Many of Okeno’s most notable locations are listed below.
1. Yellow Harbor: A vast wall of yellow slavers’ sails
greets visitors to Okeno. The Yellow Harbor (sometimes
called Skindock) is formed from ancient stone and is the
oldest part of the city. The docks are built upon two levels:
the lower level is used to transport slavers and the slaves
in their charge through the countless sweatways (see the
sidebar above), while the upper piers (usually built from
timber) allow trade goods to be taken off the ships—as
well as any crew and passengers. Okeno hosts a thriving
tourist trade, and the countless merchants, aristocrats, and
foreigners who come here to buy slaves make this portion
of the city remarkably cosmopolitan compared to the rest.
A band of quarrelsome gnoll guards tend to the slaves
under the expertise of Nexor Halfhand (NE male gnoll
brawler ACG 6/rogue 3), the enormous right-hand man of
the master of auctions, Fleshlord Sarfaraz al-Qoor, who
oversees all the city’s slaving operations.
Yellow Harbor teems with laborers for hire, all
loudly shouting their superior strength and knowledge.
Theoretically these laborers are free people, although
most work like slaves on behalf of greedy masters. While
these employers acquire most of their slaves
through fleshfairs, many scheme to snatch the
odd slave through various nefarious methods,
especially scams involving fake escapes.
Among the more noted slavers and pirates
that are regulars at the docks are Captain
Xiren Bhey, captain of the Undertow, and
Brelitt Vinneau, a Chelish slaver who captains
the Sea Gargoyle. For more information on
these and other notorious captains of
the Okeno slavers, see Pathfinder Player
Companion: Pirates of the Inner Sea.
2. New Dock: Once a ship is
emptied of its cargo, it is towed
to anchor at New Dock. Here,
a framework of wood rises from
the sea, a confusing mass of piers and
walkways, cranes and rope, seemingly
nurturing the ships gathered about it. It is by
now far from new, and vast and ancient ship’s timbers
make up its skeleton. Lashed by storms and eaten
at by the frequent mists that fall from the mountain
of the Stonespine, the framework truly appears like
bones. The entire dock is under constant repair, but
the endless demands of arriving ships makes proper
repair impossible. New Dock is therefore the result of
hundreds of years of making do and improvising, and,
as a consequence, is a surprisingly dangerous place in a
dangerous city. According to Okeno legend, a visitor is
far more likely to die because of a loose nail upon arrival
than with a knife in her back—hence the phrase, “A rusty
nail is the deadliest weapon in the Yellow City.”
Governor Morio Midasi’s most trusted advisor, Captain
Permelia “Peg-Leg” Cockle—the one-legged former pirate-
turned harbormaster—collects taxes from visiting ships.
She has one of the hardest jobs in the city, and has a nest
of wererat helpers (known locally as the Moles) to locate
and open up the endless secret holds hiding goods from
taxation. Her lieutenant, Akall ni Hatrass (NE female
halfling natural wererat rogue 5), is a legend at sniffing out
such goods and secrets. That Peg-Leg Cockle is the easiest
person to bribe in Okeno is a poorly kept secret, even to
her employer (and likely his Pactmaster overlords), but
Midasi knows the harbormaster is no worse or better than
anyone else to have held the post in his tenure, so he allows
her to think she is fooling him, fully intent upon taking
everything she has when the time is right.
3. Ratstails: Surrounding by a hundred gaudy signs,
this ramshackle gambling house made of old ship parts
leans over the calm waters of the bay. The owner, Ritheeri
Halmas (NE male halfling natural wererat alchemist APG 6),
smiles the widest smile in Okeno—as well he should—for
rumor has it he’s the richest person in the city and that
he’s eyeing Morio Midasi’s position as governor. Halmas is
dangerously charming and has an uncanny memory for
detail. Visitors might spend a few minutes in his
company and not return for months, but when
they do, Halmas remembers them and the
conversations they had. A particular friend
of the gnoll slavers and an ardent admirer
of the Hyena Princess (see page 39)—
despite his wish to poison her someday—
Halmas cunningly engages the gnoll’s
inherent cruelty in special games. He
avoids the brute entertainments of the
Black Circus (see page 67), preferring to
confine his nastiness to sadistic bets
involving animals.
4. The Fleet: If sailors are lucky,
their captain lets them stay aboard
ship during a stay in Okeno. Most
do not, however, and so those who seek
a night’s sleep head for the Fleet, one of
the most disgusting, flea-ridden pits in Golarion.
A vast maze of old ships partly floating in the harbor,
the Fleet is a bewildering fusion of flophouse, tavern,
bathhouse, and slum rolled into one endless shambling
structure. However, the Fleet has one luxurious area,
known as the Stern. This more sedate and refined area
puts most visitors off with its high prices (10 times those
listed on page 159 of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook), to
the relief of those few who can afford them. It’s run by
Admiral Dziban Menkent (LN female undine B2 bard 5),
who controls an army of servants, slaves, and guards
with her quick temper and the ever-present whip at her
side. Menkent can be a delight, a terror, or an enigma;
interactions with her are perilously unpredictable.
5. Shrine of Thaffaar: Named for the architect who
carved the great dome that crowns this temple to Gozreh
in Stonetown, the shrine sees more activity than nearly
any other religious institution in Okeno save the bank
of Abadar. The aged Tian priests, brother and sister
Niharo (N male human cleric of Gozreh 8) and Owayu (N
female human druid 8) are held in high regard by most
locals, in no small part because, despite their feisty and
argumentative natures, they bless so many ships set to
depart the Yellow Harbor.
6. Slaver’s Vault: A huge tower winds its way up from this
squat marble building, whose ornately decorated interior
is formed about a central opening, where an astonishingly
large golden candelabrum said to be worth 40,000 gp
hangs. The vault, the largest bank of Abadar in Katapesh
aside from the grand temple in the capital itself, is the
most admired and visited place in Okeno. The original
candelabrum was actually stolen by a master thief called
Pherkad almost 300 years ago, but the forgery is so perfect
that no one has ever noticed (a successful DC 40 Appraise
check is required to note it is a fake, and even then only
upon close examination). The present priest and local judge,
Justice Hanbal, sits as the appointed official on all matters
from theft to murder. Harsh and humorless, Hanbal
takes his duties very seriously, and is perhaps the
only person in Okeno who cannot be bribed.
7. Okeno Tanning Pits: The tanners of
Okeno maintain this open courtyard, which is
100 yards across and houses the tanning vats
and pits of local traders. Immediately behind
and around this district, huge piles of animal
feces are mounded against the back walls
of buildings; their stench often wafts
across the whole city.
8. Shipyard: Lurking below
the entertainment district of
the Ships’ Graveyard—which
is suspended here at least a
dozen yards above on timber
boardwalks—the Shipyard houses
artisans who repair and enhance vessels.
Falak Tubaa (N female human expert 9) is regarded as the
most successful and gifted shipbuilder in Okeno. Sadly,
gnoll slavers hold her only daughter, Zahwah, hostage, and
occasionally force Falak to sabotage vessels so the gnolls can
overtake and rob them later.
9. The Shipwreck: A juddering mass of ship’s timbers
have been lashed together in this portion of the Ships’
Graveyard to form an open plaza. A series of towering
houses, many of which are modified sterns from large ships,
overlook this broken place. A recent spate of tremors in the
Shipwreck’s supports has left the structures contorted and
largely abandoned, but criminal elements have taken to
using the somewhat luxurious, if dangerous, residences as
bases of operation, banking on the area’s instability to keep
the law from meddling in their affairs.
10. The Old Fleshfair: A snaking maze of alleyways
meander through this portion of the fleshfairs, an area of
exposed paths set above sandy pits between 10 and 30 feet
below. These pathways are governed by a strict hierarchy
system, formed out of respect—and often enforced through
violence—with the oldest and most established traders
getting the best and safest viewpoints, while lesser slavers
or those who prefer to operate anonymously are given
dangerous perches. The Old Fleshfair is linked to the docks
by the various sweatways of the city.
The auctions do not follow set timetables, although
some religious days of Abadar are used as excuses to hold
enormous slave markets; a notably vast slave market is held
each Market’s Door, during which the population of the
city has been known swell to nearly twice its normal size as
slaves and traders flow into the fleshfairs.
The master of auctions, Fleshlord Sarfaraz al-Qoor, a
diminutive man with an incredibly deep, far-reaching voice,
hosts the auctions, and has been known to take bribes to
hear certain bidders above others. He runs a downtrodden
staff of 20 and is infamous for his affection for attractive
women. An experienced lothario, he nonetheless remains
particularly cautious when in the presence of high-
ranking gnoll females, having heard rumors of
their sexual insatiability.
Fleshfairs do not always deal in humanoid
wares alone; the monsters that pass through
the fleshfair often appear later in private
menageries or are used as guards for wealthy
foreigners seeking unique defenders.
11. The Laughing Fleshfair: Gnolls have their
own fleshfair, where they can trade with each
other. Although non-gnolls do come
to this place, they tend to attract
attention, particularly if they
are not accompanied by gnolls.
Nervous guards are everywhere,
but those brave enough to attend
these auctions sometimes find bargains
on certain slaves, as gnolls are generally
far more interested in flesh or entertainment than brains
and artisans.
12. The Black Circus: The infamous and enormous
Black Circus is the main entertainment in Okeno, putting
on a show every week and during important festivals or
religious days. For bigger shows, everyone flocks to the
circus, where the emphasis is all about putting on a bloody
spectacle, something the master of ceremonies, Ictarias (LE
female tiefling necromancer 14), is always keen to do. The
show requires a small army of slaves, performers, animals,
and victims, and Ictarias is often seen in the fleshfairs of the
city, shopping for new acts.
13. Palace of Waterfalls: One of many homes of the most
famous gnoll slaver, the Hyena Princess Njano (see page
39), this palace is graced by spring water falling from high
in the Stonespines. The water is used to great effect here,
with a whole wing built above a lake. The paranoid Njano
changes her home from time to time, even taking quite
humble lodgings on occasion—providing each can offer
her daily baths in milk.
14. Palace of Honeyed Stone: The Palace of Honeyed
Stone houses the governor of Okeno, Morio Midasi. The
golden palace was originally built in 3499 ar by Captain
Ilmatis Okeno, although each lord since has added to
the structure. Heavily patrolled, hideously trapped, and
beautifully decorated, the palace is a series of towers built
around a central fragrant garden. The present governor
prides himself on his exotic slaves, and boasts among
his captives a number of monstrous creatures, including
his gug bodyguard. Midasi welcomes many visitors, but
always in small, easy-to-repel groups. Rumor has it that the
Pactmasters are displeased with his service for unknown
reasons and wish to replace him soon, but further details
into this affair are as secret as the mysterious masked
overlords themselves.