Marie's reaction after a few moments, was a frantic demand that the amulet take them back home. The others were surprised at Marie's reaction - she was white-faced and actually shaking with fear. The amulet, of course, refused to obey. "This is Calimport - where I was born." was her explanation to their curious questions.
They moved to the end of the alley and cautiously out into the road which seemed to be a busy street, with dozens of strangely dressed people moving back and forth. There were huge nearly naked saves carrying ornate sedan chairs, large black robed swordsmen, whom everyone stepped aside for no matter how crowded the street, merchants in silk turbans and robes selling sweetmeats, fabrics, slaves and almost anything else one could imagine. The streets seemed to go on endlessly, with horrific poverty existing side-by-side with glorious wealth. Huge ornate mansions lined one street, but turn the corner and you would be confronted by hovels built on the banks of an open sewer, with rats running alongside dirty, half-starved children. Justin the Paladin found the conditions these people lived in hard to ignore, but nobody else in the city seemed the slightest bit concerned.
They had been moving through the streets for a couple of hours, heading - so Marie said for the harbour - when they came upon a huge crowd in the street. The crowd was watching a display by Desert Nomads - men who lived in the terrible Calim Desert. They were giving a display of sword dancing, which culminated in a goat they had tethered between them being cut to pieces. This disgusted several of the party, who proceeded to object, but were turned upon by the crowd which began to turn nasty. Beating a hasty retreat - the party regrouped only to find that Marie was missing!
Completely lost, they continued in the direction Marie had last indicated. Then they realized that Marie had the amulet with her! All were feeling the worse for the ferocious heat - even the elves were feeling drained by the relentless sun beating down upon them and the heat and humidity. In a market they came across, they decided to buy some of the loose robes they saw was the predominant mode of dress. Justin in particular in his heavy armour was in dire straits. He was buying one of the billowing white robes when a young girl ran into him, seemingly by accident. Marie had already warned them all to keep an eye on their money as even the smallest child tended to be a skilled pickpocket in Calimport - it was where she learned her skills! Justin checked for his money pouch and it was missing. Shouting for the girl to stop, he started off after her. The crowd in the market laughed and watched the chase -money changing hands as wagers were taken. The little girl was surprising quick and agile, until a loose paving stone betrayed her and sent her sprawling, allowing Justin to catch her. The genuine fear in her eyes and the fact she looked half-starved made him take pity on the poor girl and after retrieving his purse and rejoining the others, they offered the girl a chance to eat regularly and earn some money by guiding them around the city. The girl, Julienne agreed eagerly, and took them to an inn called The Last Call Inn, where they booked rooms, bathed and changed their clothes.
Corrie was interested in the girl and took her under her wing - she felt an affinity to the young street urchin so made sure she was fed, bathed and given new clothes. When Julienne reappeared, she turned out to be a pretty little thing, with long gold blonde hair and slightly almond shaped hazel eyes. She seemed to be about 10 years old, and she explained that she grew up in an orphanage, but when she learned that the orphanage was owned by one of the bigger brothels, she ran away before her fate was sealed. She quite forthrightly announced to the men present that on no account was she going to "suck any man's dick"! Justin was horrified at the thought and announced that this city was a corrupt, immoral and decadent place. Julienne agreed with him - once the meaning of the words he used were explained to her!
Once she was informed of their predicament, she suggested they might try Guild Purl. If anyone knew what had happened to Marie, they would as they were in the business of buying and selling information. It was getting late, however, so they decided to turn in for the night and visit Purl first thing in the morning.