[Yoon-suin] NPCs in The Yellow City

The Yellow City sits at the mouth of the God River. It gets its name from the curious sandstone from which it is built, which seems to glow an amberish shade in the sunlight. It has a mixed population of humans, slug people and crabmen, who form three discrete castes, with slug people at the top and crabmen at the bottom. It is known as a city of assassins, poisoners, alchemists and priests.

Here are a few Yellow City NPCs.

Abhijit the Victorious is a retired club-fighter who, as the name suggests, was undefeated in his ten years in the pit. Now grown fat and rendered half-mad by poppy narcosis and old head injuries, he survives on the good will of his old fans.

Nabendu, whose mouth is black is an alchemist, who has the unfortunate tendency of trying to taste all of the potions he creates. This long ago rendered his lips, teeth and tongue black. But his prices are reasonable, and as long as he is still alive his customers can trust that the potion he is selling is not deadly.

Old Luulaalaali is a fortune teller in the largest of the Yellow City's bazaars. She* uses the traditional slug people method of fortune telling, which involves trailing mucus on the ground and having the customer try to describe the shapes it makes.

Vardhan, Worm Breeder is a breeder of velvet worms, particularly the small, colourful varieties used as pets. Secretly he also breeds assassin worms for a select clientele. He is soft spoken and makes barely a sound when he moves; it is often noted that over the years his character has come to somewhat resemble that of his 'children'.

Dimdaalo Jen is an importer of poppy seeds from the Hundred Kingdoms, and runs a large opium den above a tea-shop. As a slug person one* does not partake in the smoking oneself, but usually sits quietly in a corner, watching the debauchery. One is accompanied everywhere by two human eunuch slaves from Lamarakh, fat and muscular, armed with machetes.

Dipika the Sly is an ex-whore who now plies her trade as an assassin. Exquisitely ugly and lacking one eye, she is in high demand because of her expert knowledge of blow pipes and darts.

The Fat Crab has the unusual distinction of having earned a nickname from the humans and slug people living in the Yellow City. Crabmen are usually ignored, but the Fat Crab displays an unusual intelligence and malevolence, and has gained a certain infamy. He runs one of the crabmen ghettoes which run down from the city to the shore, and organises his people to kill any foreigner who enters. There are rumours that his followers occasionally kidnap humans from the areas nearby their ghetto, to be dismembered alive for sport.

*Slug people are hermaphroditic. By convention some choose to be known as 'he' and some as 'she'; others prefer to be referred to as 'one' or 'it'.