Tail Stones
The Tail Stones District is the area northeast of the fortress Salzinwuun, the central core of Salt in Wounds. Massively damaged during the 12th Meridian Crisis, the Hind Quarter (its formal name) was the stage for the death of thousands and saw many more wounded. The underfunded repair efforts for the homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure in this area is still underway (where it has not been completely abandoned).By far the poorest district of the city, the Tail Stones is only marginally patrolled by the House Militias with control largely ceded to half a dozen gangs that pay dues to the Binder-Lords and their militia captains. While the still evident destruction, criminal control, and rampant poverty here keep many with alternatives living elsewhere, the Tail Stones are still a bustling hub of cottage industry. Proprietors of these businesses favor their mean streets for the relative inexpense of setting up shop—and find that paying a gang protection fee for security is simpler than lax law enforcement and paying one of the roaming tax and trade enforcers that are all too common in the rest of the city (who often decide the risk-reward ratio for attempting to collect in the district reason enough to avoid the area).At night the Tail Stones fill with the smells of cooking that waft from the hundreds of homes and street stalls of dozens of immigrant ethnic groups. It is said that those who know their way around can find better cuisine in the Tail Stones than even the best posh and polished eateries of Beast Crown.