Ubersreik Bridge

Grodni Surehammer and his Dwarf Engineers’ Guild designed and built Ubersreik Bridge over 200 years ago. Two centuries later, and the bridge still dominates Ubersreik. It is supported by a number of great, stone pillars sunk deep into the riverbed, to a height making it visible from much of the town. The pillars, tightly grouped near the riverbank, open out in the centre, offering two broad channels through which even tall masted river barges can safely pass. The bridge is inscribed with ancient Dwarf runes, ensuring strength and stability.

Local laws prohibit building atop the bridge, meaning those traversing it are greeted with some fine views of both sides of the town and the river surging beneath. Unseen from this vantage, the homeless gather under the bridge when the river isn’t swollen. There they seek to avoid the worst the weather has to offer. Historically the Jungfreuds periodically swept this largely Human detritus away, though the poor and destitute would always return in foul weather.

Of late, the Duke's occupying forces have shown no signs of clearing these unfortunates away. As a result, a small shanty town, known locally as Dunkelfeucht, has sprung up under the bridge’s shadow. The Jungfreud supporters in Ubersreik turn their noses up at this development, citing it as yet another failing of the interlopers from the north.

Indeed, even the most loyal supporter of the Duke has to admit that any right-thinking citizen of Ubersreik should be concerned at the unchecked expansion of the Dunkelfeucht. It has not only garnered a particularly foul reputation for attracting the very worst folk Ubersreik has to offer, it is also martialling itself, meaning any future attempt to clear the folk from under the bridge will be met with significant resistance.

Because of this, only the desperate now venture there. Gangs and footpads prowl, and few mornings pass without blood being shed or a fresh body found adrift on the river’s current. Unsurprisingly, the Watch now avoids the place completely, knowing there is little to be gained by antagonising the new powers-that-be below the bridge. This freedom from law-enforcement has allowed several makeshift jetties to be built by smuggling gangs. Finding their activities unchallenged, many of these gangs have become bold, often offloading large barges in broad daylight without fear of reprise. Of course, some onlookers mutter that such brazen criminality would never have been allowed when the Jungfreuds ruled, but such talk is divisive, and likely to start arguments, brawls, and even riots.

Recent rumours suggest the gangs of the Dunkelfeucht are being bound together by a new leader known only as ‘The Baron’. Though a new arrival to Ubersreik, this criminal mastermind is already known for her ambition and utter ruthlessness. Few outside Dunkelfeucht have ever clapped eyes on her, though most Ubersreikers have heard of her and fear her. If rumours are to be believed, she already has scores of thieves, thugs, and smugglers under her control, and she intends to spread from the docklands quickly, quashing any attempts to thwart the rise of her newly forged criminal empire.