Liechtfels

**Liechtfels** is a major industrial port city in Aldwyr, and the third largest city of the Aldwyran Empire, second only to Averreik and Midtlhafen. It is located at the mouth of the river Ald, where it feeds into the sea at Grundburg Fjord. Its unique position makes it one of the most important cities in the Empire, offering it full control of trade upriver, and placing it at the very heart of the arcanoplasm and demon whaling industry.

The city began as an iron mining settlement that could easily transport wares upriver to Averreik, and steadily grew into a position of importance as a trade stop and major point of sale. The largest shift in the township's fortune however would occur in the wake of a bloody civil war between clergy of Yohr and guilds of mages that were on a cultural ascendance, some of which were based in Liechtfels.

The war left much of Aldwyr in arcane ruin and led to the accidental creation of an abyssal rift into the Slip in the waters of Grundburg Fjord, which rapidly transformed the surrounding area. The waters of the bay turned black and viscous as ink, and the sky darkened to match it, entering a state of constant shadowy dusk even at the height of the day. Demons that could pass through the water began to converge upon towns on the coast, tearing them apart. The wealthy merchant barons of Liechtfels scrambled to find a solution, which came in the construction of a ring of massive, hallowed towers, known as Towers of Forbiddance, that kept out any demon from entering.

With safety assured, the city grew fat from being the only real viable place to live in the region, all while maintaining its original position of importance, now made doubly more so by circumstance. Despite its growth, it remains to this day densely packed inside that ring of towers, every square foot covered in construction of some nature, buildings piled one atop another, dissected by narrow twisting alleys and the occasional dirty canal, connected by a spiderweb of roads, bridges, and elevated walkways. Smoke from generators, lanterns, torches, chimneys, and cook-fires, kept low by the strange air currents over the city, chokes the air and covers the city in soot. And at the edges always the threat remains, lurking in the water and probing at the boundaries, looking for a way in.

## Geography

### Districts

#### Beggar's Hollow

Beggar's Hollow is one of the oldest and densest parts of the city, the site of the original mining settlement. It is a district of vice and villainy hidden behind classic architecture, a patchwork that is both held together and threatened to be torn apart by the menagerie of competing street gangs that claim every avenue and corner as territory in an endless turf war. The Hollow is the centre point of the city's bustling criminal underground, which has spilled out over time to devour all of Liechtfels, barely disguised beneath the more civilised surface. Tunnels from the old mines have expanded and grown over the years into a dangerous warren through which one can traverse to the furthest corners of the city, provided they don't get their throat slit by a blade in the dark.

This district is confusing, dark, and foggy. Buildings consist of flophouses, inns, old manors chopped into apartments, multi-tiered wooden houses, taverns, brothels, and shops. Common sights include beggars that might be spies peddling corners, urchins plying their trade underfoot, a squad of Constables shaking down a shopkeep for a bribe, rival gangs calling challenges to each other across the rooftops, and the occasional fine coach carrying a noble seeking illicit wares.

#### Ninepenny

Ninepenny is a crowded district of raised streets perched over the docks, that is home to the bulk of the workforce of the city: servants, dockworkers, ratcatchers, whalers, stockyard and eelery workers, cabbies, and so on. It's loud, busy, cramped, and sweltering from cookfires and hissing steampipes, but there's a familial camaraderie among its residents that you won't find anywhere else. The people of Ninepenny are a true community, brought together by circumstance, but often bound by ties of mutual support and care in stark contrast to the cutthroat ruthlessness that constitutes business as usual in the rest of the city.

This district is a disorganised maze of winding multi-levelled streets, cut with crude stone stairs, twisting alleyways, and broad cobblestone roads. Buildings range from massive cargo warehouses to squat taverns, brothels, and tattoo parlours, as well as crowded overnight bunkhouses for visiting sailors. Common sights include ships of all sizes coming into port, throngs of sailors and dockers doing their work while singing work-songs, heavy cargo rumbling away on wagons, and gathered groups of people cooking and eating together at communal cook-fires.

#### Red Lamp District

The Red Lamp District is a stretch of buildings between Ninepenny and Beggar's Hollow that has no streets, but is criss-crossed by dozens of narrow, winding canals best navigated by gondola, as most visitors do. Brothels, vice dens, food stalls, and exotic shops all perch at the waterside, ready to satisfy the appetites of their clientele, no questions asked. Low-light, red-tinted lamps hang from every window, giving this place an eerie glow amidst the fog that creeps up from the water, barely concealing the goings-on within. This is a place of public indulgence and private indelicacy, catering to every pleasure imaginable, as well as some that strain the bounds of fantasy.

This district boasts an array of tall, narrow rowhouses of wood and stone stacked alongside low canal-side shacks and stalls. What few walkways remain are interrupted at every turn by a bridge over a tiny canal. Coloured lights and patterned silks hang roof to roof, signalling various indulgences in a complex code for the initiated. Common sights include hundreds of gondolas gliding to and fro in the spiderweb of canals, carrying eager patrons to the pleasure-houses and vice dens.

#### Whaler's Teeth

Whaler's Teeth is a section of the harbour built along a narrow sandbank that serves as a crucial breakwater for docked ships. Along with the lighthouse that signals ships safely into bay, the area boasts a number of pubs and alehouses that are most often frequented by whalers, amongst whom there is a certain shared kinship and camaraderie in light of the unique dangers they face. Few other sailors visit this section of the docks, ostensibly because of the stench of rust that seems to pervade every nook and cranny, but more so because whalers have a reputation for being a hardy, somewhat psychotic, and undeniably dangerous bunch.

This district is a long stretch of well-worn taverns and public houses at the edges of the water, shadowed by the towering beacon of the lighthouse. Massive whaler ships are docked all along the piers, functioning as living quarters and private taverns in their own right. Common sights include groups of drunken whalers roaming the streets, going from bar to bar, and the frequent shouts and noise of breaking glass spilling out of the dockside taverns.

#### Revanmarkt

Revanmarkt is a small section of the city that is dominated entirely by commerce, sitting at a crossroads between various other districts. Situated just across the bridge from the new railyard, it receives the bulk of saleable goods from the cargo trains that travel across the Empire, bringing the exotic and rare back to Liechtfels. The vendors here constitute a new class of elites: wealthy people who are not born of noble descent but have claimed their wealth and status through shrewd negotiation and cutthroat merchantry.

This district is relatively wealthy and decidedly modern. Unable to grow outwards, the market has instead grown down and up. Multi-level wooden platforms and boardwalks tower up high, while high-class subterranean avenues join the maze of tunnels beneath Liechtfels. Anbaric lights in a riot of colours advertise the market stalls of the vendors, and the city’s elite, hidden behind masks, slip into the underground to partake of strange pleasures in secret private clubs.

#### Coinkisser Stretch

Coinkisser Stretch is home to the civic offices of the imperial government, including the courts, licensing and taxation offices, banks, and records archives. City officials, clerks, bankers, and students at Liechtfels University live here, along with much of the middle-class citizenry that cannot afford to live in the wealthier parts of the city, such as merchants, foremen, and tax collectors.

This district is a reflection of the Empire's ethos: pride, efficiency, and strength. The buildings are by and large imposing structures of stone, with officious columns and classical sculptural motifs. Clerks and government workers rush to and fro, official papers bulging from their valises. Wealthy bankers trundle past in heavy carriages with private bodyguards arrayed in clanking armour. Students gather at street-corner cafes to discuss imperial politics, royal lineages, plasmtech, demonic biology, and other esoteric matters.

#### Reiksmount

Reiksmount is the name given to the rocky crag that juts out of the centre of the city, atop which sits the stronghold of the city's governor and the city's military garrison. From this lofty height, the governor oversees all, flanked by the manors and estates of the most powerful and influential nobility in Liecthfels. Well-guarded, well-patrolled, and carefully kept clear of riffraff, the district is a rich and rarefied world unto itself. Most citizens live out their entire lives in the city without ever crossing the canal that rings Reiksmount to the glittering spires of wealth and power beyond.

This district is a forceful display of broad, polished stone and towering fortifications. It is brightly lit to near daylight by a riot of warm anbaric lights that illuminate grand, elegant, traditional facades, landscaped terraces, balconies, and elevated walkways connecting bright marble buildings with inlaid platinum and gold details. The Lord Governor's Stronghold dominates the landscape, with imperial soldiers parading outside its walls, gleaming rifles held high. The lavish carriages and coaches of the fabulously wealthy glide by, carrying their privileged passengers to luxurious destinations, or to carry out important business for the Empire as a whole.

#### Bellweather Heights

Bellweather is home to many of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of the city. Its streets are broad and paved, under bright anbaric lights; its canals are as clean as they can get, with scented water to hide the smell of rust; its houses are all of fine, pale marble blocks, rich timbers, and intricate ironworks beneath an inevitable growing layer of soot. There are cultivated parks, lavish restaurants and cafes, jewellers, tailors, and various other luxuries. Street-side vendors are forbidden here, resulting in a serene, spacious atmosphere, punctuated by the occasional carriage or marching constable patrol.

This district is wealthy, elegant and relatively well-lit, with broad streets and frequent patrols. The buildings include pale stone mansions, some with their own private Forbiddance, grand manor houses, lavish townhouses, opulent theaters and restaurants, and luxury shops. Frequently you can spot the various wealthy citizens of the Liechtfels nobility strolling through manicured parks, attended by servants, carried by horse-drawn coaches, and watched over by elite constables and private security.

#### Blacktowers

Blacktowers was formerly a prestigious district, home to a number of prominent mage guilds before the civil war that nearly tore apart the Empire. At the end of the war, when all the mages were executed and their towers completely destroyed, this section of the city that had housed the grandiose structures was scorched, salted, and left barren as a place of remembrance and warning. A grand cathedral dedicated to Yohr rises nearby, keeping a careful eye on the remnants, in fear that some ancient magic would one day re-awaken here. The district has an empty, haunted feel, with sprawling old ruins dark without power, broad stone streets cracked and buckled, and the fires of squatters crackling from overgrown lots.

This district is a haunted, barren affair, punctuated by the scorched ruins of ancient towers that once rose here. Bits of trash, blown by a cold wind, skitter across empty streets, illuminated only by a few still working streetlamps and the campfires of squatters. The shutters and doors of abandoned buildings moan, creak, and bang in a haunted chorus. Residents hustle by, heads down, clutching holy symbols close to their breasts, hoping that the angry spirits of those that once walked these streets will ignore them.

#### Rudstack Waterfront

Rudstack Waterfront is an industrial zone on the southern bank of the river Ald, full of factories, ironworks, forges, refineries, generators, and various other industrial buildings. It's cramped, soot-choked, and loud, spewing dense clouds of black smoke, showers of sparks, and burning cinders. The roadways are broad and well-paved for wagons to carry heavy equipment and raw materials back and forth. The newly constructed railyard at the eastern edge of the waterfront is particularly busy, with exports and imports passing through daily from all across the Empire.

This district is an ashen, smoke-filled, and overwhelmingly loud bastion of industrialism. Tall and narrow brick factories with belching chimneys, metal-clad foundries and warehouses, and the rattle of train cars passing underground. The streets are crowded with crates and discarded junk, and everywhere you can see soot-covered workers of all ages working day and night, hacking up black bile, and avoiding the eye of foremen who will order a lashing for every minor infraction.

#### Catchfire

Catchfire West and Catchfire East are two suburban village districts outside the southern walls of the city, home to many of the laborers and overseers that work the factories and foundries just north, and the farmers that till the bleak fields at the edges of the Forbiddance. The district earns its name from the embers that sometimes float down from the nearby factory chimneys and set fire to the predominantly wood and thatch buildings that make up this rural district. The workers of Catchfire are organized into tight-knit family-based clans that are proud of their vital role in the city's upkeep and hold themselves apart from the "city folk" across the river. Outsiders are welcome here for honest trade but are met with a cold suspicion otherwise.

This district is a squat affair of low, wide wooden structures, barns, animal pens, stone mills, and the looming heights of the Towers of Forbiddance keeping the dark at bay. Smooth dirt roads and clogged drainage ditches run an unorganised maze between the houses, where laborers drink away their few idle hours in the scattered taverns and spend whatever spare change they have at the few merchants that dare keep their wares outside the city walls.

#### The Dregs

The Dregs are a ghetto for the destitute poor of the city in the shadow of Crowbill Jail and its labour camps, on the northern outskirts of Liechtfels. Originally, the ghetto was a neighbourhood for families of prisoners, but over the years, extreme poverty and neglect have worn it down into a sodden ruin. A vicious cycle plays out here: crime driven by desperation, then arrest, incarceration, and release back to the slums, giving the prison an endless supply of laborers to exploit. Those less fortunate instead find themselves hanged, or worse, lowered slowly into the inky water that gradually wears flesh from bone for a prolonged and torturous death.

This district is a dismal, rundown slum of squat huts built of driftwood and mud. A few decrepit wooden row houses still linger, many abandoned from fire damage or fallen-in from age. Destitute families scrounge for scraps along the roadway to the north, and bored prison guards, rifles slung on their backs, watch the taskmasters lash the lines of labour camp prisoners shackled together in the yard.

### Notable Locations

#### Lord Governor's Stronghold

This stronghold, which has expanded numerous times over the years, sits atop the high point of the city, overseeing everything. It is a grand and powerful reminder of the Empire's iron fist, flanked by the grand estates of the most powerful nobility and extravagantly appointed officials of the city. The stronghold itself, originally the main military garrison of the city, now serves as both palace and fortress for the Lord Governor, their family, and their army of governmental aides, as well as an actual army in the form of the stronghold's sizeable garrison.

#### Sanctorium of the Blazing Anvil

The Sanctorium of the Blazing Anvil is a large cathedral in Blacktowers that serves as the principal church for the clergy of Yohr in Liecthfels. Part church and part barracks for the warrior priests of Yohr, the cathedral is ostensibly a fortress in its own right; a towering edifice of buttresses and fortifications lined with cunning machinery of war designed by priests of the church. From here, those same priests spread through the city, keeping a careful eye on the populace to ensure none fall to the temptation of arcane practice ever again. Devotees gather frequently to offer their creations to the Dawnhammer and be blessed in their future endeavours, and the catacombs beneath contain the cremated ash of many famous and affluent citizens.

#### Crowbill Jail

A towering metal fortress where the worst or the unluckiest criminals are incarcerated. Those with lesser offences spend their time forced into hard slave-work at the attached labour camp, while those with worse offences are either confined to solitary, or outright tortured and executed. There are a number of favoured means of executions at the jail, each designated for particular offences. Hangings are most commonly reserved for repeat offenders of lesser crimes, such as thievery or arson. In cases where a point needs to be made, such as for piracy or murder, criminals are publicly hung in gibbets on the walls of the jail facing the city for the crows to feed on.

Worse still, reserved for those that commit treason and the worst of crimes, is the method of combined torture and execution that earns the prison its name. Prisoners are skewered by the shoulders, a non-fatal wound, on metal hooks known as "crowbills", and then subsequently lowered into the ink black water below the jail, where the corrupted liquid slowly wears away their flesh in a prolonged and extremely painful process. It is said that you can hear the screaming of those executed in this way burbling through the canals across the entire city.

#### Mudslough Labour Camp

A wide stretch of muddy, ill-kept grounds and workshops attached to Crowbill Jail. Surrounded by high, barbed walls and watched over constantly by the prison guards, this where convicts of the prison are set to work during their incarceration. The lands just outside the Towers of Forbiddance are scattered with the remnants of technology and wealth that never made it to or from Liechtfels, torn apart by demons that hunt there. The poorest and most desperate folk will often attempt to scavenge what they can from beyond the safety of the Forbiddance, selling it back to the Empire for a pittance. Tainted by demonic corruption, or simply outright dangerous from age, these scavenged goods are too unsafe to be handled by anyone of importance. Instead, they are handed over to the convicts, who take them apart for resale or repair the machinery for reuse.

#### Towers of Forbiddance

These behemoth structures placed in a ring around the city are marvels of steam engineering and divine artifice that keep Liechtfels safe, or as safe as possible, from the demons that would otherwise rip it apart. Over 200 feet tall apiece, they each include their own retrofitted steam generators, are constantly maintained by engineers of the Imperial Steamwright Guild, and are guarded day and night by elite military squadrons dedicated solely to keeping the vast importance of Liechtfels intact. Should even one of the nine towers falter, the entire protection of the city may fail, and the dangers that lurk beyond would be all too eager to tear it to the ground.

#### Bismark Clock Tower

Constructed by the Imperial Steamwright Guild as a gift to the late Lord Governor Franz Friedrich Bismark, the tower is the tallest building in Liecthfels, and serves as a recognisable landmark to everyone in the city. The magnificent back-lit clock face, the towering walls of harsh stone, jagged metal steeples, hissing steampipes, and stern statues all serve as both a source of Imperial pride for the local and a symbol of the city's industrial practicality. Every hour, large bells automatically ring out across the city, driven by the elaborate, rumbling clockwork behind the tower's exterior.

#### Imperial Forum

The forum and surrounding grounds are where the noble families that are part of the Imperial Advisory Council gather weekly to discuss policy and petition imperial authority officially. The forum is neutral ground where the constant struggle for political power for Liechtfels is a constant backdrop. It is also where trials are held for serious crimes, such as treason. It is heavily guarded, and no citizenry is allowed inside except on rare occasions, such as when a particular trial is made public to make a statement.

#### Alberth Yard

Headquarters of the city constabulary and the imperial inspectors, who are fierce rivals for one another. Though the building exterior is grandiose and stately, the inside is a complicated warren of corridors and stairways that were added onto the original construction piecemeal, making navigating the Yard a detective task in of itself.

#### Silco Park

The great alchemiker for whom this park is named contrived to formulate soil and seeds that could produce real, growing trees, plants, and flowers without sunlight or other forms of light. The results are horrifically toxic to all living things and must not be touched, but they still grow beautifully here, over 100 years later.

#### Tannhauser Bridge

A long bridge spanning the river Ald, connecting the bulk of the city to the factories on the southern bank. The bridge has recently become a residential hub, with houses built along its length in towering stacks. These rickety apartments mostly house rail jacks and their families who work in the railyard just nearby. Ships travelling upriver must always pass beneath this groaning monstrosity of a bridge, and hope it doesn't all come crashing down on top of them when they do.

#### Kardera's Daughters

The twin tiefling sisters that own this shop, which is named after them, are known as the finest and most exclusive gunsmiths in the city. They fashion art pieces of weaponry of pristine condition, each unique and perfectly calibrated. They are extremely selective about their clientele, and have gone years between clients in the past. As a result, the pieces they do make are rare beyond measure, and highly sought after by collectors and noblemen as symbols of prestige and wealth.

#### Templeton & Slane

The gruff duo that own this shop produce lines of sturdy firearms that are widely favoured by those in the business of frequent shooting. Tarok Slane, a dwarf with a notorious dislike of people, is the main gunsmith and artificer behind the business, whereas Jonah Templeton, the gunslinger turned merchant, is the face of the operation.

#### Austerlin Distillery

This distillery, one of the oldest in the city, is a large building accessed through a central yard. It is the only production point of Austerlin Whiskey, a homegrown favourite amongst the people of Liechtfels. Older casks are prized even amongst the rich. The particularities of its manufacture are kept a closely-guarded secret by the owners, who sponsor an entire street gang just to keep their warehouses safe.

#### Kubo's Curios

This dingy little pawn shop is owned by an eccentric kobold known simply as Kubo. He is a collector of curiosities, which often includes items and relics scavenged from outside the city, as long as one knows how to ask.

#### Dundridge & Sons

Considered by many to be the foremost tailor in Liechtfels. The Dundridge family has provided the finest clothes and sartorial accoutrements to discerning citizens for over 300 years. Despite their legendary reputation, Dundridge’s prices are surprisingly reasonable, though not inexpensive.

#### The Sheets

A long street in Ninepenny where washers, tailors, and seamstresses congregate, filling the alleyways between the buildings with the billowing fabrics of their trade, often strung on wires and ropes stacked multiple storeys high. It's impossible to see very far in the maze of fabric, and streetwise criminals have often used this place to lose a tail or hand off illicit goods.

#### The Eaves

A cluster of precariously built slums stacked on top of each other and hanging outward from an old and repurposed office building in Beggar's Hollow, so-called for their resemblance to the hanging eaves of a rooftop. Hundreds of people live in these ramshackle homes, crammed into tiny spaces with barely enough room for one person, let alone an entire family. Navigating the slum is a tricky affair in its own right, relying on a complicated system of ropes, ladders, and the occasional dilapidated staircase.

#### Notable Bars & Vice Dens

* Kellen's Alehouse: The oldest pub in the city. Owned by the Kellen family since its construction. Even the constables recognise this place as near-sacred neutral ground.
* The Crows Club: The largest gambling house in Liechtfels, built at the base of Rooksnare Watergate. Stronghold of the Rooks and Kings, and one of their major sources of legitimate income. It is also where Corvo Sov first started the infamous gang.
* The Silver Swan: The premiere whiskey and cigar lounge, and pleasure house of the city. Owned by Jesafine Kaulde of the Red Alley Molls. A place to indulge any vice of the flesh or spirit, under the expert hands of the staff.
* The Garrison: Attached to Fort Jackal, home of the Jackal Company gang. Used to be an old military mess hall, and has kept most of its militaristic style, suiting the Jackals' particular tastes.
* The Captain's Chair: The most popular bar and de facto guild house for the tightly-knit Whalers Guild. Has a hall of fame of famous whalers who more often than not met grisly fates on the seas.
* The Black Friar: One of the few working inns in the city. Not a lot of people travel through Liechtfels on their way elsewhere, and the inn has seen better days. More recently has become a stronghold for the Sixways Gang.
* The Devil's Tooth: A rundown dive bar just by the edges of the water. It is said that the drink barrels that service the place are kept in a cellar flooded with ink water, giving them that little extra kick.
* The Hound Pits: An old pub near the docks in Beggar's Hollow. A specially constructed basement houses a live pool flooded with ink water, in which dogshark fighting matches take place regularly. A beloved and bloody sport amongst the locals.
* Spector Gentlemen's Club: An uptown club house frequented by students of the nearby university, middle-class nobility looking to gamble away their money, and ink rakes digging for the next scandal. A hotspot for polite revolutionary rhetoric.

#### Notable Printhouses

* **Reiksgazette**: Owned by Imperial authorities. Prints daily. Papers have to first be approved by Imperial officials.
* **Liechtfels Lantern**: Owned by the Weiss family. Prints twice weekly. Generally caters to the upper and middle classes.
* **Ninepenny Herald**: Owned privately by Aleksander Holt. Prints daily. Mostly covers events in more lower class districts.

## Economy

Almost all industry in Liechtfels revolves around the production and export of arcanoplasm, a fuel source distilled from the arcane flesh of demons, that powers machinery, generators, and forges, and drives the rapid growth of the Aldwyran Empire. Since arcane practice is strictly prohibited, the demons that emerge naturally into Grundburg Fjord and the sea beyond are essentially the only efficient way to acquire the substance in the quantities required by the imperial industrial machine.

On the lowest end of the chain are demon whalers, whose task it is to venture into the ink-black waters of the fjord and catch the deadly demonic creatures that wander it hunting them in return. Once a demon is brought down and netted, kept barely on the verge of death, its flesh is steadily carved away and kept from melting and decay by storing it in specialised warded containers, invented by the priests of Yohr, who are adept artificers and engineers in their own right. The demon is never fully killed, but rather cast away to regrow once a harvest is complete.

The flesh is returned to Liechtfels, where it is shipped off upriver via barge, or more recently rail (powered also by arcanoplasm), to be refined. The city also has some refineries of its own, though these primarily provide fuel for only the city itself, since space is too limited to satisfy the continually growing needs of the Empire as a whole. Through a complex mechanical and chemical infusion process (the details of which are kept a closely guarded secret by the Imperial Alchemiker Guild that originally perfected it) the flesh is distilled into a thick, dark blue, iridescent, oily liquid that continues to hold within it the arcana that previously drove the flesh of the demon. This substance, known as arcanoplasm or simply plasm, can be stored over extended periods while still containing latent arcane energy within it.

Once refined, arcanoplasm will catch aflame upon direct exposure to powerful light, releasing intense heat, a property which was cleverly harnessed by the Imperial Steamwright Guild to power steam engines, anbarics, and a variety of other devices and ingenuities that now form the foundation for the rapidly expanding industrial complex of the Aldwyran Empire.

In Liechtfels especially, anbaric lights have become particularly important to illuminate the public thoroughfares and the homes of the wealthy throughout the perpetual darkness. Recently installed steam generators that operate around the clock are powered by a portion of the city's own arcanoplasm production, but the produced power still bears great expense and is significantly limited. As such, most people continue to make do with simple candles and lanterns in their homes and shops.

Because of the perpetual darkness, a small hand lantern is practically a required tool for daily life in the city. Common people use simple oil lanterns, while the more well-to-do employ the most advanced miniature anbaric lamps, clipped to a belt to keep their hands free, mounted on the head of a walking stick, or carried by a servant lamp-bearer. Areas of illicit dealings or ill-repute sometimes enforce a "no lamps" policy, so business may be conducted in the anonymous darkness.

## Gallery

Streets of Beggar's HollowSo-called "tallhouses" in Beggar's HollowUnderstreet canal in Beggar's HollowHigh rooftops of NinepennyMarket street in NinepennyRooksnare Watergate in NinepennyBusy streets of Coinkisser StretchImperial Staathaus in Coinkisser StretchPleasure house in the Red Lamp DistrictWell-lit street in Bellweather HeightsHousing stacks on Tannhauser BridgeAnbaric clock tower in ReiksmountWarehouse in Rudstack WaterfrontShoreside factory in Rudstack WaterfrontActive blast furnace in Rudstack WaterfrontNarrow causeways of the undermarket in RevanmarktRuined and abandoned streets in BlacktowersView of the Sanctorium in BlacktowersVictims of the rat plague in CatchfireDirty alleyways and streets in the DregsIronclad whaler boat heading to Whaler's Teeth