Where the ramshackle and slimy, sagging wharfs redolent with decay cluster thickly together against the Svart’s muddy, slick bank gather the ferociously independent and inbred Takolen. A singular air of ruin and decay hangs heavily over the rotting wharves and the festering, stinking boats moored alongside or grounded in the shallow water thick with silt, seaweed and jetsam.
A ship’s figurehead—a rampant eagle with wings outstretched—looms over this tavern’s door and casts its shadow into the muddy street. Flecked with peeling, weather-worn paint the once-proud eagle has seen better days. In many ways, it reflects the faded fortunes of the Bloody Eagle’s owner, Fruen the Unlucky (CN female half-orc fighter 2/thief 3).
One of the best known establishments on Cheap Street, Raisa’s Curios fills the first three floors of a tottering four-storey townhouse. Known throughout the city, Raisa’s Curios is one of those places adventurers often come to browse in hopes of finding something interesting or valuable among the junk and bric-a-brac.
Languard’s Dreaming Spires—or sometime simply “the Spires”—is the greatest seat of learning in the Duchy and its only university. Sprawling over the Alina’s Isle, the Dreaming Spires stands in splendid isolation from the stink and clamour of the city. Only reachable by boat, it is here those desirous of learning come.
The only bridge spanning the Svart, Vonya’s Span—or “the Span” as it is colloquially known—is a prominent city landmark. Comprising three great stone arches, it stands at the point the Svart widens on its journey toward the sea. It marks the spot beyond which ocean-going vessels cannot pass.
