RICKSHAW DISTRICT
The Rickshaw district lies in the
poorer southern end of Zengul. The rich leave near the middle and to
the north (away from the river, pollution etc.) but the major roads
in the city allow them quick access to the south – along with
airships and an underground train system. The southeast houses the
farmlands, cross the river is the overflow beyond the walls. The
district is well situated in the middle of the city though is now too
crowded to be the hub of transit it was years ago. Many merchants
store wares for the nearby bazaar and a scattering of inns, taverns
and homes fill the district wherever there is room or space.
A dozen merchant Traders run the
district in terms of being the law and order in the area, though
their concern is more than merchants wares and livelihoods are secure
more than anything else. Which merchant traders are part of the Trade
Council isn’t kept as common knowledge and fluctuates as it stands.
Their agents wear white and silver livery and mostly make sure things
are functioning correctly in the district. If they are not, they
often hire For Hire’s to deal with problems. For Hire’s who
discover problems and subsequently report them – with proof, after
dealing with an Incident – can gain monetary reward and favourable
recognition toward future jobs.
Places and People
The Broken Pony
This is a medium-sized tavern in the
west side of the District situated on the ground floor of a
three-story stone building. The second floor contains rooms for rent
– at high rates – while the staff and owner live on the third.
The tavern had over 20 tables scattered generously apart, one bar
with little seating and all food, drink and such stored and made in
their basement. The food is nothing to write home about, but the
drinks are slightly cheaper than other places and the ‘rent’ the
PCs pay for their table is more than reasonable.
The owner, a rarely seen halfling
named Kush, spends most of their time dealing with getting new
stock etc. in their office on the third floor and dealing with guests
renting rooms the rest of the time. The tavern boasts three barkeep,
one of whom is basically their backup.
Omar is the longest-serving
barkeep: tall, with a head of white balding hair, a large beard and
prominent pot belly, Omar is quiet unless one is a regular and even
then tends to listen more than talk. On quieter nights he also asks
as the bouncer and slams the heads of those who would cause him any
grief with a skill borne of long practise. He’s served under Kush
for over 30 years in two different taverns and is considered
generally peaceable but any insult to halflings (or half elves) leads
to immediate ejection from the tavern.
Lauri is the other barkeep.
Almost as tall as Omar, she keeps her cropped hair short in an
ever-changing braid she colours differently every few days. Qick with
words as well as drink, she defuses problems with them rather than
her fists. She’s worked for the Broken Pony since it opened here
twelve years ago and never talks about the scar and accident that
cost her the sight in her left eye.
Deshaun is the youngest
bartender, and when not serving bar the youth cleans rooms upstairs
and helps make sure things are functioning smoothly. He is very short
– about 4’5” tall, thin, with a worrying grey-green tinge to
his skin and entirely hairless. Despite that, he’s affable enough
and uses a stool when working behind the bar, joking about it as much
as others do.
The help – the term for the kid who
gets drinks and food from the basement, cleans tables and sometimes
brings drinks to regulars – are far less regular. The barkeeps and
owner tend to hire those down on their luck but if any of those so
helped trys to cheat them, they have been known to send For Hire’s
after them. The tavern normally has no bouncer proper, with regulars
dealing with problems in exchange for a free meal or money put toward
their tab.
Tabs at the Broken Pony don’t work
like they do in other taverns: you pay ahead for drinks you haven’t
yet had, so that when you’re down on your own luck you have several
‘free’ drinks waiting for you. If you happen to die or not show
up in a while, they’ve given to someone else who needs them.
Other Locations of Note:
The Demon’s Respite: A large inn
famous for its important wines and beers – nobility have been known
to demean themselves to frequenting it for the beverages – the
Demon’s Respite is run by a young merchant Trader named Legom
who is amazingly reluctant
to talk about his past. Or what trading family he hales from. Or what
is behind the name of the inn, which until it was bought and
transformed was a decrepit brothel.
Owin’s
House of Favours: A proper brothel. Two floors, many discreet doors,
stairs and rooms. The
staff are all ex-prostitutes who remain there and the owner – a
woman named Razelu
–
was a famous escort in her day who retired to run the House, which has
had many owners but always retains the same name.
Zambinis!:
the closest thing to kind of clubs the nobility own and run.
Zambinis! is an after-hours gathering place for the rich and well-off
in the district with membership being invitation-only and guests
seldom allowed beyond the main foyer. At least half the traders in
Rickshaw District use it, or have alliances with those who do. It is
owned by the Hildago
merchant Traders
and they do not so much trade as facilitate trade with others.
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