Overview:
Tanglebay is a sprawling, multi-level district carved out of collapsed workshops and sunken buildings, where Salvagers live, repair, and trade. Over decades, temporary scaffolds, catwalks, and stacked crates have been reinforced into usable platforms, allowing thousands of automata to occupy the area at once. Despite the haphazard construction, the layout is surprisingly functional, with communal spaces, storage areas, and improvised maintenance bays interwoven through the rubble.
Appearance:
Twisted girders, patched floors, and rusted plates form corridors and terraces, with ladders and rope-like chains connecting precarious levels. Barrels, crates, and scrap panels serve as partitions or sleeping platforms. Reflective panels and mirrored conduits channel sunlight through gaps in the debris, highlighting the busy activity of the district. Dust and fine metallic grit coat every surface, but tools clatter, micro-gears spin, and springs snap back into place as automata move about.
Structure:
Multi-tiered scaffolds and stacked platforms allow vertical housing for thousands at a time.
Central open courtyards serve as communal hubs for rest, trade, and scavenged meals.
Narrow passageways and fragile floors create hazards that require careful navigation, but experienced residents know where it’s safe.
Landmarks:
The Copper Loft: A bustling, multi-level Salvager residence built from a collapsed workshop, combining sleeping platforms, workspaces, and communal areas into a densely packed hub of industry and motion.
Faction Presence:
Salvagers: Dominate Tanglebay entirely; all activities—residency, fabrication, and informal marketplaces—are managed internally.
“A Salvager down in the Copper Loft swears their ladder tomorrow-morning (they don’t say when) was replaced with a lighter one overnight.”
“Someone claims they bartered a chunk of polished brass for a full week’s worth of Ticks—no one believes the price, but everyone nods.”
“A beginner keeps leaving tiny toolkits on ledges as 'gifts'—some say it’s a strange welcoming ritual, others say it’s bait.”
"Halvren-Kai has been looking to recruit some new talent since Virex-Theta destroyed his last lieutenant."
“A Salvager trader met with a Conservator in a side courtyard and left with a folded memory strip—payment was heavy and discreet.”
“A string of fragile planks leading to a lower platform was recently reinforced with fresh rivets; whoever did it didn’t want word spreading.”
“Harvesters have been spotted skirting the edges of Tanglebay more often. Packs test the perimeter and pull back when confronted, but they’re getting bolder.”
“There’s talk of a hidden cache beneath the central courtyard—Ticks and wound springs enough to outfit a small crew. Whoever controls it could buy the whole Loft.”
“A Salvager foreman is assembling something large from scavenged platforms and gears. No one knows its purpose, but several groups are quietly watching the build.”