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Q: I dwell in North Ward, Waterdeep. My neighbours’ house and yard are more than unkempt; rats run about amid rotting food, old broken furniture, and the corpses of…pets? Slain intruders? If I complain, will lawkeepers do…#AskElminster— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 4, 2019
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…something?
Elminster: The Watch will likely search the property for signs of a crime (like the remains being human), forcing entry if need be to do so. And snarl and roar at the owner to clean it up, particularly if the…#AskElminster 3)
…owner snarls and roars at their request or their intrusion. And there, unless contraband is found in the building or evidence of another crime, the matter will likely rest, though Watch patrols will keep an eye on the…#AskElminster— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 4, 2019
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…property from then on, waiting for a transgression, so they can then pounce. If a property becomes a “peril” rather than an eyesore, the city may send a work crew to clean it up (a bill for this will be added to the tax…#AskElminster— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 4, 2019
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…demand levied on the owner) or even pull the property down and seize the land (this last is VERY rare, as citizens are reminded that the Lords could do as much to them, and always raise a protest that the Lords shouldn’t… 6)
…have such power). And by the way, the mere presence of rats is NOT a matter for complaint; in a coastal harbor city with extensive sewers and deeper places beneath, they are common (some say they far outnumber the human…#AskElminster— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 4, 2019
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…inhabitants) and impossible to eradicate; seasoned Waterdhavians ignore them, smiting them only when they bite or ravage foodstuffs or clothing. There are even chapbooks of recipes for preparing rat for the dining table to… 8)
…be had in the right shops and stalls; quite popular in dock Ward, I’m told. Myself, I roast rats stuffed with almonds, on skewers, until crispy (so the furry skin becomes like crackling, and can be readily pulled off and…#AskElminster— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 4, 2019
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…discarded). Then dust with cinnamon or nutmeg, and enjoy!#AskElminster— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 4, 2019
Dear Elminster. If you can afford almonds, nutmeg, and cinnamon, why are you eating rats? Elminster saith: The right rats are a delicacy. So are the right cockroaches (roast them well, mind). Ye must set aside Earth cuisine attitudes and prejudices when in the Realms. (Though if ye successfully manage to sneak in ice cream, I'll be thy FRIEND.)
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) April 4, 2019