A step that changes height
The gap between a towpath and a boat is ordinary enough to go unnoticed until it changes. Residents adjust a plank or take a different hold on a rail without remarking on it. Visitors tend to pause. In the county fiction, that moment of hesitation tells more about familiarity with the district than a confident set of directions.
The houses facing both ways
Canal-row buildings have a street side for deliveries and a water side for conversations. News can cross the canal quickly while a parcel must go the long way around. A voice heard through an open hatch may never be matched with the person standing at the front door later.
The address under the name
Boat names are painted, repainted and sometimes inherited. Postal arrangements must be more stable. A small landward box holds envelopes for several homes, sorted by marks understood locally. The Narrows makes a distinction between what a place is called and how a piece of writing finds the person who lives there.
From the fictional county archive
If the lower steps are under water, leave the parcel in the blue box. Do not balance it on the handrail.
Continue through the archive
Places in The Narrows
Original world fiction published by Somatry. These location stories expand the setting for readers; they are not case evidence, walkthroughs or a list of confirmed playable DLC missions.