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Noteworthy Commerce of Methusil
The following information is only available to characters who have Knowledge: Ardashir or have a background involving the eastern region of Ardashir; information in parenthesis is available only to characters with an Expert level of knowledge of the region or have a background anchored specifically in Methusil.
Angler’s Wharf
The Angler’s Wharf is a platform connecting several stone jetties, an infrequently-staffed supply and bait shed, and a dilapidated on-land storage facility. Although not controlled by any single enterprise, the fishing industry of Methusil is a lucrative and steady business. The wharf’s use is both regulated and taxed by the ruling council and attempts to privatize or monopolize the industry are soundly quashed. A recently-undertaken campaign to curb smuggling and human trafficking resulted in the construction of a new guardhouse within sight of the piers.
Rolling Wave General Store
Run by an ancient-looking former priestess by the name of Ayetta Buiana, the Rolling Wave stands as one of the more recognizable structures on Methusil’s outskirts with a peaked, slated roof and a wind-tossed sign fluttering over its stoop. The shop provides an assortment of fresh fruit, grain, and salted meats; second-hand metallurgy equipment including shovels, hammers, short swords, and butchering knives; and even has on display a small assortment of lovingly-worn novels and journals kept in a clouded-glass case behind the counter. Available by order, the general store also serves as a source of common herbal remedies, tinctures, and mild pest poisons and repellents. The owner Ayetta is known as an exceptionally kind woman whose behavior is marred only by her easily-won and frequently-abused trust in friendly faces. The former priestess is an innocuous gossip and an ample source of information regarding the city and its inhabitants.
(Ayetta’s deteriorating eyesight and unsteady hands are blamed for a food preservative poisoning which sickened almost a dozen adolescents and led to the death of the class’s elder church instructor. This incident cost Ayetta her seniority among the Celestian faith and the city legislature revoked Ayetta’s license to operate an apothecary. The city leaders did not have the authority, they decided, to prevent the priestess from selling legal products created off-premises unless she was actually convicted of a crime.)
Excluding Methusil’s cliff-facing keep, Silverson’s is perhaps the largest building in the city. The three-story smithy and foundry, situated only a block from the city’s shore and wharf, is manned by no less than a dozen full-time employees and three smelting stalls which pour thick, greasy smoke into the rain-plagued skies. The proprietor, a once-famed slave trader by the name of Blythe Silverson, is a cuss-hurling dwarf with a short fuse. Although only middle-age by dwarf standards and in fairly good health, Blythe has resigned himself solely to the less-strenuous clerical and business aspects of the enterprise. Silverson’s deals almost exclusively in bulk and its foul-mouthed owner has little interest or time for the small-time deals offered by personal transactions; roughly three-quarters of Silveron’s product are shipped out of town and it is not uncommon to find a product stamped with his insignia as far down coast as Pelos.
(Until Methusil’s dissension from Ardashir and the city’s subsequent outlaw of human bondage, Blythe Silverson’s workforce was provided almost exclusively by slave labor from a human trafficking business he also managed. Former employees of the dwarf complain that the hours, work conditions, and wages have not greatly improved since this change but at least Blythe no longer makes use of the cat-o’-nine-tails he keeps on display in the smithy. Blythe is also known to temporarily hire urchins, prisoners, and debtors for more dangerous tasks involved in the metallurgy business, a position he grinningly regards as charitable employment.
Blythe Silverson suffered the loss of fingers on his left hand following a smelting accident several years ago, although he has since either had the hand magically repaired or has engineered a fully-functional replacement. This injury, in addition to a once-circulated accusation of his temperament being fueled by duergar ancestry, is a provocative topic for the unfriendly dwarf.)
The Swiftsail Inn
The Swiftsail Inn is a wide, two-story building serving the potable and lodging needs of the city’s commercial-heavy northeastern section. In addition to being the only legally-sanctioned distributor of spirits in the city’s most profitable quadrant, the bustling tavern is esteemed for its uncompromising embrace of regal Ardasi custom. Hand-woven lounge cushions, stuffed with plucked down and beaten wool, are offered in place of chairs; elevated slabs of polished slate serve as communal dining tables; lustrous silver chandeliers cast the feasting room in the brilliant orange-white light of hundreds of meticulously-maintained candles; and veiled women in loose but modest silk gowns, accentuated by black-feathered headdresses, serve the tavern’s clients in soft-spoken and honorific mannerisms. The inn’s lodgings on the above floor are generous and accommodating, with a cordial staff prepared to offer the affluent guest services including round-the-clock dining, armed or magical security, and discreet companionship.
(There is no dispute over how the Swiftsail Inn acquired the exclusive rights to distribute alcohol and minor narcotics in this heavily-commercial district: it is owned by the only female member of the city’s reigning council, one Lena Ashen. The inn also possesses permits to possess any manner of weapon or magic the owner deems necessary for security, a rarely-flaunted permission that exceeds even the city military’s rights.)
Tatter’s Bake Shop
An unassuming building with a polished-glass storefront, Tatter’s Bake Shop is a tiny, three-room structure of greenheart wood nestled within the city’s winding streets. Servicing the surrounding residential neighborhood not only with delicious pastries but also with the sweet aromas produced during their creation, Tatter’s Bake Shop has been a keystone to Methusil’s charm for longer than anyone can remember. The shop has passed hands numerous times since its foundation, but is currently owned by a young woman by the name of Ria Delilah who opens the shop only two mornings each week.
(Ria Delilah, a native resident of Amrali, recently retired from a short and particularly-lucrative career as an adventurer. Her passion for the culinary arts is bested only by her talent for the craft, and there is a well-established rumor that she migrated this far from the City of Flowers to avoid being overlooked by the presence of even greater artisans. In the city that never dries, her cheery presence and delectable creations are seen as boons to a land whose dreary curse has hardened or driven away many of its skilled artisans.)
(Information available only to characters with Knowledge: Ardashir (Expert) as well as Knowledge: Literature: Ria Delilah is rumored to have created a small number of unique pastry recipes with magical effects, including a strawberry custard tart capable of bringing warmth to even the most frigid heart. This may be how she convinced Lactyn Tatter, a sour and ungenerous woman who had adopted the bakery’s centuries-old name as her own, to sell Ria the remunerative bakery. A cooking journal allegedly authored by Ria before her adventuring career makes specific references to these enchanted foods but falls short of describing their creation; Ria has since claimed this work to be the libelous forgery of a jealous competitor.)
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