Rivertown Central
Rivertown Central is the downtown portion of the city under control by the MPD.
Contents |
Rivertown Central, as its name implies, is the heart of the city. It is bounded to the east by Lake Lawrence, and to the south and west by the Juneau River. It shares an imaginary border with Rivertown North, the dividing line roughly at where the river takes a sharp bend northward.
Downtown Rivertown was a densely populated hive of activity, the center for commerce and culture. At the height of political unrest, protestors marched en masse on along both sides of the river and street level storefronts were often smashed and looted even before the most serious riots broke out. Businesses closed and people fled as the chaos mounted. Buildings burned unchecked as firefighters brawled with rioters in the streets, flames gutting their insides.
Rivertown Central is the most dangerous area in Greater Rivertown due both to the hazardous state of most buildings but also because of the numerous places for scavengers to stage ambushes. In many cases, the first several floors of buildings were barred against intruders using everything from state-of-the-art security systems to sheets of plywood. As a result, many scavengers and members of the MPD view the tall buildings as though they were mines stretching upward, waiting to be tapped of their resources; however, scores of would-be scavengers have fallen several stories to their deaths trying to force entry, and others have fell through floors or had ceilings collapse on top of them as they search through the rubble.
MPD patrols are authorized to shoot at will when traversing Rivertown Central. The MPD has had success overriding some security systems and gaining access to the riches inside the buildings, but the most easily accessible buildings have long been scavenged.
Many buildings sustained considerable damage from riots, fires, and bombings. Some buildings noticeably sag while others are death traps waiting to fall in on anyone foolish enough to enter. Others are relatively unscathed but sealed tightly from the outside world.
Scavengers seem to infest Rivertown Central, combing over the terrain in hopes of finding some overlooked access point to a building. Due to the violent tone set by the MPD, scavengers in Rivertown Central are more likely to act aggressively, both in terms of protecting their own goods as well as seizing the possessions of others.
The Rivertown Compendium draws from the much larger Rivertown Chronicles, a wide assortment of personal narratives and catalog entries of people, places, and things.