The Docks District abutting the Shad’li River is the only part of Valmark not enclosed by the city walls, which end on either side of the district. Nearly all trade arriving from downriver passes through its crowded quays, while stone, timber, ore, and other cargo too heavy for overland transport are loaded onto barges bound for settlements farther downstream.
Warehouses, small boatyards, cranes, taverns, and merchants’ offices line the riverfront, and labor continues at nearly every hour. Dockworkers unload vessels by day, while night crews prepare barges for the morning. The district has a reputation as the least safe part of Valmark, attracting smugglers, thieves, and rough travelers. Even so, frequent patrols and guarded warehouses keep violence and crime far below what is common in the dockyards of many larger cities.
