SRATHMARBH.

[vrykolakas]

SRATHMARBH. (stra-MA-rav) A settlement built around the Ninth Spire of Dorchadas, known as the Srathmarbh spire, Srathmarbh grows vertically as much as horizontally. The Spire is at its centre, supporting and being supported by its mad outcrops. The architecture suggests a slightly dizzying rate of expansion and random, incoherent spurts of ingenuity or plain oddness, contrasted with a highly practical tendency to work with the surrounding environment instead of against it. High in the cliffs, though extending down a sleep slope to almost greet sea-level, Srathmarbh is not a place to live if you dislike either heights or water. At some points great chasms open up under bridged walkways; you can spot a tourist by their tendency to hesitate before crossing. Srathmarbh is noted for extending below ground, as well as over it; by 2702 what were once rough shelters for vampire refugees have been converted into extensive residential areas (in the northerly tunnels), while the southerly tunnels are distinctly more dangerous. Rumours circulate endlessly about what goes on in there. The tunnels and cellars are known collectively as the Deadlands. Broadly, Srathmarbh is cheerfully cut-throat and mercantile. The Brucolac encourages the emerging middle class with great enthusiasm, and is highly focused on creating jobs and a stable economy. The construction industry is booming, with plans to create a shipyard and two ports (one sea, one sky), and other industries are also flourishing; two vampires, for instance, have started up a printing press, and (particularly given the rumours regarding the Brucolac's authorship of certain pamphlets), Srathmarbh is on its way to becoming a curious kind of cultural haven, something the Brucolac is as pleased about as he is mildly embarrassed. LOCATIONS. (all as of 2702, all quite rough and ready; the people of Srathmarbh have a tendency to talk about the settlement as a city, when it is nonetheless very new) THE SRATHMARBH SPIRE. Home to the Brucolac, his most trusted lieutenants, his guests and his highest-ranked staff. It also houses a certain number of soldiers, and can be used to house refugees in a pinch. Its doors are open; the first few floors, containing meetings rooms, the various offices of civil servants, and certain archives, are open to the public. Usually very busy. THE SPIRE DISTRICT. The Barracks. Close by the Spire, soldiers here drill and train. Those who are not housed in the spire are billeted here. A base of operations for patrols. The Clinic. Given a new lease of life by Clarke Griffin in August 2701, the clinic is a great, ramshackle, ugly building which nonetheless tends to provide...decent treatment, for a certain medieval value of decent. Who wants a leech? Clarke's influence has thankfully cut down on the amount of bloodletting going on, something the Brucolac is very grateful for. The Market. Great, bustling and absolutely cutthroat. Mind your wallet, and don't be afraid to haggle. Offices of the Red Morning Press. THE SHRINES. Literally, a number of shrines on the pebble beach. Originally four great slabs of rock dedicated to the Moon, the Outsider, the Black Shuck and Ceit the Siren, put up by the Brucolac himself, there are lesser altars for other gods erected by citizens. A small trade in relics and sacrificial animals continues day and night. More widely, 'the Shrines' is commonly used to refer to the entire coastal area, including the docks. The Shrines. The Docks. The Biting Boy, a rowdy sailor's tavern. THE DEADLANDS. The manmade tunnels, caverns and chambers beneath the surface settlement. North is residental, south more dangerous territory for quick and dead alike, not just because of criminal elements; these tunnels have not been refurbished or reinforced as the Northern tunnels have, and it's best to watch one's step. LIOS MUICE-MARA, or THE SHIPYARD. Literally "the whale's garden". An area close to the docks where construction on the whalebone ship, and others, is/was carried out.