Elrik Note: In my game, the Orc Empire (Empire of Pomarj) raided up to Cantona in an early bid to conquire the Wild Coast. For unknown reasons, about a week from Safeton the Orc army stopped, and after three days, pulled back. That was mid 578. Other then peridoc raids, nothing has been seem of the orc forces. To some extent people have returned to Cantona, but the slavers and a number of raider groups have taken up residence in the area. The city has no laws, and even fewer actual residence, gangs rove the streets in hopes of easy prey. Slavers manage the docks and use the place as an warehouse for slave storage. It is not uncommon for the slavers to welcome orcs to pick through their stock.
Cantona was originally a fishing village founded about 200 years ago. It had grown to nearly six hundred residents by the time a Suloise mage named Valterra settled here in the year 495 CY. Being rather paranoid, he bought several buildings in the middle of town, then had them torn down and rebuilt to unique specifications. The buildings were asymmetrical, used strange angles, and were decorated with enchanted woods, ensorcelled paints, and magical mortars. The result was that the buildings were immune to scrying, teleportation, evocation spells, the entry of summoned creatures, and other sorts of invasive magic. Over the decades, this magic degraded, and when Valterra died, the spells went totally awry and affected the entire town.
Once this resistance to magic became known, the town became a haven for those who hate magic. Three stone piers were built to service merchant and fishing ships. The town’s log walls were fortified by large towers. The town’s population grew to 1,100 by the time the orcs of the Pomarj laid siege to it in 584 CY. This time,the antimagical properties of Cantona worked against its citizens. The orcish advantage of numbers could not be countered by magic. The town quickly fell, and about half of the residents fled to Safeton. The others were killed or captured by the orcs.
The orcs built a thick rampart of earth to bolster the town’s wooden walls, which proved valuable when the Greyhawk Mountaineers attacked Cantona in 90 CY. While the attackers started fires that burned the log walls, towers, and buildings, the earthen rampart prevented the mountaineers from entering the town. Now the city of Cantona lies in ruins, with only a few stone buildings still standing. However, the orcs have dug extensive tunnels beneath the city and rebuilt the towers. Although three sunken ships block the town’s piers, most of the wreckage has been removed to allow use of the outer portions of the north and south piers.
Slavers use Cantona as a stopping point on their way down the Wild Coast to Elredd. They pick up fresh supplies of food, drugs, and local news that their superiors might need to know. They drop off liquor, plus any slaves that won’t survive the rest of the journey.
