Vesper Quay

Lantern docks and gray-market harbor

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region:

Lower Waterfront

climate:

Marine; cool, windy, frequent mist

faction:

Silver Ledger

governance:

Harbor Wardens under trade charter

population:

~3,800 permanent; ~1,200 transients

trade:

Tariffs, salvage, fish, lamp oil, bonded manifests

hazards:

Rip tides, pier collapses, smuggling crews, brine spirits

Geography / Layout / Points of Interest

• Lantern Docks: Long, tiered piers with hooked lampposts and tide marks on every piling.
• Ledger Pier: Customs berth and office favored by the Silver Ledger; discreet meeting rooms above the slips.
• Beacon Tower: Short signal lighthouse guiding boats around mudflats toward the Slickstone Arches.
• Tide Gates: Creaking sluiceworks managing surge; locals hang wind-charms to read storm rise.
• Night Market: After-last-bell stalls trading salted catch, spare rigging, and sealed manifests.
• Quarantine Piles: Staked sandbar for impounded cargo and burned refuse.
• Salt Gardens: Racks and pans for evaporating brine; doubles as rumor exchange at dusk.
• Cutter’s Row: Boatwright sheds and net-menders; rapid refits for rough-weather runs.
• Jetty Stairs: Slippery stone steps linking quay level to lower skiff landings.

Inhabitants

• Scillia Doge — female fixer and broker; key liaison for the Silver Ledger.
• Ilex Marr — male harbor warden; enforces mooring law and tariff writs.
• Sable Thurne — female pier boss running Cutter’s Row contracts.
• Quay Rat — swarm nuisance around fish dumps and tar barrels.
• Brine Wraith — spectral hazard during cold squalls near the Quarantine Piles.

Items / Resources Found

• Glasswire Dagger — favored by discreet dockside operatives.
• Cipher Deck — used for bonded cargo ciphers and hush contracts.
• Smoke Ampoule — common escape tool amid lantern fog.
• Ledger Signet — grants access to tariff records at Ledger Pier.
• Dockhand’s Hook — multipurpose pulling tool.
• Lantern Oil — high-flash distillate for weatherproof lamps.
• Salt-Slick Kelp — dried kelp sheets traded for rations and poultices.

History / Lore

• Founding: Expanded from tide-stairs into full piers after a salvage windfall off Breaker’s Shelf.
• Charter: Granted a trade charter aligning quay revenues with the Counting House audits.
• Lantern Truce: Nighttime non-aggression pact brokered by Scillia Doge between the Silver Ledger and the Gutter Syndic.
• Storm Years: Partial pier collapses led to the Tide Gates; salt-rimed chains from retired anchors reinforce the piles.

Events / Quests / Encounters

• Lantern Truce Renewal: Mediate tariff splits while Syndic runners test boundaries; avoid breaking the pact.
• Quarantine Piles Sweep: Clear smuggled caches before a warden inspection; risk Brine Wraith manifestations.
• Cutter’s Row Firewatch: Protect sheds during a wind shift; rescue tools and Lantern Oil stores.
• Breaker’s Night Patrol: Escort boats skirting Breaker’s Shelf; retrieve drifted manifests.
• Slickstone Run: Navigate fog through the Slickstone Arches; signal the Beacon Tower on return.
• Ledger Audit Assist: Secure records at Ledger Pier ahead of a Counting House spot-check.

Travel / Access

• Sea Approach: Follow Beacon Tower flashes; avoid the mudflats and the rip south of the Tide Gates.
• Landward Road: Cobble lane from the inland markets; handcarts and bonded wagons queue at dusk.
• Mooring: Short-berth limits enforced by Harbor Wardens; longer stays require Ledger Pier paperwork.
• Seasonal Notes: Heavy mist in spring; storm surge in late autumn complicates quay stairs.

Image Gallery

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Lantern docks of Vesper Quay at low tide

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Scillia Doge meeting a courier under Beacon Tower

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Harbor Wardens and Syndic toughs during a tariff standoff at Ledger Pier

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A skiff slipping past the Tide Gates toward the Slickstone route

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