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Message: <blockquote data-quote="haiiro" data-source="post: 1703787" data-attributes="member: 1891">I'm back from SLC -- as promised, here's the update!Martooth's ShopBy then, Artemis had already picked Martooth's lock and let himself in with Tuggle and Jaehn in tow. They were joined shortly thereafter by Vicktor and a rather pungent Talishmere, who was the subject of some ridicule. The Follies found the interior of the shop to be much like the exterior: haphazard and disorganized.The lower floor was mostly taken up by a large table and benches, a small stairway that corkscrewed up into the ceiling, and shelves on every wall. These shelves were cluttered with all manner of containers, from heavy earthenware jugs to delicate glass boxes, and in combination with the marked absence of a bell or blockhole this made it look like Martooth might just be in the container business.While De'lea waited outside, the rest of the Follies searched Martooth's shop from top to bottom. They turned up two items of interest, one inside and one out.Upstairs, they found a small painting depicting an unusual scene. The left half of the work was taken up by a wall and doorframe, while the right half depicted a rather nondescript street at night. Centered in the right half, as if observed by someone peering around the doorframe, was a shimmering humanoid figure -- more faded and redder in color than the one the Follies encountered on Rauthauvyr's Road, but in exactly the same "looking for something" pose. A brief discussion established that they weren't going to steal the painting, and Jaehn ascertained that it wasn't magical before returning it to the shelf.Downstairs, Vicktor was called over to identify a symbol that had been scratched into the lower right corner of the front door. It consisted of three dots or circles, and to the left of the top two circles were two small triangles. Drawing on his carnie background, Vicktor related to the Follies that this was thiefsign: each circle represented a time that someone had entered Martooth's shop, and each triangle stood for an occasion on which they stole something from him. Before they all regrouped on the street in front of Martooth's shop, Artemis took a moment and re-locked the door behind them.MeanwhileAfter taking a few minutes to share information and speculate as to who -- if anyone -- the blue-robed being had been watching, the Follies began walking in the general direction of the river. Jaehn, however, split off from the group and headed back towards Farry's Port. His intention was to send out empathic signals to Drake, his silver raven familiar, until he got within a mile of the inn and was able to receive a reply. Once Drake had joined him, he'd make his own way to the Cup and meet the others there.Meanwhile, Cupric had been making some discoveries of his own. Deftly gathering information from a variety of Selgaunt natives and other passersby, he had been researching the music business while the other Follies were at Martooth's shop. He learned that there were two music districts in the Bazaar: the first was in the Southspur district, adjacent to the city wall some distance East of the Trade Gate.This was one of three gates into Selgaunt -- the other two being the Statue Gate, which the Follies came through last night, and Sailor's Arch, to the South. In Southspur was a very large and exclusive shop called Mazendria's, which was said to be frequented by the High City's best musicians. As people laughingly informed Cupric, it cost twenty gold pieces simply to set foot in the door -- and so a cluster of less pricey shops has arisen around Mazendria's, catering to those who couldn't afford it but wished they could.The other district of note was called the Strings, and consisted of a street packed with cubbyhole shops each devoted to a particular instrument, or part of an instrument. The Strings was quietly tucked in behind Red Cobbles, a service market that bordered the Arkhen just South of the Davisson Bridge. Instrument-wise, nearly anything could be had in the Strings, but quality varied and most shops were too small to have much on hand -- instead, one had to wait for an instrument to be crafted to order.A bit more asking around also determined one other significant fact about both of these districts: they were too far away for Cupric to make it there, shop around, and still be at the Copper Cup by noon. Intending to seek them out later, Cupric instead turned his talents to finding out where the Cup was located -- and once he had done so, began making his way towards the docks.Off on his own, Jaehn had made contact with Drake. As the raven took flight, Jaehn turned around and began giving directions to Drake while he walked towards the river. After making inquiries into the whereabouts of the Copper Cup, he changed direction slightly and began heading directly for it. Still in his customary disguise -- a portly human of completely unremarkable appearance -- Jaehn moved through the busy streets as he listened to Drake describe what he saw at Farry's Port. Only one thing stood out: a group of bears that were led up and down the street in front of the inn a few times, after which they disappeared and did not show up again.After receiving this information, Jaehn posted Drake in the rooftops around Martooth's shop -- with instructions to keep an eye out for anyone in blue or red robes, and for non-gnomes entering the shop itself.</blockquote>

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