The Spillway
“If it’s not in motion, it’s in the way.”
Overview
The Spillway is one of the busiest districts in the City of Or, functioning as a transit corridor, trade artery, and pressure valve between the surface world and the underground heart of the city. It is a place of ramps, cargo sleds, shouting merchants, and overworked lifters.
Straddling the vertical axis of Or, the Spillway connects the Hearthring, Coalwalk Row, Gutterbrew Alley, and various freight routes toward deeper forgeworks.
Terrain & Infrastructure
- Design: Steep inclines, metal-reinforced ramps, and pulley-driven cargo lines
- Climate: Warm from below, cold from above—causing frequent magical fogs
- Sounds: Yelling, chain creaks, horn blasts, and the constant roll of crates
District Character
- People: Dock workers, scribes, couriers, traders, pulley engineers, alchemical freight runners
- Mood: Frantic but weirdly efficient
- Function: Moving goods, gossip, and bureaucracy faster than anywhere else
Economy
- Goods: Raw ore, crafted weapons, magical items, contraband, foodstuffs from surface farms
- Services: Translation, transport, registry scribes, emergency healing for “shipment injuries”
Notable Features
- The Echohook Platforms: Where freight is fastened, sorted, and redirected by shouting teams with enchanted clipboards
- Turntunnel 3: A spiralling freight elevator so loud it has its own curse-suppressing ward
- The Paperblock: A stone wall used to slam-stamp freight permits with rune-ink (sometimes done dramatically for effect)
Cultural Insight
The Spillway is less a district and more a living mechanism. People here don’t linger—they move, shout, sweat, and vanish down the next ramp. Those who thrive in the Spillway often become indispensable intermediaries for every corner of Or.