2023.02.24 The Crafter’s Market
| 02.23.23 The Crafter’s Market | |
|---|---|
| A visit to the Gaian Crafter’s Market, and a newbie gift! | |
| IC Date | 02.23.23 |
| Players | George, Iris, Trey |
| Location | Craftsman's Guild - Central Square |
| Spheres | Bastet, Gaian, Garou, Kinain, Sorcerer |
<---======##=---------------[ FAMILIAR (PRIVATE) ]---------------=##======--->
Rebiu
Warrior jaggling in service to Helios
Willpower 8, Rage 8, Gnosis 8, Essence 40
Charms: Airt Sense, Blast (Sunfire), Re-form, Illuminate (Sunlight), Access Caern, Armor, Appear, Assess Character, Open Sky Bridge, Peek, Swift Flight
This particular sun spirit appears either as a 9 foot tall human warrior in the panapoly of a spear guard of an ancient egyptian temple or a large falcon with golden markings. George has developed a bond with some of the spirits his tribe had pacts with of old and Rebiu in particular.
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Trey says, “Yeah, our higher ranking cats use moon bridges to travel sometimes, though I don't know exactly what gifts lets them do it. A sun-path, though, that's new!" He gets his boots on after dusting off the sand, then shoulders his backpack. His version of the Bigass Purse, one supposes. "All good!"
George shoulders his messenger bag and there's a sound like a falcon's hunting cry and a swirling portal of red-yellow-purple-gold light like a sunset painting the sky and George heads on through, just expecting to be followed.
"Our Ragabash know a gift to open moon bridges without all the hassle of needing to use a caern," Iris says while slinging her purse over her shoulder, "But there's a one in ten chance of opening a bridge that barfs out a horrifying Lovecraftian abomination at you. But a nine in ten chance you get to where you're going just fine, so you know." she moves her hands up and down like balance scales and wobbles her head. "Accaptable risk, sometimes!" She makes an 'after you' sweep of her arm for Trey to follow first, and then brings up the rear. Gotta keep the squishier folk in the middle. Safety first!
Trey shrugs and says, "Onward!" He follows through the portal, figuring it's a new experience, plus... let's face it, it looks really, really cool. "Um... a one in ten chance? That sounds... a little..." He stops, and shrugs. "Interesting, now that I think about it. Besides, if you kill it, there's one less horrid thing in the world. Right?" And with that, he goes through.
The Grand Garden - Broadway and Harbor
This garden is indeed grand. Spanning about two city blocks worth of space, this park is a pristine example of tended urban nature. A few large sequoia trees stretch high into the sky and provide shade for beds of delicate flowers and temperamental shrubbery trying to survive the southern California sun, with decorative benches scattered where the fragrances can be enjoyed peacefully. Flowering trees and high, sculpted bushes dot immaculate lawns with meandering paths and gently babbling fountains fighting to drive back the heat and add humidity. Stone or metal sculpture add a creative touch to the gardens; life like bronze people and animals have selfies taken with random folk, more abstract pieces give the thoughtful something to consider, while others are creative takes by the artist on the world around them. Nocturnal things aren't left out, the warm nights are filled with the scents of night blooming flowers and the soft dazzle of solar lights in gardens, along paths, and within fountains and art pieces.
At the center of the park is a very large two story building of stone and mortar. Ornate enough to rival any church, it has almost no ground level windows at all, and is instead wrapped around with a highly detailed frieze. This sculpted band details artists in the creation of all manner of things: smiths at their forge and sculptors or painters at their trade to name just a few. At the second floor, colorful stained glass windows blaze with color during the day and shine softly at night. Crenelations along the peaked roofs, though difficult to see from the ground with the naked eye, are carved into the fanciful shapes of animals, birds, and insects. There is a front and back entrance, both huge identical wooden double-doors, each pair having a regular sized man-door installed. Big brass letters boldly proclaim this building to be "The Craftsmen's Guild" and "Private".
<Read +warning in this room before continuing.>
WARNING:This park is frequented by Gaian shifters and kinfolk, and while it's not a particular holy place, they are obliged to keep crime-stuff to a minimum here for the sake of their ideology and the safety of their people. There are no structured patrol schedules, however the area is looked after and kept safe by urban Gaians and kinfolk, either in NPC or PC form.
Deciding to do evil or criminal things within this area is an agreement that you may run into Gaian push-back, Risk escalation and any consequences that come with it might happen, so please be OOCly aware of the danger and be willing to communicate with players or staff.
The Sky Bridge portal that Rebiu opens takes you through a folded space sort of wormhole experience like Stargate but in sun colors instead of a space colors. And then it pops the trio out in an alley not far from the Dead Mall, and by extension not far from the Grand Garden. With a brief pause to check in on Trey before heading out, George will lead the way towards the 'Marketplace' Mercy mentioned.
Trey seems fine -- if anything, he seems energized by the whole thing. This is a new experience for him, and any neat new experience you walk away from is a potential story to be told. He grins and gives a thumbs-up, then follows at a sped-up amble that eats the ground.
Following the dudes out, Iris takes a minute to enjoy this bigass park in the middle of the city, turning her face up and smiling while smelling the cedar-y air. "Nice." she says to herself. While they start walking towards the old college looking building, she tells Trey, "It's an us-only place all around. People as well as products."
George grins at Trey and gestures at the building "Its a maker's paradise. We have so many craftsfolk around here it seemed a worthy investment of resources."
Craftsman's Guild - Central Square
Regardless of which door one enters the building through, they're met with a modest antechamber furnished with a few couches and wall lamps, a television set and other such basic entertainment for those who might be tasked with any sort of guard duty. A second set of double doors ensures the privacy of the true interior.
The building is more of a large boarder wall of rooms that surrounds a wide open square, its inside dotted with staircases from the ground level to the second, where an open air walkway gives access to its many chambers. Doors and windows cover both levels, leading to workshops and galleries, as well as a few personal living spaces. The ring of hammers, dinging of timers, the clanking and clattering of pottery and chimes create a blended music that can inspire one to wonder at the limits of the artistic imagination. The very walls of the building itself have been molded into friezes and pocketed sculpture honoring spirits of civilization and nature alike. Small but equally ornate garden beds are dotted all over to provide beauty, but more importantly to provide specific components for crafts that need such things.
The huge square the building surrounds has a big section portioned out to things of a hotter and more flammable nature, such as forges, kilns, and smelters. The rest of the square is given over almost entirely to an open market. A riot of colors and scents, the vendor stalls and snack shacks create a maze of grass covered pathways.
How did this outing come to be? Word of mouth, of course. There's a place that just about no one knows about, except people who have been here for a while, which is a place that .. could REALLY be utilized more than it is. It's an entire block. It's practically central fucking park, just for Gaians. Armani has had the whole thing catered from Smoke and Barley and she has graciously added Sweet Tea from her sister and strawberry passionfruit lemonade to the menu.
Come as you are, but get here is the message. Currently, there is music playing. It's a random selection of things that range from country to death metal if you listen long enough. «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»
Trey ohs at that, smiling. "Oh, good -- having a place to trade among our own is a good thing." He tosses his ponytail back over his shoulder, away from the straps of his backpack, so it doesn't get caught, and notes, "The Sept built this? Well, I suppose that's a dumb question, but it does make sense to have, I've just never heard of such a thing before." He looks around and asks, "Do I need to introduce myself?"
Iris enjoys the craftsman's square as much as the park, really, still grinning and looking around the place, soaking up all that creative vibe. Since it's dark early these days, the market maze is probably lit up with solar lights and stuff, surely. "Whoever's doin' security and keeping the normies out would do well to know your name and face, but otherwise... Just whatever politeness tells you to do, I guess. There's places you can use around here, when you've got a need. Like if you wanna try and make something but you need some simple ingredient, it's around here. Or you wanna dye something, there's vats. If you wanna smith something, or just like rent out a workshop where you can store your crap. Or yourself for that matter, there's apartments and stuff. If you wanna test something out, there's chambers underground, just in case things get explodey."
George nods at Trey and grins "It helps that we've got some seriously wealthy kinfolk around here. On top of some really talented craftsfolk. All this took was a Silver Fang deciding his kin needed somewhere to shop and sell her own enchanted items."
Trey says, “Well, I've never had any leatherwork explode on me, but hey, first time for everything, right?" The busy faces of those working within catch his eye; he examines the work of one crafter working in copper wire, making intricate glyph shapes for a bangle bracelet. Probably a fetish in the works, he'd imagine, judging from the intricacy. He chuckles at the origin story and says, "Well, the end result is pretty impressive... does that kinfolk woman still work around here?"
"Thank Gaia for rich guys, right? Well. Sometimes." Iris says with a laugh for George. "Yeah you never know, man. You might one day want to make a um. Well maybe a sun whip. Doesn't exactly *explode* or anything, but it's damned close! I like the market for when I just don't have time to craft every single little thing. Like that little clay fish token we used earlier? Sometimes there's time, sometimes not, someone around here makes stuff like that so I can just shop around and barter the things instead of having to spend a couple days at home molding and shaping and glazing and stuff.
George shakes his head at Trey's question "She and her mate have left town but there are relatives still around. There's always relatives still around, especially for the silver fangs." Listens to Mercy and adds "And you can get a solid second opinion if you're working on something and need a second set of eyes."
Trey says, “When I saw that clay fish, I was thinking of making some leather circle tokens that could do similar things. So I can see that. I'd have to come up with designs but I could sell those for people who want easy talens. Or just pendants, they're pretty enough with the dyes." Hrm. Sun whip? Stay on target, kittycat. "Silver Fangs... lot of them around, then. And yeah, having someone to tell me when it's crap is valuable, too. Hate when I work on something, and it ends up being crap. Or just ugly, even, my taste isn't everyone's."
"Hell, if you're willing to do custom designs on leather with a burner, you'll do real well." Iris insists, "Everyone always needs something, you know? Jewelry, a fancy pouch, book cover, talen thingies, fetish parts, but not ever mystic is good at drawing! I can’t work with metal to save my damned life. NO patience for it, I ruin whatever I try and work with, it comes out all wonky and brittle. But you know, the crap stuff isn't useless either, really. I mean there's always someone or something that likes the misshapen." She nods her agreement to George, "Or someone to help hold something awkward so you don't fall down the damned stairs!"
George offers "I even do some talen crafting myself. My tribe has a number of proprietary designs for things that go in the 'in case of Leech' emergency box. So if you wind up with a vampire problem. Or also a ghost problem. The Silent Striders are who you call."
Trey says, “Sure, that's easy work. Just a matter of taking the time. I'm actually pretty good at the drawing part, more so at the actual leather part. I've never tried metal heavier than wire combined with leather for structured things and ornamentation. But my understanding is that if your metal comes out brittle, you're overworking it." He mmms and laughs. "Some people even believe flaws lend *authenticity*." He snorts at the very idea, and asks, "I'd heard the Striders have the strongest connection to the deadlands in the Nation. True, then. And anti-Leech talens?" He huhs. "I'm gonna be a busy kitty once I start making talens, I think. I should try and make another of my candle holders for Irsa. It helps with the smaller Rites. Not a Talen, an Enchantment."
"Branton's very nice about it and doesn't laugh at my awful awful metalworking skill." Iris says with a grin, "But I'm pretty sure he does internally. Oh, hell's bells." she adds, and kinda throws herself into the market zone to scan over stalls, "I need a coolass bag. I do a thing for newbies I like, but I liked ya so much I spaced it completely. George, use your more-superior-than-mine height, spot me a gift bag!"
George grins at Mercy and then does a tippy toe, laced fingers high over his head, streeeeeetch. And points "That lady over there is Uktena kinfolk from one of the human tribes local to the area, and she does these nice little bags."
Trey says, “Oh, I'm sure you do just fine," he says, in a gently teasing tone. "And your mate would, of course, never hold back from laughing..." He grins at her, thoroughly expecting to be swatted for that. He oohs at the mention of Uktena kin. "I knew a few Uktena kin back East, nice guys. One of them and his daughter taught me the basics of crafting, when I was just a kitten still and learning to use my paws-with-thumbs." He doesn't protest the gift -- he knows he'll give his own, in turn, because that's the nature of it."
Iris swats! But lightly, while ppfffttting at the cat. "Hooray!" Iris says, and zooms ahead so she's got a minute to look at stuff and make a swift deal. It costs her two dollars in nickels, a ball of undyed yarn, and two unused books of matches. She makes sure she's got her back to Trey and George before they go catching up and spoil everything! But packing an impromptu gift bag doesn't take much time, it just takes some very dedicated rummaging around in her purse. It's not a bag of holding or anything, but dude you can fit a LOT of shit into a cable knit bookbag sized hippy purse. She ends up thrusting a bag out towards Trey, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" she blares while giving HIM the pretty cloth bag of awesome beaded and painted design.
George grins as he trails along lazily, he's just basking in the radiant energy of Mercy's enthusiasm. She's like that a lot and George is a pretty mellow dude.
Trey doesn't hurry to catch up -- he likes surprises! He looks at the gift thrust into his hands, and beams. "It's SHINY!" The beads alone will keep him busy for hours in Feline form! "Thank you! I don't remember when my birthday was, so I guess it's today now!" It's funny -- Trey is normally much more laid back, but Mercy and Irsa both seem to bring out his tigger-bounce.
<---======##=============[ Equipment Owned By Trey ]==============##======--->
323801 - Type:39/Fetish Charges:1 Name:Elemental Camouflage
018538 - Type:39/Fetish Charges:1 Name:Golden Apples
497298 - Type:39/Fetish Charges:1 Name:Hurry Home Talen
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<---======##========[ Item Elemental Camouflage: 323801 ]=========##======--->
Charges:................1 Gnosis:.................7 Magic Type:........Fetish
Owner:...............Trey Reference:......WW3813/75 Type:...........39/Fetish
Name:............Elemental Camouflage
Created:20230224-2129 by Equipment Manager
Description:Small candles of multi-colored wax bound with a frog spirit.
Effect: Elemental Camouflage despite the name is perhaps the very antithesis of camouflage. The "paint" is actually a melted colored wax bound with a frog spirit dripped onto the body in swirling looping patterns. When the garou shifts for the wax manifests as brightly colored maarkings in her pelt. A favorite among the Uktena for fighting spirits the wax shifts and mutates to cover the body and counter the spirit being fought. An Uktena facing down a fire elemental would suddenly be covered in ice or water and one fighting a Bane would sprout leaves and flowers from her fur becoming such a power of life that the Bane would be unable to affect it. When attacking spirits any Garou wearing Elemental Camouflage does +2 damage and adds 1 die to all soak rolls.
Updated:20230224-2129 by Equipment Manager
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<---======##============[ Item Golden Apples: 018538 ]============##======--->
Charges:................1 Gnosis:.................7 Magic Type:........Fetish
Name:.......Golden Apples Owner:...............Trey Reference:......WW3813/82
Type:...........39/Fetish
Created:20230224-2129 by Equipment Manager
Effect: When eaten - Roll the user's Gnosis against a difficulty of the eater's Rage; every success restores one health level.
Updated:20230224-2129 by Equipment Manager
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<---======##==========[ Item Hurry Home Talen: 497298 ]===========##======--->
Charges:................1 Gnosis:.................5 Magic Type:........Fetish
Name:....Hurry Home Talen Owner:...............Trey Reference:......WW4254/69
Type:...........39/Fetish
Updated:....20230224-2129 by SassyCat
Activation:Can be activated with Willpower instead of Gnosis
Created:20180714-1342 by WhoopingCrane
Effect:Emulates Get Me The Heck Outta Here! (successes on activation roll + 3)
Note:Must key it to a destination ahead of time
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Iris hasn't even sicked her familiar on the cat yet. Like at ALL. But soon. Soon... "You're welcome!" Inside are three items. One is an apple that looks as though it were made of pure gold, stem and tiny leaf included. The second is a little home made candle of psychadelic sworl colors, roughly the size of a birthday candle. And the last is a little thin cloth baggie that's tied shut and obviously not meant to be untied, given the way things are all neatly tucked in and inaccessable. Iris will 'splain their useage when Trey gets around to pawing at them, unless he figures them out first. While the cat's checkin out his totally-today-birthday gift, she gives George a poke and says, "Thanks! Stuff's always better received when you don't wrap it in an old hand towel or something."
George nods and grins at Iris as he gets poked and takes it good naturedly "True facts." And he looks over at Trey to see how he receives the gift, its this evening's entertainment apparently.
Trey picks through the shiny bag eagerly and draws out first a set of candles; he examines them closely and says, "For fighting spirits...Oooh! Very cool!" He places those back in and then pulls out the next item, a Golden Apple -- he ohhs and blinks slowly. "I'm going to hold onto this for emergencies. At least until I learn how to make it. It a healing apple, right?" A bounce and another beaming smile follows, as he pulls out a little cloth baggie that makes him think of... "Home! It's like a quick trip to wherever it's keyed, yes?" He bounces on his heels and actually hugs Mercy in a way that is more like a kid than an adult. "Thank you, Mercy!" He honestly seems touched by this -- he likes gifts, but wasn't expecting them.
Iris stands by George and watches with a big stupid smile on her face. She nods eagerly when the weaponized armor vs spirits is identified, and again with the apple, adding, "Well, it's one half healing apple, but also one half reverse hand grenade. You can use it as a distraction, throw it at the bad guys instead of eating it. If they're not very powerful or overly willful, they'll all ignore you and dive on it so othey can fight over the apple while you get away." And once more for the pouch! "Yes! That one is made by Branton, he can help you learn the recipe if you need it. Another GTFO when you underestimate a situation is always handy. ACK!" She is hugged and hugs back, though awkwardly as well as excitedly. "You're welcome! Just stay safe, yeah? I mean it's all friendly here, but you're definitely going to run into like a mutant alligator that just explodes out of a fuckin storm drain at you, at some point."
George nods sagely at Iris' explanation "Or a swarm of squirrles might steal and dismantle your fancy motorcycle and leave the mangled wreck of it on the green like a warning."
Trey ooohs, "So it's Eris' golden apple, too? Oh, *neat*!" Yes, he's absorbed a lot of lore over his handful of years of life. He ohhs and nods at the one made by Branton. "I'm going to take extensive notes on these later -- and I'll share recipes with him if he likes." He only notices the awkwardness after the hug's already in play, so he doesn't hold on too long, just enough. At least, by his reckoning. "Mutant gator? Saw one or two of those in Florida, they had them in a four-foot-deep pool outside a Bass Pro Shops and charged to go see them." He's probably not kidding. "I don't have a fancy motorcycle. Or any motorcycle, I was actually told to talk to you about buying one. I'd have to learn to ride it though."
"You don't *have* to yell 'Smoke bomb!!' while throwing down the Hurry Home to escape, but you definitely should cause it's cool." Iris nods, regarding the apple, "It's a specialty of my tribe, there's three spirits bound in there all complicated like." She nods to George as well to confirm the motorcycle needs of the lynx, but adds, "I told him he should get a unicycle, but no one ever listens to me."
George nods and considers "I can certainly help with getting you a motorcycle if you want one. Though 'buy' might be kind of a strong word. Do you need it for transportation? There might be better choices."
"I can do that. Anything that makes it cooler is good by me," Trey agrees amiably. "Three spirits. Now I'm going to have to see if I can talk to all of them before I wind up using it..." That'll keep him busy, for sure. "Yeah, I just wanted something easy to get around, but didn't need anything big. I just figured the motorcycle because it has less impact, right? I think.
"And racing cheetah, no doubt." Iris adds to possible uses of a motorcycle. While vehicle things are ironed out, she paws around at people's nearby wares with interest. Not for anything in particular, just seeing what people have to offer.
George nods at Trey "A mountain bike with an electric motor. Won't be able to go as fast max speed as motorcycle with a gas engine but will be better off road and really some of the places we need to go don't involve roads. Probably easier just to have someone buy one though, I know a lot about different transportation options but usually if I need a vehicle I just steal whatever's available."
"That would work. I'm not intending to race it," and Trey looks at Mercy with an apologetic look at that, "Cool as that might be. Yeah, being able to work offroad would be a huge help too. Could still use it on regular streets though, yeah?"
Iris gasps at George, "You sneak thief!" She clicks her tongue with disappointment at there not being any races, but who knows, that could change one day! "I think they make bikes that fold now, so you can like carry them and stuff. I don't know anything *about* them, but I know I've seen adverts. That with a motor might make getting around and not losing a bike a lot easier!"
George nods at Iris "The Foldable ones max out at around twenty mph. and usually have enough battery charge for about fifty miles. But that's before our artificers get their mits on them. I imagine if you awakened the spirit of one you could recharge it with Gnosis or maybe even some other chiminage tribute."
<OOC> George says, "https://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Electric-Mountain-Bicycle-Aluminum/dp/B09789QB2F"
Trey says, “Folding bikes? Sounds like it would be kinda... unwieldy, ya know?" He hrms. "I could make an improved lock. One that explodes if you try to steal it. Well, explodes just a *little* bit. I don't want to do a Hollywood disaster movie or anything..." He huhs and says, "Well, I don't do anywhere near 20 on foot, so that's still faster than I am now. That could work, actually. Do they just plug in, like, with an extension cord to charge? And yeah, I'd definitely want to do that. Jazz it up, see what I could do with it. Tribute is no problem as long as I know what and it's something workable."
"Four sick olly oops and some of the good chain grease." Iris agrees with a grin and a laugh. She doesn't know much about motors or anything, but she does know about, "Jazz hands! Wait no. Jazz tires!"
George grins at Iris "Or playing cards to make the clicky noise. Other accessories and things. The bells you ring with your thumb and shit. Or taking it on a ride over at least five miles of road its never traveled before. Essentially a tithe of a battery charge towards letting it serve its purpose."
Trey asks, "What's an olly?" Seems like that's the only word in the mix he didn't recognize. The jazz hands, he gets, and he makes his own attempt at same, just because why not? Playing cards, though? "Oh, I've hear those bells. And... yeah, exploring is fun for me, too. I like seeing places I haven't been before. So that would work easily.
The bell? Oh no, it's time for QUEEN! "Biiiiicycle, BIIICYCLE!" Iris sings, but she's kind enough to just hum the rest rather than make everyone listen to her sing. "I have no idea what an olly is. I think maybe it's when you go all flippy up in the air, maybe? I'm not even sure if it applies to bikes!"
