[IC] Portents and Omens
The Pearl Fort market square is bustling with activity, even at this hour of the morning. A blue sky with warm sun and just a scattering of clouds promises a fine and clear day. The natives of the town are getting their shopping done before the visitors rise from their beds or berths or bunks. Most sailors in town stay aboard their ships for the free lodging, but mercenaries or caravan guards for the merchants are often found lodged in the so-called "Sailors' Barracks", a former warehouse now outfitted with rows of stacked bunks, along with a bathhouse. It's far cheaper for a merchant to pay for a space there for their employees than most rooms at the Pearl's Rest Inn (the only place in town that regularly has overnight guests), and less flea-ridden than buying a spot on the floor after closing at one of the taverns.
The half-stone-half-timber Pearl's Rest Inn is the finest the town has to offer in terms of food, drink, and nightly music, but other taverns like the Pig and Potion, Cracked Hull, Wicked Coin, Drunken Salt, and the Kraken's Deep offer either rowdier clientele, gambling, amorous company, less refined music, or sometimes an incurious staff and privacy, depending on the place.
The market square has stalls set up between various storefronts so people can display their wares: produce, bread, eggs, fish, oysters, pearls, candles, oil, salt, spices, leather goods, jewelry of many makes, supplies for pack animals, a small beast market, furs, clothing, weaving, one stall even sells paper, ink, and small books for those who wish to write letters, or keep accounts or a journal.
Amongst the crowd are a few natives to Pearl Fort, Amber and Aria, and several relative newcomers. The black-braided half-orc has been lurking around the town for days, while the older man in robes and the young blond man with the sturdy build seem to be here for a different purpose they haven't divulged to any of the town gossips.
All those are in the crowd this morning when they all witness a most curious sight: a cloud appears above the stall of a single weaver, deluging her with an abrupt cloudburst out of a calm sky. But what is most curious is that the weaver doesn't get a drop on her, as if the water dares not touch her uninvited...