VISIT: THE NIGHT MARKET

[inthenightmods]

VISIT:
THE NIGHT MARKET

characters: everyone.
location: the floating night market, docked at the harbor.
date/time: april 10-12.
content: the night market arrives.
warnings: n/a.

and i came down from the stars.

In the wee hours of April 10, strange blue lights appear just under the waves in the harbor, approaching the dock, until they finally surface entirely. They're submarines, glowing a dim blue now that they're up out of the water, and the fleet is four vessels strong. They've brought with them a floating bridge system to attach to the harbor's main dock to allow access to all four submarines, and they start to unpack...

By "morning", under the light of the full moon, the Night Market is open for business!

This time, it's four vendors that arrive:

• Pluto, the Night Market's leader, who rolls out of her submarine in a custom-built wheelchair.


• Catherine, a coy-eyed blonde with a bombshell choice of wardrobe, who appears to be somehow teeming with secrets.


• Variks, the Loyal, a prison warden who deals in all variety of secrets.


• John Silver, an opportunistic cook who spent his life aboard a space pirate ship.

They've brought a handful of helpers with them to set up the market and run the various booths and games. Though they have no torches among them, the docks are lit with the blue glow of the submarines, their lights rippling slowly in intricate patterns and shapes, reminiscent of carnival lights.

•••
Accepted currencies at the Night Market include: Building and scrap materials, old tablets, old lanterns, captured forest spirits, torches, information, and most importantly... Plutonium. Of course, attempting to barter is always an option... but these currencies are your best bet for dealing with the various vendors offered by the Night Market.

All purchases must be logged on the Night Market purchase page while the market is open! Backdated purchases won't be accepted. However, as long as transactions are started ICly while the market is open, you're welcome to belatedly submit those transactions to the purchase page. Please do your best to log the purchases as close to the window as possible, though!

Congratulations to Sydney and King who won our last AC lottery for a chance to play Night Market shopkeepers! Sydney is playing Variks and King's playing Silver! Be sure to hit up these awesome shopkeepers up under the NPC header below! And as a reminder, please direct all plot questions/topics to one of the mod NPCs, as our players and discord mods aren't given any plot info beyond what's already available in the game. This visit, Danielle is playing Catherine, so she can answer plot questions, along with Pluto. P is for plot!

Here are the vendors and their inventories for the current Night Market visit:

PLUTO

• Special orders - Pluto can procure items just like Rastus, but she can get you specific goods from homeworlds. The more specific the request, the more it will cost. Items ordered through Pluto will arrive on the next ferry.


• Heals - A borrowed gun-looking device allows Pluto to heal even the most grievous of injuries. This item doesn't belong to her, though, so... results may vary

CATHERINE

• Confession - In the place of a standard vendor's stall is a small, modest confessional. Catherine keeps the door open on the priest's side, sitting inside it while she waits for her customers. Feel interested in airing out your grievances? Well, it might not be an official sort of purge, but hop into the curtained compartment and she'll give you a non-judgmental ear to listen. Just don't ask for advice; she's not here to give it. But if you want to pray to her, well, she won't object to being treated like a Goddess.


• A brief reunion - Just want to see someone's face again? A friend, a family member, someone you miss more than anyone else you've ever known? It seems that this mysterious lady has a knack for sensing who it is you desire to see again the most. Exactly how this works, she's not inclined to share, and unfortunately there's no real way to provide you with who it is she's able to show you... but a few meaningful moments could mean some peace of mind for some people.


• Adult toys - A padlocked trunk full of specialty toys and supplies (and apparent torture devices?) to tide over any individual who would consider themselves properly kinky (or perhaps just a tad adventurous in their intimate exploits). Anyone over the age of eighteen is free to browse the wares, but the stall's keeper will keep it locked for anyone who died before reaching a legal age of adulthood. Sorry, kids. Maybe when you've been dead for a few more years.

VARIKS, THE LOYAL

• Restraints & prison supplies - Cages, shackles, handcuffs, chains, rope. Want to keep a forest spirit (or fellow resident) contained and restrained? He's got you covered. Maybe it's for their own good, he may be the Kell of the House of Judgement but he won't question your motives too hard. What he has on display is mostly person-sized restraints and smaller cages for trapping forest spirits to use as currency elsewhere in the Night Market. But if you need something specific he may be able to accommodate.


• Lantern shells - Tired of carrying the same lantern around day after day? Change how it looks with a lantern shell. The "shell" looks like a shimmery 12-sided die in various colors but touch it to your lantern and it'll be absorbed and change your lantern into a specific color / shape / size, etc. They can be removed at will and return your lantern to it's default look. Get multiple shells and have a different lantern every day of the week! You're only as fashionable as your Ghost. Er. Lantern.


• ACCEPTED CURRENCIES - He'll take all the basics, with a preference for lanterns or lantern pieces, and also secrets. Secrets can be about yourself, others, places, the Wild Hunt... The juicier the secret the more valuable it is to him. He probably won't tell Pluto. Probably.

JOHN SILVER

• Ready-made meals - This extremely personable vendor will greet you jovially and invite you up in a very thick, very pirate-y accent— though it's probably not him that draws you up so much as the mouth-watering smell of cooking food. He has a number of ready-made meals, but he can also whip up something special if you have a specific request. And when he says specific, he MEANS specific... looking at those of you with Certain Dietary Requirements.
  
  Bonza Beast Stew: What's a Bonza Beast? Who knows! Where did he find one on this planet? You'll never find out, because it's a secret recipe. Have a bowl of this hearty stew, though, and you'll find that you'll be pleasantly warm and happy for a good long while.
  
  Wild Rosemary Quiche: Vegetarian and beautifully fragrant. Consuming this will make you particularly nimble for a while.
  
  Fish & Chips: What is says on the tin and possibly the best you've ever had. Wonder what that fish is...? The only side effect is that you have an almost insatiable desire to go swimming. Might want to be careful with that one...
  
  Steamed Buns: A meaty option and the veggie option. Both buns will increase good fortune for a limited period of time.
  
  Apple Rose Puffs: Sweet and delicate, they will also leave you smelling sweetly of flowers for hours afterward.
  
  Baklava: Nutty and sweet, after eating this you feel compelled to say whatever kind things you've been feeling or have been on your mind.
  
  Moonshine: No side effects, unless you count getting completely blasted very quickly.
  
  You can also purchase ready-made packages of ingredients with a written recipe included to take home and cook for later! Except the Moonshine. That you'll have to buy directly.


• Poisons - Ask the right questions, and you can get access to Silver's under-the-counter stash of goods. "Poisons" here is used loosely, as it includes concentrated doses of all sorts of concoctions. This includes: deadly poisons of varying intensities, poisons that induce sleep, poisons that will warm you from the inside or that will give you a bone-deep chill, poisons that are actually venom you can put on a blade, etc. All poisons are good for 2 doses, so use them wisely.


• Repairs - Nothing too complicated, mind! Silver is good with mechanical fixes, but not with anything too delicate.


• ACCEPTED CURRENCIES - Silver accepts all the regular kinds of currencies, but he does have a preference for gossip (which he loves), information, and building/scrap materials. He will also gleefully take recipes your character might know and ingredients that have been foraged or brought from the ferry as a form of payment. Keep in mind that the more you ask for, the more you will have to pay— and those poisons don't come cheap.

DR. SCHICKSAL'S HINT-O-MATIC

• AMA - Does your character have any burning questions they just need to have answered? Dr. Schicksal's Hint-O-Matic is a phonebooth-looking device with a screen prompting the user to input a question. When a question is asked, Dr. Schicksal's Hint-O-Matic will spout out an answer! Questions can be typed in via keypad or spoken aloud, and answers will be automatically read aloud for characters that can't read the screen. These answers are always true, no matter what the question, but this information comes at a cost—your character will be blessed with a random status effect for the remainder of the month. We will check permissions posts before issuing a status effect, and please keep in mind that these effects stack! 😃 Each question you ask it (or say at it, rhetorically or otherwise) will "cost" one status effect. And, yes, you can literally ask anything.

Finally, please use the Night Market Purchases page for all transactions! We're changing this up from how we did it last time so that we can better keep track of what's going where. You're still welcome to thread out purchases on this log, though! Just be sure to note it on the purchase page, as well.

•••
Other than the vendors, the Night Market has brought with them the following attractions:

• COFFEE CART - The coffee cart offers every variety of hot drink a person could fathom, and it's complimentary! A few small tables have been set up in front of the cart around an outdoor heater, glowing happily as it warms this little section of dock.


• CANDY SHOP - Sweet treats offered at the candy shop are also free for the taking, but be careful—some treats carry with them a random status effect that will last for the next hour. The treats and resulting status effects are left entirely up to you players, so feel free to create your own hijinx! This is us trusting you not to break the game, so don't abuse this privilege, and feel free to ask us if you're unsure about limitations! Not all treats will produce an effect, but those that do will have no tells, meaning characters will not be able to strategize when eating the candy. (In meta terms: if you want your character to engage in wacky bullshit, but they're a party pooper and hate fun and wouldn't willingly indulge, this is your opportunity to trick them into shenanigans.)


• CARNIVAL GAMES - The small section of carnival games includes ring toss, skeeball, balloon darts, a shooting gallery, a fishing game, a plinko game, and an RC racing game with toy vehicles. The rules are all somewhat nebulous, but feel free to play out your characters interacting with these games on your own! They're all free to play, and prizes include knitted forest spirit plushies, wind-up goldfish that float through the air, and buckets of those plastic spider rings and finger topper guys that cost like one ticket apiece at Swings-N-Things.


• WHACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE MEN - They are also here, and they have a jukebox with them with an unfathomably large selection of songs. This area of the dock is probably meant for dancing.

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Comments

JOHN SILVER

[spacecook]

[ This vendor stall is a little bigger than most, but that's to make room for all the cookware behind the counter— and it seems like there's something happening on every surface. The man behind it hums or whistles a sea-shanty and his right arm whirs and changes shape, busily working through whatever food he seems to be preparing at the time. Above his head hangs his lantern, casting light on everything below. Warm, hearty smells float out over the market from here and on the counter is a menu detailing what ready-made meals Silver is offering. There's also a smaller plaque with a skull and crossbones on it in the corner that says Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Greet him and he'll turn immediately with a broad, boastful grin and a: ]

Welcome, welcome to me corner o' the Market! Why don't ye take a look at the menu there? I can make anythin' yer heart desires. Well— almost anythin'.

[callada]

[Look, it's not the accent. It's not the appearance. It's the whole package. Some people are eccentric, and pirates dress and talk like all sorts of people, in his experience. The stereotypes are really only for children's stories.

But the mechanical arm, the manner of speech as the man calls out to people who pass by, and the jolly roger on the plaque - well it's suspicious, all right? It's almost more like they guy is acting some storybook pirate role rather than likely truly being one, but it draws Rosinante's attention all the same. Maybe he's just looking for something familiar after all this time.

He makes his way over with his hands in his pockets, lantern buckled to the strap across his chest, and rather than slouching or crouching as he often does when speaking to shorter folks to make them more comfortable, he remains drawn up to his full height.]

A cook, huh? How long have you been with the market?

[spacecook]

[ His back is to the counter, after all he can't very well turn around anytime someone comes to take a gander at the wares. He has a huge bowl in his left arm that he's currently stirring with his right, which has made itself into a spoon of sorts. ]

Ohh, quite some time now! Y'know it be hard to keep track o' the time 'round these parts—

[ This is when he turns around, and then looks up. Silver is not a short man by any means, but he's still only probably half the height of this fella. His eyes are comically round. ]

My! Someone's not been neglectin' their greens.

[callada]

[Rosinante just offers a shrug at that comment. Regrets it a little bit after, something about how it pulls at a set of stitches just doesn't feel right. It'll be nice to have all those out soon, hopefully.]

Always did like them. What do you have cooking over there?

[notthatjason]

[Jason didn't think he'd smell such amazing food after what he'd encountered in those dreams on the ferry...but if there's one thing that is difficult for a teenage demigod to resist -- it's food.

His feet take him to John Silver without much thinking on his part and he takes a deep breath as soon as he close enough.]

Wow! This all smells amazing. Did you really make all of this?

[Pause. He looks up.]

Anything?

[spacecook]

[ Silver grins and leans on the counter, expressive and keen. His cybernetic eye gleams, bright as his lantern when he turns it on his patron. ]

Just about! For a price, mind.

What's it ye've got a hankering for, lad?

[notthatjason]

Sure. [He knows where he's at, even if he hadn't seen this particular stall before. Jason had learned by now that most visits with the Night Market came with new faces, new people to barter with.]

Something sweet. I mean, is it just the menu items or do you take specific requests?

[mindofathief]

[Oh, everything here smells good. Duster has made a terrible mistake in following the scent of food and now he has to buy something. He even looks so happy to be working here. How could he refuse?

His attention is brought to the plaque on the corner.] What's that about?

[spacecook]

Well now, ye never heard the sayin' before?

[ He leans on the counter, as though they're having a private conversation. ]

[mindofathief]

Kind of. [The Nowhere Islands didn't have pirates (not enough people living there) but the saying was familiar. Duster leans in and lowers his voice.] Is this some sort of hidden menu or special discount?

[Merchants have a habit of doing this.]

[legalcy]

[Ah, but Minimus cannot eat this human food. It's such a shame. Judging by the popularity of this stall, it must be quite good. The large green robot looks up at the odd flag. Perhaps the logo of his restaurant. Perhaps a flag of his cultural group.]

Thank you for your offer, but I must pass. [He waves a dented arm.]

[spacecook]

Now what's yer hurry?

[ Silver gestures him closer. ]

Come have a chat, lad.

[legalcy]

I'm five million years old. [But he does come closer, standing upright so he can look down on the stall.]

[worthallthis]

[Food and metal arms. Honestly, this is a pretty great booth. Soldat doesn't know that they'll want to pay... unless the guy wants new recipes or something.

But they do investigate, because honestly. Smells pretty good. Their own arm ripples through a calibration loop under their coat, watching him work from a distance before approaching.]

Hi. Why "almost" anything?

[spacecook]

I can only cook with what I gots in me pantry! But between you an' me, what I have is far better than the hardtack ye be findin' in that General Store. Ooh, I don't be missin' that at all, let me tell ya.

[ He gives a big, infectious belly laugh, utterly undeterred by this fellow's even demeanor. ]

Now come on o'er, not every day I be meetin' another cyborg round here.

[pure_havoc]

[well, food is always a nice....HOLD ON RIGHT ONE SECOND THERE]

...are those...steamed bao?

[just now realizing it's been months since he's had real home food and holy shit does he need an armload of fresh, piping hot bao...]

[spacecook]

Aye, ye got a good eye! ...Or two!

[ He lets loose a mighty guffaw, clearly cracked up by his own joke. ]

Got the recipe from another of our crew, tells me I've got a knack for 'em now. 'Course, ye shouldn't just take me word for it! Ye oughta be tryin' 'em for yerself.

[reposer]

[ Both the enticing smells and the larger size of the stall causing it to stand out have drawn in the curious eyes (and nose) of Ventus. Everything about it — from the whole set-up to the menu offered to the cook with the transforming arm himself — leaves Ven with an almost childlike sense of wonder and awe as he draws to a halt in front of the stall. He almost doesn't want to disturb the man, too fascinated by the swift and fluid changes of his arm, but just standing there and watching him work from behind would probably be rude and a greeting is already leaving Ven's mouth pretty much automatically; the greeting tinged a little with the hesitance that makes him not want to interrupt the smooth flow of work.

But greeted that warmly in return, Ventus' immediate response is to grin right back with responding enthusiasm, hesitance promptly forgotten. ]

All of this looks incredible! You must be a really good cook if you can make almost anything.

[ His eyes drift away from the vendor — who reminds him a tiny bit of the people he'd seen on the ship where he met Experiment 626 — to the menu. ]

What are the rose puffs?

[spacecook]

It's what they tell me, lad!

[ He somehow manages to sound boastful without sounding full of himself. But he's easily distracted by the next question. He stops whatever he's cooking in order to turn his full attention around. ]

Ahh, ye got a good eye. Now, those'r pastries with sweet apple on the inside. Made 'em fresh this mornin'.

[paletteswap]

[Goodness you remind him of Bo' Rai Cho already. He nods to the moonshine with a wry smile.]

How much of that before I'm passed out on the floor?

[spacecook]

[ Silver gives him a sly grin. ]

T'ain't for the faint of heart. On mug'll knock ye on yer arse quicker than ye can say superliminal jets.

[equinoctials]

[ Very little has managed to pull Riku to a stall as quickly as the smell of hot, hearty food. While he's working on his cooking, he's still of an age and build that craves a delicious meal at any time of day, and he can tell when something's better than anything he can attempt to whip up.

Indeed, no sooner than he gets closer, his stomach grumbles on instinct - until recent events supply a different association with the smell of meat, and his appetite plummets to the bottom of a suddenly sour gut.

Those green-eyed spirits... always finding some way to ruin a good thing. He's much more reserved, therefore, when he peruses the ready-made meals. If he's lost his appetite, the least he can do is bring something back. ]

...Hey, what do you have for someone with a serious sweet tooth? And someone with more... [ He pauses thoughtfully, his gaze falling on the plaque with its Jolly Roger. ...Huh? ] Uh, refined tastes?

[ He can read the menu fine, but some of these words he doesn't recognize at all. ]

[spacecook]

[ He's not the first person Silver has seen arrive enthusiastically only to go a little green around the gills, and knowing what he does he's not at all offended. ]

I got somethin' for everyone, lad. I'd say ye oughta go fer the Baklava there, real sweet but a fine wee dessert. Even better t' have it with a cup a' joe.

[ Then he looks thoughtful, hand on his chin. ]

Though ye can't go wrong with the Rose Puffs. They'll look great on any posh fella's table and less offensive to t' more... sensitive palate, if ye catch my meanin'.

'Course if ye have somethin' specific in mind I can whip ye somethin' up specific.

[pearlstrings]

[He's certainly a character, though in his experience the Market has never been short of those. Bruce is here to purchase a few treats, namely some of the baklava for his room mates, and also a rose puff for himself. But his gaze lingers on the small plaque in the meantime. Amid the noise and movement perhaps it'd be easy to miss his voice- he's very quiet after all.]

Almost anything?

[spacecook]

Aye! I can whip up whatever I gots in me pantry for ye. And if I can't be making what ye're after, I'll give ye something' close as!

[ He doesn't seem at all fazed by where this young man's gaze has gone, though he has turned to give him his full jovial attention as he wipes his hands on his apron. ]