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]

Ryoji doesn't know what it's doing, but it's promising! "Alright!" he says, following Casper's lead and stopping behind him. There's no telling if it's actually Lirisoir or not, since Casper doesn't know him, but...

Depending on whether there's a door or not, Ryoji will either knock or poke his head in. "Hello?"

[modmachine]

The 'scent' feels more like a breeze, and it leads maybe a block and a half to a similarly run-down house with a charred hole in the roof. It still has a large front porch, though, and a windchime is hung on either side of the stairs up to the front door, one of metal and one of wood. The wooden one is a little burnt, too.

The trail leads inside; the door isn't locked, and the place is fairly well kept. A stiff breeze comes down the entryway immediately, almost like a warning.

[helborn]

He wrinkles his nose a little at the charred wood, and opens the door. The stiff breeze makes Bob flap his wings a little, but Casper presses on. "Hello? Are you still around? I'd like to talk to you, if that's okay..."

No sense in forcing him to appear if he really doesn't want to, after all. That would be rude... though he really does need to get home.

[dangerouslyinlove]

The wind makes Ryoji smile, and he moves a little more into the house. "Lirisoir? It's Ryoji. I brought you a book!" And a person who wants directions, but.

[modmachine]

There's a pause in the wind, and then they'll hear footsteps above them - Lirisoir is leaning over a railing almost directly above their heads, the hole in the roof visible behind him. He's just as oddly shadowy as the last time Ryoji saw him, which means it hard to see his expression, but his tone is obviously a little incredulous when he speaks. "I can't believe you actually came back."

[helborn]

Casper raises a hand and waves to him, grinning. "Well, Ryoji seems like a pretty good guy. I have some questions for you, but why don't you give him his book first?" Appease the dead and all that...

[dangerouslyinlove]

Aw, that's nice. "Of course I did!" he says, cheerfulness undampened in the slightest. He'll pull the book out of his bag, but he'll also provide some context. "Casper, this is Lirisoir. Lirisoir, Casper. He got dragged here out of nowhere too, but he thinks his world's Underworld might be connected to this one."

[modmachine]

Yeah, Ryoji, you are exceptionally weird. Lirisoir hangs over the railing for a moment before waving a shadowy hand at the staircase down the hall. "Come on up, there's an actual mattress and stuff up here to sit on."

He sounds a little like he's resigned himself to this insanity.

[helborn]

Casper nods and heads up the stairs, careful not to put too much weight on it. This place is old, after all, and he has to make sure he doesn't fall through the wood or something dumb. That would be awkward.

"Yeah. I'm... not from here at all. I've never even heard of this city."

[dangerouslyinlove]

Lirisoir is probably best to tell however much of his own story as he wants, so for now Ryoji keeps his mouth shut. He follows Casper up the stairs with less care, following the ghost and handing him the book. "I don't know what kind you like, but I can bring more if this holds up." Not everything does, down here.

[modmachine]

Lirisoir takes the book and turns it over in his hands a little awkwardly - it's apparent now, in a way it wasn't before, that his fingers are a little transparent. He's careful not to touch Ryoji, just in case, and examines the book while leading them around a corner to what used to be a master bedroom. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Thank you." He pauses to give Ryoji a little bow, book held to his chest.

Then he drops onto the end of the bed with a bit of a bounce, and turns his attention to Casper. "How long ago did you arrive?"

[helborn]

Casper watches Lirisoir carefully, before sitting down on the floor. Was this his house? Would it be rude to ask? "... I just got here today. But I need to get home, so I thought Helheim might connect to this Underworld."

Bob pecks Casper lightly in the side of the head. Don't be an idiot about this, you idiot.

[modmachine]

"If anything in this place connects to anywhere else, no one's managed to find it yet." He sighs, the outlines of his horns drooping. "And trust me, we tried. I don't know what your Helheim is, but I don't think it'll connect here, either."

[helborn]

He pauses a moment, and then sighs, rubbing his forehead. "That doesn't make sense. There should be a way... making some kind of gate..."

... Wait a second. "... Who's 'we'?"

[modmachine]

"The people I was stranded here with, the same as you." His horns, if possible, droop further. "I don't know if any of them are still around. I haven't seen them here, but..."

[dangerouslyinlove]

"What are some of their names?" Ryoji pipes up from his seat (on the bed), "I can look for you, if you want..."

[helborn]

Casper bites his lip, thinking. "Did any of them - do you know if any of them are alive? Anyone who might have not died at the same time ask you?" He's not sure if knowing their names will help, but maybe Ryoji can do things that he can't.

[modmachine]

"...It's not so much a matter of them being alive or not. Even if they are, they might not remember..." He tips his head a little in Ryoji's direction. "I told you before about how one of them came back under a contract, like you, and didn't remember being from somewhere else afterwards."

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji nods. "Yeah, I remember..." Which is why names might help, but he won't push if Lirisoir doesn't want him to.

[helborn]

"How could they -" He narrows his eyes. Messing with memories... he doesn't like how that sounds. "What were the circumstances of that death? Do you know?" It might be really important.

cw: discussion of hate crimes

[modmachine]

"Yeah, that he remembered, but I don't know if it had something to do with what we were doing or if it was just bad luck." His horns perk up a little as he tilts his head. "He was going home after some date with a guy, kind of drunk, took a wrong turn and ran into some bastards who beat him around the head with some kind of metal bar." There's a slight hissing quality to his voice now - he's angry at what happened, even if it was in the past.

[helborn]

Casper stays very, very still for a few moments before shaking slightly. Someone did that? What kind of monster - just because of being on a date with a guy?

And he knows that wouldn't fly with someone like his father. Not after who his father served under. He can't imagine that would go well, and for a moment he looks like he's going to throw up. He tries to breathe, and Bob nudges his head a bit to try to snap him out of it. "... I don't... I- I mean I can see why he would want to forget that, but forgetting other things... trauma can do weird things to your brain but it shouldn't be that bad..."

[modmachine]

There's a small nod. "And he thought he was from here, afterwards. Started teaching at the university like nothing was wrong." He's still kind of upset.

[dangerouslyinlove]

Ryoji doesn't blame him for being upset. He is tempted to reach out to comfort him, but... ghost. He would probably slip right through. "I'm sorry," he says quietly, while making a note to keep an eye out for any Bound professors this next semester, "Did it- was it just him, or...?"

[helborn]

Casper hesitates, and then gets up, reaching inside of himself to activate one of his abilities. It's a somewhat frivolous use of it, but he reaches out to touch Lirisoir's shoulder gently.

"You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to." Even if he feels sick, even if he wants to cry, he can't. There's work to be done.