The Updates

The Docks

A vast quantity of people and goods come through the ports every day, and as such a general strike by the Amalgamated Union of Dockworkers, Railwaymen and Ferrymen would spell disaster for the city. The first (and only, so far) time this happened was towards the beginning of the Last War, and whilst the Imperial Legions swiftly and ruthlessly crushed the strike it still caused enough disruption to throw the Emperor's war plans into disarray.

It's unlikely, however, that a general strike would ever come to pass. The rules of the Union state that for a strike to be called the Dockworkers', Railwaymen's and Ferrymen's Divisions each have to vote in favour. When things are bad for the docks they tend to be good for the railways, and the ferrymen are never especially keen to strike (and indeed are only in the Union for historical reasons, the Union having grown from the old Guild of Ferrymen - but because the taxi drivers have joined the Ferrymen Division, it has swollen vastly and is once again relevant in Union politics). The wartime alliance which was intended to strengthen the union has ended up reducing its credibility.

More common are strikes carried out by a particular section of the Union: the Dockworkers, perhaps, or the taxi drivers. This is far more easy for the authorities to deal with. When the dockworkers go on strike, the railwaymen all cheer because it means they get overtime pay, thanks to the extra goods trains. When the railwaymen go on strike, the dockworkers take up the slack with outgoing goods and the taxi drivers get more passengers. And when the taxi drivers go on strike, trade is barely disrupted. It's still a mess - after all, all those incoming ships and trains still have to be dealt with, and when the taxis aren't running the Grey Order's rental charges become a train on the City's finances - but it's a managable mess.

The local mob is the Dockyard Rats, specialising in smuggling and entertaining sailors with gambling dens, brothels, bloodsports and so forth. The gang is one of the oldest in the city; whilst there's always been job opportunities in the docks, there's never quite been enough jobs for everyone and they're by and large badly paid: there's a lot of people who've had to turn to crime to supplement their income, or indeed to have any income at all. The Dockyard Rats are popular amongst the locals because they can provide cheap, duty-free goods from foreign climes; the Treasury's Customs officers have a terrible time trying to get people to co-operate with their investigations.

It's widely known in the criminal underground that the Dockyard Rats pay a premium rate for details of valuable shipments by sea or rail, since these can be passed on to certain pirate and bandit allies of theirs.

Rumours about the Docks

There's a cult in the docks that worship a monstrous reptilian beast, a demon of the Ocean that sometimes swims in the river at night.

Grand Horizon Station is haunted; at night, when nobody's about and the trains are still, you can see ghostly figures moving around in there if you peep through the window. Don't look for too long, though, or they'll steal your eyes and take you into their dread kingdom.

The Dockyard Rats are secretly run by a clique of prostitutes and catamites from the riverside brothels.

If you go down to the docks and whistle the Imperial War March at midnight on the night of the full moon a ferryman will arrive. If you can pay his fare, he will take you to the land of the dead.