Rayhan is a bald-headed man who stands at a towering 6 feet, 5 inches. Just recently 50 years old, Rayhan remains spry and in fine health. Most remember him by his piercing gaze and the raucous raven Abaneshi that is never far from his side.
He is in his guarden and as he notices this group of scallywags loitering in front of the gate. "What are you looking at. Taverns are on the other side of the river." He is somewhat intimidating in appearance and definitely brusque in nature.
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Antarah stays silent during the whole talking scroll business. He doesn't wish to say something idiotic, but ultimately believes the man.
In front of Rayhan's home, he leaves his sword in its sheathe and watches silently. He tries a simple "We are sorry for the disturbance. We seek a wise man." He awkwardly leaves out that they are looking for a specific wise man, but he shuts himself up to let the others speak, as they are usually more articulate.
Haleen steps up with a large smile. "Are you Rayhan? Then I have a letter for you."
Haleen rummages through her bag to produce an envelope with a nice wax seal.
Luckily Garavel caught Haleen before the departure and handed her this letter of introduction from Princess Almah.
Rayhan accepts the letter, opens it, and reads it cursory. "Ah, you're sent by Princess Almah! How is she doing? She went to Kelmarane, right? Please come in. Be my guests."
He opens the door to let the group in and closes it after them. Then he leads the way into the house.
After netering you find yourself in the common room is room. It is filled with comfortable seating, several small tables, an expensive silk carpet, and a large overstuffed couch. Paintings on the wall depict all manner of strange and exotic locations, including a huge dead creature in a swamp whose body has been turned into a fly-shrouded throne, a vast graveyard with a skull-shaped moon in the night sky, an idyllic woodland around crumbling stone ruins inhabited by animals who walk like men, and a gold and silver palace at the edge of a mirror-like lake above which flying women with the lower bodies of snakes play. The largest of these paintings hangs on the northern wall and depicts a jungle-covered island with a strange ship moored at a short stone pier on the closest beach.
"Would you like some tea? Or would you like to refresh yourself first? I can show you to your rooms. Maybe I ogve you a tour and you decide then?"
He opens the doors to three neighboring rooms. "These are the guest rooms." Moving up one story he shows the bath and the dining room. "Above is the library. How shall we start? Anyway, I'll tell my servant to prepare dinner for us at sunset."
"I love your style." Haleen compliments Rayhan on his home. "I call dibs on the bath. After all that dust and sand and a whole life without such a gorgeous bath, this has to be the first thing."
Guest Rooms - Each of these rooms contain a large bed and a variety of tables, chairs, and shelves to serve as guest rooms for Rayhan’s visitors. Each room is equipped with a chamber pot under the bed and a footlocker and key for the storage
The Dining Room - This room contains a long dining table and several chairs. A wine rack stocked with several bottles lies along the west wall. Along the east wall is an ornate cabinet that displays a set of china with a gold-inlaid pattern that evokes an ancient Osirian feel.
The Bath - The walls, ceiling, and floor of this room are decorated with white porcelain tiles, with other ornate adornments that make the place seem to be more of a royal bath chamber than anything else. A large, two-foot-deep pool in the room’s center and several braziers and bins for heating polished oval rocks complete the image.
"Please enjoy. You find warmed towels on the stone bench at the side."
"I'm sorry I can offer only three bed rooms, but I'm not used to get that many visitor's at once."
"We don't mind, we are used to sharing our personal space on the road," Yasmeena laughs. "Your hospitality is most appreciated! I look forward to also experiencing your wisdom once we are all settled."
Rayhan takes a minute to read the letter in full. "What is it you seek my wisdom for? The letter is really vague about it."
After a rather tense last part of the trip into town, what with suspicious merchants (She’s still not sure what Radi’s angle was: larceny? sabotage? against all odds, an honest mistake?) and history (well, not history history, just a footnote, really, almost) with a younger Clarion that she doesn’t want to get into anytime soon, Aith is very glad of Rayhan’s civilized welcome.
It takes all of her training to remember herself and not dash straight upstairs to browse the sage’s library the moment he’s mentioned it.
“We were wondering what you could tell us about the old history of Nex,” she starts off vaguely, appreciating the paintings in the parlour while Rayhan takes a closer look at the knights’ letter of introduction. “In particular, if the name ‘Kakishon’ means much to you?”
She doesn’t mean to tease, really, but she expects his reaction might speak volumes about both his character and that of whatever the scroll’s hiding. “We recently … came into possession of a scroll marked with its rune, and there’s definitely powerful magic involved, but so far it’s defied our further investigations, so her highness sent us to the expert.”
“I, er, was lucky to get a very brief vision of an unfamiliar landscape, once, but that’s all. I, um, dropped a spoon. But it doesn’t seem to have been just the tone that sparked the vision.” Aith does her best to curb her enthusiasm, but it’s obviously a struggle for the mage not to just dive right into all the angles of the fascinating problem on the spot.
Rayhan looks curious when Aithaloessa mentions Nex, as she mentions Kakishon she has his undivided attention, but on mentioning the scroll his eyes widen and his jaw drops.
He braces himself and almost calmly suggests "Shall we go to the library to take a look at that."
But that's only because of his good manners. He'd really like to grab the elf at the shoulders shaking her, screaming 'show me that scroll!'
Much more happy and smiley after having had a nice bath, Tariq lets the clash between the two nerds take place. He actually refrains, in the very last moment, from covering his face from the debris.
"Eh... We also have some stuff for the pawn shop, but I guess that can wait..." he says when he noticed Aith and Rayhan's faces.
Although she’s a grown woman (at least in strictly chronological terms), the smile that lights up Aith’s features at Rayhan’s offer suggests nothing more than a small child given free rein in a sweet shop.
Worse, she’s almost quivering with excitement as if said child has already partaken of an ill-advisedly wide selection. “Yes! Do let’s, please! I’ve been dying of curiosity!”
She quickly retrieves the scroll and prepares to follow the sage, continuing to voice odd bits and pieces of things she’s noticed as they rise to the surface of her thoughts, from the design of the rune, to what little she knows of the historical context (Nex himself, and as a state, has a thorny knot of associations for Alkenstar, and Aith’s much more hands-on in her approach to the arcane anyway), to what it might possibly mean that it was stashed away in the House of the Beast with a genie after it…
Rayhan leads the way to the upper floor. "In the house of the beast? where exactly did you find it."
This entire floor of the building consists of a single, vast library. Wooden shelves heavy with books, scrolls, bits of statuary, and stone tablets covered with runes line the walls. Additional shelves stand in the middle of each wing, further increasing shelf space. A round table heaped with books and papers sits in the middle of the room, attended by a few padded chairs. Two opaque skylights in the ceiling help somewhat to open up the room’s otherwise claustrophobic feel.
Rayhan frees a part of the table to place the scroll. As Aithaloessa puts it down and unfurls it Rayhan almost faints. He has to sit down. "That's, that's,..." he stutters.
"I'd need more details to come to such a conclusion. In which way did it look important? Was the weapon or armor special in any way? Was there jewellery or something else that told something about the deceased?"
Rayhan frees a part of the table to place the scroll. As Aithaloessa puts it down and unfurls it Rayhan almost faints. He has to sit down. "That's, that's,..." he stutters.
“Brilliant, isn’t it? A clue to an archmage’s paradise!” It takes a moment for Aith to even begin to calm down, but once Antarah starts talking Rayhan about more practical things, she gets a grip, and tries to remember as much as she can about where they found the scroll.
“The tomb was on the lowest level, and it looked like a place of honour at the entrance to less exalted catacombs. It looked like it was for an important gnoll priestess, in particular: her body was wearing a symbol of Rovagug and an amulet to sharpen her clarity of mind, along with some mithral armour and that absurd axe.”
She gestures vaguely back downstairs to where she left the weapon. “We were hoping to get rid of it in a responsible fashion while we’re here. It seems like a lucky blow will drain the vital energies of its victim, as far as we could tell.”
“When we arrived, the inhabitants had already been at each others’ throats for some time. I’m not sure all of them even knew the scroll was down there, but there were some remnants of a bound planar army from a very, very old genie war still there that had an inkling, there was definitely a genie pulling some strings until we intervened, and after we left the next gnolls that wandered in probably started to put some pieces together.”
Somehow, the lunatic mage manages to say all that as if it’s almost normal and reasonable.
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"From a genie war you say? And with a gnoll priestess? This could have been Shirak, a loyal servant to Jahvul. Then that means..."
Rayhan clears his throat. "I’ve studied the legend of Kakishon for years, and in that time I’ve seen countless shams and forgeries and dead ends. But this scroll… this could be the real thing."
"The legends say that Kakishon was created by the wizard-king Nex to serve him as a portable paradise and an impenetrable bolt-hole. Much as the more commonplace bag of holding opens into its own reality, the Scroll of Kakishon was said to contain this entire world inside of it—the scroll was not Kakishon, but the doorway by which Nex could enter and exit the realm. Kakishon was said to have been a paradise, a laboratory, a menagerie, a hunting ground, and even a tomb—most likely, it was all these things and more, with each island serving a different role."
"The legend of Kakishon falls into increasing obscurity after Nex’s war with Geb began. All signs point to the strong possibility that Nex had grown dissatisfied with Kakishon and had lost interest. When he vanished from the face of Garund in 576 AR, he left the Scroll of Kakishon behind. Eventually, it was stolen from his castle and the scroll passed through many hands. Some used it as a prison for their enemies, others as a place to impress allies or as a vault for their treasures, the stories say. The closer to the present day we get, the more obscure the rumors grow—no sign of the Scroll of Kakishon seems to have surfaced over the past several hundred years."
"The last person to own the scroll, I believe, was a Keleshite wizard named Andrathi. The accounts of his life are vague and fragmentary, but it would appear that he was the lover of a genie named Nefeshti, the leader of a group known as the Templars of the Five Winds. Legend holds that the Templars fought somewhere in the mountains against a cruel efreeti warlord named Jhavhul, and that while the Templars of the Five Winds managed to capture Jhavhul inside of Kakishon, the defeat was shadowed in loss. No sign of Andrathi or the Scroll of Kakishon remained after the battle. No sign… until today."
"This is an important find. If you will let me, I would very much like to look into this matter, to research this scroll and decipher some of the writings upon it. And if this is indeed the Scroll of Kakishon, there are protections placed upon it to prevent undesirables from being able to open it and travel to the world within. Yet in time, I feel that I will be able to decipher these writings. You see, before he vanished, the wizard Andrathi went through the same process—yet he obviously managed to discover the way to open the scroll, even if it meant his doom. Some of his writings have survived to this day, and as it happens, I own copies of these writings. By building upon the foundation he lays in his writings, I am sure that I will be able to duplicate his research and refine it. It may take days, even weeks, but if this is indeed the Scroll of Kakishon, I will find the key to open it."
"But once it is open, I will need your aid, should you be willing to provide it. The legends speak of great treasures kept safe in Kakishon, the greatest of which was Jhavhul’s own weapon, the legendary Firebleeder, said by some to be a falchion and others a living flame. Sadly, my adventuring days are behind me, but if I find the way, I would be honored to accompany you into Kakishon to find the truth!"
As the others climb the stairs chattering about magic and events she already knows, she walks into the bath. She drops her backpack on the floor. Once she is done undressing she stands in a patch of fine yellow sand.
She sits down at the edge of the pool and slowly lets herself glide into the water. She holds her breath and lets herself sink to the ground.
Tariq's eyes stay widely open long after the conversation.
"A magical falchion..."
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Antarah stands incredulous at Rayhan's tale. It sounds like the things he liked to read when he was young, but he speaks as if all of it were true. He is confused and intrigued.
He says "This is incredible! How is it that we can help you?" Suddenly Antarah is suspicious that Rayhan is lying and only giving part of the information. If treasures are involved, wouldn't he want it for himself? He stays silent however, driven by his curiosity.
The chain of events Rayhan traces, explaining how the scroll got to where it did, is interesting and should probably be alarming, given that it suggests that the Wind Templars’ war didn’t end as decisively in favour of the friendlier side as one might hope. Aith is mainly distracted by grander possibilities.
“A world in your pocket,” she breathes in awe. Really, a door to that world, etc., if she understands the finer points of what the sage is saying about how the scroll works, but that’s nerdy wizard stuff that she’s pretty sure only she would really care about among the knights of Kelmarane. “Island-hopping across a demiplane sounds lovely!”
Antarah stands incredulous at Rayhan's tale. It sounds like the things he liked to read when he was young, but he speaks as if all of it were true. He is confused and intrigued.
He says "This is incredible! How is it that we can help you?" Suddenly Antarah is suspicious that Rayhan is lying and only giving part of the information. If treasures are involved, wouldn't he want it for himself? He stays silent however, driven by his curiosity.
“We have to go!” she bursts, turning to Antarah with a pleading look in her eyes as she appeals silently to the other mage’s sense of the possibilities. Of course, especially with the example of the salamanders trapped beneath the House of the Beast, she adds, “Once we’re sure we know how to get back, that is. I’m not quite done with this world, and I’d hate to get stranded.”
And… “Did you say the legends report that Jhavhul was captured in Kakishon? Finding his falchion is one thing, but I’d hate to get there to discover that we’d find an efreeti warlord that took a planar alliance to stop him still attached to it.”
Though if it helps get Tariq interested, maybe they can worry about that problem when they get to it.
"If you speak out the obvious it is not really encouraging. But think of the possibilities! Even an efreeti can't be everywhere and as Kakishon according to lore has many places, one could try to avoid a confrontation?"
"But let's not put the cart before the horse. First we need to study the map, the rune and what other signs and hints are hidden on it. Before we know how to open it, all plans to conquer Kakishon are in vain."
Rayhan retrieves a magnifying glass and two books for reference and starts with the intensive study.
He casts detect magic on the artifact and is stunned. "Stunning..." he states once he is able to brace himself. Then he tries Read Magic. "Oooh, there it is. The map. I see what you meant."
Yasmeena watches the two magic users in rapt fascination, though she tries to cultivate an air of "I knew all that already" in her expressions to heighten her bardly mystique.
“Oh, um, quite right,” Aith says, hastily casting her own cantrip to see what she’s missed and what Rayhan might be able to point out in the moment, choosing her words to (also) acknowledge Antarah’s warning about managing expectations.
She looks up from the scroll briefly chastened somewhat, though it doesn’t last long as she thinks of what she and the others can get up to while waiting at least a day or two to see how long Rayhan thinks it will be to come to grips with the scroll and make sure there are no unpleasant surprises.
“We are in Katapesh proper, with useful things to trade. I suggest we see just how much interesting magic we can find for our spellbooks as quickly as we can. And I’m sure we can find an arena in which Haleen can keep herself adequately entertained in the meantime.”
She rather suspects that the swordswoman’s patience with wizard libraries and scroll dealers will be exhausted very much more quickly than her own.
Shopping can wait until tomorrow, though, she guesses, in case Rayhan’s expertise turns up additional reagents or sources that it would be convenient to acquire already as part of exploring the scroll.
Read magic reveals the map that Aithaloessa has seen with the silver spoon too. Just now with enough time to actually look at it.
Rayhan points to several interesting features of the map for Aithaloessa to look and starts flipping through his books.
So it immediately goes into the academical research and the surrounding world fades out for Rayhan.
As Haleen starts to shrivel from the long exposure to water she gets out, dries herself off and put on some of her good clothes. Her other stuff she drags down to the first floor and slumps it into the corner of a guest room. The one with two windows, one of which looks out over the water.
Then she climbs the stairs up to the library to see where all the others are hiding. "That's two and a half more people staring at that thing than I would have expected."
"I picked a room for us." she tells Yasmeena.
She turns to Rayhan "You mentioned dinner earlier. When will that be?"
Rayhan snaps out of it and realizes how much time has passed already. "I'm sorry. I'm a bad host. I didn't even inform my servant that you'll stay. I'll take care of that immediately. Please follow me the promised tea will be ready in a few minutes."
Rayhan leads the way down to the common room, and offers all that followed a seat. He moves to the kitchen, where his servant is doing the dishes. After giving instructions he returns and a few minutes later tea and baklava are served.
"So, besides finding how to work that scroll, what are your plans?"
Once it becomes clear that it’s very much a question of time and context, for the difference between what Aith and Rayhan are able to get from the scroll, not least because Aith hasn’t been chasing such things for years and years, Aith relaxes a bit and is able to think more carefully about the next few days.
Over the tea that appears, Aith says, “Probably a bit of reading and trade? It’s been a while since I last visited the city, and if we’re going to dive into Kakishon next, I’m not too proud to admit a bit more preparation would probably be a good idea. My spellbook’s feeling a bit thin for exploring other worlds.”
“Also,” she adds, “we have a few bits and bobs that we don’t have much use for from a bunch of cultists who miscalculated their own chances. Silly beggars tried to set a death worm on us, it looks like, but that went rather poorly for them.”
"You're welcome to copy from my spellbook if you like." Rayhan offers. "About selling and buying gear to prepare, Katapesh is the best place to be."
monster IV
3rd—arcane sight, clairaudience/clairvoyance, dispel magic,
displacement, fly
2nd—detect thoughts (DC 17), locate object, minor image (DC 17),
levitate, obscure object
1st—comprehend languages, floating disc, identify (2), mage
armor, summon monster I, unseen servant
0—detect magic, mage hand, mending, prestidigitation, read magic
Opposition schools Necromancy and Illusion. He got more spoells for sure, so ask if you need some.
Having a good bath is something Tariq haven't enjoyed in a while, and he realises a bathing house could be a worthy business back in Kelmarane - though certainly an expensive to upkeep one.
He gives up on trying to check the two scholars out of their investigations, so he meditates and prays for relax while he waits for the dinner, hoping then they will inform the rest of their findings.
"So, tell us, what's the plan?" he asks, baklava in hand, when they finally meet by the table.
"We should have someone making those in Kelmarane. Will you take up that challenge? I'd take a load of them for Kurellak to sell at the bar. That and tea or coffee would be a great addition to the booze." Haleen suggest to Tariq.
“Sell that terrible thing, ideally to someone who won’t do anything awful with it,” Aith reiterates, gesturing vaguely to where the axe has been stored for the moment, “figure out – probably after a few days – how long our gracious host thinks it will be before we can discover how to get to Kakishon, and, in the interval, turn the gold from the axe into spells. I think we can start with…”
Aith’s movements are quick and her eyes bright as a child having been spoiled with rather too much sugar, and that’s before she’s had any tea and baklava. She may enjoy sweets as much as the next person, but it’s magic that gives her what would be a frankly alarming rush if she were any less responsible with her craft than she is.
“Oh, and encouraging a stronger supply chain for various materials would also be good,” she acknowledges, registering the others’ interests on some level, though she’s obviously mainly thinking about spell components and alchemical reagents. “Including nuts and honey, and maybe an enterprising baker to sweeten the offerings at the battle market in Kelmarane, of course.”
Tariq bites carefully into the baklava, grasping the crunchiness of the endless layers and mentally noting down how to possibly replicate the recipe. Meanwhile, he nods to Antarah's words.
"First we should sell what we have, but yes, I agree."
A simple but tasty dinner is served later and Rayhan stays up late to further investigate the scroll in the library.
Haleen joins Rayhan, Aithaloessa and whoever else in the library. But with no abilities in magic, all that gibberish they talk makes no sense to her.
She browses through the library some more, but there too dry magical theory and dusty history books prevail. Finally she decides to call it a day and disappear into bed.
Indeed Antarah finds several volumes that deal with genies at least on the side.
One that looks interesting has a nice quote on the first page.
In the name of the earth, sky, and ocean,
In the name of the fire that none can quench,
Listen, my beloved children, and grow wise in the ways of the jinn,
Whose souls are both more and less than our own.
—Faidal al-Bashiri, the Barber of Al-Bashir
The book is on the different kinds of genies that exist.
The body of a djinni is half cloud and half flesh, with pale
skin, light eyes, and hair ranging through the colors of
clouds. Their clothes always seem to ripple in the wind,
even inside buildings or during a calm. They prefer flying
over walking at all times, and their feet rarely touch the
earth—their sandals often drifting just above the sands,
leaving no footprints. Many djinn refuse to wear shirts
even on the coldest days or on high mountain peaks. They
favor tattoos, occasionally animating the ink within their
skins to make them dance and move. Most are known for
their flighty nature, but overall djinn seem good at heart
and outgoing, and of all the jinn they prove the friendliest
to the people of Golarion.
Efreet
Creatures of fire and wrath, efreet delight in destruction
and are said to be born of the smoke from burning tents
and charred cities. Their bodies range through a variety of
smoldering shades, from the brazen red of the setting sun
to the blackness of a dampened fire’s smoke. Tales say their
skin burns like a lit torch, their hair blazes like flame, and
their appetites are as endless as fire. Efreet greatly enjoy
the taste of flesh, both of animal and human sacrifices, and
of creatures left to burn on pyres or battlefields. Failing
that, they happily devour anything that burns: wood, cloth,
coal, incense, and exotic flammable metals infused with
phlogiston and phosphor. They consume these materials
by the pound, and drink nothing but a strange slurry of
wood shavings and coal dust.
Jann
The jann are the genies of the mortal plane, creatures of the
world but still set apart from its other natives. In them, all
the elements that empower the other races of genies unite,
the contradictions and fundamental oppositions of these
natural powers serving to weaken the jann rather than
invigorate them. The weakest of all genies, the jann appear
most akin to humans yet prove vastly more powerful. For
them, elemental magic is second nature, physical form is
an intrinsically changeable thing, and the bonds of reality
are loose. Although these genies may travel to the domains
of their kin on the Elemental Planes, they are not at home
in such realms and must return to the mortal plane after
a short time.
Marids
Marids are a tranquil yet powerful people well known
through the tales of sailors and hopeful desert nomads.
They concern themselves with the affairs of the seas and
protection of bodies of water, rarely venturing far from
ocean shores or lush desert oases. Marids have bodies
covered in fine scales and hair like flowing kelp, most
often blue, black, or green, though many can transform
themselves into translucent, liquid forms that prove
effectively invisible in water. Most are known to be flighty,
impetuous, whimsical, or otherwise lacking in attention,
moving from one topic or passion as swiftly as a surging
river. Of all the genies, marids most often take human
lovers, whom they lure into the waters from the shore,
promising riches, lavish palaces, and a life of indolence.
Surprisingly, they most often keep these promises, though
their paramours might be little more than prisoners
beneath the sea.
Shaitans
Many think of the shaitans as sinister creatures of the
Darklands, but truly they are things of the earth, the
empty caverns, and the high hills. Their skin is stone,
their hearts molten lava, and their eyes jewel-like in
their sparkle. Few shaitans share similar skins, either in
color or texture, and some are smooth and delicate like
polished lapis lazuli, while others are hulking and rugged
like rough granite. Strands of jewels and sheets of beaten
metals are the preferred clothing of these earthen jinn,
and they wear them much as mortals wear linen, cotton,
or silk. These jeweled garments are sometimes worth a
prince’s ransom, but the death of a shaitan does more
than make his killer wealthy: it typically buys a blood
feud, as the shaitan’s brethren strive for compensation.
Those who seek to escape retribution from the shaitan
might take to a life spent upon the sea or amid the clouds,
knowing that accusing shaitans lurk beneath every rock,
field, and sand dune.
It’s been a busy day, so after dinner Aith decides to ease into her investigation of the spell lore Rayhan has on hand, knowing that coming to grips with more powerful magic will take time – and fabulous, carefully prepared alchemical ink – that it might be best to gather once everyone else has also had a chance to find something amusing to occupy themselves with during their stay.
She glances over a couple of simpler spells before retiring for the evening, to get acquainted with Rayhan's system of spellcraft, and goes to sleep excited for the next morning - whether it will be filled with more arcane research right off, or with acquiring the coin to fund the same.
A night in comfortable beds (for those three who get beds) is a nice change. And the day start with breakfast ready on the table.
"Good morning." Rayhan greets the first to appear. "There is a letter that was delivered for the Knights of Kelmarene. That is you, right?"
I thank you again for rescuing me from the evil gnolls.
As promised I'd like to give you your reward. So when
you find the time please visit me at my home.
Sincerely Your's
Amwyr Yuseifah
Going to bed early leads to waking early too. Not compared to the host obviously. "Yes that would be us."
She takes the letter and reads it. "Oh, interesting. I almost forgot about that guy."
She sits down and enjoys the breakfast with Rayhan and waits for the others to wake up, before heading to town.
Once everyone is ready, off to town for trading loot it is. Katapesh - the Bazaar of the Bizarre - is the greatest marketplace in Golarion.
Built upon trade and commerce, every street or alley in Katapesh seems to have its own unique market. From the Tiny Song Market where only hummingbirds are sold on up to the Great Tannery where each street and plaza, each footpath and square has its own character and wares, the markets of Katapesh are a truly varied lot. A thousand markets cram these narrow streets and alleyways—and those that exist today may not exist tomorrow. It is not only a place of vast variety, but a place of constant change. Today, colorful tikka sellers haggle with farmers for better prices on coriander, while tomorrow that spot might house a camel trader singing of the fine quality of his wares while a tall sailor sells a smuggled cargo of diamonds to a pesh addict. Trade is everywhere and always in Katapesh—the city never sleeps while money can be made and bargains can be had. If you can find a way through the endless markets without being robbed, hoodwinked by con-men, or dragged off by slavers, you may well find your heart’s desire in the Katapesh marketplace.
With this late start into the day the Knights of Kelmarane stroll through town around noon. Due to the heat this is the least busy time. There are merchants taking a nap, sitting on a chair at the entrance of their stall. A bell above them allows customers to wake them if needed.
But the streets are for from empty. It just means one doesn't have to squeeze through the crowds. There's people everywhere. The constant background noise of haggling, praising wares, animals shrieking floods your ears. Ones nostrils are met with all kinds of spices, perfume, manure. The sight, the smell, everything changes by turning a corner.
On the open places, cheap or large wares, animals, carpets are sold. Most of the luxurious goods are sold inside. But even then the merchants praising them are outside approaching potential customers to persuade them to come in.
All in all it is a place to give a headache to people who enjoy the peacefulness of a sunrise in a desert alone. Even to those used to a Battlemarket are overwhelmed by the sheer size of this endless market.
Aith greets the morning light with excitement, knowing that she’s in a place that probably only someplace like Quantium can rival for the sorts of magical toys that make her purse fear for its integrity. Even Haleen’s report of the knights’ correspondence at breakfast only makes the sheriff scrunch up her nose over her tea resignedly. Pox on it, that’s that creepy slave trader, isn’t it? Perhaps we ought to have fed him to the troglodytes when we had a chance. Metaphorically speaking. Mostly. Or, where's Undrella when you need her? Still, no use crying over spilled milk. She supposes a visit will have to be arranged eventually, for appearances’ sake, lip service to the free market and all that.
For now, though, it’s a bright morning, and somewhere out there there are spellbooks and scrolls with Aith’s name on them. Well, not literally, she assumes. That would be rather alarming, honestly. Regardless, she does up her armour as neatly as possible and hefts the ridiculous axe she needs to unload over her shoulder, trying (and probably not managing as well as she’d like) not to look like she’s too too eager to get rid of it.
After the group strolls for a bit to get their bearings, she approaches a few passersby and promising shopkeepers for where they would recommend dealers in magical arms, as well as wizardly supplies.
She tries her best, and it goes fairly well, but she gets the feeling that she makes a few of the locals a bit nervous.