Chapter 16

For brevity’s sake, the narrator has left out much of the dialog and banter, although it was quite entertaining in the moments.

It’s early afternoon, several hours before dusk will begin to takeover the day, as the adventurers approach the Pride of the Coast, Elsemar. Before reaching the gates, they pass through the Shade, a seeming overflow of people, homes, and businesses from the city proper, that sidles right up to the city walls. After 15 minutes of walking, they reach the gates, open during peace time yet guarded by the city watch, dressed in the city’s deep purple and bright silver livery.

About twenty feet in front of the main gate is an arch across the last stretch of The Ha-derech. The group stops at a building a short distance from the arch and see that all of the travelers are walking through it. A guard standing in the center of the road, between the arch and the gate, trains a sharp eye on each visitor as they pass through. Every once in awhile, they direct a traveler off to the side of the road for questioning or tell them to register with the Hall of Records.

As the adventurers proceed through the archway, the guard stops them for questioning. Within a few minutes, they direct Dolor and Bilwin to register their magical items: Dolor’s sword, Gleaming Blade, and Bilwin’s ever-filled beer stein. The guard turns to Mond and asks if he’s already registered in the city or has papers to enter. Admitting that he has neither, Mond is ordered to go directly to the Hall of Records and register. If he doesn’t comply, the city guard will have to take precautionary measures, as the guard points to others along the wall with arrows knocked and pointed at Mond.

The group proceeds through the Scrivener’s Burrough, immediately beyond the gate and the Pride and Comfort’s stables, to register Mond. Only if he files the proper paperwork with the city registrants, will he be allowed to stay.

As they enter the Hall of Records, he adventurers see several members of the Eyes of the Star and Hands of the Wand walking around, usually in pairs talking in a semi-hushed manner, implying that others shouldn’t be eavesdropping yet not too concerned about the possibility within these walls.

Off to the side from the entrance, a tortle greets them, “Awright stranger, howfur kin ah hulp ye? ah, ah see that ye, young half-elf, need tae set yersel’ up. That is, unless ye’r interested in joining th’ Hauns o’ th’ Wand. Ainlie a nine year commitment!”

Mond politely declines the invitation to enlist and pays the animated tortoise 25 gold pieces for a 7-day pass, with the option to renew for 5 gold pieces—only before the pass expires.

Exiting the Hall of Records, they head towards the market to begin their search for lodging and news of Gven’s brother, Torp. Meandering through the various booths and vendors, their uncertainty is apparent to many. A tabaxi with black fur, except for a wide patch of white running down the middle of its body from head to feet, approaches them and offers their assistance.

“My name is Rightside and I know Elsemar like the back of my paw,” as he gives his left paw a few quick licks and then wipes one of his whispers. “I can help ya find what you need or who you be looking for. Remember, Rightside will do ya righ!” After some back and forth between the tabaxi and the group, they settle on 5 silver pieces a day for Rightside’s exclusive services. First on their list, find an inn to stow their belongings and get some sustenance—Bilwin is especially focused on refilling his now registered magical beer stein.

Rightside leads them to an older establishment, off the beaten path and in a quieter part of the city. Hanging from the second story, offset from the front door, is a sign with a brass-colored spy glass carved into it. The barkeep rolls his eyes and gives an audible groan as he sees the tabaxi enter behind them.

“Rightside, I thought you agreed to keep yourself away from the Broken Spy Glass? I only just got the place fixed up after that last group of ‘clients,’ as you called them!”

But, Tella, these travelers are upstanding citizens of Olam and duly-registered visitors to our grand city! Not like those miscreants.” Rightside suddenly stops speaking and looks up to the ceiling, their eyes studying a bright fluttering reflection from one of the shiny spy glasses decorating the inn’s common room. A full 10 seconds later they look back at Tella, “That group of ne’er-do-wells deserved what they got from the city watch and I’ve repaid my debt to you. These fine folks have plenty of coin and need a safe place to respite from watchful eyes.”

With a hefty sigh, Tella nods his head in agreement and—after negotiating with Bilwin—agrees to rent them 5 rooms for a total of 4 gold pieces per night, including meals and one drink of their choice per meal.

Tella offers the group some leftovers from lunch and a round of beers. As they replenish themselves, the adventurers begin asking Rightside and Tella about Davanor and a place called the Job Distribution Center. Rightside hasn’t heard of him, but Tella describes Davanor as someone of moderate importance in the Sliver, the burrough between the docks and Scrivener’s Ward. His dealings aren’t exactly of the legal sort and the city watch don’t seem to get involved with him much, if at all.

Tella heads back into the kitchen to start preparing for the dinner crowd as they continue talking with Rightside. A short time later, the black and white tabaxi leaves the Broken Spy Glass to search for news of Davanor, Torp, and the mysterious building.

Tella comes through the kitchen door into the common room, sees Rightside leaving, and walks over to their table with a look of concern. “Y’all better do right by him. He’s industrious and honest and doesn’t know the city half as well as he thinks he does. Be careful what you ask him to do, it might get him in trouble.” Dolor responds with a serious tone, “we take care of our own and, as of now, Rightside is with us. We’ll do our best to keep him out of harm’s way.”

A little while later, too impatient to wait for Rightside’s return, the group decides to walk the Sliver to see if they can stumble across the Job Distribution Center themselves. Before they leave, Tella looks at Mond, points to his small “Make Elsemar Great Again” button that marks him as an arcane magic user, and says “you know, you can put that under your lapel or in a pocket so it’s not so visible.” Mond deftly moves the button out of sight, somewhere in his clothes.

Walking through the Market, they can see the quality of merchandise and demeanor of the vendors change as they enter the Sliver. Grindlefoot purchased a bag of nuts somewhere along the way and is absentmindedly eathing them as they walk. Passing a surly looking merchant and their booth, Bilwin casually says “Ya know where we can find a large building called the Job Distribution Center? It has some sort of statue on top, with a human male standing over an orc.” Normally not the type to help strangers, the merchant succumbs to Bilwin’s persuasive request and points down the alley, “you mean ‘the Block?’ Yeah, it’s down there to the left.”

The streets are narrow until they arrive at The Block, an open area where several streets meet, creating a natural gathering point for people passing through. Bilwin sees an empty stage and immediately walks to it, uncovering his hurdy-gurdy and begins to play in a way best described as caterwauling.

Dolor and Grindlefoot decide to enter the large rectangular building through the formidable front doors, while Gven and Mond scout around it for other entrances. Entering into a large reception area, a middle-aged female human woman gruffly asks them “Looking for work?” Dolor responds in the affirmative and she follows up with “any misgivings or run-ins with the city watch?” Dolor confirms that they haven’t and she says “have a job for ya then—you look like you can handle it. I’ll just need a few drops of your blood to get the paperwork started.”

Recognizing something’s amiss, Dolor and Grindlefoot decline the offer and exit the building, returning to the square out front. Bilwin is still playing to an unappreciative crowd, and Gven and Mond turn the corner finishing their brief scouting mission. There’s a small backdoor and some windows on the first level, but otherwise it’s locked up tight. The group heads back to the Broken Spy Glass to regroup and discuss their next move.