Despite their size, Unua manages to completely lose their friends in the market. Quickly leaving Daina and Awoken by the fabric stalls, they make way for the more practical things being sold. Coils of rope, flint strikers, and a pack large enough for them to carry a camp on their back if need be.
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- Aurelius
- The Awoken
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← Active ScenesAlso At The Kesset Marketplace
#ck
#saint
#wolf
#iosi
Returns to the first fabric stall After disentangling herself from her accidental paramours. She buys the fabrics she had considered before, figuring that if they aren’t wanted then she will find some other use for them, and then searches out her other companions. Unua is easier to find than Archie—under the Centrelight he gleams brass and steel. She makes a beeline for him, two heavy bolts of fabric in her arms. “I apologize if this was presumptuous but we talked about cloaks and there was this lovely linen broadcloth in this deep navy blue and I thought it would look lovely on you.”
looks at the bolt of fabric and nods. “I do not require it, but it does look nice. I would be happy to wear it, especially if it helps with our necessary discretion. Should we find someone to aid in crafting it? I have no experience in such things.”
Accidental Paramours is a great phrase, btw
looks to where the bunny who had given the Awoken the ruffles is standing and can’t quite fight off a grimace. “Iosi is apparently one of the tailors, and the other name was … Aulie. Iosi is probably the right choice if you’d prefer to avoid fancy embroidery. I can always do that for you as we travel.”
thank you lol
She adds, a little haltingly. “I can come with you if you’d like. I have something I want tailored for Archie too.”
she is going to just. Expire from mortification
: “Then I will be glad for your company. I will find my way to Iosi soon. I would like a few more things for the road still.”
ꙮ The marketplace is still pleasantly bustling.
looks around for the last three things they need. Wax, scrap cloth, and a souvenir of the pretty stonework.
Do we want to say I've bought my ropes and packs previously mentioned?
ꙮ Is beeswax okay? The kind of wax you’re used to using is- well, it’s either the exudate of some monstrous fiend or another or it’s something that bubbles up from the black depths of the Beast, and either way you’re not finding that here, but beeswax is perfectly lovely. Scrap cloth’s easy to find. And you can’t spin in a circle without finding some lovely irrica stonework.
ꙮ (The ropes and packs weren’t hard to find at all. You have the look of someone on or about to go on an adventure; they practically came and found YOU.)
Beeswax will do. Anything to keep the wear and tear of the road at bay. Are there little figurines? Unua is hoping to find a little statuette of a bird.
walks up, perhaps peering–politely–at the Knight’s purchases. He himself has seemed to been quite the busy beaver–he’s now sporting a sturdy pack with a small bedroll strapped to it, and it seems to be rather full already.
ꙮ There are just… so many birds. There are more cats than birds? Cats seem to be a big theme design-wise in this town for some reason (or, you know, just because cats are amazing.) But there’s a lot of birds.
is just wasting time. In between fabric acquisition and mortification she’s also napped a sizeable pack of supplies and also buys the smallest, most delicate irrica cat she can find.
picks out one that reminds him of the new friend they made earlier today. (Prefereably with a little loop so it can be put on a strap of leather or small chain) “Hello, craftsman. I would like to purchase a reminder of my stay here. Will this suffice?” and pulls out of the money-stones they were given.
ꙮ The guy running the stall - an older, owlish-looking fellow (literally or figuratively is a bit hard to tell; he’s wearing a very elaborate hat) - peers at the stone with some surprise. “…oh, that’s. That’s more than enough, friend.” He looks at the Clockwork Knight - really LOOKS at them - and tilts his head to one side curiously. “Actually. And feel free to say no to this. I’ve just never… seen a monster like you before in all my life, and I’d love to take a quick sketch and carve a figurine later, if you’d let me. That’d be payment enough. Or I’ll take the stone with a smile, if that’s your rather.”
: “You do me a great kindness. I would be more than happy to be drawn. Is that truly enough payment for such a beautiful bird?”
turns to Daina, “I will wait here for a short time. I apologize for the delay.”
ꙮ He nods! Not ‘indignantly’ but with the same harrumphing valence. “Well, certainly. You’re a beautiful monster! I want to remember what you look like.” He digs out a ratty-looking old sketchbook and some charcoal. “Oughtn’t take long.”
carefully inspects the figure the Knight is purchasing. “You seem to have a great fondness for birds…” He trails off, probably realizing that there’s a question he can’t ask in public.
: “I have a great fondness for all life. This one reminds me of the new friend I made this morning.” A pause, considering. “Que—Where I am from, the monsters are ferocious and violent. Peaceful creatures are always a welcome joy.”
nods quietly. “I see. I am glad that you’ve found that here.”
looks over Wolf’s purchases. “You also seem well prepared for the journey. Let me know if there is anything I should carry for you. I hope to have enough here to provide reasonable assistance at camp for the group.”
ꙮ The guy’s still peering at Unua intently, but it’s the intent-peering of someone trying to do figure drawing in the middle of a marketplace. “They do say things are calmer close to the Courtyard. Although, you and your friends would probably know that more than me!” He nods with pleasant respect to Wolf and the Saint.
chuckles a little. “Thank you, but I’m well accustomed to a pack’s weight. You’ve stocked well, it seems.” He returns the nod to the man, but seems…quiet, at the mention of the Courtyard.
ꙮ ”Where’re you off to, anyways? Looks like you’re rarin’ to go halfway across the world, but it sounds like that’s where you’re from, so you’ll forgive a man for asking.” Scritch, scritch, scritch. The paper he’s using is rough enough that it keeps making these pleasant little scritching noises when he sketches on it.
: “Courtyard next,” Wolf replies. “But we lost supplies on the road, and know not where it stretches on from there.”
ꙮ He nods gravely. “That’s the way of it, isn’t it? Well.” He smiles brightly, and holds up a very lovely sketch of the Clockwork Knight. “Irric’s Rest welcomes you, if your way crosses here again. I might even have a statuette for you by then!”
bows slightly. “Your talent is remarkable! It is if I had a mirror. I hope our path brings us back again.” They hoist more gear than any one man (or even one seven foot robot) needs, and go to find Daina and the tailor.
I'm good - happy to roleplay at tailor if Daina wants to, but it sounds like her scene is elsewhen. Thanks!
tags along behind–perhaps stealing a glance or two at the Knight along the way, but he’s content with quiet companionship if Unua is.
appears at Wolf and Unua’s side as they finish up with the irrica vendor. “I see you’ve had luck with your purchases,” nodding at Wolf’s full pack.
gives a wry smile. “It’s getting them to stop adding things which is difficult.”
: “‘Why, yeresh, you absolutely need that intricately carved wooden dining set for your travels.’ At least, if your experience is anything like mine.”
: “I did not think to procure utensils for the others.”
: “I will add that to my list of things for the future. I have most of a campsite with me right now.” You get the distinct sense that in their head, Unua is smiling.
laughs and rubs the back of his head. “Something like that, yes.” He sighs, the smile fading. “It’s not quite as bad when I can remember them. Sometimes the memory comes back when I see a face, or look them in the eyes. But when I can’t…”
places a hand on Wolf’s shoulder. “All in due time, friend.”
: “The universe could not keep us from reclaiming what we have lost.”
blinks in brief surprise at the touch–then smiles. “Thank you. Ah, forgive me, I shouldn’t…” He shakes his head. “Mm.”
: “Even if it is lost, and it might be, you are here now, and we are always making memories.”
he nods, and smiles, or tries to. “This is true. It is just…” He tries to swallow his words, and fails. “I knew them. And now I do not. But they still know me…” He shakes his head again. “Please, forgive me. I have, ah, dimmed the mood.”
: “You have committed no error. There is nothing to forgive. Come! Let us continue to the tailor! I have not had a garment in….at least fifty years!…I think. I don’t quite remember.”
nods, and then the words register, and he blinks. “In at least…fifty…?”
ꙮ As far as recommended tailors go, asking around the marketplace, there’s Iosi and Aulie, and apparently Aulie’s swamped today because of work for a festival that’s coming up AND will also not let you leave without embroidering every square inch you’ll let her and is as tenacious as a hungry grapplesnake. (People say it with love and pride. But that’s not the sort of party you’re expecting to be going to at the Courtyard, so…)
nods. “I believe so. It’s harder to count when you don’t remember as much. But yes. Endjinn are much longer-lived than humans. It is a great and tragic thing.”
: “Endjinn is what your…people are called, then?”
chuckles, “Yes. It started as a joke, but then so many people knew the joke, it just…stuck.”
tilts his head. “…joke?”
: “Yes! You see, it sounds like engine! Because we’re…mechanical. But it’s also like the word for a certain type of fiend.”
: “What is an … engine?”
tilts his head back the other way–it gives the impression of a very large dog looking at something he’s never seen before. “Took the words out of my mouth.”
is glad Wolf is as baffled as she is and this isn’t a failure of memory.
stops walking for a beat. “Oh.”
: “Is it like a…fiend?”
: “No doubt Aurelius would give a better explanation than I. But an engine is…often intricate. A series of metal parts, working together to output something.”
is just silently mouthing “engine” and “Endjinn” over and over, trying to hear the subtle difference between the two terms and intuit the meaning from the difference. It isn’t working.
: “Oh.” He blinks a moment. “There must be much metal where you come from, then?”
: “Yes. Your home is full of trees, plants, and green things. Mine is full of steel, steam, and fiends.”
furrows his brow, clearly trying to envision that and failing. “That seems…” He seems to discard a couple of words before coming to “…different.”
raises her eyebrows at Wolf, mouthing, but not saying, “different”
shoots the Saint a bit of a flustered look that seems to say “I’m trying!”
: “I look forward to seeing your home, Unua,” cheerfully, and then looks toward the tailor’s stall, pace slowing infinitesimally. “Well, here we are,” announcing, as if she expects someone else to take the lead.
ꙮ The softest and most luxurious rabbitish ears imaginable visibly perk up from behind a tall counter, followed by a tall, remarkably dapper metahuman who picked the wrong moment to be rummaging around looking for something.
: “Hullo! How can I help you?” They glance, very rapidly, between the Sword-Saint, a yeresh, and, Light eternal, what in the world is THAT, without losing a tiny fragment of their composure.
straightens her shoulders, somehow relaxing at the time time. “We’d like to ask your time to make two garments,” she says, setting out the bolts of cloth. “One for our friend here,” nodding at Unua, “and another for one of our other companions, though he’s a bit shorter.”
: “Your help is greatly appreciated, should you be able to spare us the time.” They offer their last barter-gem “If this will not cover your time, I will be happy to aid you in any way I can.”
leans forward and looks at the cloth, nodding appraisingly, still sneaking little glances up at the three of them. “…the three of you new in town with a rather memorably dashing oddball?” They smile, and reach out for the gem. “They had one of these as well, is all. Yes, certainly, I can do that for you.” Addressing the Clockwork Knight. “What sort of thing are you looking for, friend?”
gestures to Daina, “My friend thinks it good that I…blend in better. Some cloak or longcoat that might help me pass with fewer stares than I currently receive. I know that I am quite strange to the people here. It makes their kindness all the more touching.” They trail off a little, as if they were about to remember something…but couldn’t.
looks from the Saint to Unua, to the cloth like the cloth will have some kind of answer for them, which it won’t, because it’s cloth, and even in Almachadta it’s not alive and it can’t help them, and then back to Unua. “Well, I should HOPE that we’re kind to strangers. People were kind to me, when I got here, they ought be kind to you as well. As for ‘blend in’…” They rock back on their heels, a little. “I don’t think there’s anything under Light that’d make you -unobtrusive-, but that’s not… we can work with that. Have you ever seen a behemoth wearing a tuxedo? I’ve been the one who tailored the tuxedo, for the behemoth. No, this won’t be a problem at all! I do think a longcoat is the right play, though. Being stylish is its own way of blending in.” They flash a quick smile.
: “We have utmost faith in your skills, Iosi.” From the way he says it, you suspect that this time, at least, memory has worked.
beams at Wolf! “Now, what about your other friend? I don’t suppose you have his measurements? Love the fabric you picked, by the by.” They get out from behind the counter, surround the Clockwork Knight in a cloud of activity, measuring everywhere you’d think to measure on a humanoid body and then some, peppering them with questions about does THAT little metal thingie ever extend past- oh golly it DOES, well, that’s an interesting design challenge but we’ll make it work- and so on, and so on.
“I don’t have his measurements. He’s about halfway between the yeresh and myself though. I suppose I could always send him by later so you can actually measure.”
: “But he’s not…” Iosi squints at the Clockwork Knight, phrasing carefully. “A stylish and fashionable iron giant, or anything of the sort? Standard proportions? I can work with that. Going for matching outfits, here, or what are you looking for? I gave your friend ruffles, I can give you ruffles too.” There’s something JUST too genuinely bright to be actually menacing about the way they say that.
looks at Wolf helplessly. “Does Archie have standard proportions?”
shakes his head. “No ruffles for me, thank you.”
: “No ruffles! Got it.” Beat. “If you DO have any requests, I’m, well. You know.” A slight, but incredibly dramatic, head-shake. “All ears.”
looks amused. “I mean, fairly standard, I would think? You’ve meet Izaak, ‘standard’ is quite malleable here.”
laughs. “I’ll make sure I…stand steel for you.”
slow blinks and slower turns towards the Knight…a smile pulling at his lips.
giggles, delightedly!
determinedly ignores the puns, which she thinks are a low form of humor. Perhaps the lowest. Something like that. “Point taken about Izaak. Our other friend is of standard proportions, and decidedly less metallic. I think he probably would appreciate some convenient pockets, though.”
nods sagely. “Pockets are wise.”
: “Alright, well.” They take a step or two back, stretching and canting their head to one side. “I’ll have to do some maths to make my patterns work but I can make it work. Do you know how long you expect to be in town? Also, pockets ARE wise, it’s true.” They start making some notes on a little clay tablet in a fired-clay frame, murmuring to themself.
: “At least the night, but probably little more than that. Does that sound right to you, yeresh?”
nods. “Aye. We’ll want to be on the road before too deep in the dawning.”
earflicks perilously, but it doesn’t hit their face. “Alright, I can work with that if you promise solemnly to carry my work to all corners of the world and tell everyone who outfitted you so.” They grin out of a corner of their mouth. “Swing by afore you leave, I’ll have the work ready.”
smiles, bows, palm over fist in front of him. “Your name will be spoken in the Courtyard before long, Iosi.”
: “From the Courtyard to the far reaches of my home. May your fame and fortune grow in kind.”
pulls out another of her crystals and hands it to her. “And the Sword-Saint will remember the story of swift-fingered Iosi.”
does a flourishy and graceful bow, looking like they’ve got the devil in their eyes briefly- a quizzical look at all of them- but whatever they were thinking about saying doesn’t manage to escape. “The pleasure’s mine, yeresh, Saint, new friend. Be sure to rest before your journey; you’re in the right town for it.”
walks away, garnering no fewer stares than they previously did. But they do not care. They are happy to have met good people, and excited to keep their promise. Soon, even the markets of Queenstown will know the name of Iosi the Tailor.