Garden of Chains

From PathfinderWiki

The Garden of Chains is a slave market in the city of Katapesh's Twilight Gate district, best known for its human and halfling slaves. Fat Aghurr is the gnoll overseer of the market.1

History

The Garden of Chains is built upon the ruins of a water garden and entrance to the city's qanat. Once this civic project was abandoned and the entire district fell into disrepair, a group of humans and gnolls constructed this slave auction market.1

Appearance

The Garden of Chains is a pit excavated from the surrounding area. There are two levels—the floor, where the business is conducted, and the mezzanine, where the slaves are stored and viewed during auction. The west end of the mezzanine consists of the slave pens; the east side is the auction block. The floor consists of a pit, covered with damaged mosaic tiles, where the buyers bid and the wooden auctioneer's stand rises above. Around the outside of this area are the business offices of the slave market. A trough, left over from the Garden's days as a water garden sloped to the west into the qanat.12

Each of the seven pens holds 1-4 slaves. At least six humans and gnolls guard the slaves at all times.1

Buying Process

Potential buyers can view the slave stores up close via a wide walkway next to the pens. Slaves, in choke collars, are moved to the auction block throughout the day.1 Buyers place their bids with Saiyd, the auctioneer. When Saiyd accepts a bid, he always yells, "Closed!" and gives the buyer a stamped purchase slip. This purchase slip is taken to the exchanger's office, gold literally in hand. The gold and slip are exchanged for ownership paperwork and the buyer is escorted to the pens to receive the slaves(s).2

Slaves that fail to sell stay in the pens overnight. It is unclear what occurs, but by the next day these slaves are much more eager and active to get themselves sold. Those who still fail to sell eventually disappear.2

The market closes at sundown.2

Rumors

The Twilight Talon agent Whispershade believes there are more slaves here than there should be. He thinks the slavers are somehow avoiding the city's tariffs on their trade.3

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tim Hitchcock. “Appendix 2: Garden of Chains” in Broken Chains, 30. Paizo Inc., 2013
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Tim Hitchcock. “Appendix 2: Garden of Chains” in Broken Chains, 31. Paizo Inc., 2013
  3. Tim Hitchcock. “Part Two: The Abandoned Qanat” in Broken Chains, 4. Paizo Inc., 2013