Immortal Accommodations

"As for where we go after death and what we do, there is nothing but mystery," the wise man finished.
The listening king thought that over. "We are guilty of an oversight then if we, who have been sure to provide for our living subjects, fail to do the same for our dead. We must set off a park for them alone we will call "heaven" and furnish it. What do the dead like to have?"
Without any pause such as a less thoughtful man might have needed, the wise man said, "Your Majesty, it is universally observed that the corpse grows cold and hard. Unquestionably a warm bath would soothe them handsomely."
"Very good. We will have a warm bath put in and beside it, on tables, bowls of porridge easy in the eating."
All this was done, and soon the dead visited heaven, not only those of the kingdom but from without also. Even when the king imposed a fee on the foreign dead, that did not deter them. The removal of currency worried other rulers with the result that they forbade their dead the journey, but the people revolted over it. In the end they made their own heavens and each land had its own, and later each town as well, funded by its guilds.
Finis

Implementing Historically Accurate Thieves' Guilds

If you ask me, the Chandlers are a thieves' guild, with these prices! Criminy! And the Coopers! And the Masons! They're insatiable! And what does it cost to bury someone these days? I can't even afford dying!

A Grave Oversight

The job we keep featuring: Assassin
The job we keep forgetting: Master of Revels

A Legacy of Intimidation

"Don't stay up too late, Papa!"
"I will stay up exactly long enough!" The man chuckled as he turned away from the door to return to his workbench. Behind his teasing lay the certainty that he would not stay up late, because at last his work neared its completion.
No more than an hour later, he stood and yawned. Everything was ready for the big demonstration later in the week. Just then, he heard a noise. Intending to lecture his daughter or a pet for unwarranted nocturnal activity, he walked through the house looking for the source only to find his door torn from its hinges and on the ground next to it, a paper wrapped around a key.
"Give up your foolish scheme! You're hurting us all! Including yourself!" He read that and crumpled the message in his angry fist. Determined, he placed the key on his workbench next to his project.
"You fiends," he said, unable to keep his indignant thoughts silent. "Threatening me because of how my invention terrifies you." He compared the two, nodded, and picked up his model. "This key which doesn't disappear when it's used will ruin your Keymakers' Guild!"
Finis

Setting Hard Limits on Power

Q. Does sand magic work on dust or pebbles?
A. For legal reasons, no.

Live Demonstration

Hey you! You'd better get in here. The streets are blocked for a reason, you know. That's why you came, isn't it? You wanted to see the Cobblers' little show. They don't want non-members looking. That's what they pretend, anyway, but we all know how it really is.
Back when our grandfathers were barely fathers, the Cobblers had a hard time because Flatfen got itself a reputation for superior shoemanship. Fashion followers took up the narrative that our Cranburst footwear only looked good under our superb Cranburst clothes, and that you were better off getting your shoes elsewhere.
Leave the blinds alone. It doesn't do to be seen watching, even if you want to see. Just peek through. Anyway, the Cobblers decided to prove their shoes were worth wearing on their own by running up and down the streets as naked as they day they were born. The whole thing was a big stunt. It didn't help at all with the fashion followers, but the camaraderie they got out of it was really something, so it's turned into a tradition.
See something you like out there? Back then the Cobblers were all humans of course, and there's nothing special about a human in the buff. That's not a dare, if you thought it was. You came to see the newer members, right? Looking at a minotaur maybe, flapping all the way? Frogarchs hopping along? What a gargoyle needs with shoes I'll never know, but the Cobblers always say they're suited for the work.
Nowadays you could name the days by what guild is trying something or other, but this is the only one anybody falls for. I don't know that they sell too many shoes out of it, though. See these? Flatfen work. Tomorrow us Potters will waste everybody's time. Don't bother watching, but take a look at our pots and vases if you've got a want. Hope you have a nice stay in Cranburst, stranger.