The Chained Watcher

The Night Market

~~~

Mask? Check. Cloak? Check. Money? Very check. Shield pendant because he promised the shopkeep he'd wear it? Hangs down a bit further than he'd like, but check. All that's left to do is go in.

Walking up to the rather shabby-looking warehouse, Scar waves to the teens watching him with dismissive eyes, holding up a gold coin briefly, just like the shopkeep told him to. One of them shifts slightly, hand slipping down between two crates in a motion that appears idle. They nod towards the door.

Instead of heading straight in though, he presents the coin to them, prompting, "I was told this would get me a guide?"

They exchange a look. One steps forward, accepting the coin. "Alright. Half an hour, then you're on your own. If you pick a fight, I'm out, and you're not getting a refund."

He nods. "Makes sense."

The inside of the warehouse looks exactly like one would expect it to look. Dusty, run-down, and most of the elevated structures look bad enough that he wouldn't trust them to hold his weight. But as he walks, discrepancies become apparent. For one, the dust doesn't move as he and his guide walk towards the back, where a bunch of half-rotting crates are stacked. It's like it isn't actually there.

Then there's how he's led through the stack of half-rotting crates, the jagged, moldy wood apparently not even there in the first place. Illusions? That could explain the dust too. Maybe he could ask Grian to teach him how to... No, stop that. You've already got way too many things you want to learn. Finish at least one of them before you stack another one on top.

"First time?"

Startling slightly at being suddenly addressed, Scar rubs the back of his neck, admitting, "It is, yeah. Do you have any advice?"

"Be careful haggling too much with the wrong people. Officially there's no violence allowed in the market, but there's always a couple guys who take coin to help 'settle grievances'. Not a problem while you have a guide, but they're patient enough to wait if enough coin was offered."

"I'll... keep that in mind." Down the spiraling stairs go, until eventually he can hear the quiet sound of voices echoing up the long stairwell. "So do you know where everything is here?"

They hum noncommittally. "For the most part. There are zones for anyone selling only one type of thing, and everyone's supposed to hang little flags above their stall that say what categories their goods fall under, but in reality no one really enforces that, and the other zones are less than half of the free market area. You're not an enforcer. Don't bring up whether their flags match their goods or not. No one likes a snitch."

He nods, though this place is starting to make him a little uneasy now. It's like... There's so much secrecy and negativity, it's saturating the air with it, making his skin prickle uncomfortably. Let's just buy what he came here for and get out.

"So, whatcha lookin' for? Potions? Magical beasties? Weapons? Armor?"

"Ah, enchanted items."

"Huh, that's a bit broad. Anything more specific?"

"Er, no, I'm not actually looking for anything specific." Wrenching his eyes away from a suspicious stain splashed across a couple of the steps, Scar gives his quizzical guide an awkward smile, admitting, "I'm just looking to collect a big variety of enchanted stuff. You could say I'm a bit of a collector of magical oddities like that."

"...I guess I can work with that. Come on then, we'll start in the enchanters' zone."

The stairs open up to reveal a massive underground market, multiple levels stretching up to the high ceiling above giving the place the vibe of a modern shopping mall. That similarity fades once you look closer though. Instead of being clean, bright, and orderly, the night market is a dark twisting maze of stalls and alleyways with sellers calling out in low, coaxing tones instead of the boisterous beckoning of a normal market. Everyone here knows that this is not a friendly place, and behaves accordingly.