Alchemical Sundries and Goods

The finest alchemical shop in Koenigsburg is a small two-story building on Upper Rose Lane, sandwiched between a seamstress and a cobbler.  The shingle that hangs outside is a beautifully carved wooden lotus, but it’s a strange golden color.  Hence the shop has become known as the Golden Lotus.  It is owned and operated by a stout gnome woman named Tamzy Pebsworth.

Lotus-shaped lanterns hang on either side of the door, the mage-lights within giving steady illumination in all weather.  The door is heavy, solid oak with lotus blossoms carved into its panels.  Windows, two feet wide and three feet high, flank the door.  The glass panes are smooth and free of bubbles, and sit behind black iron grills that, while decorative, are enchanted to keep the glass from breaking.  This has a secondary effect of deterring thieves.

There are three silver bells, tuned to the key of C, hanging inside above the door.  They jingle pleasantly whenever a customer enters (or leaves).

The floor is wooden parquet in colors of butter, honey, and that same strange gold.  The wood paneling, the stairs, and the counter are much darker, though the lotus carvings on the front of the counter are picked out in gold.

A velvet-covered bench has been provided for customers to wait comfortably.  Beneath the bench is a second, much shorter bench, which can be pulled out so that smaller customers may also sit.

The counter is directly opposite the door.  To the left is a short staircase, with tiny stairs.  It appears to have been made for a child.  It leads to a child-sized door, and a platform running behind the counter.  This would allow a child, or any being between two and three feet tall, to see over the counter and deal comfortably with human or Alfar customers.

Though the counter appears solid, the lotus carvings actually conceal the shop’s storage drawers.  The right combination of pushes and pulls will unlock the apothecary chest, and give access to all the herbs, spices, tinctures and whatnot that are stored there.

Beyond the four foot high door is a small landing.  Straight ahead is another short stair that leads down to street level.  Here is Tamzy’s work space, more storage, and a door leading out into a small shared courtyard.  To the right of the landing, another staircase leads upward.

Though the building is only two stories, the upper half is split into two floors.  Tamzy lives on the second floor, and has a greenhouse on the third floor.

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This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.