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Asbury Park's nickname is The Dark City, which is probably why the market is called Dark Market, beginning at sundown on the day of the new moon every month.
The market itself is within the sound of the surf, and sand moves underfoot, even in the Hedge: the air is redolent with the scent of seaweed, salt air, with the sharp cries of something close to a seagull.
A cluster of semi-permanent buildings ringed by a skeletal-looking fence encircled with driftwood, and on the single opening in the fence, a sign posted:
1) Do not steal.
2) No artificial sources of light.
3) Human trafficking is not allowed.
4) Fighting is not allowed within Market grounds, unless approved by Mary.
5) Only members of the Market are permitted to wear accessories made of seashells or the bones of aquatic animals.
6) The Market closes at midnight, any uninvited guests past then are considered trespassers.
A tall, slender creature which looks something like a cross between a seahorse and a man, armed with a trident, stands guard next to the sign.
On the way to the Market, Bailey had explained the situation: There's a tree-hob named Mosspockets who was tricked by a changeling into giving up the deed to his hollow home. The changeling traded the deed to someone in this market, so Bailey is wanting to try to find out who and get the deed back for their tree friend!
Bailey stops in front of the gates, looking up at the sign, squinting at it. "Anyone mind readin' that for me?" they ask of the others.
Sage steps up to read it quietly, and looks down self-consciously, as if they might suddenly have seashell or aquatic animal accessories on their person.
"Do you have any idea as to what it was traded for, here? In case we have to buy it back?"
Rieko is standing by, just behind Bailey. Her version of "battle dress" is honestly comical compared to some of the other Summer courtiers in the city, but she looks about as imposing as a towering Oni can be while bedecked in glowing chitin, and wearing... overalls with cuffed legs, cowboy boots, and a battered hat. Y'know, plus the demon's big honkin odachi.
She shakes out her raggedy hair (which shimmers with a heavenly off-white glow) letting her hand fall to the hilt of her bowie knife where it sits on her hip. "Uhh," she grumbles, scratching at the back of her scalp. "I don't count as an 'artificial source of light' do I?"
"....Ah." Sage grimaces, and gives their blue neon self another look over. "I hope I don't, either."(edited)
"Would be pretty awkward, huh." Rieko snorts, cocking her hip to the side.
As if in answer to this question, a small, humanoid figure crosses the narrow path deeper within the Market, subtly glowing a deep crimson underneath its dove-grey tunic.
"Thank ya," Bailey says after the rules are read aloud. "Neither of ya'll are artificial. Reckon you'll be alright." They eye the glowing hob. "See? There ya go. Plenty of aquatic things glow, ya know."
Bailey heads into the Market proper, looking around. "No idea what it was sold for. Mosspockets didn' know much."
"Hmm." Sage nods, and scratches absently at the velvet choker they've got around their neck. "Well I guess there are other ways of getting it back, if it doesn't turn out that we have enough to trade."
Sigrun arrived separately, having swung through the Lehigh Valley to stop in at the diner and appraise Enyo Stygia of recent events in Shackamaxon-- including their run in with one of Odinn's helldivers. But she arrives more or less on time, carting her shield and her spear along with her as she edges up to the group and squints at the sign with a small, thoughtful sort of frown. "Probably a good way to go about this is state that we're looking to offload some real property and ask who might be buying. It'll give us a decent list of likely candidates."(edited)
"... I guess it's a good thing I didn't wear the hat Rosalyn made for me, then. I'd have to leave it out front, and honestly it's a pretty dope hat so the likelihood of it being stolen would've easily been, like, 100%." Rieko flashes a big dumb grin, and all of her terribly sharp teeth are on full display for a second until she closes her mouth. A moment passes, and Rieko is dead silent as Sigrun approaches with weapons in hand. "Woah. Hot damn, miss. Tragically, I don't think I can let you accompany us to the market, because the first rule clearly states that there's no theft." She tips her hat -- hand still resting on the hilt of her knife like a movie cowboy -- and winks. Like a fuckin' gremlin. "... and I'm pretty sure you've stolen my heart."(edited)
Bailey looks to Sigrun, then nods. "Makes sense. We can start with that, then. Ehh... Not so much the talkin' sort, so if one'a'ya wants to take point..."
Bailey trails off and stares at Rieko, then wrinkles their nose up a little. A dismayed shake of their head, before they turn back to looking around at the vendors, looking for any that stick out.
Rieko offers a little John-Travolta-In-Pulp-Fiction-esque shrug.
Sage huffs in mild amusement and shakes their head at Rieko's antics, their cheeks glowing slightly blue for just a moment. "That's an excellent idea. Sigrun, yes?" The woman gets a polite once-over, eyes lingering on her weapons for a moment. "I'd be happy to help with that, though it does sound like Sigrun has a slightly better idea of what-all is going on. I'm happy to provide backup, too."(edited)
It is -- somewhat predictably -- difficult to see around the Dark Market. The stalls are cheek-by-jowl close to one another. Down the way, there's something that looks like an glowing jellyfish drifting back and forth in the air in the front of a stand. Just inside the entrance, a string of little cages hold what appear to be fireflies over a display of glittering trinkets. Something that looks like a fat, jolly seal man rests on a creaking chair underneath an archway of twisted, bioluminescent ... bones? Yeah, those are glowing bones. How lovely.
"Yep! That's me. Sigrun Ljosdottir. I'm Summer's new Sentinel of Flame. And Bailey's--" Sigrun stops herself and backtracks a bit. "I'm here to help Bailey out. Nice to meet you." Sigrun gives Rieko a wry look at The Line she is given. And while she rolls her eyes and chuckles in dismissal of the whole business, she's also blushing. So who knows. "You can have it back, if you think it's important. Come on. Let's go chat up the locals." And with that, Sigrun starts into the market, glowing brightly all the while.
Bailey considers the nearby vendors, then points to the jolly seal-man one. "Maybe we can start there?"
"Eko," the darkling offers with a click of tongue against teeth, as she saunters forward into the market -- hand never straying far from the terribly large bowie knife at her belt. "... and I will need it back at some point, but you can hold onto it for now. Keep it behind that shield of yours; that way I can ensure it comes back in one piece." A beat. "Lead on. Honestly, I'm just here to provide muscle, and snarky commentary."
... though she is peering around at the various sights, and her reflective eyes seem to be drawing in every speck of light they can gather. Which makes her visible in the dark -- and possibly somewhat intimidating to behold.(edited)
"Sage Feld, Page of the Long Midnight," The neon Changeling replies with a small smile, and follows Sigrun into the market, their blue neon glow a little more subdued than Sigrun's. As much as they are On A Mission, Sage's dark eyes are wide, glittering blue as they look around the place. The glowing bones catch their attention for long moments, so much that they pause to just...look at the thing.
"It's as good a place to start as any, I'd think." Their voice is still quiet, filled with something that sounds like wonder.
The seal-man turns his head as he's pointed at, and gives Bailey a somewhat impassive look with his big, ink-dark eyes.
Sigrun trundles on up to the big seal fella and puts on her best, most innocent smile. Lots of teeth. A dimple. It's a good smile. "Hi there! My friends and I were wondering if you might know of any folx in the market, here, that might be interested in buying up a hollow, there? That would be super helpful." Remove the armor, spear, and shield? She could be at a PTA meeting.
Bailey follows Sigrun over to the seal fella, offering a tip of their hat to the hob. "Hey there."
Sage gives the seal fella a quiet smile and a nod hello, and lets Sigrun do the talking as they look at what he has for sale.
Rieko just stands back, letting the charming folks do all the talking.
He looks at her for a long moment, and then she starts talking, and those dimples come out to play, and the seal man goes from looking to Looking Respectfully, as the kids say. "Oh, well," he harrumphs, his basso profundo voice rolling out from his barrel-sized chest. "If you're interested in unloading real estate, you'll want to talk to Scypho! But if you're needing cutting implements of all sorts, I'm your best bet!" When he says Scypho, his flipper-like hand gestures toward the floating jellyfish across the way.
Bailey looks over towards the jellyfish, then tips their hat again to the seal man. "Thank ya."
"You're just a peach. Thank you so much. I'll be back to look over your sharp things. I like sharp things." Sigrun is, after all, veritably festooned in sharp things. Sword, axe, spear, daggers, eyeliner. Sigrun then glances back at Bailey and nods her head once, then ticks it over towards the Jellyfriend. "Let's take care of business, then, so I can come back and do some shoppin'!"
Put on the list of 'creatures Sigrun has made blush': one giant seal-man. "I look forward to it," he laughs brightly.
The scarecrow chuckles softly, turning to follow Sigrun over to the jellyfish vendor. Another tip of their hat in greeting to the next hob. "Hello. May we ask you some questions?"
Rieko, one such sharp thing, also maybe blushes a little. It's hard to tell, because she's always bright red. She tips her hat at the seal man, proceeding forward with the group at a lazy amble.(edited)
Sigrun heads on over to the jellyfish next, checking to make sure the whole party has come along. She does very much the same as before. She smiles, she offers an earnest greeting, and she's just herself. "Hey there! You must be Scypho. I'm Sigrun. Nice to meet you." Sigrun's cheer remains persistent as she sidesteps out of the way so Bailey can make their inquiries.
The jellyfish head sort of ... drifts upward... tipping the near edge up toward the ceiling, and that's when it becomes obvious that the bell of the jellyfish is, in and of itself, a sort of a ... living hat. Or maybe the top part of the hob's head? In any case, this hob's head comes down out of the center of the bioluminescent jellyfish, the blobby jellyfish part glowing in subtle neon greens and soft neon blues. Man-o-war arms drift down around a darker blue humanoid face not unlike seaweed, or dreadlocks, and the face resolves into a long, narrow, swan-like neck, slim shoulders, and a humanoid top-body-half. The bottom half of their body is more like an eel, curling slowly in the air. They drift above the ground as though they're swimming in the water, and when they speak, their voice sounds like it's coming from far, far away, drifting toward them along unseen currents.
"Scypho, yes," agrees the drifting hob. "That is me. I buy and sell many things, including information. Questions may be asked. Answers may be purchased, depending upon the answers desired. All things relative."
Sage perks up a little at the mention of 'information', but they hang back, letting Bailey and Sigrun ask the question they're here to ask.
"Ain't expectin' nothin' for free," Bailey assures. "A while back, a changeling sold the deed to a hollow at this Market. Was a right nice place in a tree, with lotsa books an' readin' nooks, an' a squirrel-faced lady who served tea. Ah... The changeling got it from a hob named Mosspockets. We're lookin' to track down that deed."
Sigrun hangs back, now that her role in all of this is more or less played out. She may even be peeking back towards the stall with the charming seal and the pointy stuff.
Scypho's man-o-war arms flare around them, and a rattling, hissing sort of sound follows.
The seal-faced man turns his head and spits on the ground.
Once Scypho stretches their neck out and their hair/arms settle down again, they reply, "I remember this deal. Three seasons ago. The deed is sold on. What do you offer for what I know?"
"Ah." Bailey scratches at their jaw a bit, looking thoughtful. "Hmm... Could offer some of my skill at fixin' up things. Pretty good at that sorta thing. I got quite a lotta fruit I can give, as well. Nothin' too rare, but I harvest good crops."
"I have a bit of fruit I could offer too, if needed," Sage says with a quiet smile. "Not a lot, and nothing too rare, but I'd we willing to pitch in."
"And possibly some retribution for whatever has you spitting and hissing," Sigrun suggests with that midwestern earnestness that is her birthright. "Sounds like someone involved in all of this done you wrong, huh?"
Rieko fingers the machete knife at her hip, and offers a wink at the idea of retribution. There's an overwhelming smell of petrichor, and the sound of distant thunder.
Their eyebrows arch up slightly. "I would accept bringing the bad-dealer to our justice," agrees Scypho. "If you will bring him back to the Dark Market, I will tell you. No other deal needed."
"Ah." They blink, then nod. "What ya know about the bad-dealer?"
A long silence, and Scypho replies, "Answers are for sale."
"So's my justice," Sigrun answers. "We're not paying for the information we need to help you. That's absurd." Sigrun then leans back and pipes up towards her seal friend, "Hey, cutie. Why don't you tell me about the bad-dealer while I come browse your cutlery." Sigrun turns about to head back towards Mr. Sealy.
Bailey snorts, looking more amused than offended by the swindling. They pause to glance towards Sigrun, then back to Mr. Sealy to see if he seems to be agreeable.
"I might return, to ask about pricing for answers of a different sort," Sage says to Scypho, before following the other Changelings back to Mr. Sealy.
"Upon agreement, necessary information given. Not before," Scypho answers, those man-o-war arms flaring again. Their slim arms cross across that scrawny chest of theirs, and Scypho retreats a little, the jellyfish part of their head tipping forward.
The seal-man gives Scypho a nervous sort of look before turning back to Sigrun, rather awkwardly. "... uh."
Sage gets sort of a sidelong look from Scypho, the tiniest nod.
Bailey looks back to Scypho. "I'm agreein' to help ya."
Rieko doesn't look half as amused as Bailey does, but she turns away none-the-less, keen to follow the others towards the Sharp Things stall lest she forget one of the Market's important rules in her frustration.
That seems to be the magic word, really: once Bailey says he's agreeing to help them, Scypho settles down, curling slowly around and around in their stall, their eel tail swirling slowly. "I did not know how he dealt with Mosspocket. The deal was bad. If I had known, I would not have bought it. Would not have sold it on." They seem -- irritated, to put it mildly, the way their tentacles flutter. "I would never have bought anything from Buidhe, if I had known. But you will bring him to our justice, here."
"....Uh." Bailey blinks, mouth opening and closing. "...Ah."
Rieko does a fucking doubletake.(edited)
Sage's eyes go wide, and their blue light dims. "Well." They grimace.
Bailey glances towards the others, then back at the hob, frowning. "Buidhe is, uh... missing, right now."
"That fact will certainly make any sort of retribution difficult," Sage agrees after they've composed themself.
Having dropped that particular bomb, Scypho slowly drifts back in their stall, and the seal-man? He just looks profoundly uncomfortable, and turns his head to spit on the ground again.
"Fuck," Rieko mutters under her breath. "Fuck."
She shoves her hands into her pockets.
Bailey shifts their weight a bit, then looks to the others. "Well... Reckon we found what we came here to find. Unless anyone's wantin' to do some shoppin', reckon we could head back."
"Would you be able to give us any sort of information as to who you sold the deed on to?" Sage cocks their head at Scypho.
"I don't think I'm really in the mood to shop after that dramatic reveal," Rieko mumbles under her breath. "I want to get back home and report."
Bailey nods to Reiko, then looks back to Scypho to listen to any answer to the question.
"I'll take those fruits in trade," Scypho answers Sage, slowly drifting in a circle. The seal man? He's slowly backed into his stall and closed his front curtain. Whatever's going on out here now, he wants nooooooooo part of it.
Bailey nods, pulling out... practically a sack full of fruits to offer over.
Not with their hands but with their tentacles, Scypho reaches out and drags the sack back underneath themself. They open it, and drift down to inspect the proffered fruit. Once they've deemed it acceptable, apparently, they explain, "She did not give me a name. Tall, dark, and wearing a rose emblem on her left shoulder. Taller than her." A small gesture toward Reiko. Maybe not taller than Rieko can ever be, but taller than her now, apparently.
They perk a brow towards Rieko. "Was she a changeling? Hob? Ah... True Fae?"
A fluttering gesture with two tentacles. "Lost," Scypho confirms.
"There's a Freehold near here called Red Rose, right? I wonder if there's a connection there, though I don't know many of us who wear their Freeholds on their sleeve. Or shoulder, as it were," Sage says with a small smile.
"That's a good place to start." Bailey nods, then looks to Scypho. "Thanks." Then to the others, "Let's get out of here."
Rieko scowls. She's clearly moving mental pieces around a board in her head.
"I do have one more question, unrelated to all of this. If you want to head back I'm happy to catch up, I won't be long." Sage looks between the others.
And lo, Scypho floats, and waits. They're absently sorting the fruit in that sack.
"Do you deal in memories? Specifically, lost ones?" Sage scratches their velvet choker absently.
"Mmm. I do not. The Gloop, in East Edge, they specialize in memories," offers Scypho thoughtfully, tipping their dark face up to look at Sage for a moment. "Real estate, maps. That is my specialty."
"Ah." Sage nods. "Thank you, very much." And with that, they turn to follow their companions out of the market.
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