The 6th of Cylus 720
‘Moore’.
The name had been on the forefront of his mind recently. Whenever there was nothing distracting him, if he wasn’t focused on something else, his thoughts returned to the memory gleaned from the Recluse’s mind. A brief flash of an image, lasting only a moment before the link had been cut. Truth be told, there was not a whole lot to go off of. Not much in the way of clues. Just the single one, in fact.
‘Moore’.
It was the left part of a signboard or some such, hanging above a wooden door. A simple etching, nothing too fancy. There was more written on the sign; ‘Moore’ was part of a phrase or tagline. Or name. Likely a business. With the exceptions of some rich folk who felt the need to lord their ownership of grand residences over one another, businesses were the only kind of building in Etzos with signboards above their doors. How would they get customers if the customers could not determine which building was a shop and which was not? Likewise, how would customers know which kind of shop they were looking at?
The architecture of the place was too simple to be a mansion or similar large house. Which likely meant he should search the Circle. Most businesses were located there, after all. Yet, the Perimeter had some as well. Owners with too little in the way of coin to pay the rent of a nice establishment. Those whose regular customers were simple Oh-pee folk who did not leave the Perimeter often –and preferred it this way. The underground had its share of shady shops and services provided.
Oberan thought the style of the building placed it in the Circle, but he couldn’t be sure. Even if he was, the Circle was huge. Searching even one part of Etzos by himself would take a long time. It’d have been convenient if he could recall a full list of businesses located there, but alas. He knew the streets relatively well, yes, though not the shops lining them. Those were background noise.
Yes, a list of all businesses in Etzos would come in handy right about now. Leafing through the pages in a book or file would be faster than walking through the entire city. Boring, of course, but faster. If only he knew someone with… such a… book…
Of course!
He did!
It was so obvious!
The answer to the problem was so easy that he felt incredibly stupid thinking of it only now. Etzos did have a place where information about businesses and residences was handled. To start a business one had to go through an enormous amount of paperwork. Bureaucracy was the name of the game just about everywhere in Idalos, and the last bastion of Mortal power was no exception. The government needed all businesses to be registered for taxation and such. Carpenters, barbers, smithies, taverns, courier services, brothels, and bakers. All were registered, as long as they were legal.
And there was one place to be for any and all matters pertaining housing, starting a business, or getting employed.
The Office of the Citizen's Committee.