Precarious

District Type: Warehouse district
Buildings: Warehouses (70), poor food (4), exotic trades (2), poor trades (35), poor services (70), average residence (1), poor residences (500), shrine (the Inspired), other (5)
First Impression: This district, dominated by massive warehouses that hold the cargo of the merchant ships that ply the Dagger River, consists of storage towers surrounded by tenements, flophouses, and an assortment of workhouses and businesses of questionable trade practices.
Social Class: Lower class

The skydocks of Precarious lean out into the air high above the Dagger River. Vast mystical cranes and magic lifts use levitation and the power of Syrania to haul loads of cargo and people to and from the waterfront districts of Cliffside. An army of laborers transports goods between the docks and warehouses of this district — both thee massive storage towers and the smaller warehouses. While sailors generally find entertainment in Cliffside, Precarious houses a variety of crafts and services. Mills and workhouses make immediate use of the raw materials brought up from the Dagger River, while a few dingy taverns, gambling dens, and dreamlily dealers provide the workers with a chance to leave their cares — and their silver — behind. A variety of criminal trades are practiced in Precarious; the Boromar Clan has a hand in many of the businesses in the area due to their considerable investments in smuggling and shipping.

Precarious plays an important part in the economy of Sharn, and as a result the City Watch maintains a small garrison in the area to watch for smugglers — or at least to ensure that the proper bribes are paid. The Watch also protects the tariff office, the large customs agency on the skydocks that handles the taxation of goods. The Watch protects trade: petty crimes are not their concern, and Precarious is definitely a dangerous place for average citizens and visitors. Tourists and important visitors arriving by ship generally hire a Deneith escort at Grayflood to ensure safe passage through Lower Dura to the higher levels of the city.

Dar San: While there is little cultural contact between Riedra and Khorvaire, a considerable amount of trade flows across the Barren Sea. Most Riedrans distrust the people of Khorvaire, and over the years a number of Riedran merchants have purchased their own warehouses in Precarious, staffed with Riedran laborers and bookkeepers. Over the last century, a small Riedran community has taken root in Precarious; the inhabitants call it Dar San ("Far Port" in the Common tongue). Though they live in squalor, the Riedrans are a proud people, and the lowliest laborer considers himself to be the equal of a duke of Khorvaire.

Among themselves, the Riedrans observe a strict social hierarchy. When one of the Inspired comes to Dar San, he or she is treated like an emperor. While the Riedrans generally hold the people of Khorvaire in contempt, they have an irrational hatred of the kalashtar and Adarans. The neighborhood has established its own militia — though some might call it a street gang — and any kalashtar or Adaran who comes to the neighborhood gets just one chance to leave peacefully.

Riedrans do not drink alcohol, nor do they use dreamlily or other narcotics; they view such behavior as an example of the corruption that grips Khorvaire.

Dar San features a number of businesses catering to the Riedran community, including the two exotic trades listed in the district description. These include Kasharath, a restaurant serving Riedran cuisine; a grocery stocked with Riedran foods and goods; and a shrine to the Inspired. Prominent citizens include Lanharath (male human), who represents the merchant consortium that owns the warehouses; Hasalakesh (male human), a tailor specializing in Riedran clothing; and Kantarashtai (female human), Dar San's resident healer. Lanharath typically serves as the leader of the community, but the true power rests with the Inspired warrior Hamatash (male inspired). Hamatash maintains a low profile, but he is the disposable tool of the Dreaming Dark — of the Dark needs to take some action without revealing the existence of their sleeper agents, they use Hamatash and the Riedran militia.

House Kundarak: House Kundarak owns five warehouses in Precarious. These warehouses are especially secure, combining alarm, seal of the magi, and glyph of warding with mundane and magical traps. These warehouses cost twice as much to use as their mundane counterparts, but merchants with a serious interest in security readily pay their price.

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