North Ward
Nobles aplenty live in the North Ward, but the character of this ward is more peaceful than that of the Sea Ward. Though it has taverns and shops to suit a variety of tastes, the tenor of the area tends toward reserved and polite. Most streets are lined with row houses inhabited by the families of prosperous people of business, investing, and civic service. They are each wealthy enough to employ a servant or two, or they endeavor to appear as such.
For the best experience in the North Ward, go there just before dawn, buy a broadsheet, and settle in at a café with a view of the street. Watch as the ward comes quietly to life around you. At first, it will be so silent that you’ll be able to hear the resident a street over who opens her sash for fresh air and clears her throat. Then the birdsong will begin, and shortly thereafter, you’ll hear and then see the drays arriving with servants. These aren’t the live-in staff used by noble houses, but people hired to come and work for a day. Most of them come from less affluent parts of the city, arriving with the tools of their trade and outfitted in their customary garb: launderers and cooks in white, chimney sweeps and housecleaners in black, valets and child-minders in gray, gardeners in green, and tutors in blue.
As these servants spread out to knock on doors and begin their work, the residents of the ward take their exits, parting fondly with spouses and children, their footsteps tramping along the sidewalks or taking them into rattling hire-coaches. In the span of just an hour, the North Ward comes to noisy life and then settles again into quiescence, until later in the day when the process reverses itself, as residents return from work and servants leave.
The liveliest, and perhaps the loveliest, part of the ward is the Cliffwatch. Here, the plateau upon which Waterdeep sits features cliffs so steep and high that the city wall is interrupted to either side of them. Some of the most lavish residences and most luxurious taverns and inns of Waterdeep stand along this space, boasting terraces and balconies that allow one to take in the beautiful sight of the countryside to the east. Yet you need not pay their high prices, for a public walkway along the cliff’s edge offers pedestrians ample opportunity to enjoy the view.
The North Ward’s colors are green and orange, and its mascot is the gentle white dove, depicted in flight. Many North Ward homes have dovecotes on their roofs, and the great flocks of the birds that circle over the city at dawn and dusk are a delight to behold.
For the best experience in the North Ward, go there just before dawn, buy a broadsheet, and settle in at a café with a view of the street. Watch as the ward comes quietly to life around you. At first, it will be so silent that you’ll be able to hear the resident a street over who opens her sash for fresh air and clears her throat. Then the birdsong will begin, and shortly thereafter, you’ll hear and then see the drays arriving with servants. These aren’t the live-in staff used by noble houses, but people hired to come and work for a day. Most of them come from less affluent parts of the city, arriving with the tools of their trade and outfitted in their customary garb: launderers and cooks in white, chimney sweeps and housecleaners in black, valets and child-minders in gray, gardeners in green, and tutors in blue.
As these servants spread out to knock on doors and begin their work, the residents of the ward take their exits, parting fondly with spouses and children, their footsteps tramping along the sidewalks or taking them into rattling hire-coaches. In the span of just an hour, the North Ward comes to noisy life and then settles again into quiescence, until later in the day when the process reverses itself, as residents return from work and servants leave.
The liveliest, and perhaps the loveliest, part of the ward is the Cliffwatch. Here, the plateau upon which Waterdeep sits features cliffs so steep and high that the city wall is interrupted to either side of them. Some of the most lavish residences and most luxurious taverns and inns of Waterdeep stand along this space, boasting terraces and balconies that allow one to take in the beautiful sight of the countryside to the east. Yet you need not pay their high prices, for a public walkway along the cliff’s edge offers pedestrians ample opportunity to enjoy the view.
The North Ward’s colors are green and orange, and its mascot is the gentle white dove, depicted in flight. Many North Ward homes have dovecotes on their roofs, and the great flocks of the birds that circle over the city at dawn and dusk are a delight to behold.
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