I think we should start in the docks right off the bat, around where everyone's ships are tied off. Anyone who doesn't have a ship can be there looking to trade with the ships for fish or scavenged stuff or whatever it is people want. We can kinda be already aware of each other in that vague way that skittish neighbors are? Like oh, that's Iris, her boat is tied to the same jetty as mine, I've seen her sewing or weaving or something.

Then, depending on what direction we want to go, we can overhear rumors from npc passersby; someone found new ruins to scavenge, a rich trader ship sank, the Musaeum had been spotted, etc. etc.