The Souq of Pellod

The Souq of Pellod (#21/28; #52/365)

The Souq is the main market-place of Pellod, and lies virtually in the centre of the city, equidistant from the three major Gates and the Baron's Tower. It is full of stalls and carts selling and hawking everything from rugs and carpets to brass and copper-ware, and food and drink to bales of textiles and piles of building material (timber is especially expensive).

Inhabitants that are likely of interest to adventurers and Heroes include:

• The snake-wrangler Chabad the Charmer (blind, paranoid) who keeps a COBRA (SKILL 5, STAMINA 2) in a wicker basket, that he controls by playing on a Bamboo Pipe. Chabad is a Sorcerer (the cobra, "Kha", is his Familiar), whose lost his eyesight in an accident involving an Ebony Facemask. He was kicked out of the Spellcasters' Guild shortly afterwards, and has been trying to buy his way back in via his earnings in the Souq. It hasn't been going well.
  
• The twin girl pickpockets Hiba (puny, scheming) and Hepa (plain, cheeky). One will accost the Heroes with a sob-story while the other will empty the Heroes' wallets and money-pouches. The Souq has been designated by the Rogues' Guild as the official patch of Hiba and Hepa - they will only target newcomers, not locals.
  
• A food and beer cart-seller, Vikesha (beautiful, dishonest), who sells flame-grilled Aardwolf joint and pints of Pellod's Pride ale (from a barrel). 2GP buys a pint and a hunk of blackened meat that restores 4 STAMINA points; 1GP buys a pint or meat only. After four pints, an imbiber will be drunk, with -1 to their SKILL rolls, until they sober up after 1-3 hours. Further pints do not have cumulative penalties. Nevertheless, once a patron is drunk, Vikesha will double all prices, claiming "expenses" in acquiring more barrels of ale or fresh Aardwolf meat.
  
• A curio-seller, with interesting trinkets for display on a coloured blanket. Fantakre of Shazaar (big nose, unhappy) is a dabbler in ancient historical pieces, and sells whatever he can scrabble out of the sand from the ruins near Pellod. He will recommend the serious connoisseur seek out Colstan (Vatosian artefacts, #20) or Gar-Gol of Halak (Djaratian antiquities, #16), depending on their proclivities. Currently Fantakre has the following for sale (given page numbers are all for the Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1):
• Scroll of Opening (p. 97). 55GP
• 2 Yokka Eggs (p. 121). 6GP each
  
• 1 bamboo gourd with a Potion of Heat Resistance (p. 116). 7GP
  
• An artist with a series of blank canvasses and a Magic Paintbrush (Return to the Pit, p. 19). Gisgar Yellowhand (wrinkled, soft-hearted) will control the paintbrush to create incredible portraits of excellent quality for 10-60GP. He can also paint maps, pictures of wanted people, rare monsters, and so on, for similar prices. If threatened, Gisgar will unleash the Paintbrush to use the full capabilities of its enchanted arsenal.
  
• A patrol of two Watchmen (SKILL 7, STAMINA 7, Shortsword, Leather Cuirass) checking trader's paperwork and keeping an eye out for obvious crime and trouble. One has a spiral-shaped goat's horn that they will sound if they need reinforcements. 2-12 minutes after the horn is blow, 2-7 Watchmen will appear on the scene from the direction of the Souq's Watch-House to help them.
  

A Merchant's Pass is needed if one wishes to sell things in the Souq - they can be purchased from the Merchants' Guild for 5GP and require a further 5GP official seal from the Pellodian Watchmen. Anyone new attempting to sell things without the correct paperwork will be reported by outraged nearby sellers to a Watchmen patrol.