[Nyka location] The Fourth Day Market

[Tarot]

With each quarter offering quite specialized services and many citizens not wishing to step into other quarters, the Celestials eventually decided to graciously donate the Celestial Square in the center of their quarter to the merchants and artisans of Nyka every fourth day. The market takes place on any day of the current season that is divisible by 4; on the other days, the peddlers ply their trade in their own quarters. The Fourth Day Market is the very best opportunity to showcase Nykan craftsmanship in one place, though the merchants tend to charge a bit more than in their own workshops. The upside is that, while many shops are quite selective with their clientele in their quarters - often flatly refusing to do business with foreigners of even people from a quarter they dislike - any paying customer here must be served. The monks watch carefully and smash commotion in the bud; even haggling is not permitted in the Celestials' sanctuary quarter. People quickly find their merchandise, make the purchase and move along. Shoplifters, usually foreigners as the locals know better, are branded with a hot iron if caught, and subsequently beaten mercilessly. If they are found already wearing the thief's brand, then any destiny is open to them, up to and including being thrown off a cliff. The market can be a shock for a misinformed foreigner, showing that entire categories of goods are off-limits and cannot be sold in Nyka, or only from some and to some. No food stalls are to be found, and while weaponsmiths sell their products here, no metal armor or bladed weapons bigger than a dagger are available for purchase. Merchants at the Fourth Day Market are not generally well-liked in the city, as many in their quarters feel they "sell themselves out" to their rival quarters and foreigners. It has been noted that few children from these families grow up to become monks. Please note that the following are not on sale here: Food Metal armor Bladed weapons larger than a dagger Jewelry

[Ezra Crenshaw]

32nd of Winter, 511 AV Ezra found the stall with fine clothing slightly less than appealing, the prices were steep and the new fashion's didn't really suit him. Never mind that he couldn't pull any of it off. His mother always said you could wrap mud in the finest bow and it would still be mud, but knowing his mother, that euphemism was intended as a compliment. He sighed as he passed, not stopping to look through the fabrics. The silks never seemed to hold a candle to the flaxen variation popular in the Eastern Quarter anyway. Still, he'd have to find something soon, the worn bandages were starting to lose their appeal. One stall offered sackcloth clothing, certainly nothing to compare to silk but they did the job. Half a chime later and Ezra was pulling the itchy tunic over his chest like he was dolling up a mummified corpse. The pants were a little bit long so he had them hemmed up to his knees. "Smart match that," the store owner said as Ezra politely forked over the ten copper. "Aye, lad," Ezra replied with a wink. Before leaving for the Northern Quarter, Ezra stopped at a stall he used to frequently patronize. A fisherman's surplus stall under new management with all the essentials a fly-by-night fisherman might need. Exchanging the Laats for a few kits seemed like a waste but one never knows when immediate attention would be needed. He picked up a preserving kit for packing whatever he caught, a dagger for defense as well as fish scaling and deboning and lastly, he picked up a healer's kit for when he applied to the Infirmary. 57 Laats in total. Then he was on his way.

[Rabbit]

--Spring 44th 513--

Rabbit hopped through the throngs of people, on a mission of sorts. It was a first time event, but he was going shopping. The Pycon never shopped. He didn't need clothes, any you couldn't buy food here anyways, so he had no reason to come. His weaponry was his body and hit whip, and he had no urge to buy trinkets and such. Rabbit lived a simple life, and so never needed to purchase much at all. His income was low, and the amount of money he needed to live with his current lifestyle was even lower. So seeing the little creature in a market for the purpose of the stores was a strange sight indeed.

The Pycon was there for something that, when you thought about it, made sense with his personality. He was here for a dog. Not just any normal dog, but a riding dog. His race, of course, was completely unable to ride on horses, since they were much too small, but dogs were specially bred for Pycons to ride on, and small children as well. Rabbit thought this would be useful for long-distance travel, if he ever needed to do so, and also for fighting. The kind of dog he wanted was something big, that could protect him easily if fighting another animal, for example a bear. If that happened, all the Pycon could do would be to run and hide, and hope his head doesn't get hit. Not very effective. A large enough dog would probably be able to take on a small enough bear, or bring it's rider far away from the animal much faster.

He loped through the crowds, careful to avoid any crushing feet from oblivious people. Rabbit was used to this, but still found it irritating. He'd grown skilled at avoiding the moving legs of throngs of people, but occasionally acquired a squished limb or two. These greatly hindered his movement, but didn't take too long to fix. He grumbled quietly at a man who came particularly close, but escaped unscathed.

Finally, he reached a man who appeared to be selling dogs. His expression was slightly off, looking as if he did his job mostly for the fun of it. In truth, that made sense, as most people who bred dogs for riding in a city like Nyka were most certainly at least slightly insane. But his prices shouldn't be too bad, so the Pycon didn't really care what the man was like or not.

"I want a riding dog... big, fast." He stated bluntly, stopping a meter before the old man. He carried no expression, but stared at the man expectantly, wondering what the price would be. OOCNot sure if this should be moderated, so not making the shopkeeper's reaction until I know ^-^

[Rabbit]

The old man looked down at the little creature, showing no surprise on his face. This was strange, since most people were slightly confused by the Pycon's appearance, but maybe he'd sold riding dogs to the clay race before.

"Strong and fast? No can do little rabbit. One or the other." He stated, a strange smile on his face. The answer slightly annoyed Rabbit, since he didn't like complicated decisions. But if he had to answer...

"Fast then. And able to carry me, obviously." He replied, slight distaste in his voice. Speed was more... multi purpose, and anyways, if he knew he couldn't fight something, running away would become much easier.

The old man laughed. "Alright then! I have a Silkena here, slightly picky, but good for novice riders. Which I'm assuming you are?" He looked at the Pycon with a skeptical eye, and his statement surprised Rabbit. How could he tell? True, the fact that he had no dog in the first place, but still... He glowered mentally, but ignored the comment, trying not to take it as an insult, but nodded all the same.

"Okey. I can give you the dog for 150... and for tack and all, it'll add another 12. And since I'm feeling generous, I'll show you the basics!" He cackled, just proving the slight insanity that had been obvious at the beginning. He was one strange old man... The Pycon nodded again, and the dog seller brought out a tall, lean dog, that was a light grey color, with saddle and bridle already on. Wordlessly, Rabbit forked over the money, and awaited further instructions.

"His name's Sivy. Here, just hop on with your little bunny legs, and stick your feet in the stirrups. Yea, like that. Then put your paws on the reins. Pull left to go left, right to go right. Kick your heels into his side to walk, again to trot. When trotting, move up and down, it makes it easier. Don't bother sprinting now... you'll just fall off. Oh, and pull on the reins to stop." All this came in a flood of information, though Rabbit took it in quickly, understanding. Hopefully he wouldn't fall off the first time, as that would be just plain embarrassing... He repeated the instructions in his head, then, arranging himself on the saddle, kicked his heels of sorts into the dog's sides, holding the reins tightly. The Silkena moved forward at a decent pace, and turned when Rabbit pulled on the reins. So this would probably work out... but they needed to go faster!

The Pycon hit his heels into the sides again, and Sivy moved faster this time. Having forgotten to move, Rabbit bounced up and down, before remembering and pushing himself up and down in time with the dog. He pulled the reins lightly, and the dog moved back into a walk. He then began to carefully maneuver himself through the crowds, finding that people actually moved out of the way for the dog. This was certainly convenient...

[Tavil]

Misty directed me to the market, falling behind me as we drew nearer. It's hard to believe that we'd spent an entire night at the Wizard's thumb, but I suppose I got lost in my studies. I'm slightly tired from lack of sleep, but the small crowd at the market is loud enough to drive my exhaustion away.

As we walk around, I notice a small stand selling what looks to be various armors, none of them heavy at all. Nothing metal... Oh well. Leather suits me better. As I look over the stall's wares, a pile of black leather catches my eye. As I move toward it, the shopkeeper eyes me suspiciously. In response, I speak. "Excuse me, what is this?" My accent is still heavy.
The man scoffs. "That is something I doubt you'd be able to afford. I came across it a while ago. It's called night leather, and it'll cost you a quite a bit."
I look at the man in disbelief. Gesturing at the black pile, I ask, "Do you mind if I test it? Only with my hands, of course." Begrudgingly, the man agrees. I pick up the armor, tugging lightly at its edges. It's lighter than I expected, and, though sturdy, it moves easily. "How much? In mizas, if at all possible."
"In mizas? I'd estimate sixty gold pieces." The man grins, not expecting me to be able to pay.
I cringe at the price, but it'd be much, much better than going around in simple clothing. Pulling out my money, I count out sixty mizas, handing them to the man, who looks delightedly surprised. Immediately, I begin putting on the armor over my loose clothes. It fits relatively well. Lucky me. It's a bit tight here and there, but it works just fine. Finding things that fit me is generally harder than this. Thanking the man, I turn to Misty. "Now, lead on, little Vantha. You know what else we need more than I do."

[Misty Snowsong]

"Well, we could use some extra food, but they don't sell it in this town. I'll buy some fishing arrows instead.... They feed the masses every day, but if we're ever going to move on from this town, we need some extra stores. I'm going to get a weapon and stuff though." Misty goes up to the respective stall. "Excuse me sir, could I have 100 short bow arrows, a composite short bow, 20 fishing arrows, two daggers and 2 square yards of cloth? Oh, and a quiver"
"That comes out as 109 GM. You got that kinda money, little miss?"
Misty counts out the money while Tav eyes anyone who gets too close to their coins. She hands over the necessary cash, and the man goes back to get their items. Misty gets a little nervous around the crowd, and begins looking suspiciously at people. Before anyone gets a chance to see her, the man returns with all her items. She begins putting the items into the bags on their horse. Going to a different stall, she requests some ink and a few quills for her friend for 5 GM. Her backpack where she kept her coins considerably lighter, Misty begins heading out of the marketplace.