Drowner's Rest
They come here, they drown.
In the shallowest parts of Rising City, near the northern scrap wall, a flooded marble-walled mansion cove shelters the Drowning Children. The imported marble walls survived the flooding. A limestone cave that once served as a pool grotto now provides shelter. Sickly trees sprout through the water, and thin rafts float between them where the tribe lives. Just enough shore at the wall supports temporary huts, and infected displayed in cages near the entrance serve as the only warning visitors will receive.
The Gilled Man, Chieftain of the Drowning Children, leads the settlement with defense as his primary concern. The northern scrap wall has been modified with outcroppings for archers, and hidden openings in the higher wall portions allow the Drowning Children to reach the Pridelands for trade while avoiding the infected. The tribe has adapted to Rising City's poisonous water in ways that no outsider fully understands. They swim in water that paralyzes and kills others without visible effect.
Food comes from hunting outside the walls and gathering large clumps of algae from trees at low tide. The settlement's most lucrative trade involves captured infected, sold for ridiculous sums to the Pits in Sinking City for use in murderball. The Lake Rats have attempted strikes against Drowner's Rest to stop the damage the Drowning Children inflict on their boats and pumps. These strikes have invariably gone horribly wrong. The Drowning Children always seem to know when attacks are coming and send submerged warriors to sink the boats before they arrive.
A tribe that made poison water their fortress. The marble walls that some pre-fall wealthy person imported now guard a settlement that no outsider has successfully assaulted.
In the shallowest parts of Rising City, near the northern scrap wall, a flooded marble-walled mansion cove shelters the Drowning Children. The imported marble walls survived the flooding. A limestone cave that once served as a pool grotto now provides shelter. Sickly trees sprout through the water, and thin rafts float between them where the tribe lives. Just enough shore at the wall supports temporary huts, and infected displayed in cages near the entrance serve as the only warning visitors will receive.
The Gilled Man, Chieftain of the Drowning Children, leads the settlement with defense as his primary concern. The northern scrap wall has been modified with outcroppings for archers, and hidden openings in the higher wall portions allow the Drowning Children to reach the Pridelands for trade while avoiding the infected. The tribe has adapted to Rising City's poisonous water in ways that no outsider fully understands. They swim in water that paralyzes and kills others without visible effect.
Food comes from hunting outside the walls and gathering large clumps of algae from trees at low tide. The settlement's most lucrative trade involves captured infected, sold for ridiculous sums to the Pits in Sinking City for use in murderball. The Lake Rats have attempted strikes against Drowner's Rest to stop the damage the Drowning Children inflict on their boats and pumps. These strikes have invariably gone horribly wrong. The Drowning Children always seem to know when attacks are coming and send submerged warriors to sink the boats before they arrive.
A tribe that made poison water their fortress. The marble walls that some pre-fall wealthy person imported now guard a settlement that no outsider has successfully assaulted.
History
The Drowning Children settled the marble-walled cove after Rising City's basin flooded, claiming territory that no other faction wanted. The poisonous water that kills outsiders proved to be the tribe's greatest defense. Over time, the Natural Ones adapted to the toxic lake in ways that remain unexplained, gaining the ability to swim freely in water that paralyzes others on contact.
The Gilled Man established leadership and focused the settlement around defense and self-sufficiency. The Lake Rats, who control the water purification monopoly elsewhere in Rising City, have clashed repeatedly with the Drowning Children over damage to their boats and pumps. Every attempted strike against Drowner's Rest has failed. The submerged warriors who sink approaching boats seem to know about attacks before they launch, suggesting either remarkable scouts or something stranger. The marble walls of a pre-fall mansion now guard the most impenetrable settlement in the poisoned lake.
The Gilled Man established leadership and focused the settlement around defense and self-sufficiency. The Lake Rats, who control the water purification monopoly elsewhere in Rising City, have clashed repeatedly with the Drowning Children over damage to their boats and pumps. Every attempted strike against Drowner's Rest has failed. The submerged warriors who sink approaching boats seem to know about attacks before they launch, suggesting either remarkable scouts or something stranger. The marble walls of a pre-fall mansion now guard the most impenetrable settlement in the poisoned lake.
Geography
Drowner's Rest occupies a flooded marble-walled mansion cove in the shallowest parts of Rising City, near the northern scrap wall. The imported marble walls survived the flooding, and a limestone cave that once served as a pool grotto provides the primary shelter. Sickly trees sprout through the water, and thin rafts serve as living platforms. Just enough shore exists at the wall base for temporary huts. The northern scrap wall has been modified with archer outcroppings and hidden openings that provide access to the Pridelands beyond, allowing the Drowning Children to trade and forage while avoiding the infected concentration at the Dire Shore.
