The High Quarter is home to Cillamar’s nobility and gentry, as well as the priestly caste. Though rivaled in wealth by the merchant companies of the Common Quarter, the citizens of the High Quarter are accustomed to being the sole arbiters of Cillamar’s interests. By decree of the Lord Mayor, the High Quarter is also the adopted home of Vaslund’s displaced aristocracy—the darlings of the Warland refugees, a thorn in the side of Cillamar’s staunch nationalists. The edifices of the High Quarter are constructed of mortared stone, with slate and tile roofs. The wealthiest families maintain elaborate hidden courtyard gardens, replete with decorated fountains, lush plants, and exotic (and sometimes dangerous) animals. Sewers drain the streets of waste, and every day before dawn crews of Warland refugees pull their carts through the quarter, collecting trash and cleaning the streets. The Lantern Watch regularly patrols the High Quarter, but most families maintain their own standing guards, whose competency (and demeanor) depends entirely on their noble patrons.
n