The Slow Road

Above the first tier, where the Market, Docks, and Diamond Lake bustle with commerce, most of Moru Kel’s roads either follow the contours of its tiers or cut up through them, connected by stairwells. This makes them ill-suited for moving loads of food and cargo between levels. There are three exceptions; the North Road and South Road wind back and forth up the very edges of the tiers and connect the city to the outlying villages. They’re commonly used by farmers and herders to bring their goods to market. They’re wide enough and gradual enough for carts and even wagons, though the switchbacks are tedious. But if you’re looking to transport heavy loads into the tiers, the best route is the Slow Road. It branches off of the Cliff Road near the Moon Dome, winds through the Broadback Wood, and zigs gently as it climbs the tiers, terminating at the Basking Rocks. 

The Slow Road is old. Older than Moru Kel, for certain, and some people believe it’s older than Skandara . It was created by the broadbacks themselves: they walk the road every day up to the basking stones at the top of the city, sunning themselves for a couple of hours before heading back down the grade. As convenient as it would be to use them on the North and South roads, they refuse to take any path but their ancestral route up and down. There’s good reason for the expression, “stubborn as a broadback”! Just as they won’t alter their daily journey, they also protect their mating grounds fiercely. Early residents of Moru Kel learned the hard way that the Broadback Wood is off-limits for development. The wood is now officially protected by decree of the marghoz.

The Slow Road is not covered in paving stones or cobblestones, like most of the roads in town. Monsoon season tends to make a real mess of them, costing the city a bundle each year, when crews must be hired to haul up the dirt that has washed down and reform the road. In the dry season, the constant parade of laden broadbacks stirs up clouds of dust. On bad days, it affects breathing and visibility; on good days, it settles on everything nearby, penetrating into homes and shops. 

The Slow Road attracts a strange mix of businesses. Some cater to the local neighborhood and working class. Niko’s Barberia is a decent place to get a shave and have your hair oiled, as long as it’s rained recently enough to settle the dust. Harper’s Well, at the top of the slow road, is a favorite midday haunt for broadback drivers, while they wait for their beasts to finish sunning themselves. Generally, though, this isn’t an area known for dining, entertainment, or spas. The Slow Road attracts businesses that specialize in heavy or bulky goods, like furniture and carpets. And there are at least five coopers who make the standard-sized barrels carried by broadbacks. Businesses in the tiers just off the Slow Road are often poorly marked. Gadran’s Curiosities has only a small sign in the window, and Gadran herself seems more interested in acquiring new curiosities than in selling the ones crowding the shelves. Gadran is just eccentric, but many of the nearby businesses, like the Hideaway, attract unsavory characters. 

A rising chorus of residents want the road to be paved. For years, the broadback drivers have patiently explained that their beasts of burden aren’t designed to travel on paved roads, but in recent years local sentiment seems to be turning toward the paving project. Some of the Allflock have chimed in in support of the Broadback Guild.