Completed Cha-ching! [Bazaar] (Garland)

[Sayana]

OOCThis thread is intended to be solo for the first 5-6 posts but then it is flexible to include other people later. Currently I've invited Garland to join and it'll probably just be a 2 person roleplay.

514 AV Fall 26

Sayana woke early that morning knowing that she had plenty to get done before she started work in the afternoon. Typically she danced during the afternoons and evenings at the Rearing Stallion, though occasionally she could get a night off. Today wasn’t one of those days. In fact, she was more concerned about the possibility that one of these nights she was going to find herself without a traveling bard to dance to, and yet she’d have to put on a performance anyways. Hence the reason for this excursion.

She put on her skirt and blouse, a little clumsily in the darkness of her apartment, and checked to make sure she would have enough money for the purchases. Just in case, she added a couple more coins to her skirt pocket and then carefully concealed her stash of gold mizas in a pouch within her bed mattress. Sayana then stepped out into the lit hallway and closed the door behind her. She briefly ran her fingers through her curly brown hair and was about to reach for her lip pomade when she remembered she had just run out. Another thing to add to her list. And maybe some candles too, but she had been getting by without them.

She winded through the many hallways of the stronghold apartments. The first few times she had gotten lost since all the walls looked the same, but now she was much more comfortable with them. When she stepped outside, a rush of cool air hit her. So it was going to be one of those days. Soon she’d have to go to a proper seamstress to get something made to keep her arms warm. The walking soon warmed her up as she headed towards the Bazaar. She had considered going to the Harvest Festival to get the things she needed, but the stalls there were mostly food related and probably didn’t have the items she needed.

Despite the festival drawing many people to it, the bazaar was still a mass of people and colours. Merchants called out their wares and people bustled about, picking up items and haggling over prices. Sayana smiled to herself, this was the kind of place that felt like home.

[Sayana]

The Eypharian began to swim through the crowds seeking out the items on her list. But first, one of her items seemed to find her. “Rouge, kohl, lip pomade!” The salesman called out, almost directly in her ear. “You look like a fine young lady,” He said to her above the noise of the crowd. “Do you want the man of your dreams to find you? Light up your face, attract the handsome and the rich, never fear of becoming an old maid.”

Deciding to play along Sayana replied, “Do you think I have ever feared becoming an old maid?” She reached out with her high hand and brushed his cheek softly with the backs of her fingers. Surprisingly, the salesman held his ground and responded, “And for you, lovely Eypharian, I have all the colours of the world. Fine face paints, dyes for your rich long hair, even something to make you sparkle in the sunlight.”

“I think I will have one of your lip pomades, a bright red,” Sayana replied with a note of finality. “You’re sure you won’t have a look at some of my other wares?” The salesman asked, still hopeful. “Yes, quite sure,” Sayana answered firmly. The man went through his lip pomades to find the colour of her choice and presented it to the Eypharian. “That’ll be one silver miza.” Sayana reached into her skirt pocket and produced the coin. As she handed it to him she asked, “Do you know where I might find some musical instruments?” The salesman paused to think, then answered, “Tamara has a nice selection. It’s always rowdier down by her end. If you go down that way till you reach the stall with all the silks, then turn right and you’ll find her.” He pointed in the direction that she should head, and she thanked him.

[Sayana]

Sayana followed the man’s directions and when she reached the silk stall she couldn’t help but stop and marvel at the beautiful materials. Some of it was dyed beautiful colours and it seem to cascade and flow over the racks that held the material. She looked at it longingly, but a price tag woke her from the fantasy: 20GM/square yard. Maybe once she had earned a bit more from her dancing then she might get some of the material, and consider it a business expense. After all, if she was on stage dancing with the silk flowing elegantly around her… Sayana smiled to herself and managed to draw herself away from the tempting stall.

She made a right and carried on through the busy bazaar. It wasn’t long before she could “hear” her way towards the stall, even before she could see it. A young man played a quick paced tune on a fiddle and there was even a small audience that had formed to listen. On the large table was an assortment of instruments. From flutes, to drums, to shakers, to even a harp standing next to the table. It was quite the marvelous collection.

Sayana caught sight of a beautiful tambourine lying untouched on the wooden table. She grabbed it just as the fiddle was picking up in tempo and she started to strike it in time with the faster beat. Soon the audience began to clap along and the master fiddler played even faster. Just as she thought the fiddle strings would break from his shear ferocity, he finished in a flourish and gave a bow to his audience.

“How much for the tambourine?” Sayana asked the shopkeeper, Tamara, who was applauding the musician from behind the booth. “Five gold Mizas” she answered. Sayana glanced at some of the other percussive instruments and found a pair of shakers that suited her well. “I’ll take the tambourine and these shakers,” Sayana said as she picked up the items. A total of six gold Mizas was exchanged and Sayana left the stall with a smile at her new purchases.

[Sayana]

She carried on through the bazaar, every so often stopping to look at the various wares. A stall with an assortment of knives and small daggers attracted her attention. It was probably due time to get a pair of back-up weapons. She fingered the hilt of her dagger fondly, but knew she wasn’t going to be able to retrieve its twin anytime soon – if ever. With a sigh, the Eypharian took a look at the knives on display.

Some were simple eating knives or cooking knives. Others were longer or double edged and looked like they were for close quarters combat. Those were the ones for her. She picked up two fairly small ones, similar enough in size and weight and also double edged. She twirled one in her mid right hand, and it seemed to have a nice balance. Had she been good enough, she would have done the same with her left, but she was still getting used to wielding a blade in her left mid hand. They were thin blades, so she’d have to be mindful not to break them in the midst of a fight, but they looked well made.

“These are nice blades you have,” Sayana said smiling at the salesman. “Aye, I’m selling them for two gold and five silver coins a piece,” the salesman responded. Maybe she could try… “For two I’ll give you four gold,” she countered. He considered the offer, it would mean she’d be purchasing two of his blades. “Four gold and five silvers,” the salesman replied. Then with a bright grin, the Eypharian proposed, “Four gold… and a kiss.” The salesman flushed a rosy colour and then quickly stammered, “Alright, alright. Four gold mizas it is. But no kiss.” He reached out for the coins and she handed them promptly.

She chuckled to herself as she headed away and arranged some of her items. It had gone better than she had thought, but perhaps it was partly that the prices were already marked up pretty high. She found a way to adjust her blouse to conceal and hold one of the small knives, and the other she placed next to her dagger held up by the belt she wore. The other items she kept in her low hands so that her mid and high ones were free.

[Sayana]

“Aha!” Sayana exclaimed as she turned the corner and saw a brilliant display of items from Eyktol. Fabrics, jewelry, gems, armbands, face paints, and trinkets littered the booth. Sayana couldn’t help but be mesmerized for a few seconds. For the most part, the items were small and in low quantities, but it was still a sight to be seen. The Eypharian started to peruse the wares, occasionally picking them up with multiple hands, but being careful to return them to their places.

“How much for the zills?”Sayana asked and pointed to the tiny copper cymbals that came in pairs. “Zills? The shopkeeper questioned and then she realized what the Eypharian meant. “Ah, you mean the finger cymbals? Most people just call them finger cymbals here. Each pair is one gold Miza. How many do you need?” The stallkeeper eyed the Eypharian’s many arms and wondered if she even had enough in stock. “I just need two pairs,” Sayana answered. “But if I get really good, I might come back for more.”

“That’ll be two gold Mizas,”the shopkeeper said tallying up the price. “Would you take a gold and five silver Mizas?” Sayana asked as she tried her luck. “Look, how much do you want these ‘zills’? They came a long way you know.” “Alright, two gold Mizas it is,” the Eypharian said as she gave into the shopkeeper’s price. Sayana reached for the concealed pocket sewn into the inside of her skirt and offered the appropriate coins to the shopkeeper.

[Sayana]

Sayana placed the finger cymbals carefully on her thumb and middle finger of her two high hands. They made a nice little “ching” sound as she brought them together. She practiced a few times to let them ring clearly rather than have a deadened stop at the end. Sayana then started to play a steady beat with them, alternating which hand was creating the “ching”. Pleased with herself, she continued and added a hip pop on the same side as the hand playing the zill. Her tempo was quite slow and she didn’t have too much trouble with the move. Then with a smile, she stopped her hips and restarted her accents so that they would be opposite to the hand that played the zill. The Eypharian managed to keep it up for maybe six or seven beats and then something got out of time and it fell apart.

Still, she was quite pleased with the small percussive instruments and she racked her brain for the types of rhythms that had been played in Ahnatep. There had been many, but the one that stood out clearly in her mind seemed simple enough so she tried it out with just her hands going. “Ching, ching-a-ching, ching-a-ching, ching-a-ching…” The last “ching” of each set was always emphasized and held longer, and as she started to get comfortable with the rhythm she started adding a hip accent to that last “ching”. Gradually she sped up the tempo and just as she was starting to get the hang of it, the rhythm of the zills missed a beat and fell apart.

Her next challenge was to try to walk while keeping up a rhythm. Her first attempt was just a simple walk while playing the zills at double time. She managed several paces before her mind started to wander and she skipped a beat. Her next attempt was with earlier rhythm and taking a step at each accent. This time she only got the first to steps, more of a waddle than anything else, and then her hands messed up the rhythm.

She was going to need a lot more practice than she thought. The dancers back home made it look effortless and often were walking, turning, and shaking their hips all while maintaining complex rhythms with the zills. Even though she grew up with six-arms and had coordinated them all her life, it was very different doing complicated patterns that required a lot of concentration versus simply moving her arms one at a time or in pairs to do every-day tasks.

[Sayana]

Might as well get started. She headed over to a less crowded part of the bazaar, not like there truly was one, but it wasn’t so dense around the edges, and began her practice. She found that if she really maintained her focus she could do a few more steps with that basic pattern. She still kind of waddled but things are never pretty when you first start. Then she tried mixing up dance moves with rhythms from the zills. With the zills she went, “Ching-a-ching-a-ching!” And quickly followed it with a chest shimmy. “Ching ching ching.” Then three hip accents.

The Eypharian smiled brightly. This was much easier than trying to do multiple things at the same time. She could focus all her attention on getting the right pattern with the zills, and then put her attention towards a movement. Plus she didn’t have to worry about maintaining a constant rhythm. For now, this would be a good substitute if she found herself needing to dance without a musician – but she really did want to work towards layering the dancing and the playing of the zills so she could do them both at once. That would have to be a long term goal.

Sayana decided to take a break from practicing rhythms and instead focused more on her dancing with only a few chimes here and there to accent certain moves. She started it off with a spin and then moved her high and mid arms fluidly with a couple of soft chinks. Her body undulated gently and her hips traced curves over the floor. Some of the people glanced her way, and she’d smile at them, but it wasn’t enough for an audience to form. Mostly she was enjoying herself and didn’t want to leave the bazaar just yet.

OOCAlright. I've done my solo posts and you can go ahead now Garland.

[Garland]

There was something special about the bazaar, the smell of food, the people or the small trinkets here and there. He usually walked around the area when he has any free time or when he has to patrol but has no set destination to patrol.

He was nearing the stalls that sold musical instruments, there was a more established shop somewhere uptown, but the stalls usually have more exotic instruments in their stock. He had heard the 'chings' somewhere within the crowd.

He followed the sounds of the little 'chings' into the crowd and saw a familiar 6 armed sight. Sayana had been doing her thing, dancing and being a general distraction to any male passerby. He followed her for a few chimes and smiled. She seemed very into her work, he was off duty right now and maybe getting even with her for that prank she pulled during the festival would be fun, but he didn't know what to prank with. He wasn't good with sneaking around anyway.

[Sayana]

If only she had a belt of coins. But even in a place like this, she didn’t think she’d be able to find one. Perhaps she’d be able to find someone to get it made for her. Though she didn’t want to spend too much before she managed to earn something from her dancing. More incentive to practice her rhythms. She didn’t always have the perseverance to practice on her own and soon she’d probably stop for the day, but the zills were still new in her fingers and she racked her brain for more patterns.

Starting off slow she went, “Ching ching ching-a-ching ching ching-a-ching.” It messed with her brain that it was an odd number of notes and had to start the next set with her other hand but it was probably good practice starting with either hand. Her gaze was turned blankly upwards in her intense concentration and every so often she’d have to pause and restart to get the rhythm back on track. Unfortunately there was no drummer to keep time with but maybe if she could clap her hands to the beat… It was more like a soft tap of her fingers into the palm of her mid hand, but it kept the rhythm nice and steady – though it meant that she was entirely focused on keeping all her limbs working. Her two low hands were merely holding her purchases, but it was enough to have four limbs working in time with each other. Needless to say, she hadn’t yet noticed Garland amongst the crowd and with her back partially towards him she wasn’t about to spot him.

[Garland]

He was out of practice with his pranks, he could usually find some way to prank even high ranking knights when he was younger, and smaller. He was still shorter than most people his age, but he was tall enough to be noticed. He saw her dance, her stomach being bare, again he wondered if she was cold. But her stomach gave him an idea.

He moves with the crowd, trying not to get spotted, he was glad he wasn't wearing any armor today, it would be too noticeable. He was bent low, trying to make him shorter. It worked, getting in close to her.

She looked like she was enjoying herself, he almost wanted to join in... Almost. He was glad she was using those tiny finger cymbals, it masked his footsteps along with the crowd helping mask his sound. He reached around her waist. And then pressed her fingers on her skin, making his finger squirm around, trying to tickle her as badly as he could, he would only stop if she said 'uncle' or maybe pull a dagger on him again.