The quayside runs the length of the walled Old City, and is one of the world’s busiest ports.  Most wharves have temporary warehouses for the facility of offloading; these must be emptied at sundown or the goods are forfeit (a law upon which the city’s longshoremen trade heavily during last-second "renegotiations").  Five of the wharf’s warehouses are permanently leased to various compagnia and merchant princes, and goods remain in the others (at expensive short term rates from the Harbormaster’s Office) until they can be transshipped to private warehouses in the city proper.  The guard provided is minimal, unless compagnia hire their own mercenaries.  Only Garnath Halgon, the city’s wealthiest entrepreneur, is rich enough to afford an entire warehouse permanently reserved for his own enterprises.

From the south, the key wharves are:  Left Hook Pier, Rose Wharf, Custom House Wharf, Great Wharf, Admiralty Wharf (named for location, not for any connection with the navy; the naval piers are adjacent to the naval ropewalk in the New City), Coronet Pier (Halgon’s warehouse), Queen Jellana’s Wharf (or just "Queen’s Wharf"), val Troon’s Wharf (after a lot of money was spent by the nouveau-riche val Troons); the longshoremen and sailors still use the older "White Wharf," when they don’t call it "Troonsie’s" in mockery), Oranor Wharf and Right Hook Pier.  The quayside has long since been at capacity, even after the city fishing fleet was forced to tie off on new wharves south of the Old City, and further expansion of the southern wharves has been mooted.  The wharves themselves are plain wood, worn smooth by the vast traffic, while the quayside is paved with crushed oyster shells.

The Sea Gate:   This gigantic and imposing gate is fashioned from carved and polished (if a bit weathered) black granite.  Open from an hour before sunrise (or high tide, whichever comes first), closes at sunset.  The guards will generally take bribes to open the Gate for known sea captains swearing that they need to get men out to set sail during the night.  No tolls are charged; incoming cargoes are tariffed by the Harbormaster’s office, outgoing wagons at the East Gate.  The Gate mounts six-pounder cannon and four swivel guns in its two towers.

City of Warwik Harbormaster and Custom House:   The Custom House and Harbormasters office is in this imposing granite edifice, with a nine story granite tower surmounting it, the tallest non-ecclesiastical building in the city.  The Harbormaster, Blaco Verethundi, oversees a large staff of assistants, inspectors and tariff collectors.  The Khibil Port Officer, Endo Vaduzo, handles navigational issues like keeping the quays in repair, supervising harbor pilots, policing the inner harbor and maintaining traffic control; there is an uneasy truce between the two, largely due to Vaduzo being an earnest fellow who doesnt grasp Verethundi’s innate corruption. 

All ships entering and leaving the Port of Warwik are subject to search and tariff, and must have a licensed pilot aboard.  Due to Blaco’s being brother to the smuggler Galna, a large quantity of fine goods slip through the cracks.  Corruption is endemic, although held to a low level, and most pilots and inspectors will take bribes to let certain goods through.  Outgoing wagons are tariffed at the Customs inspectorate at the East Gate on the opposite side of the Old City, but not at the Custom House proper; this is a long-held and jealously guarded perk of the Old City merchants (who want enforcement of the oft-flouted anti-wherry laws).  The pinnacle of the Custom House tower is a lighthouse, with a powerful magical light item surrounded by mirrors and lenses to focus and extend the light.  The "Old Light" can be seen throughout the entirety of the inner bay, and for miles inland.
Fees:  1 gp for harbor pilot, inbound and outbound; 1 sp/yard of beam/day for dockage at outlying wharves, 1 sp/foot at the City Quayside; 1 gp for a license to sell the cargo out of a particular ship +5% estimated value of cargo; 10 sp, +1 sp/barrel or crate, for wherries ferrying goods by canal to North Market, the city’s main market (generally; illegal)

Admiralty House: Of the same granite construction as the Custom House, Admiralty House is the administrative center for Warwik’s far-flung navy and is filled with harried clerks and junior officers on half-pay desperately awaiting postings.  Warwik’s Lord High Admiral, Dame Tamara Wavecleaver, is here when her Home Squadron is not out on maneuvers.  The Victualling, Shipbuilding and Ordnance Boards - the civilian bureaucracies charged with outfitting and provisioning the fleet - also have suites on premises.  The Commandant of the Port is Captain Marsilius Whitehand, an elderly Chulik mariner at his final posting who is deeply concerned about spies; therefore anyone not known to be a Warwik naval officer or one of the civilian staff on premises will receive short shrift.  The five-story tall dedicated naval aerodrome is at the southeast corner of the building, which fouls the sightline of the main wall tower just behind and has caused considerable friction between the powerful Admiralty and the City Watch. The Navy’s three precious scout vollers small alchemically-powered flying boats - are stored here for swift communication at sea, while a dozen saddle birds are kept on hand for quick communication with naval bases which don’t require flying the temperamental birds out of sight of land.

Barracks, Admiralty Guard:  In case of trouble, a full company of Royal Marines is stationed at a barracks adjacent to Admiralty House, with two ten-man units on continuous guard.  The Admiralty Guard is a much-prized post awarded only to elite Marines.  The Colonel of the Admiralty Guard is Dame Danay Mayfern, a legendary ex-ranker knighted by the Crown for numerous deeds.  The (true) rumor is that she is secretly a Black Dagger Knight.  The Guard is under the nominal command of the High Admiral and is officially not under the Port Commandant’s authority, which has led to much friction in the past; Dame Danay is a skilled enough politician to keep all sides tolerably contented.

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