Cliffside

The streets of Cliffside are grim, quiet and dark. Unlike Surgeontown, where light spills almost wastefully into the endless midnight beyond the city limits, in Cliffside not a single spark finds its way outside. Travelers are often unaware they have even entered the town until a building emerges suddenly from the darkness into the dim light of their lanterns or torches and they realize they're no longer walking on unpaved ground. From time to time a furtive resident darts from shadow to shadow - shushing newcomers if they call out - and disappears into some black doorway. It's oppressive and unsettling.
Past the impoverished outskirts the buildings grow larger, but no more ornate. All are bland, featureless constructions of thick wood planks securely nailed and filled between with tar. Yet near the north edge of town some minor change may intrude on the stillness in the air. A low hum, as of distant music, or the faintest suggestion of voices. Many travelers hurry on, hoping to quickly be shut of this nerve-racking place and perhaps find a cheerier atmosphere in the legendary Chronicle Inn to the north. Yet if one lingers and perhaps tries to enter one of the buildings they will discover something truly odd.
Within the drab outer wall of every building is another inner wall which has all the appearance of once being open to the street. Between this first and second wall, dirt, crushed rock, or some other filler material has been pressed, creating a dense, nearly soundproof barrier. A second door also lies within the first, with the space between serving as a very dark and dreary antechamber. From this second door often emanates a muffled - but now clearly audible - sound of merriment. And beyond that door? Light! Music! A party!
The difference is so severe that more than one visiting mystic has attempted to dispel the "illusion" before realizing that it is absolutely real. Behind closed doors and double fortified walls, the residents of Cliffside pursue a celebratory culture where vanity and materialism have such authority that they're often indistinguishable from the town's politics. The most important individuals in Cliffside are generally those who attend the most social functions, set trends when appropriate and follow them otherwise, who are - regardless of whether they are praising or ridiculing them - impeccably well spoken to their peers, and are suitably hostile towards any hint of rebellion against today's mainstream.
Visitors can be understandably shell shocked by the wild contradiction of the ghost town outside and the gentility within, but they had best get over it fast. Though residents of Cliffside welcome all visitors (they depend on patronage to the Chronicle Inn, after all), they are ruthlessly intolerant of anyone who upsets their carefully orchestrated social drama.
Located on the very southwestern edge of the Baron's domain, Cliffside and the Chronicle Inn both suffer from intense haunting.

Industry & Trade

Few places in eastern Maverot have the refinement capabilities of Cliffside, and none can match the town in diversity of product. Textiles, lumber, paper, silk, and salt are major exports to the High Plains Estate and Surgeontown. Proximity to the Silver Sea supplies the town with plenty of fish, and travelers to the Chronicle Inn make up the remainder of Cliffside's economy.

Infrastructure

Every building in town looks more like a windowless warehouse than anything else. This is due to a sturdy outer shell being built over all buildings which prevents almost all light and sound from ever touching the silent streets.

Architecture

As noted, all buildings in Cliffside now resemble large, windowless warehouses more than anything else. Whatever architecture existed before the Starvation is hidden within. There are hints that it might have been colorful and ornate, and certainly the interiors have spacious layouts with focuses on natural finishes or brightly solid lacquered accents. The design philosophy seems to have been large, minimalist compositions that focus attention toward a single location or object, usually either intricately ornate or in some way a powerful contrast to its surroundings.

Type

Town

Population

6,500

Owner/Ruler

The Chronicle Proprietress

Characters in Location

• Precipice

Apparel

The people of Cliffside, on the north shore of the Silver Sea, have a small colony of silkworms, which allows the city the luxury of silk. Still, the fine fabric is kept in the grasp of the socialites and not willingly given to "commoners". The very richest in Cliffside incorporate pearls into their clothing, which are the currency of the city. Less affluent citizens substitute pretty seashells and fish scales as decorations. The poor here often wear furs trapped from the edges of The Bone Forest or oilskins from the strange aquatic life in The Silver Sea.