City rules of Aquila

The city rules of Aquila are the local rules of the port city of Aquila in the campaign Yeni Dünya ("New World"), set out in a printed text read to newcomers. At the harbour, arrivals give their name, birthplace, the place they come from and their trade to be registered, and the printed rules say that no one may pass beyond the port without registering.¹²

What the rules say

According to the printed text:

• anyone in the streets at night must carry a light;²
• heavy armour and weapons may not be taken into the Kaleönü quarter, though daggers the length of a forearm are allowed for protection;³
• the city gates close at dark and open with the sun, with no exceptions;⁴
• crimes against the native peoples are treated as crimes against citizens, and the governor's policies are to be followed;⁵
• those who prove, by the governor's examination, that they know one of the two native languages receive a tenth off their total taxes, independent mages included.⁶

In practice

During the preparations for the festival of the Red Moon, the night rule of the gates could be relaxed under some conditions for goods coming in and for people caught outside; even so, the guards at the Wheat Gate would not let two adventurers out at night, and they left only in the morning.⁷⁸⁹

At one gate a soldier tried to turn native merchants away, but his sergeant reminded him of the governor's order and let them in. After rumours of the governor's poisoning had led to attacks on native people and their property, the governor declared in public that he would not allow such violence, and three people, one of them a city guard, were hanged from the walls as he spoke.¹⁰¹¹¹²

The rules could also be got round: Sticks once entered the walled city at night by paying guards of an old acquaintance.¹³

Property and trades

To buy property inside the walls, a person must be accepted by the city as a citizen. When Bruno applied to set up as a barber and tooth-puller, the clerk asked for a registration paper from the Guild Union rather than a physician's certificate, and, failing a surety from a known barber, an examination by the guild masters. The clerk listed payments to the church for healing, a window tax and a contribution to the road-layers, and said that an account at the Imperial Bank was needed; the shop could not be bought at once, but its rent would count towards the price if it were bought later.^141516171819