Kurly Burr looked around for something a little more substantial to scibe onto this time.
His last masterpiece had fallen apart in the hands of an apprentice housebreaker deep within the maze of tunnels under the old Bastion. It took them three days to find him down there, and by that time he wasn't best pleased, and for some reason didn't seem to care much about substandard papermakers, rough rag and high acid contents. Burr rubbed the still tender lump under his thick black hair, now grey flecked, that gave him his nickname.
He carefully unwrapped another package of expensive, imported (and somewhat stolen) high quality paper from Dal Haven. A cursory inspection told him this paper was no better than the rest. Not waterproof, and too light, it would never do for this particular map. Sitting and pondering, he started to doodle on the corner of the discarded wrap, but the ink in his quill didnt take, it just puddled up in tiny inky balls. Chasing them with the fine nib, they wandered across the waxy surface and it occured to him that the wrapping might be more use than the contents it was protecting.
A quick check and yes! the other side of the heavy paper was not waxed and took the ink perfectly! Setting his small half glasses on his nose he dipped the quill in squid ink and, working quickly but accurately, Burr the cartographer started on his latest assignment - the description and mapping of an old Thieves den in the heart of South Well Place, just off the main Dock road by the Bonded Warehouses. He chuckled as he noticed the repeated pattern printed on the paper, a merchants seal and the words 'Bonded Warehouse 0275' - a building he knew stood right above the catacombes he was even now colouring with titanium white and a bit of yellow ochre.
