I had a prof during my undergrad who used to say, "An essay is never completed, only abandoned at a reasonable point." So too with maps? Thanks for the suggestion to roof a number of the buildings, it was fun to figure out a way to do it that I liked. And thanks to all the artists at the Dundjinni forums for all the bits and pieces that decorate the building interiors!
The Vicinato Spavento
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Spavento.jpg
"We're the Malvagios. We own this neighbourhood."
Southwest of the palazzos and villas where the children of the ruling elite indulge their hedonism, north of the canals that bring goods to the Commercio district, and just past the quieter end of the bustling Piazza Mercato where the city trades its goods lies the Vicinato Spavento, a quiet little neighbourhood of closed doors and shuttered windows. A few citizens of the city know this as a place to come to get things that can't be found anywhere else. Farina Malvagio sells bread and pastries that rival anything the nobles are eating. A few of her special customers know about the back room and the small but expensive "spices" she sells there. What makes her flour so wonderful? Old Cibo Malvagio's shop usually has good cuts of meat at surprising prices and if you come after dark he might be able to dispose of some spoiled meat for you. Off the main road the more daring visitors find Tesoro Malvagio's Banco which always seems to have the most interesting and rare trinkets on its tables. No point in asking where they come from, Tesoro never tells. Those with more secretive needs might find the Sicarios nearby, a close-knit band of Malvagio brothers and sisters who can make particular sorts of problems disappear. Permanently.
Not long ago the Magistrate Avaro, concerned that some of his own missing property might be for sale at Tesoro's, sent his personal guard in to the neighbourhood to take back what was his. Sadly Avaro has fallen on hard times lately, and his guards have not been seen since the night they took their swords to Vicinato Spavento.
The Malvaggio family has lived here for generations. Despite a few semi-legitimate family-run businesses, most of what goes on here are things the family would like to keep from public view, and so they guard their privacy jealously. Every dwelling is connected through underground passageways constructed during the family's long residence in Spavento, and provides them a way to rally and surprise intruders should anyone visit their neighbourhood looking for trouble. Each street into the neighbourhood is watched day and night through cunningly-hidden arrow slits, and the watchers always have crossbows close to hand. And of course, everyone, from the eldest grandmother to the youngest cousin, knows that in times of need a handy weapon can always be had at Tesoro's shop. He loans his wares to family for free. An assault on the neighbourhood will have to run a gauntlet of flying darts before they can even reach the streets. Once there they will face a coordinated attack from the soldiers of the family, skirmishing and then disappearing into the shops and homes, only to reappear behind or at a flank a few moments later.
One place the Malvaggio's don't watch are the canals, and with good reason. They are stinking cess-pits. Occasionally Cibo the Butcher finds them handy for disposing of certain cuts of meat, but no one in their right mind would dare use them as a way to sneak into the Vicinato Spavento! Would they?
cheers,
Meshon
