Residue of Sorrow

Quote from FairIthilien >>

In the privacy of their room, with no one else around to overhear, he asks, out of curiosity, "Is this your first time in Pohja as well? Did you go straight from Levicka to Katto?"

 

Bryn passed through Pohja very swiftly when sent from Levicka to Katto. He'd have seen what happened to be on the way, but that is very little beyond roads and inns. 

If she's asked to join, Clara requests a moment to prepare, and soon after, appears with only her leather satchel. The same one she carried with her while still on duty. It occurs to both Arren and Bryn that if it were the military's equipment, she wouldn't have been allowed to take it with her. "Ready," she says, "but I'll let you take the lead."

The three walk the city's streets for a while. They'd have to ask for directions in a place this large to have hope of finding their destination, but whether they ask the attendant at the Sleeping Lion or some passerby on the way, it seems there's a place that deals with the transportation of travellers that may or may not have what they need. This uncertainty comes from the uncertainty of the price, as well as how the question is phrased.

The path mostly goes through the market area, which Bryn and Arren find to be especially large. Stand after stand of fish, fruit, spices, fresh meat, dried meat, jewels, clothes, cloths, weapons of varying qualities, sweets, bread, wheat, odd trinkets which either seem like complete garbage or strange objects that are most likely fakes, tools for religious customs... it goes on and on, some repeating frequently while others seem unique.

But as one gets away from the pier and the keep's walls, the quality of the goods around them deteriorates; beggars, sick homeless people, as well as vermin running between alleys, can be seen far more often. Soon, even the stones beneath them disappear, leaving only muddy ground and a vast mixture of all kinds of trash. It is hard not to question what kind of place one is headed to, passing through this section of the market.

Eventually, however, the three turn away from the 'market' and into a region where they were told they would mostly find workshops. There are still plenty of beggars around, but the ground is once again paved, there is very little trash scattered about and vermin, although heard from time to time, aren't as common. It may not be a rich neighbourhood, but it is at least modestly respectable. The sounds and the scents, if not the sights, confirm that this is the right place. Hammers striking hot iron, saws cutting wood, smoke from the furnace or the oven, as well as plenty of unfinished projects or small works of art, or a simple sign, that hint at the profession of each workshop.

By large stables housing many horses stands a stone building with a large wooden wheel - the type that would normally be used for carriages - hung from the very top of the roof. It is tall enough to have two stories, you assume, which is about standard for most of these workshops around. There is no sign other than that, but the wheel seems rather convincing that this is not the baker's place. 

((I'll give you a chance to interact with anything on the way, if you want, before describing the workshop that I'll assume you plan on visiting. Meanwhile, please either list what remained on your person and what was left in the Sleeping Lion, or verify that your sheet is updated accordingly.))