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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4571797" data-attributes="member: 3285">Purity and Corruption: Part 1 – A RequestThough it was not as large as the Bone Market, the Lower Market in the Trade Quarter of Nishanpur still featured a staggering variety of goods of sale. There were foodstuffs of all varieties, innumerable household goods, and even a blacksmith selling arms and armor of Sarishan steel. The Factors’ Guildhouse was the largest building in the square, and it, along with every pub and inn, was thronged with people of all sizes and descriptions. Merchants displayed their wares on tables, in booths, or just on rugs spread out on any available patch of ground, creating a maze of milling people.One of the male merchants, who had a bit of a Hinterlander look about him, was having a rather animated debate with a female Val customer, both of them alternately pointing at one another and at the various goods that the merchant had laid out on a colorful rug. After a moment, the woman threw up her arms in disgust and marched away, quickly disappearing into the crowd. The merchant, a somewhat sheepish look on his face, sighed and began rearranging his wares, which included a number of gemstones and even some ingots of a strange, reddish-tinted metal.“Who was that woman?” asked Sebastian.The merchant was a man of middle age, of average height with a lean but not overly muscular build. He had dark auburn hair, slightly graying, and brown eyes. He looked rather unsettled and nervous“Yes...well, er...that was not a customer...that was my, ah, wife, actually.” The merchant spoke Low Coryani with a Hinterlander/Altharin accent that placed him as an Erdukeen. “She and I are new to the city, and so far our journey has not been very successful. She is ...unhappy ...with my efforts thus far in resolving our situation, and my wife is not a woman who hesitates to make her displeasure known. There is no mistaking the echoes of Nier’s fire that flow in her veins, that’s for certain!”“Yeah, Nierite ladies can be a fiery lot.”  Kham chuckled at some joke only he got.“Ah, but we have not been properly introduced. Forgive my rudeness. I am Caius Virdan-Dura. And you are…?”“Sebastian Arnyal,” said the dark-kin.  He introduced his companions in turn.  “We were looking for Baecinia val’Virdan.  Judging from your last name, I gather she is your wife.”“Yes.” Caius glanced around, as if he was looking for someone. “We are formerly from the city of Erduk. I lived in that city and served in the Swords of Nier, but it was some years ago, before the current Autocrat came to power.”“Then we have a mutual friend,” said Sebastian. “We were told to seek you out…”“Excellent!” said Caius. “I am in need of assistance from someone more familiar with this place than I. My wife and I are seeking some former compatriots of ours. We need to find them today. I have heard they may be here, but do not know where to begin looking, and so far my inquiries have come to naught. I simply do not know whom to talk to in this confusing city.” He fiddled with the goods arrayed on the blanket before him, rearranging them in seemingly meaningless patterns. Eventually, he found a scroll case and handed it to Sebastian. “Here is a list of their names, along with a brief description of each. In addition, there are three letters. Give them each a letter. They will see it is in my wife’s handwriting and under my seal, and they will cooperate. The letters are all identical; it does not matter to which person you give each letter.”“How do we get in touch with you when we find your friends?”“We are staying at the Ebon Steed, which is not far from here. I will also remain here, in the Lower Market, during the day.”“We’ll do it,” said Sebastian. Ilmarė sighed.  “Doesn’t anyone use messengers in this city?”</blockquote>

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