Smoke - Tent City

In a particularly rough area, there is a large brick building that once served as a prison yard now constantly emits thin streams of smoke from campfires and bonfires alike. After the construction of a new penitentiary, the entirety of the place was emptied out. Stretching three blocks, the prison that once kept criminals off of the streets now houses the downtrodden and impoverished people of the Warrens

Into the Smoke

When the homeless and less fortunate people were struggling against vagrancy laws, they made their way into the Smoke with the hope of finding a place to rest without being arrested or harassed. The namesake of Smoke comes from the almost constantly burning fires that bring warmth and light to this once abandoned prison. About two blocks are filled with tents, tarps, and bedrolls. People of all races and ages settled here because they had nowhere else to go. The poverty-ridden, refugees, and criminals all use this place to avoid the Watch. There are a few notable people that help this community the best they can with what little resources they can provide.

Life here isn't so bad! No taxes to be paid, no guards breathing down your neck, and fresh air right outside the tent flaps.

- Ossian Smoothpint, Tent City Denizen

The Woolridge prison had not seen use for nearly two years before the guards stopped chasing people away from it. It was an abandoned lot perfect for those who did not have a home. About two dozen people snuck into the prison come nightfall and began setting up tents and fires. Over the next week or so, there were about one hundred people within the old stone walls of the prison yard. This did not stop the guard from taking notice, but by the time they began to intervene, the prison was already under new control. The guards that attempted to break in were met with rocks and broken furniture being thrown down upon their heads.

The Wardens

After the Smoke became a haven for the downtrodden, a group of thugs got the idea to break into the old prison building to use it as a base of operation. The Wardens are a gang of thieves and criminals who had nothing to come back to after they were released from jail. They act as guards for those in the tent city by keeping the City Watch away and discouraging thievery amongst the populous. The leader of the gang, Sibley "the Knife" Walsh, has been a thief since she was old enough to pickpocket. She is now in her late thirties and is happy to help the people that ended up like her. Always looking to improve life in the Smoke, the Wardens are all too happy to steal from the rich folk of the Ward. Resources taken by the Wardens are fairly split amongst the ever-growing population of the Smoke. Walsh believes that it will soon get to a point where they will not have enough to go around. With this in mind, she encourages the younger folk to join the gang and assist with their efforts.

The Watch has been advised to just ignore the tent city at the old Woolridge prison. There are far too many of those thugs to take on. 

- Harlen Poole, City Watch Lieutenant

Harlen Poole, a City Watch Lieutenant once rallied the guard with the intent of breaking into the prison to arrest the Wardens suspected of stealing but to no avail. The Wardens have the prison incredibly fortified and unleashed a counter-assault on the guards, forcing them to retreat. Despite this failed effort, Poole has not stopped attempting to catch the thieves, placing guards in the general vicinity to catch them when they leave their territory.

The Gardener

An elf with pallid white skin, black hair, and pink eyes tends to a large garden in the middle of the city. No one knows his name, but most are simply afraid to ask, as they fear that he is a carrier of the Elven plague. In truth, the Gardener was a victim of circumstance. He was forced to leave his floral shop due to the owner's irrational fear of the plague. Despite being treated as a criminal, he finds peace in knowing that he can use his green thumbs to grow food for the people of the Smoke.

A lotta people here are deathly afraid of 'im, but I know he's got a good heart. He's always got a smile on his face when he gives people baskets full o' vegetables an' fruit.

- Earle Autumnale, Dwarven Member of The Wardens 

The only people that the Gardener speaks with are the children that are willing to help him deliver fruits and vegetables. While most of the families would refuse under any other circumstance, they accept the offerings of the elf.

The Cook

Every single day, the hundred or so citizens of the Smoke line up outside of the prison's doors to be served a meal. Operated by Daphne Garrett, a tiefling woman with crimson skin and silver hair, the kitchen makes sure that people do not go hungry. Garrett grew up in an orphanage after her parents abandoned her as a baby. At the age of sixteen, she fled to find a place where she would be accepted for who she was. Sadly, most of the people in Rivergate would not allow a tiefling to work in their establishment out of superstition or fear. She eventually came to the Smoke and began the very same life she lived at the orphanage: being a cook that was always given strange looks because of her twisting horns and tail.

Contents

Parent Location

Warrens