The Leaky Pit is a lively plaza of the undercity, an arts district of quite explosive energy. Its many houses of resort draw a mixed crowd indeed, the upper sort from the surface among them, come down to take the air of a place so unlike their own. Here one finds performances of every kind and the whole calendar of the quarter's festivities. Among its noted establishments are the Styx Bathhouse, the Thieves Bazaar, the Shapeshifter — a tailor's shop — the Ermeydani, where men fight underground for the pleasure of a crowd, and Misty Pond, a tranquil subterranean park of clear waters and singular beasts.
It was Sidra al-Najjar who set down the zones of the undercity upon a map and marked the Leaky Pit for a hub of entertainment frequented by all manner of folk, the non-human kind among them — proof of how easily the several peoples of that place keep company together. The plaza serves besides as a gateway to the undercity, a nearby entrance being the one commonly used by those who know the ground; and it is a gathering-place too, where artistry and the common sociable business of life are pursued side by side.