Sticks (District)
Fisherman's Wharf
Looking out over the northeastern Tidebreaker Walls, you can see a mass of wood and canvass sticking out of a natural lagoon. Thousands of small fishing boats and crab trawlers bob up and down on the cerulean waves. Each boat appears loosely moored to spindly wooden docks that creak and bend with every step. A few times, you see a fellow with sea legs nearly trip over the loose rope and the odd, discarded anchorage. Broken planks and splinters float on the water and look sharp as shark’s teeth. The smell of fresh fish, salt, and blood fills the air. Above you, a horde of vicious gulls circle and dive after every unaccompanied carcass. Their screeching collides with the shouting of sailors to fill your ears with a cacophonous, unending din of sound.—Wyford of Heathmere's "A Tour of Old Palladia"
Purpose / Function
Not everyone can afford to dock in one of the Cothons. The registration fee is more than most fishermen make in three months. As a result, most fishermen and small time traders instead use the Sticks. Apart from fish, which is transported into the city itself, the Sticks also are a floating market place. The quality of goods in the Sticks is never high, but for many of Iskendra’s more desperate denizens, the Sticks are a real lifeline. This may be why no legislative action has ever been taken against the builders and proprietors of this district.
Architecture
An unofficial docking station, the Sticks are located in a natural harbor protected from the wind and dangerous currents of the Sickle Strait by rocks and other defenses. Unlike the Cothons, the Sticks receive no government funding for upkeep and management, meaning their construction, though somewhat ingenious, is not as sound. Docks frequently collapse, and the sheer number of vessels pressed against the Tidebreaker Walls poses a real threat to dockworker safety. There’s at least one death every week.
History
During times of unrest, the Sticks often catch fire. Some folks claim these are deliberate attacks by the state to try and limit the possible security failings of the docks and their adjacency to the Tidebreaker Walls but these claims are unsubstantiated.
Type
Seaport
Parent Location
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