Taalagrad



Taalagad is perhaps the largest and most important settlement claimed by the city of Talabheim. It is, in effect, Talabheim’s port, and all river trade to the city-state passes through Taalagad’s docks. A wide variety of traffic passes through Taalagad, and this includes commodities passing up and down the Talabec on boat and barge, as well as merchants and goods that seek to utilize the city’s ferries to cross the river’s breadth as they travel along the Old Forest Road.

Given its position on the River, Taalagad has a long history filled with refugees and shanty towns. During times of war, plague, and famine, unfortunates from as far as Kislev and Ostermark have sought shelter in Taalagad’s muddy, rat-infested streets. As a result, a semi-permanent shanty town has sprung up along Taalagad’s northern border, and the city’s struggling labour market is flooded with immigrants willing to work for much lower wages. These events have done nothing but frustrate the largely Kislevite labour force that existed in Taalagad up until that time, and tensions between the two ethnic groups are as high as the wages are low.

Overview
Several small fishing villages line the shores of the Talabec, and many of these are claimed to be a part of the city-state of Talabheim. A small fish market has sprung up in Taalagad to accommodate the fisher-folk and their families, who seek to turn their hard-caught fish into money. Prior to the recent struggles, fish were plentiful and business was good. In the aftermath of the war, refugees flooded into Taalagad, and fish, not to mention other sources of food, were suddenly in high demand. As stocks of fish were depleted in order to fill the bellies of hungry refugees, the volume of palatable fish being pulled from the depths of the Talabec dropped significantly. Initially, over-fishing was considered to be the root cause of the problem, but dark sorcery was also suspected when malformed creatures were pulled from the river in droves. The flesh of these abominations was foul tasting, and even the starving masses of refugees in Taalagad would not surrender precious coin to buy them. Palatable fish in Taalagad’s fish market are rare, expensive, and often caught downriver. By the time they reach market, several days have passed, and freshness cannot be guaranteed. The taint of rot does little to make the fish affordable to the common folk, but the mongers have no trouble selling their product to those few who can afford to buy it.

The Eel
The Eel is a two-story tavern that crouches at the southern edge of the Talabec, two blocks south of the Wizard’s Road. The bar’s wooden edifice has been bleached to a dingy grey by years of exposure to the elements. A single shoddy sign depicting a winding, snake-like creature dangles from a pair of rusty hooks above the door. Bits of maritime flotsam are stacked haphazardly along the building’s sides, covered by random patches of fraying fish net. A single copper bell, the words “Der Aal” cast into its side, hangs near the tavern’s door, a prize from the ship that gave the Eel its name. Business during daylight hours is scant, as most of the Eel’s regular clientele are either hard at work on the docks or laying low away from the prying eyes of the city guard. When the sun goes down, the Eel’s doors open wide, admitting all manner of river folk into its dingy and ill-lit interior. Sailors, boatmen, fisher-folk, and dockworkers enjoy the Eel’s cheap ale, and fried potatoes accompanied by strong local vinegar are a house specialty. The Eel’s favourite customers, however, are the many smugglers who ply the Talabec River in search of illicit profit. Anything can be bought or sold in the Eel, so long as the buyer or seller isn’t too straight-laced. The Eel’s reputation as a haven for smugglers is well known in Taalagad. In a city that is known for its rough and degenerate qualities, such a place is even valued by the powers that be. The local authorities choose to ignore the Eel much of the time, though they will occasionally raid the tavern in an attempt to keep the proprietor on his toes. Arrests are rarely made during these raids, unless the patrons are incited to violence by an unhealthy combination of rebelliousness and malt liquor.

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