Queslin

Queslin is a settlement within the Divided Seas region.

Background
"Ah, Queslin. What can one say of a town such as this, where the salt runs freely and the brutal tempers with it? I make me home here, for where else could I come upon as many bodies in need of attention, as many fists and faces broken beyond repair? Except, of course, they're not beyond repair at all, are they? For my Machines of Mastery shall soon have you up and about, as good as new - or nearly so - and on your way back to the stinking, brawling blackness from whence you came.""

- Orator and Repairist Hedley Staffield, owner of Machines and Mastery

"We don't have a problem. The salt runs freely."

- Queslin Overseer Wilbhur Brandle

"May I did used to live in that pit-hole of a place. Read some flyer promising me riches and posterity if I worked them salt mines. Didn't know what prosperity was, but I wanted me some riches. There was kids down there. Tiny babies hooked up to that black machine, drowning in saltfeed. I'll never forget their faces, long as I live."

- Former Queslin resident who refused to be named for fear he would be hunted down and brought back to the mines. He claims to be the only "free retiree" of Queslin's work-to-live program.

"Want adventure?Wish to experience the delights of travel and the joy of discovery? More interested in making your way in the world? Whatever your heart's desire, whatever your waking wish, you can have it in Queslin.

We're looking for those who are willing to work hard to increase Queslin's prosperity - and their own! Those who commit five years to our work-to-live program will be well rewarded.

Don't waste any time. Don't ask around. Don't let anyone else in on your special secret to success. Just come to Queslin, where the salt runs free."

- from a Queslin flyer

Don't go to Queslin. This is the thing no one says. But the only reason they don't say it is that their mouth are stuffed with salt.

The tiny town of Queslin swoons at your arrival, beckons you, urges you to fall in love with its pretty houses, its kind and delightful merchants, its pleasant view overlooking Sere Marica.

But enter Queslin's gates and all is lost, for the houses aren't yours to have, nor the merchants yours to bargain with. And the beautiful view? That isn't for the likes of you to gaze upon.

Only the Overseer and the Privs lie above ground in Queslin. Beneath the city, extending far out in all directions, is the Salt Maze, a vast mining operation that never sleeps. Run by genetically modified beasts made in the Overseer's likeness, the caverns and holding pens of the Salt Maze are carved out by large, remote-controlled beetles. These creatures also mine the salt.

What, then, are you needed for? You are to become a salteater, one of the thousands of creatures captured beneath the sunken swell of the earth, your body trussed up, your mouth pried open to receive the saltfeed. In time, the leeches will be attracted to your scent. Then they'll draw the salty sweat from your body until they become a perfectly brined delicacy, a salty and savory snack fit for only the most royal of tables.

If you survive the experience long enough, you will, as promised, be well rewarded - probably with a little house in Queslin that overlooks the shore.