Overview

Situated between Northwharf, the Sanctuary, and Thousand Alleys, Ôldyuh Market is not for the faint of heart. Gathered here are all manner of disreputable merchants hawking goods unavailable in most civilized ports. Anyone able to afford it, can purchase slaves, prostitutes, drugs, poisons, weapons, information; the list seems endless. Though Ôldyuh Market is patrolled by contingents of the Zad’ir Guard, these soldiers rarely intervene in common matters.

Jolmun watched in horror as the Sarg savage slowly pulled his blade from the slave’s gut. Wet entrails spilled to the dusty ground, the woman’s eyes rolled, her jaw locked, and she was dead. Releasing her face from his mailed fist, the woman’s body collapsed shapelessly to the ground. The savage raised his head and screamed. Marketers stopped for a moment and continued about the business of the day. A frail man in a sand-colored robe and a rotten-toothed smile came forward. The Sarg stood fixed, his chest heaving, his eyes filled with unholy passion. After a moment the rage passed from him and he recognized the old man again. Pulling coins from his belt, he dropped them in the merchant’s hand and walked away. The merchant looked down at the dead slave girl and sadly shook his head. Jolmun fought down the vomit rising in his throat. The other guards had told him the first day in the Ôldyuh would be hard. As he looked back, he caught a glimpse of young thieves dragging the woman’s leaking remains into the crowd.”