The Sprigs

The Sprigs is the highest district of Odrun Fell by wealth, influence, and comfort. It sits on the upper spans and stable ribs of the greatclub where light and airflow are strongest. The district holds the city’s formal halls, high-value vaults, and many homes of guild officers, financiers, and senior clerks. Decisions that shape contracts, routes, and budgets are made here. The Sprigs does not lead delves or process carcasses. It directs coin, law, and policy so the other districts can do that work.

Purpose and Role

The Sprigs sets rules and allocates resources. The Promissory drafts and enforces contract standards. The Ashcoats negotiate supply for forges, lifts, and gantries. The Barleys present breeding plans and request space or permits. The Cudgel receives orders on postings, closures, and public safety from district councils endorsed here. The Regent reviews final proposals and signs city orders. The Sprigs also hosts hearings on disputes between guilds and between guilds and citizens. Many arguments that would become street fights elsewhere end here as signed agreements or fines.

Layout

The Sprigs rises in layers around broad terraces and fixed bridges. Main streets are straight, dry, and kept clear by posted crews. Side lanes are narrow but clean and well lit. Most buildings are stone shells reinforced with chitin plates. Upper levels hold offices, archives, and private homes. Lower levels hold reception halls, records rooms, and guarded vaults. Roof gardens and small orchards use routed light and collected water. The district borders the Spindle by stair and ramp and looks down toward the Hilt’s smoke and signal lamps.

Public spaces center on three linked squares:

• Council Square holds the city’s council chamber and the Regent’s office. Posting boards here concern law, taxes, and emergency notices, not delving work.

• Ledger Square holds Promissory offices, arbitration rooms, and bonded storage reception. Couriers and clerks move in steady lines.

• Tines Court holds formal reception for visiting dignitaries, guild ceremonies, and public addresses.

Governance

The Regent resides and works in the Sprigs. The Regent’s powers are ceremonial and coordinating, but they matter. The Regent calls joint sessions, resolves deadlocks, and signs external treaties. Their staff keeps neutral records of votes and orders. Guild leaders occupy official residences nearby to allow fast meetings.

The Sprigs maintains the city’s legal code. Promissory advocates and neutral scribes compile rulings and update writs. The district’s courts handle contract breaches, fraud, smuggling cases that cross districts, and claims of negligence in public works. Trial rites are simple: reading of the charge, presentation of evidence, questions from a panel, and judgment. Punishments focus on fines, bans, and restitution. Only repeat violent cases move to long detention under Cudgel guard.

Guild Presence

The Promissory. This is their stronghold. They control chartering, insurance, escrow, and arbitration. They run the Chitin Vaults’ bonded office from Ledger Square and issue seals used across the city. They audit large contracts with power to suspend payment if terms are broken. Their records are the baseline for taxes and budgeting.

The Ashcoats. Their Sprigs offices coordinate resource allotments for forges, lifting oil, rope stock, and repair cycles. They do not smelt or hammer here. They sign orders that keep the Hilt’s systems operational and schedule heavy maintenance during low-risk periods.

The Barleys. Their advocates bring breeding results and proposals for new working lines. They request licenses for live-stock storage, venom handling, and movement permits. They also manage city-funded reserves of food and medicine for collapse seasons.

The Cudgel. Their command here is administrative. The Sprigs houses the bureau that assigns patrol priorities, rescue budgets, and training schedules. The Cudgel’s street presence in the Sprigs is restrained but visible at gates, courts, and vault entries.

Commerce

The Sprigs manages high-value trade rather than running an open market. Most sales involve private appointments. Items include rare glands, intact spinnerets, alchemical reagents, mapping instruments, secure ledgers, heavy plate sets, and legal services. The district hosts auction rooms for unique pieces that cannot be priced at the Spindle. The Promissory reviews these auctions and holds escrow under strict timelines. The city collects a clear tax on each high-value sale.

Banks, counting houses, and insurers cluster near Ledger Square. Their services include loan lines to guilds, deposit boxes, bonded courier routes, and recovery funds for families of lost delvers. Fees are posted and enforced. Fraud is pursued quickly. A shared blacklist warns all offices when a debtor or forger is banned.

Food and clothing shops exist in the Sprigs but serve residents and visiting officials. Prices are high and quality is consistent. Street stalls are rare and must hold a Sprigs permit. Loud haggling is not tolerated. Most exchanges happen at desk height with written copies and seals.

Security and Safety

The Sprigs holds sensitive records and assets. Security layers are clear. The outer ring is crowd control by Cudgel patrols and wardens. The middle ring is building guards hired by guilds but licensed by the district. The inner ring is vault and archive security using keys, seals, and coded logs. Lethal force is a last resort and must be justified to a court within a day.

Fires, breaches, and riots are the district’s primary risks. The Sprigs does not face tunnel collapse directly, but it prepares for secondary effects. Bucket lines, pump handles, and roof cisterns stand ready. Doors and shutters carry posted ratings against heat and acid. Panic plans direct residents to assembly points. The district runs quarterly drills that coordinate with the Cudgel and with Spindle bucket crews.

Daily Rhythm

At first bell, messengers receive route, contract, and budget packets for delivery to the Hilt and Spindle. At second bell, councils and committees open. Midday sees the heaviest flow through Ledger Square as escrow transfers clear and new contracts post. In the afternoon, hearings and reviews conclude. At last bell, guards lock vault antechambers and clerks seal the day’s ledgers. Nights are quiet except for courier handoffs and roof patrols.

Culture

The Sprigs prizes order, punctuality, and clear writing. Dress is practical and clean rather than showy. Offices set public hours and keep to them. Meetings begin on time and end on time. Residents value safe streets, reliable water, and stable light. Many households support relief funds for the Hilt and Barrows, but they expect reports on how coin was used. Education focuses on numbers, contracts, and administration. Children of the Sprigs learn ledger work, basic law, and civic duty before any craft.

Public celebrations mark functional milestones: a year without a major fire, completion of a lift overhaul, or a successful budget cycle. The district observes the Hilt’s additions to the Wall of Names with a bell toll from Council Square. Work pauses, and then resumes after a short count. Grief is respected, but the Sprigs responds with policy changes rather than public displays.

Relations with Other Districts

The Sprigs depends on the Hilt and the Barrows for labor, material, and food. In turn, it provides lawful structure, coin, and protection for assets. The Spindle is the daily partner. The Sprigs sets rules; the Spindle applies them. Tension rises when rules slow trade or when trade skirts rules. The Sprigs responds with audits and adjustments rather than street action. When the Hilt requests resources for rescue or closure, the Sprigs moves coin and signs orders quickly if the request carries Loom data and Cudgel endorsement.

Education and Training

Clerks, advocates, and quartermasters train here under guild programs. Instruction covers ledgers, dispute process, logistics planning, risk accounting, and public order law. Apprentices rotate through counters, archives, and courts. The best move to field posts in the Spindle or the Hilt to learn ground practice before returning to senior roles. This cycle keeps the district’s decisions tied to real conditions.

Outlook

The Sprigs keeps Odrun Fell organized. It cannot replace the Hilt in the tunnels or the Barrows at the tables, but it can make sure the right crews have the right resources at the right time. It can also make sure that losses are recorded, families are supported, and failures lead to changes. The district’s strength is predictable process and documented order. When pressure rises, the Sprigs adds steps, funds relief, and directs attention where it is needed. This steadiness keeps the city from wasting effort and coin.