The Lower City Mage Market
Malak's Hand
Image in progress
At the entrance of the Mage Market one first crosses, Malak's arch, a 'monument' to Pranay Malak, who brokered the deal with the Queen which ended in the creation of the lower city. Defacing Malak's arch was tradition for many a rebellious Majai youth. Past it is Malak's hand, the unofficial name for the crossroads between the four streets that made up the Mage Market. It's official name of which was Concordia Plaza, a terribly Daguerrian name for the core of the lower city. It probably explained why no one had called it that in over 50 years. It was supposed to be a place of remembrance of the 'treaty of friendship' between Majai and Daguerrians. The Plaza was a where the Majai started carving the lower city, one of the few places that had a proper cobblestone floor. It was the meeting place of the four streets that made up the Mage Market; The Alchemist's Row, where one could find all things herbal, chemical and alchemical; from hard drugs to magical reagents. The Waterway, along which the underground river that fed the lower city had been tapped, was one of the prettier streets in the lower city, complete with gardens and stores peddling fine Majai crafts. The Gannlao, where the Shah shadowswords ruled and magical weapons and focuses are sold on each stall. And finally Galire Rahal, the singer's street, completely chock full of hovels, stands and shops built and carved on top of each other, where one buys and sells everything and anything from 'servants' to long lost treasures of old Majai kingdoms.
Upon arriving at the entrance,
Paki barely spared a glance at the arch, knowing that it would certainly be vandalized. Instead, he continued walking into the Mage Market, intending to introduce Brant to Chionesu. But first, he glanced over his shoulder to make sure he did not leave said Daguerrian behind.
Daiyu shifted her weight uncomfortably, leaning a bit more on her crutch to relieve some of the pain off her leg. The area was crowded and it seemed to her that the majai around her were purposely jostling her around, though this was probably all in her head. She suspiciously reached down to check her purse before wading into the crowd, trying to make her way towards
WoW - Gannlao.
Brant took in the sight of Malak's arch and was tempted to clap at its grandeur. He followed Paki while turning round again and again to take in all of the Mage Market through his eyes. He bumped into his kkala guide and steadied himself there. "I'm here," he breathed. "I'm actually in the Mage Market." He tapped Paki's arm and smiled up at him. "Thank you. Now, let's find me a mage!"
It wasn't long before some people had already swarmed around Paki and Brandt, probably used to eccentric Daguerrians coming down to the Mage Market and spending veritable fortunes on fetishes and pretty baubles of Majai origin. A trio of dirty faced Majai children, probably mongrels with no knowledge of their original ancestry among the hundred peoples that made up the Majai, appeared before Brandt, bypassing Paki, and began offering him pretty 'magical' beads, a set of rolled up parchments they said contained secret incantations, and a vial of crushed bone dust of a 'sand ray' a mythical beast back when the Sea of Sand still existed.
At first,
Paki was fairly tolerant of the swarm--he used to participate in such behavior on occasion, himself (although the only service he had ever
successfully done for his father's business was heavy lifting). When the children pushed through, however, the Kkala spoke up. "Make way, make way. The man should be allowed to breathe! Leave the selling of wares to your folks." He scowled at them (intimidate).
"I have no interest in your wares, my pets!"
Brant laughed. "It is knowledge I am after! Away with you, or I shall set my scary kkala friend after you to eat you up!" With that he put on a silly-scary face and tromped towards the children in a comical style.
The kids seemed to be intimidated by Paki's scowl, or at least they pretended to be, and quickly put away their things, ready to disperse. As the urchins started running away and past Brant, however, he felt a tug at his back and noticed one of the kids had palmed his coin purse and was trying to tug it away from his belt
With the tugging at his belt,
Brant turned his head to see one of the urchins trying to claim his remaining money. "Away with you, rapscallion!" he swung his staff towards the child, not trying to actually hit him but warn him off. The last thing he wanted to do was to strike a youngling.
Of course, the thick-headed
Paki took the children's retreat at face-value and did not even notice their attempted theft at first. "A mite harsh..." He muttered to Brant before he saw the boy's hand on the coin purse. "Ah! That's not yours! Let go of it and go now! Shoo!"
The little urchin seemed rather vexed by the fact he'd been noticed before he could swipe the goods and quickly let go of Brant's coin purse. The kid looked like he was entirely expecting a brutal beating instead of the yelling and the badly aimed staff swing he received. Ducking, the kid ran off towards a nearby alley while his playmates laughed off his failure before running off into the alley themselves.
"Bloody pickpockets,"
Brant murmured. "It's not as though I even have much money. I'm not here to spend my money yet, more so make some," he explained to Paki as he readjusted his robes. "I have quite the talent for magic, one I hope to increase, but I thought this might be the place for a spellcaster looking to make some coin."
"Most places where they have magical items and information have many spellcasters already making coins..."
Paki admitted. "If you wish to learn,
and you wish to make a living, you must do so in two different places. You will make enemies, otherwise!"
"Learning I can do easily,"
Brant said proudly. "But I see your point. Perhaps we can find some magic users, learn from them, and then head elsewhere." The last thing he needed was a magic street battle.
"That would be wisest, yes."
Paki nodded solemnly before grinning and clapping a hand on Brant's shoulder. "You will need ointments! And books and talismans! We will begin in Alchemist's Row, yes? First and foremost, you must safeguard your health."
Brant nodded, hoping that Paki's mercantile background would help him find someone who would offer them discounted wares, or that he would at least be half decent at bartering. "Lead the way, friend. Your knowledge of this place far surpasses mine." He laughed, with a slight hint of nervousness in it. The worry that he had nowhere near the amount of required to start up was weighing heavily on him.
Paki grinned wider at Brant's acknowledgemen
t. "I will find a welcoming face! And it shall be wise!" With that verbalized burst of self-confidence, Paki lead the way to WoW - Alchemist's Row.
With a tap of his staff on the floor, Brant followed Paki through to WoW - Alchemist's Row.
Returning to the central hub of so many streets of varying levels of danger and adventure, Paki this time began gazing over the buildings for his childhood home (Notice).
Brant came up behind his friend. As the merchant's son peered around, Brant did the same, keeping an eye out for any potential pickpockets or thugs - anyone paying them too much attention or obviously looking away (Notice).
Luckily for Paki and Brant, they seemed to be drawing little attention to themselves, and whatever pickpockets and thugs could be in Malak's hand would probably prefer people to not meddle with those emerging from the darkened Alchemist's Row, lest they be dangerous enchanters and keepers of secrets. Paki, in the meantime, had no trouble finding his childhood home. His father's family had been part of the merchant class of the Kkala before the winter had come, and had come to the city with some wealth, for a Majai, at least. They had managed to build a two story, small family home right off what was then known as Concordia Plaza, the best place to live at a time in the precarious conditions of the lower city. The small house was on the corner that led to the Galire Rahal and his father had turned the first floor into a shop, with Paki's family living on the second. The house had always been well taken care off and you could often see people in line to make purchases before the wide, double doors of the first floor. What he saw now, unfortunately, was an old, almost dilapidated building. Whoever owned the home now had closed the store, whereas only the small side door that led to the second floor seemed serviceable. Some windows were boarded up and the plaster had fallen off of much of the adobe exterior, revealing the bricks. Still, the Kkala man recognized the little stone fountain he would play in with his sister, a few dozen feet off the front of the entrance only it was now dry and covered in moss and cobwebs.
Seeing his childhood home in such a state of disrepair made Paki's stomach churn. Even the memories of innocent joy that came back at the sight of the fountain left a bitter flavor on his tongue. What if he failed? What if he could not get it back? What if he did? He ruined the family business already. But he should try again. Try to earn it all back. Or at least the respect. So Paki approached the small side door and knocked--perhaps a bit too forcefully, but he was nervous.
Brant followed his newfound friend to the dilapidated building - he'd not been able to see Paki's face from where he'd been standing, so he couldn't tell how it had such an emotional impact on the large man. He retrieved his prayer beads from inside his robes, running his fingers between them nonchalantly while really preparing for an unpleasant welcome from the building's occupier.
For almost a minute, there was no answer from within the house. Finally, they heard the creaking of stairs and some stuff being moved around inside the building. Whoever was inside tried to open the door, but it seemed stuck, until they finally pulled and yanked it open, which caused a small cloud of dust to fly off towards Paki and Brant. The door seemed to have been closed with a small chain, and only opened a few inches. Inside, they could see part of a little old Shah man, one of his eyes looking through the sliver of open door. "What do you want?!" he asked aggressively. "Shu sending Kkala thugs now to do her bullying?!"
"Ah! Um, I wouldn't really know. I don't believe I know anyone called Shu. But I would like to speak with the owner of this house, please. Is that you?" Paki asked in a polite--yet somewhat tense due to his nerves--tone. "And I assure you, I have no intentions of thugging or bullying."
Brant faced out on to the main thoroughfare as Paki conversed with the occupant of the building. He had no idea what his newfound friend was after, but he needed to do something to repay Paki for bringing him safely to the Mage Market and helping him become Nkiru's student, so here he was ready to support him.
The man was quiet for a few seconds, looking up at Paki and then at Brant. "... Ok." he finally said gruffly, almost as a hiss between hi teeth. "I own this wreck, what d'you want?" he added, opening the door a bit more. The inside of the house was almost empty as far as Paki could see, and covered in cobwebs and dust.
"This place...it was my home once." Paki spoke with a terse tone for the first two words, a little offended by the man's use of the word "wreck", but by the end of the sentence his tone had softened to something more sentimental. "Is there perhaps, a bargain we could make? So I could have it back?"
Brant turned to look at Paki incredulously - surely the kkala didn't want to purchase the rundown ruin? His eyes widened when he caught a glance of the inside of the building. It was even worse on the inside! Even so, property surely wasn't cheap in the Royal City, no matter its condition. How much money did Paki even have? Brant himself only had enough to keep him going for a few days.
Once more, the old man was quiet for a few seconds, before he finally sighed and closed the door. Dust fell off the wood with the impact and the two men could hear several locks and chains move inside. Finally, the door opened once more and the man hissed as he stood aside. "Come in then. Quickly! I just hope you have the marks to back up your mouth." added the old man, holding the door until the two came in and closing it quickly afterwards.
As Brant entered the house, his inbred Dageurrian sensibilities made him lift the hem of his robes away from the dusty floor. Still, he held to his adopted mannerisms and made a bow of the head to the old man. "Blessings upon this house," he intoned before moving a little further into give room for Paki to also enter.
Marks? Uh-oh... Paki swallowed nervously before stepping into the house. At least if he was already inside, the man could not slam the door in his face before hearing out his offer. Right? Eh...best not to over-think it... Either luckily or unluckily for the Kkala, the internal tension had temporarily set his face into a rather stern expression.
After Paki and Brandt entered the house, the Shah man peered outside one last time and scoffed before shutting the door. The inside was as dusty and dirty as the outside, some of the furniture left in the house had been pushed to a corner and covered with white cloth blankets and cobwebs. In the middle of the room there was a small, old and creaky wooden table and some chairs, with a small gas lamp on the very top. Paki rememebered when the main double doors would be open and light from the galvanic 'sun' would flood the store. Long counters would be aligned in an L shape and Paki and his siblings would help tend the shops, while imported goods would line the walls and display cases opposite and behind the counter. "Sit." barked simply the little Shah man. He was wearing an old black woolen coat and a dusty and mothy majai garb underneath. "Ok, so what can you offer me for this old place?" he asked simply.
With absolutely no thought of protest, Paki sat at the small man's order. "Ah...er...actually..." he swallowed again before continuing with a determined expression. "I have just returned from some family business and have nothing with me. I mostly came to ask for a price and the time limit to meet it. It would be unfortunate for me to have waited until I had money and discover the place had already been occupied by those unwilling to sell or asking for more, after all..."
Brant took a position standing behind and to the right of Paki's seat. "We also need to ascertain that the property is legally occupied. It would be difficult for my esteemed friend here to buy a house from a crook." He gave the Shah a sardonic smile. "Not that I am implying that of you, my good man. I am sure that you have the deeds and declarations of ownership to present."
The old man listened to Paki grimly and slowly lifted an eyebrow as he spoke, interrupting him only to let out a single, raspy, wheezing cough and then going quiet once more. When Paki was done, the old man looked like he was about to speak when Brant intervened as well. There was a bit of silence for a couple of seconds as several voices and steps were heard outside, as Malak's hand had always been a busy place. The little light peering through the cracks of the boarded up windows began to die, specks of dust dancing along as it did. Finally, the old man spoke, looking at Paki first. "This engineer your pet?" he asked simply, looking towards Brant next, "Or Master?... in any case, i've got all the papers and other crap, don't be throwing molepiss terms like that my way boy." sighing, the old man continued, "SO, no guerrmarks or anything uh?... but..you look like a strong lad... perhaps there IS a way we can deal.." he added, almost under his breath. "What do you two know about the Shadowswords?"
"Neither. He is merely repaying a debt before continuing his studies," Paki said in an automatic, smooth voice before giving Brant a quick glance and smile in gratitude for his input. "A deal sounds good!" The Kkala nodded his head rapidly, an action that slowed as a thoughtful expression crossed his face. The Shadowswords? Well, by name alone, they sounded a bit ominous. Perhaps he had heard of them... (Memory)
Brant had rubbed the old man the wrong way, that was clear, but it didn't concern him. When the man mentioned Shadowswords, the capital 'S' was nearly audible. He didn't know if Paki knew about them, but he searched his own mind for any potential reference he might have caught in his studies (Knowledge). With a sudden widening of his eyes and a choked cough, he stared at the old man. "You surely don't expect us to deal with the Shadowswords?! They're a... a... well, to put it politely, a gang of highly trained, highly dangerous individuals!"
"They would argue they are simply a dojo." replied the old Shah man with a coy smirk before going back to his usual grim expression, "But yes, they are a gang of thugs and criminals. Though I don't know if I would call them highly trained, though." he scoffed. "But you are a big lad, I bet one thug can scare other thugs." he added. "As much as I want to leave this piece of crap place and go back to my family's old home in the Shah Hath for good, I was swindled by the unscrupulous leader of the Shadowswords, a foul witch if there ever was one, who now claims I OWE them a debt and is holding my family home hostage until I square it. So I can't really do much about it...." he shrugged before a malicious glint appeared in his eye. "If something were to happen to this woman... though... I would be free and clear of my so called debt. I'd get back my own home and I could leave this place to someone I chose..."
It was hardly the first time that Paki was called a thug, and given the Shah's explanation, now was hardly the time to protest. But being called a "thug" tended to stick in the Kkala's mind, so he managed to catch something in the old man's words. "You are not being clear...do you want the dojo frightened, your family brought back, or the woman dead? Or some combination, I guess. ...If you wish the third, the result may be all three. But I am not an assassin. I will not kill unprovoked."
Brant frowned at the old man's offer. "I think he wants her dead," he muttered to Paki. He then addressed the Shah. "You ask a lot of strangers. The Shadowswords aren't a group many would trifle with, and we're not a rival gang - just two men." Still, he needed to repay Paki. "If my friend is in, then so am I." He placed a hand on Paki's shoulder. "Your choice."
The old man lifted an eyebrow as Paki asked his questions, annoyance slowly creeping onto his face. "You're not even listening!" he hissed at Paki as he stomped on the ground with one of his old slippers, making a slapping sound and lifting up some dust. "I can't leave this dump because the shadowswords say I owe them money! I don't owe them money! My family had a home in the Shah district and I want to go there, but they're holding the house until I pay them! I'm not paying them one single guerrmark! You get that bitch Shuu to give me back MY house and you THIS house. Simple as that!" grunted the Shah before he leaned back. "Those are my conditions, take them now or come back when you're ready to take them. Or wait till I die and the shadowswords sell both THIS place AND my home, the bastards. I bet that's what Shuu wants. This dust is not good for my health."
"Aaaaaaaaaaah~ Talk to Shuu! Yes, that I can do! I will find a way to convince her to return your home," Paki promised with a grin, any concerns with the earlier ambiguity and his and Brant's--apparently incorrect--conclusions on the situation completely vanishing. "Thank you, thank you so much! I am certain she will listen to reason!" The man's health was at risk, after all!
Brant bowed his head, dreading the forthcoming task. He wasn't as positive about the reception they might receive from the Shah thugs - he suspected that, like other gangsters, they had no ears for reason, only money. "Very well," he said, trying to put on a smile for Paki. "We will meet this Shuu and broker a deal." He turned his attention back to the old man. "While I suspect we can find them in the Shah hath, can you give us any more precise idea as to where we could find her?"
"Good, good." replied the old man with a sigh, seemingly calming down a bit. "I go home and you get your home, and we're all happy, except for that dried up old bitch." he said simply with a devious smirk just before he broke into a dry, raspy cough. "You'll find her in the Shah Hath, though you'll have to go there tomorrow. The Shah only allow our own there after dark." he continued, still coughing a little bit. "She's in the Shunlao. The Street of Secrets. In a place called the Dao Hall." with that, the man slowly stood up and made for the stairs. "You guys can stay in this place in the meantime, if you want. I don't care as long as you're quiet and don't break anything. I rarely go out of my room anyways. Tell Shuu that Chao Gong sent you when you talk to her, who knows how many people her shadowswords are extorting."
"Ah! Thank you very much! That is very generous!" Paki grinned gratefully at his elder before devoting a few seconds to repeating the man's name over and over again in his mind, hoping to commit it to memory. Then he blinked and had a blank expression, then a mildly panicked one before relaxing and muttering to himself: "Yes! Street of Secrets...Shuu...Right." The Kkala found himself hoping that Brant had a better memory for names than he did...
Brant gave the elderly host a low bow. He was showing them a great deal of trust by letting them stay in his home, and it meant that they wouldn't have to part with any of their coin for lodgings. He took a few dusty sheets from off the assorted furniture and decided that the sheets would probably be more comfortable. Arranging them into a makeshift nest, he settled down onto them and looked over at his companion. "Big day ahead."
Post here
Accessible areas:
Go back to WoW - Red Ribbon Road
Go north up the WoW - Gannlao
Go south down the WoW - Galire Rahal
Go northeast to WoW - The Waterway
Go southeast to the WoW - Alchemist's Row
Back To:
WoW - The Mage Market
| Winter of Wolves | WoW - History | WoW - Characters | WoW - The Sea of Snow |
| WoW - Character Creation | WoW - Rules | WoW - Traits | WoW - Proficiencies | WoW - Equipment | WoW - Skills | WoW - Magic | WoW - Engineering | WoW - Schemes |
Stumble!