I’m sitting at the top of the lead wagon, so I hear Delibean give Swindle the lowdown on the different districts and stuff.
San Metello (A)- The capital district, nobles and, more specific, the power people.
San Celenia (B) - Merchants, ships, shops. Lots of boxes getting moved around.
Olinda (C) - University district There’s libraries and schools and other places you can’t go unless you have the right papers.
Olimpia (D)- Noble district in general, you just gotta have enough money to get in.
Maccabeo (E) - This is where everybody else lives. Which is most people. It’s big.
Santa Mia (F) - All the regular footwise and wagonwise traffic has to come through here. That’s us!
Prim really likes looking at the boats. Or maybe it’s the water, I’m not sure.
Delibean says we have the day off, he’s gotta go turn in his IOU from Peony and grab rooms for the whole caravan to stay while they get processed for spectacle permits. You know, because it’s a big city so there’s always fees and papers. He also says he’s not sure where the Menagerie is gonna go after this, could be south, since there’s a lot of nice towns down the west side of the bay, but maybe north too, I mean…. Iverfall is up there, and uh… mining… stuff. So that’s just as good right? We talk about it, anyway. Who knows what will happen. Today we’re in Riverpuddle! Then he goes to the Vice and Virtue for rooms, which is okay, but I want to stay at the Soaked Hound because, well, I do, okay?
We go looking for a blacksmith in the shopping district, and I could’ve totally found it if everyone just gave me a little more time, but Variel gets impatient and asks somebody else. He’s an old guy named Kendall, she gave him a whole gold so now he’s gonna follow us around all day hoping for more probably.
Anyway, at the blacksmith we try to see if we can get the mythril chain mail we found in the mole lich lair made into a new shield for Max, but you can tell from how the lady keeps running her fingers over the tiny little links that she’d hate to waste all the work that went into making such a pretty thing. Plus, she says, it’s not enough. Like, physically, to make a shield out of, I mean. Shields are big. She wants to buy it, though. Swindle and Variel together manage to get way more for it than I ever thought, and throw in a new shield for Max and some armor for Variel too!
I ran into a general store and bought a healers kit. It seems pretty easy, maybe I can teach Prim how to use it.
Then we remember about the four gemstones we found in the closet in the mole people lair too, right? So I think, um, well, I might as well try and see if Osma will help us.
Osma’s Ornaments is the nicest shop in San Celenia. Least, I think so. And I spent a lot of time in a lot of different shops. Nothing ever has prices, it’s mostly for people who don’t have to ask. It’s all jewelry and gems and stuff.
Anyway, uh. Turns out that me and Osma are still okay. So that’s good. She gave me a hug and said she was mad at me for leaving without saying anything, but not anymore. She wanted to know all about it, but I pulled out Prim and she fell in love. I bet she makes little crystal dragon jewelry later. Also, she gave us full price for the gems!
We stay and talk to her for a while. Just about regular stuff really. And how I’m a caravan guard now. I think she likes Variel ‘cause she’s fancy too. They’re gonna hang out later.
Then we went to My Flair Lady, which is this really high-end clothing store. I’ve been there lots of times, but never actually bought anything before. Variel’s gonna get her winter wolf pelt made into a coat, hat, and some gloves, and everybody picked out some fancy outfits, even Rhogkun! Well okay, he just bought a hat, but it’s a really nice hat.
All the shopping makes us hungry, so we go to The Soaked Hound. It’s packed, as usual. Brooklyn wasn’t mad at me either. I mean, I dunno why he would be. Pretty sure he thinks he owes me still, so it’ll take a lot more than disappearing to even it out. Oh, you know what an alehouse drake is, right? The Hound has one, his name’s Jorra. He’s like… round. And heavy. He looks heavy but he’s actually even more heavy than that. He loves gossip and news, and everyone comes to the Hound, so it’s a good place for him. I’m gonna tell him so many stories!
Swindle and Variel are gonna check out the Silver Sphinx. It’s um… it’s called a “gentleman’s club” but ladies are pretty welcome too. It’s like, right between Olimpia and Maccabeo, and the patrons are split down the middle basically the same way. They try and get Rhogkun to come, but I don’t know if he’s into that kinda fun.
So far so good, right? I knew it wouldn’t be a big deal.