Asenath sighed as she observed all of the people milling around the market. There were quite a few people there, which was exactly the situation that Asenath had been hoping to avoid. Asenath hated dealing with situations that involved too many people, but today she was just going to have to suck it up. The group that she had been travelling with had said that a large group of merchants were setting up shop in the market today, and Asenath wanted to be there early so that everything wasn't picked over. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea. Muttering to herself, Asenath tucked a few loose strands of hair into the scarf that covered her head and made her way into the market. Her brother always laughed at her for her conservative style of dressing, but it made Asenath feel more comfortable in strange situations.
Nestled into a courtyard around a stone pool, surrounded by a few sparse trees, were a few booths that were owned by local merchants. Little more than roughly hewn wooden tables and lean-to canopies, the booths were manned by a small assortment of dwellers from the Keep. The visiting merchants had set up their booths right next to the local merchants, and it was their booths that had attracted the most attention.
One stall was obviously a recruiting station for the One Church. A large, leather bound copy of the Book of the One sat open on the white sheet that covered the table, and a small, bookish looking acolyte sat on a stool near it. He had a shaved head, and his eyes were closed in prayer. Asenath paused ever so briefly at the booth before moving on. No, such religions were not for her.
The next booth was set up by tailor. Her booth was filled with bolts of various cloth and spools of colored thread. The tailor herself was an older woman, perhaps fifty or so yahren, with iron gray hair pulled back tightly into a bun. She smiled warmly at Asenath, who stopped to look at her wares. Asenath bartered with the woman, and came away with a lovely bolt of soft, midnight blue material that was laced through with silver threads. She wasn't sure what she would use the material for, but it was quite lovely.
A baker had set up the next booth, selling hot pies and long stringy ropes of chewy bread. He was a younger man with black hair and flour on his hands and face. All of the children were gathered around this booth, clamoring for a piece of freshly baked bread. Smiling at the baker, Asenath made her way to the next booth. She didn't dare compete with the crowd of hungry children at that booth.
The next was perhaps the closest thing that Dragonskeep had to offer in terms of writing supplies. Several black journals and a few quills sat at the corner of a table filled with all manner of strange things. A jar full of green liquid with a frog in it. A pan of leeches. Vials of strange, colored sands and tiny crystals and an assortment of other odds and ends, including a pair of old gloves that sat on a few loose pieces of parchment.
The man that stood nearest to the booth, was actually sitting on the rim of the stone basin, smoking a pipe. He gave Asenath a friendly enough look, but stopped short of smiling. The both next to him was closed, the merchant had apparently gone for the day, giving the oddities merchant a bit of extra room to roam around. He sat and smoked, and watched carefully, but offered no assistance. Asenath glanced over his wares before approching him. "Kal'essen, sir. Would you happen to have any type of herbs for sale? If not, do you know where I might be able to get some?"
A beginning....
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