Smoke Stack
Smoke Stack is the eastern most neighborhood centered around the road of the same name, down in the lower residential area of the Knob. It is a former factory district that has been repurposed into small, dingy apartments. Most of the buildings are old, beginning to fail, and are dirty. One man, Mr. Humboldt, a human, owns nearly every building in Smoke Stack. He inherited them from his family, who had made their fortunes making production businesses based around the old copper mines. When they dried up, the Humboldt family pivoted to housing, becoming landlords to thousands of nonhumans in the Knob.
Smoke Stack is the second cheapest neighborhood for housing, after South Coalway, largely due to the proximity to the Grungeworks, as well as the dingy and dilapidated state of many of the buildings. No one in Smoke Stack owns their apartment, but rather must rent from the Humboldts. There are no formal shops in Smoke Stack, however unofficial stalls, carpet shops, and other such type businesses are common in the alleys and unused spaces of the neighborhood.
The make up of the neighborhood is largely Dratori, Hytori, and Fae, roughly 25% each, with the remaining 25% being a mix of the other races, predominately non-humans. The Dratori and Hytori populations largely come from a pilgrimage that was made by Members of the Dawnmartyr coming to Zaichaer to help out. However, they were not well received, and socially ostracized like every other nonhuman. So they chose to set root in one of the worst areas of the city, and began trying to make better change from within. The large majority of the Fae are refugees after being stranded away from the Everwilds, trying to live a life with the dying hope of getting to go back home.
There is currently a quiet, just beneath the surface conflict brewing among the residents of Smoke Stack. Many are tired of living in the sleazy conditions inflicted upon them by the Humboldts, and there are many whispers discussing how to deal with this. And yet there are those who wholly embrace the generosity of the Humboldts, giving them a place to live in a city that doesn't accept them.
