Reek BottomWard Type: Slum, Lower Tier Reek Bottom was originally an industrial area outside Amber's City walls where the tanneries were located, fish would be gutted and sewage composted. No surprise then it deserves its name. There were plans during Eric's regency to extend the city wall to encompass the Reek and improve the lot of residents, but the war destroyed those plans and much of the ward with it. At the time of the Edict of Kolvir, the district had almost no residents left, and only rudimentary sanitation was installed for the surviving tanneries. Once peace was restored, returning refugees from the wars ended up here and constructed their own housing from whatever materials they could steal or collect from elsewhere. This resulted in the chaotic layout and crowded, ramshackle housing that currently exists. A teeming mass of humanity, Reek Bottom relies on the Guilds to impose any kind of order as the official city guard (the Vigiles Urbani ) do not patrol here, only arriving in force should rioting break out. It is said the walls that surround it are to keep the wretched dwellers and the stink within rather than to protect them. Being outside the main walls of the city means that Reek has become a nest of crime and a focus for illicit guilds. These are rumoured to include thieves and assassins, augmented by renegade sorcerers. The name of Jonah Hookhand is invariably linked with any criminal activity, though there is little proof such a person actually exists. He is thought to be the mastermind behind all illegal activity in the Reek, and even beyond. His reported deliberate maiming of children to become beggars in Amber's markets has even attracted a reward from the authorities, but no capture could ever be confirmed and crime has continued unabated. The Church has been at the forefront of efforts to make life more bearable for the Reek's residents, notably its healers and the sect known as the Architects. Their rivals, the Keepers, have never made significant inroads in Reek Bottom, and the Architects intend to keep it that way. This may suggest that Hookhand himself is actually an Architect, albeit an unorthodox one. Older residents claim it is the agents of Julian and Caine that are responsible for keeping the Keepers away from the city's poorest and most vulnerable residents. |
