Beneath the Docks
Under the noisy crowds and creaky boardwalks lies a part of the Docks most travelers rarely take notice of, or even think about. Even the Dock Council is only vaguely concerned with the creatures that have carved a niche of civilization for themselves under the wooden planks. The most prominent resident group is the Seafoam Conclave, more colloquially known as the underdock gillmen. They’ve established a humble community for themselves, literally carving sea caves into the bedrock of Absalom. These azarketis tend to be much more insular and generally poorer than those who live in Gilltown. Most support themselves by spear fishing or working as crab catchers, while the Dock Council pays others a meager amount to pick up trash in the Docks. Visitors to the Docks are most likely to interact with Jossie Slimfin, an azarketi junk merchant who charms tourists with her clever wit. She keeps any valuable treasures found by other azarketi garbage collectors, sells them as lost trinkets of Golarion, and shares the profits with her fellows. She also doubles as a gossip gatherer, keeping the Seafoam Conclave aware of news from the surface. She has contacts with the merfolk and cecaelia colonies who make their home deep in Absalom’s harbor.
Most of the merfolk who live under the docks never breach the surface, but try to live a happy life collecting treasures from the countless wrecks in the Flotsam Graveyard. Those who live here are exiles from larger merfolk communities or those exiles’ descendants. An occasional friendly young merfolk swims up to the surface to greet new ships coming into the harbor, but these are usually chased away by Wave Riders who see them as a distraction to the serious business of tending the harbor.
A few small families of cecaelia make a home near the west side of the harbor, forming a small underwater community. Years ago, a contingent of cecaelia arrived from Xidao—an underwater nation between Minkai and greater Tian Xia—in search of Na-Kraka, a fugitive who fled in 4711 AR. After discovering that the Pathfinder Society had already dealt with the fugitive, many decided to stay in the foreign city and make a new life for themselves. They tend to keep to themselves, hunting in the local waters, crafting nets and seaweed baskets for their azarketi allies to sell, and looking after their hatchlings.
Most of the merfolk who live under the docks never breach the surface, but try to live a happy life collecting treasures from the countless wrecks in the Flotsam Graveyard. Those who live here are exiles from larger merfolk communities or those exiles’ descendants. An occasional friendly young merfolk swims up to the surface to greet new ships coming into the harbor, but these are usually chased away by Wave Riders who see them as a distraction to the serious business of tending the harbor.
A few small families of cecaelia make a home near the west side of the harbor, forming a small underwater community. Years ago, a contingent of cecaelia arrived from Xidao—an underwater nation between Minkai and greater Tian Xia—in search of Na-Kraka, a fugitive who fled in 4711 AR. After discovering that the Pathfinder Society had already dealt with the fugitive, many decided to stay in the foreign city and make a new life for themselves. They tend to keep to themselves, hunting in the local waters, crafting nets and seaweed baskets for their azarketi allies to sell, and looking after their hatchlings.
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