolk to breach the Wall; the destruction of the Road to Prison's obelisks subsequently led to the Tide of Chaos that devastated the south two centuries earlier. 333 A later account credits Eve with forging the Aether Prism and says that her personal strength had kept the Wall secure for seven hundred years. 367

Dragons had vanished from the continent long before the opening of the story. The city’s enormous dragon skeleton remained one of the few pieces of evidence that dragons had truly existed, though living dragons later reappeared. 25 89 392

The Deep Well beneath the city was originally shaped by corruption from an ancient dragon’s flesh and blood. Its monsters and treasures provided Dragon Gold City’s early wealth; after the natural hoard was depleted, the city’s rulers turned the Dungeon into a managed system, replenishing treasure to draw adventurers into eliminating its recurring threats. 155 179

Geography and Districts

Dragon Gold City is built around the skeleton of a massive dragon that died resting on the southern mountain ridge. Its spine crosses the mountains, its tailbone extends across the plain, and city walls divide the settlement into districts. 92

District / Landmark	Description
Dragon Political Hall	A palace-like complex on the mountainside, built around the dragon’s spine. It houses Council meetings and the Supreme Court; its dragon-head façade has a waterfall flowing beneath it. Its interior includes a connected demiplane, where the apparent view from the dragon’s mouth does not correspond to the physical city outside. 92 189
Upper City	Wealthy area whose residents can afford private meetings in the Political Hall and maintain residences of significant value. 92 189
Commercial District	The trade center at the foot of the mountain, forming part of the Lower City. Its prices and security are notably separate from other districts. 92 131
Spine District	A residential district populated largely by descendants of merchants and artisans; halflings, gnomes, and desert dwellers are common there. 129
Under-Cliff District	Residential area near the southern cliffs and Upper City, home to many longstanding local families. 129
Castle District	Administrative core containing the military, courts, government, and major decision-makers. 138
Temple District	Former center of numerous faiths; the Starlight Mage Academy is now its principal institution. 138
Port District	Water-transport hub connected to the Inner Sea and old canals; characterized by warehouses, merchant shipping, low-paid labor, and dense housing. 140
Deep Well District	Adventurer-centered district built around the Deep Well Dungeon; includes black markets, Refugee Alley, and the Adventurer’s Guild. 116 140
Dragon Prison	Prison for criminals and adventurers in a barracks at the junction of the Deep Well and Spine districts. It also held more than a hundred people detained during the Beastman crisis. 190
Dragon Tail Pass	Tax-paying settlement outside the city walls. Its residents may be sheltered inside the walls during major threats, but it lacks services such as road cleaning and drainage. 92 124

Dragon Avenue is the city’s main thoroughfare, connecting the roads to its districts. 192

Government and Law

Dragon Gold City is governed by a Council headed nominally by the Public Lord, who holds leadership and veto authority. The remaining Masked Lords conceal their identities to discourage bribery; a lord who voluntarily reveals their identity can be punished and replaced. 91

The city places great importance on legal procedure and public opinion. Even nobles can be challenged when acting outside city law, as Mel Barri’s attempt to seize star-plum seeds from Dragon Tail Pass residents is rejected by the City Guard. 91 135

Legal ideals do not entirely prevent corruption: City Guards are known to accept bribes in ordinary disputes, though Mel’s wealth and noble status fail to override the law when he cannot establish a lawful claim over Dragon Tail Pass residents. 135 The city’s rulers also concealed the managed nature of the Deep Well and tolerated the Red Scarf Gang’s role in its economy. 155 179

• Leon Lionheart — Former Public Lord during Tang Qi’s stay; an oathbreaker who seized power after killing Eve Edel. Tang Qi’s exposure of the city’s hidden dealings and his escape ultimately contributed to Leon’s downfall, leaving the pillar city politically unstable. 177 205 273
• Stella Starlight — Identified later as Public Lord, succeeding Leon. She is also associated with the Starlight Mage Academy and the surviving legacy of the Golden Country. As a split remnant of Eve Edel, she obstructed Leon’s attempts to claim Yiwu and helped Tang Qi’s group escape. 177 193 279
• Masked Lords — Council members whose concealed identities are legally protected. 91 95
• Supreme Court — Located within the Dragon Political Hall. 92
• City Guard — Maintains public order, controls city access, and enforces martial law when ordered. 93 100
• Dragon Rider Corps — Elite legion that guards the Deep Well entrances and controls the city’s airspace. 142 192
• Starlight Mage Academy — Major magical institution associated with Stella Starlight and the surviving legacy of the Golden Country. 138 177

Economy and Society

Dragon Gold City is a city of merchants and adventurers. Merchant caravans arrive from across the Lord Alliance, while the Inner Sea and historic canals make the Port District a major water-transport center. 106 140

The city’s prosperity is uneven. The Commercial District and Upper City reflect immense wealth, while the Port District’s workers, Refugee Alley, and the Deep Well District’s poor endure dangerous and unstable conditions. 116 131 140

• Dragon Tail Pass residents pay a monthly residence tax of one silver coin, or one gold coin for twelve months of residency rights. 124
• Newsboys from the Refugee Alley orphanage distribute newspapers and gather information throughout the city. 116
• The Deep Well District is the city’s most racially tolerant area and includes Tieflings and other non-human residents. 140
• The Adventurer’s Guild is an official Dragon Gold City organization that manages requests from across the Lord Alliance. 140 141
• Registered adventurers are charged ten gold coins per person each month by the Adventurer’s Guild, in addition to other Dungeon-related fees. 142
• The city’s dependence on the Deep Well is extensive: a Dungeon closure disperses adventurers, reduces commerce in the Deep Well District, and threatens infrastructure such as the sewer system. 179 186
• Dragon Gold City later recruited and organized an allied force for the Southern Great Wall, drawing heavily on adventurers and collecting a Spear Tax. 368

Deep Well Dungeon

The Deep Well is a Dungeon beneath Dragon Gold City, believed by many to be a dragon’s treasury or nest. It produces monsters, shifting terrain, and valuable loot, while its presence causes tremors and collapses in the surrounding district. 100 116 155

The widespread claim that the entire Dungeon is a living entity is misleading. Dragon blood genuinely altered the original mine pit and created its unusual ecosystem, but the shifting sections of the first two floors are mechanically controlled from a Preparation Room above the Red Scarf Gang’s base. 155

The rulers of Dragon Gold City deliberately sustain the Dungeon economy. By placing treasure in its depths and promoting the legend of the Dragon Hoard, they attract adventurers to clear monsters that would otherwise threaten the city. 155 179

• The Adventurer’s Guild surrounds the Dungeon’s central shaft and provides access to its lower levels. 141 142
• Entry costs one gold coin per person. 142
• The Dragon Rider Corps guards the Dungeon entrances to prevent conflicts between adventurers. 142
• The Red Scarf Gang grew within the Deep Well ecosystem and was tolerated by Leon as a means of absorbing criminal elements and preserving the city’s wider stability. 140 179
• The gang’s robbery teams monitor selected adventurers with Arcane Eyes, exhaust them using prepared hazards and teleportation, and reclaim valuables for redistribution through the Dungeon system. 155
• The Dungeon contains a hidden Dragon Hoard area and an abandoned Mind Flayer conch ship capable of astral travel. 159 293
• Leon temporarily sealed the Dungeon when Spores began causing undead outbreaks, disrupting the system on which the city’s prosperity depended. 179 186

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arrival and Martial Law

Tang Qi’s group reaches Dragon Gold City after fleeing Star Plum Town through the Twilight Forest. The city is under martial law following reports of orc attacks on Mel Barri’s territory, and Tang Qi must negotiate with the City Guard to secure entry and lodging for the refugees. 91 93

The Golden Oak and City Life

Catherine establishes the Golden Oak tavern near Dragon Tail Pass, while Tang Qi gains influence through his connection to the Guard Captain, his guidebook, and his actions against the Red Scarf Gang. 122 124 135

Deep Well Investigation

Tang Qi explores the Deep Well, uncovers its role in Dragon Gold City’s prosperity, and learns that the supposed Dragon Hoard is part of a system designed to lure adventurers into containing the Dungeon. 140 155 179

Conflict over Yiwu

The city’s political struggle centers on Yiwu, the dragon hatched from the egg Tang Qi protected. Stella reveals that Yiwu is Eve Edel’s reincarnation, while Leon seeks custody of the young dragon and attempts to negotiate for her through wealth, status, and legal authority. 177 179 189

Beastman Crisis and Dungeon Closure

Leon exploits Beastman attacks and Anbi’s imprisonment as leverage against Tang Qi while sealing the Deep Well over the Spore outbreak. Tang Qi rejects Leon’s offer to exchange Yiwu for wealth, title, property, tax exemptions, and rare magic items, then resolves to rescue his companions before the Double Moon Feast. 179 181 189

Escape from Dragon Gold City

After being confined in Dragon Prison, Tang Qi and his companions escape during the Double Moon Feast. Anbi releases other Beastman prisoners, while the group scatters money and excerpts of Tang Qi’s guide across Dragon Avenue, draws adventurers into conflict with the guards, and breaks through the city gate with Yiwu’s dragon breath and Dawn’s attack. 191 192

Outside the city, Leon attempts to intercept them personally. Stella protects Tang Qi’s group with a Force Wall, and Tang Qi uses a Fair Contract while Stella draws the Teleportation Circle that carries the group away. 193

Aftermath and the Fall of Lionheart Rule

Tang Qi’s guide excerpts publicize alleged scandals surrounding Leon, the orcs, and Dragon Gold City’s political system. His escape, the release of Beastman prisoners, and the exposure of the Deep Well’s hidden structure deepen the city’s instability; by the time of Tang Qi’s later reflections, the Lionheart Lord has been brought down. Stella Starlight is subsequently identified as Public Lord. 192 230 273 279

The Golden Oak remains in operation after Tang Qi’s departure. His reputation and connection to the new Public Lord help deter troublemakers there. 279

Southern Great Wall Campaign

Dragon Gold City organizes an allied army for the Southern Great Wall, largely composed of adventurers and supported by the Spear Tax. Beastfolk scatter the force, and some survivors are captured after fleeing into the mountains. 368 Stone Giants later report seeing armored troops, some riding wyverns, whom Tang Qi takes to be members of the Dragon Rider Corps; they appear to have avoided another direct clash with the Beastfolk. 400

Prospective Refuge from the Phlogiston Sea

As the Phlogiston Sea’s advance threatens the world, Tang Qi directs three freed former slaves and their families toward Dragon Gold City. He describes it as the last place the Phlogiston Sea will reach, offering them the chance to survive until the world’s end, though their arrival there is not confirmed. 439

Tang Qi and Shalti subsequently discuss the migrations that may converge on the city and wonder whether it was deliberately built as a refuge. Its possible role in the catastrophe remains uncertain. 440

Trivia

• The city’s nickname and appearance are literal: from a distance, its districts fill out the shape of the dragon skeleton beneath them, making the dead dragon appear to have been given new life. 92
• “Guess who the lord is” is a common greeting among Dragon Gold City citizens because Masked Lords conceal their identities. 91
• Public Lord Leon is widely recognizable despite the Masked Lord system, and local street artists commonly sell satirical portraits depicting him as a lion-headed gnome. 177
• Tang Qi considers Dragon Gold City a pillar city of the Lord Alliance and states that it possesses the power of a nation. 273
• Tang Qi later dreams of a woman’s voice repeatedly directing him to “Go to Dragon Gold City,” but does not establish who sent the message or why. 404