The refu gees who fo unded Alkenstar weren
'
t concerned
with trade or commerce-they needed safety from the
wizards of Nex and Geb, and the steep cliffs they chose
fo r their settlement were perfe ct fo r impeding scouts
from these neighboring nations. Later, when the Grand
Duchy began to show the symptoms of a burgeoning
economy, city planners were befu ddled by how to make
the 500-fo ot-high Alken Falls traversable so goods could
be shipped up and down the Ustradi River. Locks were
out of the question fo r this geological anomaly, so the
planners instead proposed an extravagant project typical
of the imaginative Alkenstarians-a giant lift capable of
raising and lowering barges, junks, and other merchant
ships up and over the Alken Falls. The end result is a
mechanical wonder plainly called the Screw-a 50-fo ot
thick winding cylinder capable of hauling a massive iron
grate and anything on it from the base of the river 500 fe et
below to just above the waterfall. Additional gears move
the grate horizontally along a track that runs parallel to
the river befo re the Screw sets the grate down onto the
river above the fa lls. The entire process takes nearly 6
hours and costs river-goers a pretty penny in taxes paid
to the Grand Duchy. The machine can be reversed to
transport ships downriver as well.