Eldrin/Vai
Administrator
Kaepora Gaebora
Posts: 646
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Post by Eldrin/Vai on Jun 3, 2012 22:14:15 GMT -6
Continuation of "Home is a Dangerous Place"Location: Hyrule FieldThe Market Place was bustling with activity when the group from Hyrule Field arrived. It was a fine day, and most saw no better an opportunity to visit the market. The sun shining above was a golden gem in the deep blue sea of the sky. A light breeze cooled what little the sun heated too much. The fountain ran with refreshing water, the bottom gleaming with a variety of rupees and rupees tossed in for luck. All sorts of people were moving about the Market Place with varying levels of urgency. Mothers herding along flocks of children. Servants running about doing errands for their rich masters. Farmers coming to the city to sell their produce. Goron miners were trading the market's jewelers all manner of precious stones and gems. Zora fisherman were selling their catches in small stalls, located near the fountain just for comfort. Even the occasional Gerudo was seen wandering about, though none were brave enough to ask them their business. Even in this varied crowd, the group from Hyrule Field was a strange one. A Zora in dryfolk's clothes wielding a staff, a happy-go-lucky little boy in assassin's garb, a half-Sheikah youth with a wild look in his eyes, a Desert Monk (also half Sheikah) followed by a pleasantly obnoxious poe and an aura of mystery, and finally, a sickly tourist looking for rare cookware. They received more than a few furtive glances upon their arrival, and were the subject of many a whispered conversation. On their own, none of them would have been noticed. But together, they were an anomaly. The group congregated on and around the benches surrounding the fountain to rest from the journey there. It had been an admittedly short walk, but a good moment for relaxation never really hurt anyone anyway. Not to mention, with what their new acquaintance had told them of his frail body, nobody wished to see Vulpus overexert himself. Eldrin sat on the edge of the fountain and began picking out the most valuable rupees and the coolest looking rupees. "Well, I say we head over to one of the general stores. Maybe they have your cooking stuff... If not, we can always try the Gorons. They usually bring in gems and shiny stuff like that, but ya never know when someone's gonna drag along a full set of iron cookware!" He spoke up, counting his catch. Not bad, mostly green rupees, but there were a couple blue thrown in and even a purple. For a fountain, that was good money.
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Post by Rii/Thell on Jun 3, 2012 22:38:18 GMT -6
Rii felt a happiness growing inside her as the group entered the Market Place. She felt like she was once again in a family like with the Zora Guards back home, surrounded by men and being the only female. That was the way she was most comfortable, oddly enough. Some female Guards sometimes made crude remarks, but Rii never felt affected by them. Besides, what did some of them even mean? She sought nothing more from the Guards than the ability to assist, to learn, and to laugh. At least, in the most simplistic form.
Her eyes traveled to all the sights, taking in all the healthy people, and frowning at the sick that might never be treated. Maybe she'd do a round in the market and heal all she could. Yes, that would be a good plan once she restocked. Speaking of which, Rii cast her gaze to Vulpus, still clutching to his shawl and shivering. "I have an idea. You all seek cookware... though I believe you're collecting for the brigades again, aren't you, Eldrin? Had I known fountains were for such purposes I would cast more rupees," Rii remarked softly, and with that she took out a blue rupee and flipped it to the thief, not that she was aware of his particular career choice. She often remained oblivious in that way. "I'll go withdraw some rupees. I have a couple objects to acquire, and then I will return as if I never left. It shouldn't be hard to find you all. I hope you don't mind. I can check the Gorons on my way to see if they have your cookware if you like, Mister Vulpus, just in case they don't have them here, or if the Gorons sell them for cheaper." Yes, Rii planned to check with an herbalist and her alchemist husband to see if they had what she desired for Vulpus. But there was a small Goron stall near them, and while they were less likely to have the cookware as compared to a larger Goron set-up, it could never be a bad idea to try.
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Eldrin/Vai
Administrator
Kaepora Gaebora
Posts: 646
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Post by Eldrin/Vai on Jun 6, 2012 13:30:57 GMT -6
Eldrin caught the rupee without looking and gnawed on it to check the authenticity. Of course, one could not check a rupee in this way, but old habits were hard to break. "Bye, Miss Fish. And thanks for the cash..." Eldrin said waving as Rii disappeared into the crowd. He was used to, and even slightly fond of, the Zora's oblivious nature by now. He turned to see Vulpus peering in the around and pulling his shawl even tighter. Thief bit his lip in indecision. Should he act on his instinct? Technically, his instinct was a generous one. And generosity was not his style. It was uncharted territory, and quite frankly, it scared him. As far as he was concerned, giving to others had never gotten him anywhere. Unless it was slipping a guard a bribe so that he would conveniently take a break at 2:45A.M. Or else tossing a rock in a blind fortune teller's collection basket for a free reading. Still though, he was still on a mission to make Vulpus like him. Maybe this would do it...
With a sigh, Eldrin took out the purple rupee and Rii's blue one, depositing the rest in his satchel. He dragged Maximus away from the group and dropped the rupees in his hand. "Do me a favor, Maxie. Go find another shawl, or a jacket or something for Vulpus. That's fifty-five, should be plenty, but if you need more come find me." He said in a low voice, kneeling to get on Max's level. "Thanks kid," He ruffled the young assassin's hair and shoved him rather unceremoniously into the bustling crowd that was moving toward the clothing stores.
"Well then," Eldrin said as Maximus was swept away by a tidal wave of shoppers. "If Rii's going to look at the Goron's wares, then we can focus on the other stores," he said, looking around as he spoke. "I'm not a big fan of kitchen supplies... Well, hot porcelain sells pretty good in Kakariko around falltime... But that's not the point. Point is, you're new here, and the rest of us aren't to keen on the domestic aspects of life... What we need is a random stranger."
Eldrin reached into the crowd and tapped the arm of a random shopper. The woman appeared to be a housewife, probably in her mid-thirties or so. And from the bags under her eyes, Eldrin guessed she had several children. "Excuse me," He said in his most endearing voice. "I don't mean to bother you ma'am, but we seemed to be lost. We were looking for a lovely set of cookware to buy for mother."
The woman instantly looked skeptical. She stared between Eldrin, Azrael, and Vulpus. At least two of them were grown men, and the other looked to be on the verge. Not to mention, they looked nothing alike. Maybe the two with red eyes, but the other one had strange green and blue eyes. She doubt heavily that these three were even remotely related. "How nice," she said, though her voice implied that she felt otherwise. "What is your mother's name?"
Damn! Should've gone with the wife angle. "J-J... J something... Hold on, I've got this... Jasmine? Jess? Jorundr? Justice? Oh! Justine!" The thief grinned triumphantly. "Our mother's name is Justine!" He declared, as if should win a prize for remembering.
"It sure took you a while to remember your mother's name..."
"She has a lot of them, it's hard to keep track."
"You're a terrible liar, you know that right?"
"Ouch..."
"And you didn't even have to lie in the first place." She said with an exasperated sigh. "You could have just asked." She pointed out.
"Lying's more fun."
The woman didn't respond to this, but instead pointed down the street. "Up that way, turn left at the corner. It will be the third shop on the right. I'm sure you'll find plenty of cookware there. And it's rather out of the way, so it probably would have missed the morning rush." Before they could even thank her, the woman was gone.
"Right on," Eldrin said, grinning happily at his stupid success. "First stop, there!" And the thief was off, slipping into the crowd like a fish into water.
When they arrived, the shop was completely dead. The walls were lined with countless shelves, and each of these shelves were overflowing with cooking supplies. Knife sets, pots, pans, skillets, spatulas, ladles, silverware and dining sets, and more cookbooks than one could keep track of. The shop itself had a nice aroma to it, kind of like a well-used kitchen. The shop was mostly lighted naturally, with several windows and even a skylight. Various snack foods lined the front counter, apparently to tempt customers at the checkout line. The big-bellied shopkeeper was busy sweeping a floor that wasn't dirty, and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of customers. "Come in, come in! Is there anything I can help you gentlemen with on this fine day?" He asked hopefully, almost begging. He quickly tossed his broom into an open closet and returned to the counter.
"Go on," Eldrin said, nudging Vulpus gently toward the counter. Personally, the thief was busy peering over at a particularly tasty looking muffin...
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Post by Rii/Thell on Jun 6, 2012 15:26:35 GMT -6
As Rii walked away, she mouthed Eldrin's nickname for her. Miss Fish. She hadn't been called that before, probably because when she was back at home everyone was half fish. There were the people on her journeys who were racist, but because of that their fish-related names weren't as polite as Eldrin's, not that Rii noticed. She just thought they were all referencing her heritage.
No matter. Rii had things to attend to.
She withdrew all the money she had made from her last commission and went on her way, looking for her herbalist friend.
It wasn't more than three minutes when the Zora woman found the stall giving off dozens of aromas, mingling until it was unbearable for people who didn't deal with herbs for a living. A small and thin woman with absurdly tan skin and matted black hair falling past her waist was bustling around the stall, watering herbs placed on top of the counter, checking on the ones beneath, and even rotating a couple that were hanging from a netting draped above the stall. Upon spotting Rii the woman gave a delicate gasp and came over, hugging the Zora over the counter. After brief greetings, the woman set to work getting Rii's usual order together as Rii browsed the more exotic plants and other odd supplies that the herbalist occasionally had.
"I haven't seen you in months!" the woman said in her delicate, soft voice as she handed over a basket full of Rii's purchaes and took the rupees that the Zora offered.
"I received a letter saying a village on a cliffside was suffering from numerous cases of lung infection," Rii answered. The woman nodded and kept herself from asking anything else as Rii began to focus on the merchandise, figuring out what medical use each one served. It took a bit longer than usual, as she had to consider Vulpus's condition and what would be necessary. On their way to the market Rii had accessed a bit of her power to analyze what was wrong with him. It appeared to be a life-condition, but she could mix something so he could avoid the symptoms until she found something more effective.
"Is your husband in?" Rii asked.
"He got called away to inspect some potion stock of a noble's," the herbalist said. Oh well, it wouldn't be too much of a problem.
She filled the rest of the basket with a couple more purchases and paid her dues before leaving. It was time to go check with the Gorons.
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