WEEK 04

[modmachine]

Weather: If you ask the residents, it's freezing, though it technically hasn't dropped that low yet. A rather nasty rainstorm does pick up steam late Tuesday and last well into Thursday night, however, so it might be a little justified on the part of the unfortunate souls stuck out in it.

Moon phase: Monday the 21st is the last-quarter moon, and the crescent is hidden behind clouds until Friday night.

Carried on from last week: After Ryoji and Kitty open an Underworld gate, the ice from the week before melts away over the next day or so, unsealing the rest of them. The thickly-built man can still be found watching the construction site, though no further strange accidents occur.

It's Black Friday Somewhere - the Goblin Market:

On Wednesday night, flyers start getting tacked up in weird places; the ink used in them is an ancient sort that runs in the rain, but if you can manage to find one that's intact, it speaks of an open exchange of goods... But the location is left mysterious. Those with any kind of supernatural sight, however, will find that the running ink leaves behind a quite useful map when the flyer is taken down.

The Goblin Market sets itself up in the early hours of Friday morning that can technically be called Thursday night, booths full of oddities going up in the central park while the last of the raindrops still sprinkle through the trees. The market is separated from the rest of the park by three strange gates set around the perimeter, all of them formed of two poles strung with flowers. Passing through them causes a strange sensation like stepping through the surface of a pool; inside the market, Changeling masks are disabled, and other illusions have difficulty working properly. Only the Covers created by the God-Machine, whether they belong to angel or demon, remain unaffected.

Almost anything can be found here for the right price, if you know who to talk to or just wander around long enough, and there are changelings on the ground practically from the moment the stalls are set up. The market is open for roughly 24 hours.

A few highlights;

• The Boss: Whoever this guy is, he's Big News. Dressed in what seems to be a suit made entirely of burlap sacks, he has a glittering woman on each arm wherever he goes in the market. The expressions on the women are dazed and dreamy; they sigh periodically. Three glittering children follow after him, occasionally being sent on errands for this or that in the market, and they'll stop long enough to wave if they come across Kitty before going back to work. Occasionally, their boss pulls a glittering beetle or some other insect out from the folds of his suit... and eats it.


• A pair of horned shopkeepers share a stall; one sells a variety of engraved weapons, and the other, star charts. Occasionally, the astronomer glances up at the sky and scribbles something down in a notebook in his lap. Strangely, though their booth has no cover, nothing within seems at any risk of getting wet, and the blade-seller can occasionally be seen flicking water away with his fingers. A banner across the front of their stall proclaims 'PROPHECIES CHEAP.'


• A large enclosure is home to a number of strange animals, ranging from small birds whose voices induce synesthesia, to glittering insects (not unlike the ones someone else at the market is snacking on), to chimeras, to a single, inexplicably normal giraffe. Every couple of hours, the animal seller has to leave to chase down one of several pink puppies that attempt to escape his notice and run freely through the market.


• At dawn and sunset, a golden-haired Fairest ascends the small stage in the back corner to sing. When she does, almost all the market goes still to listen to her voice. The only person who seems capable of moving is her black-wrapped companion; only his eyes are visible, and he rolls them regularly, but no one seems willing to test him by approaching the woman he accompanies.


• A young woman sells gears that are clearly ripped off pieces of Infrastructure, for those who know what to look for. She doesn't seem concerned by the fact that a number of them are covered in blood or other fluids, or by the single angel who is doing a very poor job of finding excuses to walk past her booth repeatedly. Closer inspection will reveal that her dark 'skin' is in fact entirely made of wood, and gears like those she sells have been carefully embedded in it.


• There is an informational booth from the local university, which seems to be accepting payment for winter tuition in whatever barter people have brought. It is by fair the most mundane-looking set of tables in the place, except for the slowly-growing collection of odd payments behind the registrar. Her assistant, a tired-looking adjunct professor, appears to be human, and occasionally rubs his eyes and mutters to himself over some of the stranger applicants.


• A certain Art Student from said university, who is distinctly staying as far away from that booth as possible, and instead looking at a half-a-table full of magically bright pigments. It might be a bit difficult to recognize her, though, with the hood high around her head blocking most of her face from view and the streaks of temporary pink dye in her bangs.


• A girl of about twelve, running about the market unsupervised, occasionally produces a strand of her gleaming silver hair to trade for seemingly worthless items. By day's end, these strands are one of the most in-demand pieces of merchandise in the market.


• A creature that looks like nothing so much as it does a metal statue of an antelope harshly appraises goblin fruit at the various stalls offering such. In the late afternoon, one seller takes issue with this assessment, and attempts to start a fight, but passes through the creature as though it were air. In fact, the goblin fruit seem to be the only thing that it can touch.

EVERYTHING ELSE:

The Hunt is On: The day after the goblin market brings an unusual number of gun-wielding farmers into town - as well as their richer, fancier counterparts. There seems to be some tension between the two groups of hunters; those who spot an encounter between the two near the central parks can almost feel it in the air.At nightfall, the two groups assemble at opposite ends of the park, and chase... something through the grounds that previously hosted the Goblin Market. Though it seems to be a competition, neither group is successful in taking their quarry.

Spooky Scary: Network Zero goes through bursts of activity, and it’s started bursting again with rumors of one particular warehouse in the Sixth being haunted. Indeed, anyone who wanders over towards it can find a scruffy-looking Cameraman with a handheld camcorder poking behind boxes and trying to catch… something on camera.

Long Nights at Church:The greeter normally stationed outside St. Madeleine's church belltower seems uneasy, glancing up at the empty tower repeatedly throughout the weeknight services. Finally, on Sunday night, after all the human worshippers have gone home, she takes one of the largest of the handbells from holiday practice and takes it up the tower, ringing it twelve times at midnight. Over the course of the next few hours, several other dwellers of the night climb the steps and make their confessionals into the empty space, each ringing the bell when they have finished.

Comments

[dangerouslyinlove]

"I'm a freshman, so I'm still not declared yet," he says, looking back to talk with Casper as they walk, "Hopefully the classes I'm taking this semester will help me figure it out."

[helborn]

He quickens his pace so he can walk alongside Ryoji. "Ah, cool. I always liked school. I didn't get a chance to go further than senior year of high school before... everything went to hell."

[dangerouslyinlove]

"What happened?" Ryoji asks on instinct, but he adds, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Many people wouldn't. Even if he's a sympathetic ear, most people don't know that. "...If we can't get you back today, you could enroll here until we can get you home."

[helborn]

"Oh... uh." He shifts a bit uncomfortably. It's not really an easy story. "I... uh. My mother showed up. Told me I was her kid. She... told me the titans were trying to escape and kill... everything, really. And soon enough I met up with others like me, and we started fighting back. That was... a year and a half ago or so."

[dangerouslyinlove]

This still seems familiar. He's going to ignore it. "I'm sorry. I guess that's why you need to get back, huh?" It's kind of a scary thing to be involved in, he's sure, but being pulled from it might be worse.

[helborn]

"Yeah. If... who knows if we'll need everyone's help? I just want to help people." He leans slightly against Bob, letting out a long sigh. "I... have other stuff I need to do, too. I um. Got let out of Helheim in return for a promise of payment, so I kind of need to pay that back." If this guy's familiar with the Underworld... that's an okay thing to say, right? Right.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ah... yeah, that's also a serious thing. "Can I help any?" He offers, looking over at Casper with a concerned smile, "I mean, I don't know if there's anything that can be done from here, but if I can..." He will. He likes to help people too.

[helborn]

He smiles back, a little shakily. "Probably not... she's kind of... she'd probably not like it if anyone helped. It's pretty dangerous to get involved with her.. and if it's in another world, it's probably not going to go so well, right?"

[dangerouslyinlove]

"Yeah, I guess not..." Ryoji feels bad, but sometimes that is how it works. They reach his dorm and he ducks in real quick to shove his supplies in his coat before coming back out. "Alright. Let's see if we can get you home."

[helborn]

He waits and scritches Bob while Ryoji does that. The raven attempts to look like he's not enjoying himself. "What kind of things do you use to open a gate? It'd kind of be useful to know."

[dangerouslyinlove]

"You don't really need anything to open it... I just like to have things with me when I go in. And I have a present for someone." If he can find Litisoir.

[helborn]

"Oh. Friend of yours?" There is no judgement here, okay. His best friend growing up was a ghost.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji nods. "Yeah. Met him last time I was done there. It seems like a boring place to be stuck forever." He feels bad. But there's a gate not too far from there so it shouldn't take long to reach.

[helborn]

"Oh. Yeah. At least boring is better than some options?" He's seen what happens to some people in Helheim. Boring would be nice compared to some of those things. Still... "What's the Underworld around here like?"

[dangerouslyinlove]

"I'm not sure I'll be able to describe it very well..." But he will try. "Right by the gate it resembles what's around up here, kind of. It's mostly pretty gloomy."

[helborn]

"That's pretty neat... and I bet it makes it easier to get around." Dark doesn't bother him... unless it's like... supernatural dark. Then he might have a problem, but still. Adventure!

[dangerouslyinlove]

Hooray, adventure! Ryoji pretty easily finds the gate and opens it, looking around at Casper. He's pretty sure he'd be able to see it, but...

[helborn]

He can definitely see it, and his eyes go a little wide. "... Wow. It's really just that easy?" Maybe he was worrying about nothing... or maybe it's harder in his world. Difficult to tell. "Anything to know about before we head in?"

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji considers that. "...Try not to touch anything? And stay close, at least to start."

[helborn]

"Okay." Maybe there's nice people to talk to there... hopefully someone can give him directions.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji ducks in, waiting for Casper to follow him before heading down the same path he took before. Maybe he can find Lirisoir again, and he can help out... He does have a book for him.

[modmachine]

The path is basically the same as it was the first time; there's no evidence that anything changed, though some of the half-burned candles are a little lower and more melted, in spite of not having had flames in them either time Ryoji has passed through.

The cavern with the half-burned town is the same, too. However, there's no sign of Lirisoir at the church.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Huh... Well that makes Ryoji sad, if nothing else. "Lirisoir?" he calls, wandering over towards the church. He won't go too far from Casper, though, trying to still keep an eye on him.

[helborn]

Casper looks up at the church, feeling slightly uneasy. This isn't what he expected - it's not like that god is real as far as he's seen. Still, he follows Ryoji, even as he tries to get himself to relax. This is the realm of the dead. It should be just fine for him. Right?

[dangerouslyinlove]

Hmmm. Ryoji climbs up a little closer to the bell, looking around to see if he can find the other boy. Not here... oh well. Hopefully he's just out somewhere. The Underworld is a dangerous place.

He looks back down at Casper. "Are you doing ok? D'you know which direction you want to go in?"