Daskaken
The town of Daskaken sits on one finger of The Delta where the trees spread out and the water is more open. Wooden houses with high-pitched roofs stand over the water on tall stilts, varying in height. Each has a walkway in front and a wooden ladder leading down to the water where one or more flat-bottomed boats are tied. Some houses are built near each other, close enough that a plank can be laid from one to another for people to cross. Most are at a distance, though, and seemingly randomly placed. Townspeople cross back and forth in their small boats, dodging the piles and each other and occasionally slipping right under a house that doesn’t have fishing nets or rope lines dangling around the edges.
Some places sell cooked food, and boats go from one to another to collect up a meal; usually a child lets down the food in a bucket or basket and collects the payment the same way. Other places appear to be actual shops, or at least homes where people sell things. These places may have several boats tied up outside, and people emerge with bags or bundles that they stow in their own boat before casting loose and rowing away.
Daskaken has no official government. However, Takul is an older man who is generally considered wise and is usually to be found at his house, so any strangers with questions are directed to him. The stilt-town is typical of many semi-permanent towns or villages that have developed in The Delta, although some are slightly more organized than Daskaken. One was even built on a plan, with specific waterways between houses to help get boats in and out more easily. This level of detail was generally considered excessive, though, so it is unlikely to be repeated.
Settlement
Daskaken, Stilt Town of
Type
Town
Owning Organization
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