The Dregs
From Chronicles
Contents |
Overview
The Dregs are a place that generally exists outside of the laws of Kingsdale, despite their presence within the city's walls. The police and the military have only a minor presence at best, with no significant actions ever taken short of times of complete catastrophe. Crimes committed here are generally not even noted, with no without response from the city's proper authorities. This doesn't mean that officers and other proper officials, citizens and so on don't entertain themselves with this unseemly side. Even though such trips to the Dregs are discouraged by law, these laws cease to exist in any meaningful, enforced form once the line into the territory has been crossed. The only law in the Dregs is what someone can manage to make for themselves against whatever it is that they're facing.
This place is lawless. People do what they want to do, as long as there isn't someone stronger or more important than they are to keep them from doing it. Violence isn't just common, it's a general rule. Crimes of every degree take place daily. Everything from domestic violence to breaking street lights, murders, arson and outright flares of gang warfare. It's easy to get caught up in a firefight that erupts on the street between factions without any apparent provocation. When these conflicts are over, bodies are generally only moved by loved ones who find out about it, a few good Samaritans and of course, scavengers.
The tallest buildings are only four stories, with most structures being only two stories at best. Everything has fallen into disrepair over decades of vandalism and lack of upkeep. The city doesn't do anything to help clean or maintain the Dregs. If trash needs to be picked up, that's up to the locals to do it. Plumbing's broken? Buy some pipe and lay it yourself. Most refuse ends up in the Junkyard where brave souls pick it over for any last treasures that might have been missed. Electricity can generally be found, but not reliably. The North Dregs has the most intact infrastructure, with the West Dregs a reasonably close second. The remaining areas are simply dilapidated, rundown places of sorry and violence.
The common wisdom is that no one enters this place alone, even those with unique powers. Gangs, supernatural creatures and various other dangers lie around every corner.
Gangs
Gangs are one of the primary sources of order and chaos in the Dregs. They run the gamut from wildly dangerous to fairly typical to a more positive influence than one might expect. There are a lot of small time named gangs, new ones coming into existence and current ones breaking up or being wiped out on a regular basis. All gangs have tags of some manner to identify others of their kind, though those marks run from subtle to overt and while one can usually tell a ganger from 'normal' people, telling one ganger from another is harder, especially for the small timers and regional groups.
In the hierarchy of the Dregs Gang structure, there are three major gangs that are dominant over the rest of the pack, though the members of all those small time groups collectively outnumber those three. But these three are, individually, the largest, best equipped and thus are as close as one can get to law in their respective regions.
Vigilantes
Most well known in the Dregs are The Vigilantes who are strong in the West Dregs (I refer to regions by the three grid rooms that make up the Dregs currently). They control a large section of the area, amounting to several city blocks and have fortified the area (they have their own room dug as well).
They're generally known as a good gang. The territory they control is better kept than most and they maintain good availability of utilities to those under their direct protection. They maintain more order in the West Dregs than is seen in other areas, though their reach can only go so far and their eyes can only be in so many places at once. They have strong support amongst the common people and the smaller gangs in the area tread a bit more lightly to stay under the radar as the Vigilantes are a well armed, well trained fighting force.
The Family
The Family holds domain over North Dregs. Their control in the area is focused on business as making money is what they do. Some say that you can't make money in the area without The Family dipping their fingers in for a share. But it's hard to tell if this is true or not, The Family being a highly secretive group. While they do tend to maintain some order (chaos is bad for business), vice and the like is not only allowed, but encouraged.
Clash
Clash holds domain in the deeper areas of the Dregs (somewhere in the Dregs, generally). Common word on the street is that they're the biggest gang in the city. While not necessarily secretive, they're hard to pin down in general because of how little strict order is enforced in areas where their members congregate. In the same vein, members of Clash can run a broad spectrum from the almost ordinary to the truly disturbed.
Their gear tends to be used or stolen and aged, though there are exceptions to that as well. This, of course, makes the sudden appearance and subsequent disappearance of the black armored, demon faced murders recently all the more inexplicable. Though the word 'Reapers' has filtered around without any real fact or common theory to give it more substantial meaning.
Current status
As it stands, the Dregs are in a general state of 'peace' in so much that the major factions within it are quiet and skirmishes are light. Gang activity continues as per the norm and it remains a dangerous place simply because of the lack of true law, but no significant warfare has broken out for a good number of years.
This, of course, doesn't stop the Vigilantes from pursuing their ends, nor The Family, Clash or any of the other minor players in the game from looking out for their interests and goals. But all sides are, for now, keeping the havoc to a minimum.
The Knight's Hospital is an interesting case. The founders of the building have, in some way, managed to negotiate for the use of land on the fringes of the deep Dregs to set up the building for the health and education of the masses who otherwise would have almost no access to such facilities. As part of the deal, members of The Vigilantes, The Family and Clash provide security for the place. How this was done remains a mystery and none of the parties involved have spoken much of it.
The addition of the refugee compound as a fourth entity has strained the other three in different ways. Clash fought them directly and got nearly wiped out in retaliation. The Family begrudges their presence at too little cost benefit to the gang that 'lent' them the land they now sit on.And the Vigilantes have largely amalgamated with the more refined group.
That is how it stands at the moment, but the Dregs can and will change dramatically at a moment's notice. So woe be the one walking its lands expecting consistency. Such people make excellent victims...
