Greydove Quay

Greydove Quay is Orthay’s bustling harbour district, acting as the city’s gateway to the world and one of its more industrious quarters. The air is thick with the mingled scents of salt, tar and foreign spices, carried inland by sea winds sweeping across the docks.

By day, the waterfront is alive with motion and noise. Dockhands weave between stacks of shipping crates, merchants haggle loudly over stalls of goods and fishermen spruik daily catches to the crowds, as gulls wheel overhead in hungry anticipation. The Tower of the Morning Star maintains a silent vigil over it all, as ships of all sizes make their way to and from the Quay.

All the while, the rhythmic hammering of the city shipyards echoes across the water. These shipyards are the pride of the Valo-Nymirian empire—vast, disciplined worksites where warships are built, retrofitted and repaired under the watchful eyes of master shipwrights. Timbers crack, sparks fly from forges, and the scent of hot pitch hangs heavy in the air.

Along the waterfront stand numerous warehouses, each belonging to trading companies, guilds or independent captains. Their thick timber doors are reinforced with iron bands, some watched by hired guards, others bristling with arcane wards. Goods from every corner of the empire—and from lands beyond—pass through these storied doors before flowing deeper into Orthay.

As the sun sets, the frenetic pace softens and workers drift toward the district’s drinking holes. Chief among them is The Shouting Sail, a famously rowdy alehouse where cheap brew flows faster than the tide. Those seeking quieter or cleaner accommodations turn to the district’s many inns. The King’s Lodge, the largest and most reputable of them, offers hot baths, warm beds and exquisite meals—an oasis of civility amid the harbour’s grit.

At night, lanterns shimmer along the docks like strings of floating stars. The creak of moored ships, the distant laughter from tavern windows—and the occasional cheer from the Dockside Pits—blend into an ambience as vital as any district in the city can offer.