In the park off Summerwine Street there is a pool, and in this pool it is said a woman is sometimes glimpsed. There are tales that she can grant wishes. But none dare to throw her their pocket change, for such may be seen as an insult. She demands more costly sacrifices.
Trophy: The Rose District of Ambaret
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Everet Steyn works for a cobbler in the Rose Disctrict, shoeing the wealthy and fashionable. His designs are works of art, and every piece is custom-made. They say he ventured into the Forest as a young man, though, and every now and then, he creates a work that can never see the light of day.
(Tagged on as I didn’t realise there was a limit to consecutive replies 
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A favoured pastime in the district is to smoke a little poppy - not too much, just enough to begin to float - and walk along the garlanded catwalks of the multi-tiered trellises the line the boulevards. Here one can find small, impromptu gatherings of folk sat among the flowers, watching the passersby below.
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Despite, or perhaps because of, the arid climate, it has become popular among the fashionistas of The Rose District of Ambaret to carry, as pets, dazzlingly colored salamanders.
Intrepid trappers comb the nearby forest for the various vivid species that dwell within. Those who make it back out can earn quite the fortune.
Amphibian aficionados, as a way to outdo one another, roam The Rose District toting elaborate contraptions designed to simulate the cool misty rains of their chromatic caudata’s natural habitat. By happenstance, of course, keeping the affluent cool and comfortable in the oppressive dry heat of Ambaret.
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There’s a fine and sweet liquor called “petal kiss”, made from certain type of rose. It is made by the regurgitation of the already eaten flower by a red humming bird.
It is very rare and expensive, and some vendors were accused of selling a adulterated version, with the regurgitation of…other beings.
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Roses grow with abundance in the district in the colours of red, white, lavender, yellow and pink. Old florists whisper if you take a petal from each rose colour and plant it in the moonlight, the next night a silver rose will grow. This silver rose can be used to grant eternal life, with a some risk of shattering the five most prominent moments of your life.
Mead is enjoyed at many taverns, but while blackberry and honey mead are frequently imbued, rose mead is costly and the after taste has been known to leave you with desire for nothing else. The exact recipe for rose mead is closely guarded, and it is known the price is not paid in coin.
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“You can’t take it with you,” lesser minds have said of great fortunes. But in The Rose District, adventurers lacking family to bequeath their fortune to have been known to hire a Dualist, an actor who becomes their exact double, learning their tastes and tics, to carry on spending their fortune in their place, as them, once the grave renders them unable to do so themselves.
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Oooh that’s so good!
The lush gardens of the Rose District attract all manner of buzzing insects which pollinate the flowers - naturally, some plants consume these insects in turn. They say that if you write your secrets on tiny scrolls and feed them to a tooth fern, bladed tulip or Witch’s Claw, no one will be able to speak them aloud. Take care that the plants do not taste even a drop of your blood, however, or soon the entire garden will know your secrets and whisper them to passers-by.
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The Golden Mimes are renowned throughout Ambaret for their flawless performances and complete dedication to their craft. Such is their skill that only the trained eye can spot them among the other bronze statues in the gardens and gateways of the Rose District’s elite. Look upon them but be warned that no one has ever insulted a mime twice. They will watch and wait as long as they need until the moment comes to silence your mockery for good. It comes as no surprise that the Golden are also rumored to be the most costly and highly sought-after assassins in the land…
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Getting mugged in the District of Ambaret is not uncommon. But there is always hope and it takes a form of grizzled Henry, a well known patron of the District. Watch out for him if you got robbed and make sure you have two petals of a white rose as he may be interested in exchanging them for your lost belongings.
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There’s a rare Lilac Rose of Ambaret that’s hard to come by. But if you do, you’re in for a treat. With just a single thorn clinging to its stem it can produce wonderful images only for you to see. Pinch your index finger and let yourself wander in illusions of your choosing. You can go wherever you want and become whoever you wish to be. This journey is brief yet powerful. Just make sure you don’t confuse it with the Plum Rose, it’s lethal.
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Amaranth, sweet parsley, lilyseed and Perilla is what the old baker says he puts in his cakes. He stays up all night baking, they say, and he’s always sold out by noon. Strange how nobody remembers the old man’s name, but a simple old sign above his shop’s door reads “Pyx” and so most simply call him that.
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Tucked into one of the many gardens of Ambaret is the statue of the laughing boy, his marble face twisted with mirth. Some who refuge there are keen or lucky enough to catch his face illuminated by a waxing quarter moon. It is only under the light of this moon that the boy’s facade falters and he weeps, a single tear of marble dropping into the fountain beneath him.
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The coffee houses of the Rose District are home to the devotees of scholarly intellectual society. After debate and cofee, they meet in the vaulted cellars below the coffee houses, whispering and plotting in patchwork masks made from the stretched vellum of heretical treatises. With time, immersion in their secret ways leads to tears of ink and saliva of crimson and cerulean oozing from cracked tongues. The secretions are much valued by the learned.
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In front of a major architectural building, there is an artist who has spent 15 years and more than a few commissions on an elaborate statue expressly for the purpose of up-staging the architect. The architect will pay anyone 10 gold if they can find a way to stop him from “making his impetuous monstrosity” in front of the architect’s magnum opus. The artist, however will offer you 15 for helping him with the piece de resistance: A fabled 1,000 carat ruby nested in the peak of the neighboring mountains.
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Forty individuals, dressed entirely in a single white sheet that goes up to their noses attend a library, censoring the knowledge they believe to be forbidden for public consumption. They call themselves the Blind Eye. They are willing to pay handsomely for the retrieval of a book that they think if found, would undermine their order.
The trouble is that it’s held by an individual on the run. On the run from the order of the Blind Eye, claiming that they were exiled for wanting to reveal the contents of the book.
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We all know about Kali Ventrice and her excellent lavender snails. What most folks forget though, is that it takes a master chef to properly extract the snail’s flavor. From Kali’s place, head three doors down to Spiral. If you can get a table, order the preserved snail terrine with brown bread and prepare to be astounded.
The fancy residents of the Rose District would have you think that all the fighting pits are in the bottom’s. Heh. What they don’t want you to know is the rich folks love a good fight just as much as us commoners. Look for a black door with a carved lion’s head above it just west of the maze garden. Give 'em the password and go down to see the best fights this city can offer.
If you’re going to spend any real time in the Rose District you’ll need to get the right clothing. Before your first night, or your first visit to a noble, make sure to stop by Ilyana’s clothing shop. She’ll get you outfitted just right and for a reasonable price too.
The scent of the Rose District can be overpowering for new visitors on account of the enormous quantities of roses and other flowers that grow there. For a new visitor, I recommend picking up a fashionable mask to breathe through. It may mark you as a newcomer, but it’s a lot better than fainting in the street.
Have you spent so much time in the Rose District that you’re exhausted by the roses? Mort’s coffee shop and brewery is just what you need. There’s dark wood paneling, plenty to drink, and not a rose in sight. None of the food will even remind you of a flower. Come in for the daily lunch special.
Roses are red
They can also be yellow
Come visit The Headman
To get real mellow.
You need a guide? I’ve lived here all my life and I know every inch of this place. Name’s Elias Sparkfarmer. My hand? Oh, I lost that in the sewers when I was eleven. Want to hear the story?
Content warning: Suicide
Another dropped petal today. It’s an awful tradition, but every year around this time young people take their own lives by leaping from towers while dressed in all red. Some years it’s only a couple. Some years it’s more.
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During summer festivals, hundreds of rare albino bulls parade through the streets of the Rose District. Spectators will shower them with crimson rose petals as the bulls stride triumphantly to their destination—presumably to the slaughter house.
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That “presumably” is interesting. What prevents people from knowing where the bulls are going?
I would guess a mixture of laziness and apathy.
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