Fifth Gate City and accompanying info

At the base of the Heavenly Dragon mountains, where steep, rocky slopes give way to rolling foothills and valleys filled with mountain streams, lies the City of Fifth Gate.  Set at the origin of the River of Ocean's Origin, it is the end (and beginning) of the Heaven's Doors trade route.

The River of Ocean's Origin:
	A mighty river, deep and wide enough that some have said it is the primary source of all the water in the sea.
Created by the joining of hundreds of small mountain streams, Fifth Gate City serves as a port for those shipping goods to and from the Daoist monasteries in the mountains above.

Heaven's Doors Trade Route:
	This trade route is unlike any other.  While traditional goods flow in both directions, those ships leaving the City of the Fifth Gate carry a much more precious cargo: Scrolls containing the wisdom of the Monks who make their homes in the mountaintops.  Such scrolls oft contain preciously important information - the sort that could do much damage in the wrong hands- and thus ships carrying such cargo often will hide it, and hire members of the Jiang Hu to protect the secrets of merchant, courtier, and monk alike.

The City Itself:
	Built on the head of the River of Ocean's Origin, the city is directly on a floodplain.  Come spring, the waters spill their banks and the entire city is covered in thigh-deep water.  For this reason, lumber and stone is always in high demand, as the buildings must be raised high to keep those inside dry.  This gives the city a bizarre, tropically foreign look which does not always sit well, but few will speak of it - the architectural designs of the pillars and arches which hold the buildings up were designed by Imperial Architects in bygone days, and have proven their mettle every spring.  Even the poor are kept dry by large, flat, open platforms constructed to give them a place to rest.  Indeed, the city is most kind to its beggars, by Shen Zhou standards...and they return the favour.  Many a rowdy barfight has been broken up by a raggedy man with a knotted piece of wood, who disappears as soon as peace is restored-although sometimes without paying his tab!

	The City of Fifth Gate is a city of merchants.  In this, it is nearly unique among even the other centers of trade in Shen Zhou.  Merchants control everything, and many have even bought their way into political positions.  The various Cabals and Guilds keep a vicelike grip on the city as well, and those that seek to restore the city to a more traditional line of governance will have a mighty battle on their hands.  Things are far from perfect, however...merchants are in the business for money, after all, and the politics of Fifth Gate City are as rife with double-dealing, backstabbing, favour brokering, and swindling as any other court, some would say even more so.