Sword Street: Sword Street is narrow, crooked street outside the city walls of Daiyla Kiv, running more or less parallel to the Warriors' Way (from which it branches off just outside the Gate) to the Outer Market, which is near the arena. Though younger than the city itself and its ancient wall, Sword Street and the Market are still quite old--several hundred years, in fact. The original paving of flagstones has been worn, patched with brick or cobbles, re-worn, and re-patched, and it is tricky footing for the careless or those in a hurry. The fronts of the buildings are flush with the street's edge, time-darkened stone storefronts, their windows protected by carved wooden shutters gaily painted. The bow windows of the upper stories hang over the street, making it seem even narrower and keeping it dim even at midday.

Sword Street is famed, and justly so, for its swordsmiths and armor-makers. Here is found the forge of Dirfan tel Shen-Solokian, whose swords are sought by bladesmen from as far away as Simtakka--if they can afford them, for the blued-steel products of Difran's forge are works of art as well as superlative weapons, engraved, inlaid, and blessed at the High Temple of Mantor the Bright. Here, too, only a few doors down, is the workshop of Kelokan ten Murindis, whose helms, cunningly wrought in the semblance of snarling beasts and mythical creatures deemed worthy to crown the city's Duelmaster and its Lord Protectors. (The Arenamaster has made a custom of presenting each Invited gladiator with a splendid example of Kelokan's skill.) In the well-lit rooms of Nelishar's Armory, patient craftsmen assemble mail, link by sturdy link. Ruvilan tel Drosialta, shield-maker to the Sun Legion, has his shop here, and Beldiran ten Sildjo works simple leather into garments of defense. Here, too, may be found Guntir tem Olhavar, called the Swordhealer, who is well-known to the select as a mender of damaged blades--some blades being too august to be discarded when broken; it is said that when they have passed through Guntir's hands, they are as good as new, or better.

There are bars, of course, all streets have bars, especially those frequented by warriors and hard-working smiths. On Sword Street, the two main bars are the Blue Anvil and the Tilting Field, one at each end of the street. Each of these bars, from its regulars, has assembled a team of javeliners (they play darts here with light javelins and targets of padded leather), and the rivalry between them is great, so that when the tournaments are waged, Kelokan will not speak to Beldiran, nor Difran to Guntir. So great is their rivalry that they even sponsor two separate dragonboats, where it would be expected for them to unite and sponsor one. The Karahali boat is sponsored by Dirfan backed by the patrons of the Blue Anvil. Guntir and those who frequent the Tilting Field sponsor the Delsganihar boat. As a general rule, they are more interested in which will beat the other than in who will win the race itself.

The Dirty Duck: A tavern outside the city walls of Daiyla Kiv, on the bank of the Fatebringer River upstream from the city about two miles. It's a low, sprawling building of age-blackened timbers and stained plaster that has been serving the fishers of the area for generations. The barroom is low-ceilinged and poorly lit, but reasonably clean--not spotless, by any means, but they do wash off the tables and sweep the floor every day. The Duck has its own wharf (Darala, who does the cleaning, says that's to keep the fishers from tracking in sticky, malodorous black mud, with which the river is plentifully supplied).

The tavern belongs to Sokarsh tel Mohan and his wife Darala, and Sokarsh tends the bar most days. He's a big, sturdy man who was a fisherman himself until his father retired and put him in charge of the Dirty Duck. He knows most of his customers by name (they don't get many passing strangers here) and is always ready to sympathize with a problem or lighten the mood with a joke. Darala does the cooking--nothing fancy, but it's cheap and filling (mostly fried fish or fish stew).

They brew their own ale in the cellar (you can smell the batch that exploded last month), and they also offer a surprising range of mixed drinks, many of them invented here. A few people come out from the city on a regular, if infrequent, basis, just to see what they've thought of now. The flavors are interesting--sometimes even good--and the mixes usually VERY potent. The Purple Peacock is a new one, sweet and fruity, but the spicy Crimson Kiss is an old favorite, and of course everyone's heard of the honeyed Sweet Surprise and the tart Yellow Peril--the foaming, mild-tasting River Mist could even be called infamous.

Although the customers tend to be rowdy--they play as hard as they work--things seldom get out of hand. Most of the customers know each other very well--when they fight, it's outside and over quickly. Of course, if they should have occasion to gang up on a stranger...well, fishing the Fatebringer doesn't make weaklings or cowards. The waitresses are local, too, mostly from the same families that supply the customers. If they occasionally oblige a friend overnight, well, it's between friends.

The Tiger's Shadow: The Shadow, as it is called, is a tavern in the warehouse district of Daiyla Kiv's New Town, along the An-Kiu River above its junction with the Fatebringer River. This tavern can be approached by land, along Three Ravens Road, or by water, since it has a public wharf. The customers of the Tiger's Shadow are mostly laborers who work in the area--a rough, lower-income crowd. The main barroom is a large--about forty feet by sixty--low-ceilinged room only four feet above normal river level and the same distance below street level. The floor is brick and none too clean, and brick pillars spaced every ten feet through the room support the shallow arches of the roof; the ceiling is blackened by the ever-present haze of smoke which makes it impossible, at times, to see from one end of the room to the other. Upstairs are smaller rooms which may be used for private meetings but are more often the working quarters of the women who make this tavern their headquarters. Besides the usual drinks--decent quality and reasonable prices--the Shadow serves meals: basic stuff like noodles, tortilla-like sapani, and fish stew.

The Tiger's Shadow is run by Ziliaron ten Daskar. Most people assume he's the owner, although he never says either way. Zil'ron, as his regulars call him, is a man of medium height and wiry build, gray-haired now, with a three-clawed scar on one cheek and down his right arm from above his elbow to his wrist. He says he got the scar from a "monster" on the river, during a long-past dragonboat race; there is no one around who can confirm or deny this claim. He is friendly with the customers but does not get deeply involved with them; all he wants to do is sell his drinks and his food and be left alone. He is supposed to live on the third floor of the building, in solitary splendor--of course, no one's ever SEEN the splendor... He is usually found behind the bar.

Kalsin, no family name known, is the other regular bartender. He is taller than Zil'ron and more heavily built, with weather-darkened skin and a bald head (he may shave it). No one has ever seen an expression on his face, but he is courteous to all, mostly. When the need arises, Kalsin, with the aid of some of the heftier customers, handles the bouncing.

Molzor ten Daskar, a cousin of Zil'ron's, is the cook. He is in early middle age, of medium height and sturdy build, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. He's a genial soul, with many friends in the district, and a good cook. At need, he helps out at the bar and enjoys bantering with the customers, but his first love is cooking.

Dame Firia is the name used by the woman who is in charge of the tavern's "girls." She's tall for a woman, about 5'10", and splendidly built; her hair is a rich reddish brown. ("So I dye it," she says. "Why be ordinary?") She sees to it that the clients pay up and that the girls are not ill-treated, also that the clients are not cheated, and she pays their rent to Zil'ron, presumably in cash. Firia herself will only take friends upstairs, and she resents anyone who tries to pressure her. Like all Adantri, she has had weapons training, and her resentment is likely to be...rough. She will be REALLY rough with anyone who tries to hurt one of her girls, and fairly nasty with someone who tries to get something for nothing.

Though the Shadow is an honest tavern, it is frequently used as a meeting place by people who are not quite so honest, as its location makes this both convenient and safe. While honest enough themselves, the employees ask no questions about things not directly their business.