Sour Silt Alley

Between Orvanstus Way and Basalt Road in Tomblador-held Balic sits the dusty and dirty Sour Silt Alley. To one side of the alley is the long-closed business of Arundestes, a mixer of sour sauces, soups, and other concoctions used for cooking. The bricked-up windows attest to the success of that business, as do the un-repaired cracks in the wall, the pale yellow stone caked with decades of silt. The single side door to the old building is locked and carved with graffiti, and the floor of the entrance nook is filled with debris.

The opposite wall consists of two-storey tenement housing for those who cannot afford a more pleasant location. Three dingy doorways lead into narrow hallways and stairs up to second floor. Tiny windows have the unfortunate view of the alleyway and the failed business across from them.

Characters

The beggar Chevandus can often be found in alley, asking for handouts from those that pass through. This apparently sad and shady figure is actually a useful tool for many of those in Balic's underworld. Chevandus (NE hem Rog 3) is often given messages by criminals to pass on to others of their kind. His cover as a beggar is quite effective, as those bending to press a few coins in his palm also pass him small notes or tokens to give to his contacts.

The thief lives in a second-floor flat in the alley where he can keep an eye on what goes on below. The tattered tunic he usually wears gives him the appearance of the down-on-his-luck misfit that he wants to convey, though he often wears a hide vest and dagger underneath to help defend himself from other ruffians on the hunt for an easy coin purse.

Evenys is a motherly figure who owns a stand on the corner of Sour Silt Alley. This stand, which is also part of her home, sells the sour mixes and sauces that have once made the alley famous, and she is the only one in the city that produces them. She makes enough to support herself and afford her Spartan home, and though her sour soup is an acquired taste, she nevertheless has a loyal customer base.