Faeril and whoever chose to follow him headed east toward the center of the city, passing smaller shops set up for sellers of seafood, knick knacks, and a three story brothel called 'The Wet Siren' with the statue of a mermaid splayed out upon a wave in front of the door, chest thrust out and eyes wide. So far no tailor, though there were a few shops he stopped at that sold pre-made jackets, baldrics, and sacks to store items in. He had to move in further, passing over a vast canal, the bridge so long fruit vendors plied their wares on them. Faerli saw humans of all ethnicities; even some Shi'Ranese travelers with their curved swords and fierce eyed stares. An Elf swordsman in valdium chainmail passed them by, thin of body and blonde hair carefully groomed, he still moved like a serpent born with the sword. 

Now on the center area of the city, the signs spoke of 'Old City,' where the buildings were made of swampstone and extravagant brick, couriers visible every now and then hustling about. The passerby's were of a richer sort, though he couldn't see any nobles save perhaps one or two with large retinues. Strangely, many of the buildings that were not shops or manors were connected by large causeways a dozen feet above the streets. On the southern street, a large crowd gathered before a wall Faeril would figure out was an estate, rocks being thrown at the windows. As he continued by, he saw men-at-arms sporting the city's colors approaching the crowd... 

Finally, Faeril found a marketplace. A high end one, but one nonetheless. A Dwarven smith was beating his hammer upon the anvil, smithing a fresh piece of metal just as Faeril walked in. Across the way, people mingling and chatting, he finally saw a place that sold clothes of varying thread and styles, called 'Varone's weave.' An man dressed as a knight walked past the front, speaking to a woman who seemed perturbed, and strangest of all, a young boy approached Faeril, tugging at his jerkin and drawing his attention. 

"Excuse me, sir Dwarf? May I speak to you?" The lad asked, his hair as brown as oak, his clothes nondescript but not entirely poor. He leaned in and whispered. "Would you be so kind as to kill me? I would pay sir..." 

[hr] 

The slim barmaid smiled at them, more in a professionally polite manner, but it was clear she was happy to help the group. But when they mentioned Raddek, she blinked and did a doubletake, turning back to the door the ex-crusader had stalked into. "That...Galena, that was Raddek! I... Wow, I haven't seen Raddek in seven years! I was a wee lass but I remember that face. I hope he's been doing well." Impressively she set down the wine, cheap beer, water, and bread to match each of their orders despite her breathless bewilderment. 

The card game Jaina and Emmaline honed in on was a 'combo' game of both cards and dice. 'Sabers & Shields' had a steep learning curve, but once you learned it there was real money to be made in underground competitions. The darkly beautiful woman watched the game with an idle curiosity as well, they would notice. The players looked to be dock workers, with a captain and a dockyard master judging by their emblems and uniforms. A laborer with a square jaw and an even squarer haircut threw down two bone dice, dagger cuts etched on the knuckle bones, coming up three. Dropping his hand, four shields and one greatsword hit the table. The captain slammed his fist on the table in frustration, but he laughed rather than yelled. "Two to one odds next round," he said, and the others followed suit, clearly not wanting to be seen as weak, though a few were sweating. Luckily for the others, the romantic couple, the whispering drinkers, even the sobbing man, the room was big enough to give everyone enough space, even with the commonors laughing and drinking between them.

Outside, all of them saw a strange occurrence: A tall blonde man clad in the tabard of a cavalier had stripped his swordbelt and armor off, barking something at a younger man who stood between him and a departing Elf in the robes of a scholarly nature. The younger man was dark of hair and caramel of skin, with a handsome albeit youthful visage, and even with his baggy white linen shirt, he was clearly muscled in a noticeably sculpted manner. He had in his arms a large crate that he looked to have been carrying toward the [i]Ubrico Soldati[/i]. What they said to one another wasn't heard, but soon a group of sailors passed the window and blotted out their line of sight, and once they had passed, the knight was on the ground with a bleeding nose as the tanned fellow picked the crate back up, bringing it into the tavern.   

The door opened with a bump of the younger man's hip, gracefully holding the heavy crate easily, drawing the attention of the barmaid as if it brought her back to reality. 

"Wow, you did it!" She congratulated him, holding her arms out as if to help and then drawing them away, knowing full well it would just squish her. "Go in the back and show Garnor. That will last us another week, thanks. There was no trouble right?" 

"Not really," he said, his face flushing behind the crate. He glanced at the table with Migi, Emmaline, Lorcan, and Jaina. He smiled awkwardly and said "Hi," as he stepped past them and did his best to fit the crate into the doorway. It was just after he squeezed it in that Raddek stepped out, looking relieved in a way from his little meeting in the back. 

"So, we've got rooms. Three of them, provided we help the tavernkeeper out with a few things." He remarked curtly, his deep baritone prompting attention. He sat down between Migi and Jaina, calling for some mead of his own. The barmaid looked like she wanted to speak up, but simply nodded and skipped off to get his drink without saying a word to him. Raddek leaned in, motioning for the others to as well. As he did, the fighter that had bloodied the nose of the knight stepped out and sat at the counter, giving curious a look at everyone in the common room whilst waiting for something; likely food. 

"Looks like there's been a shortage of beer. Some blockade on the south seas cutting off the sea trade supply, and with the cataclysm up north, that keeps more from coming into the city. Which means we need to find a Dark Auction shipper. That... or there's another task we can do for Garnor... we can find information on Balyxtra Dal'draig. The desposed Sultana of Varone."