Location from The Black Company by Glen Cook
Where the Black Company starts Book One — a corrupt southern city-state where the Company's contract is running out and everything is about to go wrong.
Beryl is where the series begins — the Black Company is serving as the garrison for a failing city-state, their employer is losing power, and the political situation is collapsing around them. When Soulcatcher arrives offering a contract with the Lady, the Company takes it because the alternative is going down with Beryl's sinking ship. Beryl represents the Company's life before the Lady — the kind of petty, corrupt contract work that pays the bills but doesn't make history. Everything changes when they head north.
A southern port city with the heat, dust, and political instability of a place that changes rulers the way other cities change seasons. Croaker describes it with the lack of affection a soldier has for a posting that's gone sour. Crumbling walls, factional politics, and the sense that the Company needs to leave before someone locks the door.
Also known as: Beryl