They emerged from the mists of the raving waves onto the Dockside Square, Argentarius had brazed himself to be pounded with spells and arrows, yet he was just ignored. The area was buzzing with activity, the air filled with wondrous smells of grilled meats, cries from vendors, costumers and the goods could be heard. The goods were of a peculiar nature, as they ranged from exotic bird to hideous monstrosity.
Most people wore the same kind of garms, only few stood out. Himself for example, as he was one of the few who did not clothe themselves in elegant, colourful and complicated looking robes of all sorts. The vibe reminded him of markets in the middle east, most folks skin tones were more inclined towards olive. Language wise, he did not understand much as they conversed in some strange local one. Occaciananly a trader or foreign travaller would shoot something in common, but the locals seemed ignorant of the tongue. Argentarius gathered his party and headed towards one of these vendors, as he did not wish to stand out with his telepathy.
"Hey good woman, what are you selling on this fine day?" The woman, having seen him approach and already successfully identified her quarry as being of the ignorant type, launched into a tyriad of all the different useless trinkets, pets and meats she sold. Before she had discovered the distinct lack of interest in anything valuable or edible, Argentarius quickly asked her about the coins he had found in his new tower and on some unlucky chaps in the swamp. "Well, you see these would be worth the same as anywhere, they just look different cause they were minted from Halruaan gold. The Council of Elders insist on not letting them get out of the country, something about others not stealing the magic minting process, that's why you best spend what you can and change the rest into foreign currency before ya leave." Argentarius saw a red flag right there, they seemed to be mistrusting of outsiders to the extreme. Prying magic-knowledge from them would become harder then expected. "What happens if I get caught leaving with it?" He asked that in a low voice while leaning over the counter. "You'd get finned if lucky or teleported in the ocean or gods nowhere."
He lost a bit of drive at that and decided to observe the area a bit more. The, creatively named, Dockside Square was and open plaza paved in coloured stone while large trees provideing good and ample shade for strolling. The numerous pavilions with brightly painted awnings where the perfect place to discuss the nature of the arcane. Walking along the edge, he noticed a building called the Ice House. Many journeymen wizards buzzed about as they levitated huge chunks of frozen water out and into the city. After peeking inside, he confirmed that they were indeed freezing the water with magic in large tanks, cutting them apart and then covering them with insulating cloths.
Leaving the plaza and heading deeper inside the city he had started to notice the magic everywhere.
Many towers had coral growing on them, including the flora and fauna. First he believed it to be an illusion, yet after sneakily confirming the taste of an eel, he could no longer deny it. These crazy bastards defied common sense and gravity to decorate their wizard abodes. Next were the flying vehicles and creatures. Letters seemed to be best delivered by the largest and most ostentatious creatures, he nearly lost it when he saw a young silver dragon being ridden by a wizard. How on earth did that men survive the wrath of the parents? Flying carpets, small boats and even brooms where abundant. Again the more colourful and decorated with gems, the better.
Almost all on the streets seemed to know at least some magic, or pretended to. He hovered past a youth, who bragged to his friends by levitating up a set of stairs. They reacted like most here to him, first with respect towards his display of magic then, once they noticed his appearance, with contempt and heavy suspicion. Having had enough of that, he entered the next expensive looking, which were almost all, tailor.
"Welcome dear costumer! Wait a minute, I will be right there." The croaky sounding voice came from behind a glittering veil separating the front area form the back room. Why did the guy speak in common? Argentarius got curious, sneaked forward and peeked inside. An elderly man dressed in dark blue sat before a crystal ball and mumbled complicated sounding words. If he had still been a wizard he might have known what the man was doing, but now the could just guess it was divination magic. He carefully prodded with his telepathy to get a better read on the man and was delighted that he did not notice. Now he heard the words clearly: "Mistress of Magic, guide me, your loyal follower." So it really was divination. "What does that damn foreigner do in my fine shop! Is he dangerous? Does he want to steal my magic?" Argentarius nearly fainted from anger. Just how paranoid where these lunatics? As if everyone is this world was out to get a piece of their sweet juicy magic. Until now he himself had not seen things he could not have done with enough time and creativity. Sure it was impressive to have so many practitioners of the arcane in one place, but was Azuth's main dogma not to share magic-knowledge with all how would listen? Thinking of it, he had mostly only seen worshippers of Mystra and the Weave here, almost no shrines for Azuth.
He discretely moved back to the front and waited patiently for the old fart to return. The man soon emerged, looking a bit tired but relived and a bit at ease. Mystra must have given him a pass, Argentarius thought. "What do you wish for my friend?" The old man rubbed his hands together and pretended to be eager for a business transaction. Argentarius did not wish to spend any longer lingering with the soon to be dead man, but had no choice if he wanted to integrate with the society here. Throwing a bag of Halruaan gold on the table he demanded: "Give me a run down on the fashion trends and etiquette here!"
