The Lady's Ward Basic Information
Wherein is told the Tale of the Riches and Corruption of the city's
High-ups.
"The Lady's Ward is as silent and watchful as a chessboard. No move goes unnoticed or unchallenged here, so pawns and bit players die in droves — that's pawns like you and me, cutter. Watch who you cross, and beware of who you're seen with; it don't pay to have the wrong enemies (or the wrong friends) here."
The ward's as open and spacious as the hearts of its rulers're closed and cramped. Every main street's cold, broad, and echoing, and a cutter can see huge swathes of the sky, more than anywhere else in the city. Most Cagers don't care for the view, 'cause the view's a bit too big. From the edge, some say a cutter can see right into that endless Void, and a smart cutter knows that that fall is infinite. Truth is, you just see black. And you never hit the bottom, you just die along the way. It's a convenient way to get rid of bodies "quietly" in this part of town. Most cutters spend as little time as possible on the ward's streets, under what passes in the Cage for open sky. Off the main streets, the ward is a little more like the rest of town. The alleys are full of sharp corners, with lights shining from recessed windows. There're a good half-dozen public clock towers in the squares, all of which run forward and then backward, from peak to antipeak. Drives the modrons half-mad, it does, but attempts to make these clocks run forward always fail.
"The Lady's Ward is as silent and watchful as a chessboard. No move goes unnoticed or unchallenged here, so pawns and bit players die in droves — that's pawns like you and me, cutter. Watch who you cross, and beware of who you're seen with; it don't pay to have the wrong enemies (or the wrong friends) here."
--- Etain The Quick
The ward's as open and spacious as the hearts of its rulers're closed and cramped. Every main street's cold, broad, and echoing, and a cutter can see huge swathes of the sky, more than anywhere else in the city. Most Cagers don't care for the view, 'cause the view's a bit too big. From the edge, some say a cutter can see right into that endless Void, and a smart cutter knows that that fall is infinite. Truth is, you just see black. And you never hit the bottom, you just die along the way. It's a convenient way to get rid of bodies "quietly" in this part of town. Most cutters spend as little time as possible on the ward's streets, under what passes in the Cage for open sky. Off the main streets, the ward is a little more like the rest of town. The alleys are full of sharp corners, with lights shining from recessed windows. There're a good half-dozen public clock towers in the squares, all of which run forward and then backward, from peak to antipeak. Drives the modrons half-mad, it does, but attempts to make these clocks run forward always fail.
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