Aerin

When you first acquired Clotho’s shop, it was a wreck. Heyrath was an adequate shopkeeper, but his real talent was in dweomercraft. Heyrath’s skills continue to grow, and after two months, your shop is starting to show a profit.

After your party meets with the Viscount and the other adventuring party, you come by to check in on Heyrath’s progress. For the month of Fireseek, the business lost 98gp. But, after opening one morning, the wizard Juelihm stopped in to see the new shop, and look over Heyrath’s wares. Word of Juelihm’s presence at Heyrath’s shop spread like wildfire through the wizarding community, and soon there were all types of mage looking to buy and sell with Heyrath. For the next few months, this will attract a little more business and attention.

It’s midafternoon on Readying 4, and you’re hurrying through the snow-packed streets to the Silver Consortium. You can see its large silver and copper domes through the snowflurries. The sky is leaden and the wind cuts briskly through your clothes. Three or four minutes later, you arrive at the familiar banded wooden doors. A pair of older students clad in the silver-edged dark green robes of the Consortium stand in the main corridor inside the door. From the number of rings on their sleeve cuffs, one of these students is a fifth-year, and one is a third-year. The older student asks if he can direct you anywhere. You answer by giving him a withering glance and striding off toward the Guild Library. A few of the more studious mages-in-training are in the library, and a handful of the faculty, but it’s mostly empty. You speak with the gaunt, thin-lipped elven fellow in charge, and he directs you to the conjuration section. He reminds you that you can only have three books out at a time, unless you have special permission from a faculty member or the headmaster. You select a few titles, including Dunhill’s Papyrus and Unknown Movements of the Universe, volumes 1 and 2.

You make your way up to the fourth floor of the Silver Consortium, where the study rooms are located. A wizard is in charge of renting out the study rooms, the plaque on his door names him as Jereda Greywhisp. His office door is slightly open, and the smell of hot food wafts out. A portly wizard with a slightly stained, rumpled brown doublet looks up at you.

“Can you wait a few minutes, lad, as you can see, I’m at lunch. You’re welcome to share my wine and bread, if you like,” the fat fellow says. He continues eating his meal, a chicken leg, a small loaf of dark bread, and a flagon of wine. After a few minutes, he belches, sighs, and brushes the crumbs from his paunch. “Now, how can I help you?”

You explain that you’re working on a new spell, you would like a study room, and that you’ll need it off and on for a few weeks. Jereda asks if you need any supplies, or if you’ve brought your own. He offers a quill, an inkpot, and a sheaf of blank parchment for 8gp, in addition to the fee for the room, 1gp/day or 5gp/week.

Jereda then makes you sign his ledger to check out your room. He shows you your room, a drafty, plain cell, about 15ft square, with a window. A couple of inches of powdery snow lie unmelted on the floor and desk. “Bit cold in here during the winter. There’s a lantern on the desk if you plan on staying after dark. Hang on a minute and I’ll seal that window for you. The fat mage says a few words and the outline of a square shimmers over the window, then disappears. The mage brushes the snow off the desk, nods and winks at you, then trundles back down the hall.

After a little over two weeks, when your research is completed, you check out of your room and turn your books back in at the library. Then you make your way back over to Heyrath’s shop, where you close yourself in an office and examine your final costs for the spell.

The next time you check in with Heyrath, you find that a few days ago, he was approached by a band of thugs, who demanded 70gp a month for protection. They said that they would return in three days for their money. After talking with Heyrath about the situation, it would seem that the thugs have the backing of an upstart thieves guild in town. The good news is that you’ve made a bit more profit this month, 250gp. After the mortgage, this only leaves you down by 61gp for two months.