Akuma no kuchi
'The Devil's mouth'. This dormant volcano looms over the southern coast of Ritenkyo, it's south and west cliffs rising directly from the sea and climbing up in a near vertical inline up to the highest point on the island; a giant, gaping, maw-like crater that last rained fire and brimstone hell upon the southern portion of the island some seventy years ago. Recently, some say they have heard the old mountain stirr in its sleep, and some south-eastern communities are wondering if perhaps it may be better to relocate before they become part of what makes the volcanic soil so fertile. In staunch defiance of this stands the Mad smith's workshop where he and 176 variously obtained disciples work tirelessly to create the most beautiful tools of death Ritenkyo has seen (that were not crafted out of the corpses of sinners anyway). There is a road constructed from this location that allows relatively quick travel to Kurogane-ko, from which Muramasa gets steady shipments of materials to work with thanks to his many contracts and outlets in the city. Unfortunately what is relatively fast in relation to otherwise traversing the harsh and winding terrain of the mountain base region, becomes tragically slow when related to cascading rivers of red hot death one might want to escape from.
Kurogane-ko
Black Gold Harbor
Known as the 'hidden gem of the south seas', this thriving pirate port is what became of a small fishing village located hidden in an inlet on the south coast of Ritenkyo which just so happened to hug the western base of Akuma no Kuchi. It was discovered seventy years ago that the south and western portions of the volcano's bowl were significantly more elevated than the north and east, so in spite of their proximity to the mountain the village suffered nearly no damage as the lava flow was directed away from them. They were hidden a way in a perfect blind spot for the mountain's fury. And since no one else would be crazy enough to come try and establish themselves that close to the mountain until a few decades had passed and people had forgotten their fear and respect for its might again, the village was left to thrive and expand knowing full well it was in a golden location. It's unclear if the already shady inhabitants of the village simply decided to make a pirate port of it some time down the line, or if the suitable location was simply spotted by a roving band of pirates when it started developing and was taken over, but either way by the time the rest of the island became aware of Kurogane-ko's existence again, it had become a favoured harbour for the regional wokou and poachers.
When Muramasa became the second blade he immediately spotted the potential in the location and opened his initial, smaller workshop there. Selling his wares to the pirates (in between furnishing the needs of the Mana cult in return for their sponsorship), Muramasa used his shockingly keen business sense to establish strong business relations with key individuals who would be of great use to him later. The quality of his work (even as he was still busy instilling in his first group of disciples the madness they would need to create works of true beauty) was enough for him to attract a good-enough customer base that after two years of near constant economical scheming, arranging, and hustling, Muramasa had gathered the capital to construct his true workshop at the mountain base. Leaving the previous workshop to serve as a secondary outlet, Muramasa funnelled a significant portion of his ongoing profits from his weapons trade into funding the businesses of certain partners in the harbour he had established good relations with. Like this the Three blades' finances have directly been responsible for the recent stimulation of the port's economy and attraction of international clientele, and everyone knows it. While the Three Blades have no official base in the port, everyone knows they own it in practice now thanks to Muramasa.
