"One Bard's Report on the New Shopping Opportunities"

by Espritia

 

If you've been paying attention to the Realms lately, then you know there's been a cool new addition to the Bardic Shopping Network. The Leth Deriel Bard shop, long left vacant, is now open for business! Just as the Riverhaven bard shop specializes in string instruments, Master Bard Sinjian's shop specializes in wind instruments. Many new styles of whistle, flute, ocarina and more are available for sale... and that's just in the lower room of the store. The upstairs has the usual repair kits and accessories, but also has beautiful songbooks imported from Aesry's scriptorium.

A woodcarver and his apprentice have also taken up residence in the shop. For a small fee and a foraged stick, the woodcarver will make a whistle shaped like a bird for you! I've seen everything from ebony songbird whistles to an oak titmouse whistle. Lemme tell ya, that bard friend of mine gets a real kick out of his titmouse whistle! The apprentice will take the stick and carve it into a pin that you can place onto some instrument cases to customize them a bit. Both the woodcarver and the apprentice seem to like Bards better than the other guilds, so they will only carve for the guilded musicians.

This store truly has something for everyone... including those Bards who want to take over the world with fluff! The back room of the store is bard-only and has some items unavailable anywhere else in the realms (except perhaps a trader's table). There are all sorts of wonderfully fluffy items available for sale - from tabards to belled jester hats to instrument cases.

At the opening of the shop - many great thanks to the Traders who helped with delivering materials to Sinjian's shop to get it open! - there was also a bard-only tent selling a few dolls and some liquid refreshments: flavored coffees and cocoas. Now I ask you, what self-respecting bard drinks coffee without anything spiking it?! A great travesty, I tell you. I'm not sure if the owner of the shop wanted to sober bards up or just caffeinate the drunks! In fact, I'm not sure which is more frightening - sober bards or drunk bards high on caffeine like reavers on samatak! The cocoa, though, was quite nice, and the next time I get my hands on some schnapps I'll be sure to spike it good! All in all, it is a very nice shop indeed, and I'm sure I'll be spending many kronars there... once I pay off my bar tab!