by Diana Winchester 18th November 2019, 1:05 pm
-Desierto, Tri-Council City, Mid-afternoon-
Walking through the massive gate to the Tri-Council City in her ring-made disguise of tan head wrap that covered her face except for a pair of sand goggles, tan long-sleeved shirt, tan cargo pants, and tan boots, Diana entered the urban oasis to meet with a client who needed the services of a freelance troubleshooter for a problem involving some rather persistent bandits. The meeting place was in the headquarters of a merchant's guild called Tri-City Caravan Company, which managed caravans that traveled and sold their wares all over Desierto. From what little she had been told, the company had run into some trouble in central Desierto; it had lost three caravans in as many weeks and had nearly lost another last week, but the leader of the fourth had experienced mechanical trouble with three of the wagons and turned back just in time to avoid the ambush.
To gain access to the client, she had to recite to a receptionist the pass phrase "I am a traveler in an antique land." Once the pass phrase was confirmed she would be ushered into the client's presence, where she would learn more details about the job. Diana thought that the words to the phrase sounded familiar... they sounded like the opening lines to a poem she had read in school, but her school days had been many lifetimes ago and she could have been mistaken. However, to learn more about the job she had to get to the merchant headquarters first.
Diana walked through the city's open-air bazaar on her way to the merchant guild's headquarters, which was a three-story building located in the periphery of the city's market district. To be more specific, it was in a corner of the market district that was removed from the hustle and bustle of the bazaar. Speaking of the bazaar, it was in full swing with merchants occupying booths that stretched as far as the eye could see. They made sales pitches to receptive customers and offered a variety of wares that was dazzling. Jewelry, clothing, hand-woven carpets, handmade furniture, incense, and more were for sale to any and all customers.
Diana thought she had spotted the building in the upper left corner of the market district, but first she had to run the gauntlet of food and perfume merchants that had occupied the corridor leading to the building. She took a breath and merged with the crowd heading the same way she was. Almost instantly her ears were overwhelmed by the loud cries of merchants eagerly hawking their wares. Her nose simultaneously came under attack from the strong scents of exotic spices that some of the booths advertised in bundles set on their counters. To make matters worse the foot traffic was moving rather slowly; people were packed together and were shuffling forward due to a traffic jam of sorts.
The disguised mage drew on the patience developed by years of working in the shadows and endured the unpleasant conditions the best she could. Foot traffic inched forward step by step, permitting her to see the reason for the slowdown. People were lining up to buy treats made of shaved ice with added flavoring in the form of various syrups that could be poured on top. Diana could not blame them for wanting relief from the relentless heat and shuffled by without further complaint. She looked forward and saw the destination out of the corner of her eye; it was a three-story building with a wooden sign hanging above the entrance featuring the company's name painted in bold black letters and to the bottom left was a hand holding a triangular stack of three bars of gold.
Rejuvenated by the sight of her destination being close at hand, Diana instantly forgot the annoyance of the glacial pace the pedestrians were moving at and patiently inched forward with everyone else until there was enough space to get free of the crowd. Once there was enough room to pass by she squeezed past a couple browsing at chili peppers, then calmly walked away from the bustling bazaar and made a beeline for the Tri-City Caravan Company headquarters. A minute later and she was standing outside the door to her destination.
Diana took a breath and stretched her arms to regain feeling in them. The people were so tightly packed that her arms were pinned to her sides for the entire walk through the alley. Once she did that she opened the wooden door to the building and entered, shutting it softly behind her.
[Post Word Count: 780]
[Total Word Count: 780/12,500]