Skidaway Harbor
Skidaway Harbor floats where a town used to stand. The original settlement sank beneath the waves, and the natural harbor that formed above its bones attracted exactly the kind of people you would expect: pirates, smugglers, and anyone else for whom the right side of the law is a foreign concept. A series of floating docks and small pubs now rock on the water, their salt-encrusted floorboards stained with blood from bar fights that are known for ending in death rather than bruises.
The harbor sits adjacent to Savage Anna, serving as the primary point for offloading stolen goods that are then carted inland for sale on the black market. Ships too illegal for regulated ports find resupply here. Whalers stop to sell their catch. Slaves in transit to the Drowned City pass through the docks. Captain Vincent Douglas and the Conch Battalion are a notable presence, arriving to sell goods quickly before departing again, their business conducted with the efficiency of people who know exactly how long they can afford to stay in one place.
Salt Wise make up the majority of the floating population, with a few Mericans and Baywalkers carving out space on the docks. There is no formal governance, no law beyond the unwritten understanding that everyone here is dangerous and no one asks questions. The offshore location provides one significant advantage: the mainland's shambling undead cannot reach the floating settlement. Sharks and Lionfish, however, patrol the murky waters below with a hunger that more than compensates for the absence of the dead.
If you are on the right side of the law, Skidaway Harbor is not a place you want to visit. If you are on the wrong side, it is the only harbor that will have you, and the price of that hospitality is knowing that every person on these docks would sell you out for the right offer.
The harbor sits adjacent to Savage Anna, serving as the primary point for offloading stolen goods that are then carted inland for sale on the black market. Ships too illegal for regulated ports find resupply here. Whalers stop to sell their catch. Slaves in transit to the Drowned City pass through the docks. Captain Vincent Douglas and the Conch Battalion are a notable presence, arriving to sell goods quickly before departing again, their business conducted with the efficiency of people who know exactly how long they can afford to stay in one place.
Salt Wise make up the majority of the floating population, with a few Mericans and Baywalkers carving out space on the docks. There is no formal governance, no law beyond the unwritten understanding that everyone here is dangerous and no one asks questions. The offshore location provides one significant advantage: the mainland's shambling undead cannot reach the floating settlement. Sharks and Lionfish, however, patrol the murky waters below with a hunger that more than compensates for the absence of the dead.
If you are on the right side of the law, Skidaway Harbor is not a place you want to visit. If you are on the wrong side, it is the only harbor that will have you, and the price of that hospitality is knowing that every person on these docks would sell you out for the right offer.
Demographics
Salt Wise make up the majority of Skidaway Harbor's floating population, their seafaring skills essential to life on the docks. A small number of Mericans maintain a presence, and a few Baywalkers have carved out space among the pilings and platforms. The population shifts constantly as ships come and go, making any count of permanent residents an exercise in guesswork.
The harbor is sparse compared to land-based settlements. A series of floating docks and small pubs constitute the entirety of the built environment, and the population at any given moment depends entirely on which ships are in port and what they are carrying.
The harbor is sparse compared to land-based settlements. A series of floating docks and small pubs constitute the entirety of the built environment, and the population at any given moment depends entirely on which ships are in port and what they are carrying.
Government
There is no governance in Skidaway Harbor. The floating settlement operates entirely on opportunistic self-interest. No laws are codified, no authority figure holds sway, and disputes are settled by whoever can back up their position with violence. Bar fights at the small pubs are routine and frequently fatal, the blood staining salt-encrusted floorboards that no one bothers to clean.
The closest thing to order is the implicit understanding that the harbor exists because everyone benefits from its lawlessness. If someone disrupted the flow of smuggled goods or brought unwanted attention from mainland authorities, the collective self-interest of every pirate, smuggler, and fence on the docks would correct the problem quickly and permanently.
The closest thing to order is the implicit understanding that the harbor exists because everyone benefits from its lawlessness. If someone disrupted the flow of smuggled goods or brought unwanted attention from mainland authorities, the collective self-interest of every pirate, smuggler, and fence on the docks would correct the problem quickly and permanently.
History
When the waters rose, old Skidaway sank. The area formed a natural harbor above the drowned structures, and it did not take long for people to realize that a harbor beyond the reach of law enforcement had commercial value. Floating docks were built, then small pubs, then the ramshackle network of platforms and berths that exists today.
The harbor's reputation as a haven for pirates and smugglers grew alongside its physical infrastructure. Its proximity to Savage Anna created a symbiotic relationship: stolen goods are offloaded at Skidaway and carted inland to feed the black market. Ships that cannot dock at lawful ports find resupply, repairs, and the particular kind of privacy that comes from a place where no one asks where you have been or what you are carrying.
The harbor's reputation as a haven for pirates and smugglers grew alongside its physical infrastructure. Its proximity to Savage Anna created a symbiotic relationship: stolen goods are offloaded at Skidaway and carted inland to feed the black market. Ships that cannot dock at lawful ports find resupply, repairs, and the particular kind of privacy that comes from a place where no one asks where you have been or what you are carrying.
Geography
Skidaway Harbor occupies the water above the sunken remains of old Skidaway, where the drowned structures created a natural harbor that protects ships from storms. Floating docks and structures have been built across the water's surface, forming a settlement that rises and falls with the tides. The harbor sits adjacent to Savage Anna, connected by boat traffic and the steady flow of smuggled goods moving inland.
The offshore position is the harbor's defining geographic feature. It means the mainland's shambling undead cannot reach the floating settlement, providing a level of safety unavailable to land-based towns in the region. The trade-off is the water itself: sharks patrol the murky depths, and Lionfish attacks are a constant hazard for anyone who falls or is thrown from the docks.
The offshore position is the harbor's defining geographic feature. It means the mainland's shambling undead cannot reach the floating settlement, providing a level of safety unavailable to land-based towns in the region. The trade-off is the water itself: sharks patrol the murky depths, and Lionfish attacks are a constant hazard for anyone who falls or is thrown from the docks.
