"If I may, Rukeewei," Ariel stepped forward, readjusting the knapsack that she had carried all this way, "We've traveled from up north, in Morrowind. My friends here are to visit and are helping me get settled, but I'm looking to immigrate here and set up a business. Do you know who I would need to talk to for real estate?"

The innkeeper looked at the ceiling and rubbed the underside of his chin in thought. "You would probably need to go up to the keep and talk to someone there. Probably wouldn't be the count, more likely one of the administrators." He shrugged, "I can't say for sure. Try asking around at the keep, someone is bound to have what you need. If I may ask, what business are you intending to start?"

"An apothecary," Ariel replied with a smile.

"I see, I see," Rukeewei nodded, "You might have a small amount of competition in some of the tribal alchemists in the area, but you have the look about you of someone who was taught with a different skill set. Yes, you may find a market yet. In fact..." Rukeewei leaned forward slighty, with both hands on the bar top, "... You wouldn't happen to sell that paint that Imperial woman put on their nails, would you?" The innkeeper moved his hands about as if he was stroking an invisible paint brush over his fingers.

Ariel turned her head slightly, "I might in the future, why do you ask?"

"Well, my own mother is rather obsessed with Imperial fashion. I'll refer her to you if I see you in the market, or maybe drop in once you have everything sorted to let me know where she might purchase something."

With Rukeewei's Argonian face not making his intentions as obvious as they should have been, it was a moment before Ariel processed the sincerity of his tone. "Um, sure- of course!" Ariel replied, taken rather off-guard at finding a potential customer after barely having spent an hour in the city. "Of course, that would be wonderful." In truth, Ariel didn't much know whether there would be the right pigments available for nail polish, but she would be on the lookout from now on.

Ariel glanced at the pack. No one immediately seemed to have any more questions, so she turned back to Rukeewei, who was still smiling patiently at them. "D-do you mind if I borrow a key to one of the room's strongboxes? I have a few odds and ends that I won't be needing to carry around all day." Ariel asked, pointing a thumb at the stairs that presumably lead up to the rooms.

"Sure," Rukeewei leaned underneath the counter and retrieved a small metal key, handing it to Ariel. "This one should be for the first room on your right after you climb the stairs, but keep your most precious valuables to yourself. I'm not quite as wealthy as the proprietors of the [i]Potted Purity[/i] up in the noble district. No metal banded chests in their inn rooms, just sturdy wooden boxes with a lock on them riveted to the floor beams. We don't get burglaries in the city often, and in truth they go for the richer places anyway, but I would hate to risk having anything essential stolen if you're just about to move here."

Ariel rolled her sore shoulders and looked at the key in her hands. There wasn't much in her knapsack that would be difficult to replace in all truth. It was just a few basic potions, some vessels of preserved ingredients, and some of her personal wares. She still kept her most valuable belongings in her shoulderbag. She looked up at the innkeeper and nodded, "Thank you."

The pack waited a moment for Ariel to put away her knapsack, and she came back with something of a spring in her step. Even though they had spent much of the day traveling, she was full of energy and excitement at such a new place. Their next stop was eventually the [i]Loom and Lapis,[/i] as the barkeep suggested. On the way there, on the comparatively quiet street to the festivities further in the town, Ariel came to a realisation that made her chuckle out of the blue. "I think I just got what that man meant by 'a different skill set'," Ariel said, not quite sure what to feel except amused, "Argonians have so few diseases to treat. My biggest market among these folk will probably be cosmetics. That might just be amongst the working class though, I'll have to keep my ear to the ground to find out more."