River Gate is a bit of a misnomer—there is no actual gate at River Gate. Instead, a pair of squat watch towers commands the Svart’s course were it begins to widen before flowing into Hard Bay. Each of these watchtowers is heavily fortified and topped by ballistae capable of sweeping the river.
So named for its proximity to the Low City and—not ironically—its elevation, Low Gate is the least, but widest, of Languard’s gates. The rich and the powerful must have a spectacularly good reason to pass through this battered, traffic-choked portal which his wide enough to fit two carts abreast.
The grim walls and towers of Castle Languard loom over the city like a ever-watchful guardian. The castle stands on the site of Arndul Nenonen’s first fort and is the oldest continuously occupied building in the city.
The centre of Abarin’s faith in Ashlar, the Great Forge is a buzzing hive of industry and commerce. Here, the Great Craftsman’s faithful work at their forges or toil over their workbenches in search of new creations and inventions.
The Fishshambles sprawls along the waterfront to the north of Cheap Street. Here a tangled, reeking labyrinth of narrow, tenebrous alleys—punctuated by a few wider roads—runs down to the Svart and the network of rickety wharfs and jetties jutting from its southern bank. A few folk maintain totteringly decrepit warehouses, hard against the docks; most such locations are used for nefarious activities such as smuggling. At least two are under the thieves’ guild’s control.
