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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Isida Kep'Tukari" data-source="post: 3128468" data-attributes="member: 4441">Oob makes himself into a living boardwalk, all the better to observe the people who are walking, strolling, and even flying around the market.  Several entertainers are set up in odd corners, including jugglers, someone with a bunch of trained rats that manage to show up in the most amazing places, a few illusionists, a group of contortionists putting themselves in unlikely pretzel-like shapes, and many musicians playing a variety of happy tunes.  Ooboobobo can get a prime view of all of them, if he's so inclined. Nissa: [sblock]The tempest twins smile at her words, and Coron says, "One thing we're good at is irking the very devil out of people.  We were born and bred to be spies and thieves, and if Chronotrypsis thinks we're just going to roll over and die because of his betrayal, he's sorely mistaken.  Have no fear lovely lady, we're not fighters, but we're going to be making life nearly impossible for the time elementals very shortly."As for Bluegorge itself, you know it was attacked and nearly overrun several years ago, and the scars from the attacks still linger.  The only reason it didn't fall was that the fire-ogres and water-kobolds (from the adjoining cliffs and behind the Falls respectively) weren't joined by the gnoll tribes from the Sea of Grass to the east.  Somehow they were turned away before they could join in the general slaughter, and the defenders of Bluegorge were able to repel the invaders after a long and viscious fight.  But both before and since it has always been a center for trade, due to its location between several large kingdoms.It only exports a few of its own items, mostly crystal items harvested from the falls and other finished stone goods, but it does a lot of processing of other goods from other kingdoms.  It turns raw wood into beautiful furniture, rocks into gems, grain into rations, cowhides into boots, etc.  It does have a small but dedicated magical industry.  While it doesn't go in for the larger, flashier magic, it does a lot with "consumer" magic.  Small items with small enchantments, but mostly things that make life easier.An air-blooded giant eagle rules Upper Bluegorge, while a tumble of geons (a kind of earth elemental with significant magical abilities related to earth) rules Lower Bluegorge.  They tend to rule lightly but well, and there has been no coups or assassination attempts against them that you're aware of.[/sblock]   There's at least a dozen ships, from a tiny vessel seemingly made of woven silver, holding barely a half-dozen people, to a large water-bound sailing vessel that you realize, after a moment, that you recognize.  It's the Crazed Compass!  Currently the ship is being unloaded by a busy group of half-giant stevadores, while the down Captain Ironarm looks on, a scowl on his face.  Tempest pauses in his flight, looking at some of the ship with curiosity, but you fly a bit higher to get a better view of the whole city.  It's vertical, V-shaped structure makes it look like a mountain gorge, even though it's actually a crevice in a cliff.  A few other people scoot by on cloud-skffs, fluffy puffs of magically-stable water vapor that draw their substance from the spray the falls produce.  There's several other flying peoples in the air as well; raptorans and aarakroka mostly, along with a lone air elemental that seems to be cavorting around the flags on the towers.Going closer to the merchants, he can begin to make out districts; tailors, weavers, fullers, and other people related to the clothing industry here, cobblers and other shoe-people there, and so on.  Eventually, he can spy places where there's a great deal of singular traffic, most with people leaving or departing clutching a message-tube, parcel, or something similar.  Most places seem to be those that used various ways of conveying a message physically, albeit sometimes with magical assistance.  But two places employed several wizards or other magicians for more discrete and expensive communication.  The small Whispered Secret, its clientelle consisting (of what could be seen with only a couple hour's casual observation) of women or pages in livery, and the larger Magic Mouth, with its customer seeming to be richer men, merchants or other tradesmen.  You recall a couple of taverns that might attract the crowds you need.  The King and Cat caters to merchants, while the Raven's Claws has a somewhat shadier crowd.  Between the two you hope to get a good cross-section of opinions.  Taking the form of a cliffdog, a sturdy beast with short claws it uses to climb nearly-verticle surfaces, you go to flop near the kitchen door, or even by the fireplace, in order to hear what you need.  While traveling there, you notice that most of the scars from your last time in the area are starting to heal.  Battle damage is being hid underneath paint and fresh stone, and several areas of the place have the kind of fragile newness that comes from being rapidly rebuilt.  Overall the city seems to be doing quite well, considering last time you were here.Inside the King and Cat: [sblock]The mood is somewhat subdued, and the wine and ale are flowing fairly freely tonight.  It's not because of happiness, but because of sorrow.  Several merchants express dark mutterings of how they were turned away from the Kingdom of Knowledge, being denied their shipments of pure element.  "Going to bankrupt me if they do it again!  My clients nearly skinned me alive when I didn't have the rare earths they wanted," one says gloomily.  Others chime in with expressions of sympathy, some pointing out that political unrest was quite terrible for profit.  One fellow chirps up, "Well, just be glad the new people seem to know what they're doing.  I mean, it's only been a week.  Sometimes this stuff drags on for years, but I hear they'll be ready to open their contracts again in a month."  Some people seem to perk up at that, but the older merchants mutter cynically that promises fill no chests.[/sblock] Inside the Raven's Claws: [sblock]In here the mood is fairly boisterous, the group of shady-looking toughs and lean rascals getting rowdy.  No less than three arm-wrestling matches are going on in the front room, and in the back room a few of the younger thieves are challenging each other to a pick-pocketing contest on a belled dummy.  While the coup seemed to have dampened the spirits of the middle-class, the lower class seems to have profited.  A couple mention that they're heading there tomorrow or the next day, or that they've been hired by people out of the Kingdom to fetch this or that.  The time elementals seem to be trying to acquire a whole range of items; everything from gems, to old scrolls, to rare woods.  You have a sneaking suspicion that they're trying to get tributes for the weirds.  It seems the time elementals are wanting the weirds' favor and insight in a big way.[/sblock]    After some looking around, Trebuchet can find several kinds of blacksmithing shops.  People look at him in askance, but with some overheard comments he learns that most seem to regard him as a construct sent out on some errand for his master.  Twice he spots other constructs in the street, a heavily-armored one with a simple helm for a face at the entrance to some kind of meeting hall, and a rune-encrusted one that trails behind a wizened older man in robes.  The blacksmiths are doing a lot of ornamental iron work; apparently to replace what was lost in a battle some years back.  People are still recovering from that one, and also are still somewhat scarred, as several sturdy window bars are also being constructed.  Some of the weaponsmiths you observed were also close to the alchemical district, as some processes to forge certain kinds of metal required alchemical assistance.  One was making a sword with an orange blade, and pouring something called Essence of Orange in between each hammer strike, while another worked with a dark purple metal that apparently had to be quenched in acid to gain its characteristic sharpness.  The alchemical shops themselves offered dozens of items to enhance the abilities of living men and woman, to make them temporarily faster, or stronger, or even more lovely.  Others offered items for the home; oils that burned brighter and longer than regular lamp oil for instance.  A few offered combat items; alchmist's fire or acid, sparkstones or flashbright, ghostoil or bleeder.The charm shops were run by tinker mages, men and women that offered many items of minor magic to entertain, protect, or discern.  Charms to detect poison or magic, to create small illusions or to defend against street thugs.  A few offer potions of healing salves, or concoctions to gain temporary strength, agility, or endurance.Finally, much later at night, the blink hound and warforged can meet at Tin Street, the place still echoing with small hammer blows even at this hour.</blockquote>

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