Jigow

Jigow is a fishing town on the far northern coast of Xhorhas.

Description
Jigow is a collection of villages that grew together into a fishing port on the far northern coast of Xhorhas on the shores of the Emerald Gulch Sea and and the Ifolon River.

Points of interest

 * The Unbroken Tusk inn, an establishment renowned for its pies.
 * Beefslab Butchers, owned by Vars.
 * Black Islands, the smallest isle contains the entrance to the Emerald Grotto, a curling network of underwater caverns.

Meatwaters
The Meatwaters are the primary docks of the city settled on the banks of the Ifolon River and home to its thriving fishing industry.

Jumble
A collection of densely populated villages in the center of Jigow, the Jumble is further inland and built among mangrove trees and horizonback tortoises that serve as mobile homesteads. It is a vibrant part of the city dwelling in the everyday chaos of life and bisected by a series of twisting streets that give the district its name. They filled with shrines, stables, taverns, amphitheaters, shops, athletic fields, and workshops.
 * Helter-Skelter, a dynasty outpost, contating baracks for Aurora Watch and a two-story dodecahedral-shaped residence of Durth Mirimm.
 * Within its center, the Jumble houses a three-story temple in form of a dodecahedron dedicated to worship the god of the Kryn Dynasty, the Luxon.

Wetwalks
On the eastern edge of the city are the Wetwalks, stilted homes built over low wetlands where paddies are cultivated to grow grains. One of rice farms is conjointly run by Gakthash and Uvuroh clans.

Demographics
Around 795 PD, when the town of Jigow was incude into the Kryn Dynasty, it "gained a significant drow population". By 835 PD, Jigow had a population of 13,210 with 56% of goblinkin, while 31% were orcs. By 836 PD, Jigow "became home to humans" too.

Government
Durth Mirimm is the taskhand in charge of the city, working in partnership with the elders of the orc and goblin clans; Ushru representing the orcs, and Colbu Kaz representing the goblins. The relations between the taskhand and the elders is strained, as Durth Mirrim puts the interests of the Dynasty before the citizens of Jigow. Meanwhile the clans elders do their best to maintain the cultural heritage of their peoples.

Culture
The people of Jigow have longstanding rivalries between their clans, and these competitions are celebrated, ranging from hunting, cooking competitions, and sports. Though some citizens have adopted worship of the Luxon after its introduction by the Kryn Dynasty, many feel that the presence of the drow are stifling their local culture.

Jigow holds an annual Festival of Merit, involving variety of contestants: warriors, artists, arcanists, and athletes. There are eight competions, each rewarding the distinguished with seven Medals of Merit and a special prize for the last and final competition.


 * Pie eating contest in the Unbroken Tusk inn (entry fee of 5 silver).
 * Maze Puzzle (entry fee of 3 silver ): A wooden, four-foot-tall maze specifically constructed for this festival. Sharpwatch is an aarakocra judge who has great vantage point from above, picking up anyone who will fail the contest by reaching a dead end. Anyone can try again paying the fee every time they enter.
 * The Ifolon Plunge (entry fee of 5 silver ): Contestants gather on a pier to race the Ifolon river. To win, one required to swim 75 feet upstream, fighting off hungry sharks, reach a wooden post with a rusted spear, sticking out of it, and bring the spear back.
 * Armwrestling contest (free to enter): Vars, the contest host, accepts betting. Anyone can place their bet on the winner, giving five silver to Vars, and, if the bet was successful, gives back nine silver, pocketing his share of one silver.
 * Rice harvesting contest (free to enter): On the most north-western side of the city, contesting teams consisting of two members operate on their farm section of twenty-by-five feet in length and width. One member is cutting down the crops, when the other gathering them together and preparing for drying.
 * Tortoise Race: Adan trains horizonback tortoises to be the mounts or mobile building for the clans of Jigow. However before he can begin, the tortoises are to be moved from the paddock in the middle of Jigow and beyond the city's gate. This task is given to each of the contestants.
 * Riddles (entry fee of 2 silver): Before partisipants presented three riddles: a wooden box with four keys of distinct metals, a star map of Exandria, and a row of colored bottles. To win the contest, one must unravel at least two riddles.
 * The Race through Emerald Grotto: With dusk, the last contests of the Merit Festival begins, gathering curious folk around the paddock, which was earlier cleared out of horizonback tortoises. Elder Colbu Kaz and elder Ushru choose two teams who gathered the most medals during the festival. Starting on the Black Islands in the south-east direction from Jigow, they must dive in the depths of the Emerald Grotto and find the Emerald Eye, that symbolizes the competitive spirit of the city. Each team is granted with one Potion of Water Breathing. The winners receive 100 gold and the praise as city's Champions of Merit.

History
Jigow was founded by the Kryn Dynasty around the year 735 PD, after bringing together the goblin and orc clans that lived in the area. These included the Gakthash, Uvuroh, and Zetek goblin clans and the Norgab and Shoomat orc clans.

Trivia

 * The "Encounter of the Week" article expands on the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount adventure hook of the same name that takes place within Jigow. The article is however non-canonical.
 * At the Q&A prior to the 2020 C2E2 live show (unrecorded), Matt mentioned an orc/goblin town in the north of Xhorhas that is focused on competition, which matches the description of Jigow perfectly.
 * In, Jigow was found on the map and mentioned in discussion by the Mighty Nein as a possible destination in their continuing investigations. Beauregard shared with the group what little she knew about the town due to her general historical knowledge.
 * Jigow is the starting location of the adventure module Call of the Netherdeep (2022). Matt gave an overview of the town in an interview with Todd Kenreck.