So today I round off my visual guide to 'The Tower' with the District of Ultra Aquam and the Goblin Market. Unlike the three 'Changeling' Districts Ultra Aquam is the domain of the Hob underclass which conduct menial tasks that underpin the City. Ultra Aquam, being the only place Hobs not pledged into service of a changeling or motley are allowed to live, is basically a ghetto cut off from the rest of the city by the high walled embankment on Westwyk's side of the river.
The Hobs of 'The Tower'
Standing at approximately three feet tall, the humanoid hobs that reside within 'The Tower' can look like broad shouldered green-grey children at a distance. Up close their long pointed ears, toothy grins and bulbous yet pug like noses tell otherwise. They wear all sorts of unfashionable garments, the kind you would only see in charity shops or just before you placed them in your local clothes recycling bin, with an ill fitting pride and when not speaking to Changelings chatter to each other in their own fluid yet incomprehensible language. It is widely known that their favourite pastimes include scamming, pilfering and Ċ vejking.
Common local opinions on the Hobs
Hobs never have your interests at heart
True. Even Hobs who have sworn a pledge of fealty to a Changeling or Motley will always look for the loosest definition of their terms of service and exploit any loophole they can find. But looking at it from their perspective they are just mirroring the behaviour of the other party. Many pledges of indentured servitude are seemingly one sided in the favour of the Changeling, though one must wonder what the agenda of a Hob is to swear such a pledge in the first place, and usually takes the form of vague limits that each party must adhere to. A Changeling who publically beats his Hob attendant is ridiculed with scorn yet in the privacy of ones home it is deemed acceptable so long as no pledge is broken by such 'motivational procedures'. One is usually advised upon the acquisition of a Hob servant to "watch what you ask of it and to break it in quickly".
Ultra Aquam is a Changeling 'no go area' after dark
False-ish. Although Hobs that reside in the city are also sworn into a pledge of their own which is objectively stricter that that required of Changeling citizens, many factors have provided 'convenient' loopholes that the Hobs have been able to exploit. 'The Tower' does not keep a census of its members for reasons of personal privacy yet a 'foreign' Changeling walking around sticks out and is quickly confronted by the Freehold authorities about their business. Hobs on the other hand generally keep themselves to them selves unless in the employment of the freehold. As such there are not even educated estimates of the hob population and a cautious Changeling assumes that a Hob not in active service to a freehold, motley or Changeling is not a member of the Hob pledge. Even so, if a Hob was to break their oath they could hide in the alleys relatively sure that they would not be dobbed in: as the old Hob saying goes "Snitches get stitches...or prizes...". If bodies do turn up then the Freehold prefers swift arbitrary retaliation that waste precious resources on the due process and investigation of Hob suspects.
It is generally considered sensible, if such a word can be used, for Changelings to tool up and go in groups if they need to venture into the district. Keeping your wits about you is also considered a necessity which is much harder during the night.
Hob Labour is NOT Slavery
Up to the Characters perspective. The advocates of the use of indentured servitude claim that the Wyrd enforced terms are mutually consentual and time limited meaning that it is a perfectly legitimate business agreement for the Free Lost to partake in. The lack of Clarity haemorrhage amongst the masters and mistresses of Hob servants is also taken as proof that such an arrangement is not one mirroring the behaviour of the others. Critics argue that it does however bring the individual dangerously close to such patterns of thinking and behaviour. Some of the more 'lefty liberal' types even go so far as to say that Hobs are real people with real feelings and as such be treated with respect: though it is not a view widely held within 'The Tower'.
Ultra Aquam (Area Morality 3):
Stretching from the Rivers north bank to the city’s northern wall; the slums of Ultra Aquam are well known as the abode of the hob underclass that serve the city and changelings of ill repute. Unlike its southern neighbour this district maintains no flood defences for Summer’s rains and is prone to annual flooding. To counter this, its community have taken to building their houses on rafts to prevent the worst excesses. With its close proximity to the Goblin Market beyond the walls Ultra Aquam is known as a hive of chatter and rumour for those willing to risk a venture…
St Magdalen's Gate:
A Fortified gatehouse built on an outcrop of the wall so that during summer it does not flood. St Megdalen's Gate is the only entrance from within the City to the Goblin market. The fort was primarily created to keep an eye on the district and more importantly stop Hobs tunnelling their way out and damaging the integrity of the walls. To be assigned watch duty on the gate is considered a punishment for petty crimes in 'The Tower' due to the need to patrol the district.
St Magdalen's gate corresponds with the crossroads at Magdalen street and Magpie road.
The Goblin Market:
Clinging to the walls like limpets and attaching to each other by elaborate pontoon bridges the local Goblin Market thrives like a parasite upon its host freehold. Every crag and crack along the walls northern facing is filled with tightly compacted huts and stalls in which merchants sell their wares.
The Laws of the Market are as follows:
1) No Stealing We are all businessmen here, and I can see it in your eyes that you are canny enough to see the act of Larceny as the epitome of entrepreneurial spirit. But consider: what also is stealing...Taxation! If we consider the ramifications of a tax on stupidity such as stealing then it could be seen as restricting the ability of the individual to monetise their assets in a bid to compete within the free market. As a businessman anything that prevents my patrons from monetising their assets as tantamount to slavery of the individual in their rational pursuit of self-interest...and I know how you 'Free' Lost types hate slavery...
2) You get what's advertised Look this is a genuine tenpenny nail that can paralyse an individual when plunged into their shadow and I have all the papers that assure its provenance...its all there in the small print...right there...You want a Magnifying glass? That'll be two moons of your tears then.
3) No Violence We don't take that kind of attitude in lieu of payment...
4) Honour Your Deals Usurer? Moi? Well You Sir became indebted to us from the provision of consensual services which we provided. Now me and my friend here have come for the pound of flesh we are owed by deferred payment..."Can't pay" he says, well we are businessmen of most adroit entrepreneurial acumen and we always come with a workable payment plan...
5) No Refunds I'm sorry to hear that sir...clearly there were some 'additional benefits' to possession of such an item that you did not need or even ask for. But look at it from my perspective; as a respectable and trustworthy merchant giving a refund implies that the item was in some respect 'faulty' and that a respectable businessman like myself, who is only trying to pay his way in the world, might actually be as they say 'crooked'.
6) No Coppers! That's a Ronseal rule there my friend. I don't see how that needs explaining but if you would like an education why don't you step into my stall...
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