Three's a Crowd [Group]

[Vivi]

The time of noontime rest had passed, and with it the languid calm of the hottest part of the day. Everyone took the time to rest at noon, avoiding the suns glare and enjoying the reprieve before it cooled.

Toka on the other hand, did not. The baking heat of the noontime sun had the opposite effect on her, setting her blood to boil and her limbs to tingling. Far from being calm and quiet while the heat passed, she wanted to move, to revel in activity, though there was no work to be done. She always spent the time slipping between her carts and barrels, checking her stores, the seals, unnecessary things she'd done a thousand times over. Sometimes the other traders would laugh at her from the shade of their caravans. "Slow down, Kikt'sha!" They would call, "You make us weary just watching you!" But Toka never did. It was just another strange foible of the world above to her: to waste so much time, and the most glorious gift of their fickle weather Gods, sleeping? Ludicrous.

Little wonder that she was off like a shot when the marketplace reopened. She slipped into the crowds the minute they began to swell again, her twitchy behaviour fading as activity resumed. Now this was more like it: the crush of people, the constant noise of voices, animals, sometimes music. It was as close to home as it got, to her. She enjoyed the market, enjoyed her job, and would gladly spend hours here amongst the traders. She had been there for a week, and her current trip would last for more than a month before the journey home - she was in no hurry to buy, not yet. This was the time for exploring, for finding anything new and interesting and scoping out the wares. She moved from stall to stall, asking prices, making mental notes, or sometimes just wandering and looking, drinking it all in as the sun beat down on her scales and spines. There were days when Toka truly loved her work.

[Paradox]

((Honestly thought that Bris would beat me to posting first! He's quite speedy!))

A camel bearing two riders arrived at the city's entrance, the creature's driver turned in saddle and shook the kobold sitting on the second hump awake and said cheerfully, " We have arrived in Essyrn, my scaly little friend."  Only having nodded off, Sekeo's eyes snapped open and rubbed his eyes tiredly. The ride across the Moraki desert had been a long one and the trip from Serendipity to here, even longer.

The kobold nodded and hopped off the camel. Quite a leap for such a short fellow , but Sekeo landed on feet. "Thanksss, my good man! Bye!"

"Hold it!" The driver called after him, his mood far less cheery. "You seem to be forgetting something."

Sekeo slowly turned around to face the camel rider whom had been so kind to carry him so far. "I am?"

The man held out his hand, "The other half of my payment."

Laughing nervously, the kobold fished around in his pockets for some coin, "Oh , yesss. Yesss! How sssilly of me." His hand found a couple silvers in his vest pocket which he tossed to the man. "There you are! Keep the change!"  There really wasn't much of a tip in there.

This made the driver grin though as he caught the coin and stowed it away in his pack , "Pleasure doing business with you! If you ever need another ride, I'll be over on the eastern side of the city in the stables."

Sekeo nodded and watched the man goad his camel on. Once the man was gone, he turned his eyes back towards the city itself. He couldn't help but stop and gawk at it. It was certainly no Serendipity or Adela but it was different and no less impressive. "Ohhh..." As he moved forward, Sekeo's head was turning in every which direction taking in the sights, smells and sounds of the people.

Serendipity wasn't quite as warm as this place, but the heat was welcome to a cold-blooded creature, like a kobold. Forgetting why he'd even come to Essyrn, the thief wandered over towards the market to ogle at all of the things for sale. And there were so many things to see too! So many shiny things and oh...Sekeo approached a stall where a man was selling an elegant looking white robe with the biggest, shiniest silver buttons he'd ever seen. Poor Sekeo's claws twitched eagerly and he stared intensely at the outfit, fantasizing taking those buttons and sewing them to his vest. They'd look quite handsome on him, he imagined!

So engrossed in fantasies was he that he didn't notice the being next to him and bumped into Toka. "Eeeeek!" Sekeo panicked and hissed, leaped backwards in alarm. The poor fellow thought he was being assaulted!

[Brisinger987]

((Aw, thank you Sharkie xD Can't beat a hungry shark to his prey though...))

Kil'karic had set his caravan away from the main market, and sprayed it with a potion brewed to prevent people from stealing anything as contact would cause violent hallucinations, a burning sensation, and eventually, death by OD. Fool-proof, as poisons and hallucinogens don't work in the slightest on him.

If he could smile, he would have as he looked at the items, which in his eyes, were all glowing green.

Ah, the benefits of being a bug.

He set off into the city, flying over the street crowds to get to what he wanted first. He needed to sell off some stuff. It took him all of ten minutes to con people for almost all the money they had, and as he flew off, he wished he could grin.

He saw an alley near his caravan, and landed in it, his wings beginning to ache from prolonged flight. He pulled up the rather nice coin pouch he had, and opened it. It was about the size of an apple. Then he put his whole arm in.

He absent mindedly counted his money, walking down the street, when a lizard-boy jumped backwards into him, sending money everywhere.

And he was right next to a stall he had conned too.

He frantically scooped money into the pouch before tightening the pouch off, and hiding it in a crevice in his carapace.

"Young lad, you should watch where you're going. You may cause someone to drop something valuable." Kil'karics's four eyed gaze seemed to not even look at the boy, as he used only the left pair of eyes to examine the boy. He used the other to examine the lizard-girl stood opposite, although neither could tell that the glowing orbs Kil'karic had for eyes were looking anywhere, as they were truly just coloured, glowing orbs.

"Of course, I'd forgive you if you and your sister came and looked at my wares?" Conning children was the easiest thing in the world. Yeah, they didn't usually spend much, but it was always cause they didn't have much. And they were just so gullible.

[Vivi]

[Loving that analogy. And the nickname.]

Toka was quite pleased by the wares this trip: they were much more varied than her last trip a few months before, and the quantity was much larger too. That, hopefully, would mean better buyers with more interest in what she had to sell. An encouraging thought, and one that helped keep her going as she moved deeper into the market with all its brand new sights and smells.

At least until the collision.

It wasn't a serious one - she didn't even drop anything - but the shriek of this funny little creature took her off guard. Instantly, she too leapt back almost colliding with other traders as she hissed, baring teeth like tombstones.

"You watch your way!" She snapped. Her accent was thick, and clicked on some of the consonants. "Calm your shrieks, for the love of the Gods! You not being attacked!"

And of course, because the Gods loved to play games, this was about the time when the other thing ran into them. Scrabbling for coins on the ground like the dog-things she saw around the caravans, it was as unfamiliar as the other clumsy not-human next to it, though a lot more eloquent. Toka glared even so, folding her scaly arms. "Is not my brother." She snapped, "Is clumsy not-human I have never seen before."

[Paradox]

((You got me there! Apologies. I meant to post this a lot sooner but the fam demanded that there be card games tonight! ))

Despite being told to calm himself, Sekeolath'zhin continued to hop about, but the hissing stopped at least when he noted that neither of the creatures he'd mistakenly run into (although he was quite sure that it was they who had run into him) did not appear to be armed. The kobold looked up first at Toka and stared unblinkingly and then his eyes shot over to Kil'karic curiously.

Toka's words hardly bothered him, but there seemed to be some sort of confusion as to what Sekeo was so he made it a point to clarify whether they cared or not in a rather matter-of-fact tone , "I'm a kobold." He then nodded at Kil'karic, "I am interesssted. What do you have for sssale?"

Of course, the thief hardly planned on buying much of anything if anything at all! Still, Sekeo did enjoy hunting for treasures! "Do you have any ssshiny buttonsss?" Those were his most favorite things!   

[Brisinger987]

"I have trinkets, weapons, clothes, potions, furniture, food, everything one could ever need. Come and have a look at what I have chosen to put on display today..." Kil'karic's rather well developed selective deafness meant that he hadn't actually processed what the girl had said.

"Both of you can come, I have many things to sell! Come, come." Kil'karic beckoned for them to follow, knowing his caravan wasn't very far away at all. When he reached it, the wares had stopped glowing, and could only be touched by him before being handed to a customer.

"Now, I warn you, I set these up with skin poison to avoid thieves stealing my most precious items, so do not touch unless I give them to you." Kil'karic clicked as he turned his back, going to get his coin bag to make sales and possibly purchases.

"Please, take a look, everything is for sale. If you have the money, the caravan and horses are for sale too!" Kil'karic actually had nothing but junk, but his talent for conning people meant he got good prices. There were a few shiny objects mixed in with fancy wooden knives, the odd love potion, some books (mostly joke books), and other worthless items.

[Vivi]

[Sorry about the wait! Got caught up in uni work the last couple of days and my brain just gave up.]

Oh, what was all this nonsense? Toka looked from one to the other with a hint of disapproval, though it did lessen some when that little scaled thing (a kobold, did it say?) stopped that irritating hopping. The larger one on the other hand, seemed to have ignored her, prattling on happily as his sales pitch unwound like so much coiled rope, hoping to ensnare a few ankles. At this, she actually relaxed a little more. Another trader. It may have been smarmy and pointed, but the language of a seller was something she knew.

Interest was probably why she followed, the same professional curiosity that had her looking over every stall she came across. This one was... average. There were a few pleasant-looking things, and he'd certainly set them out nicely - he was good at this presentation lark, she'd give him that. The little kobold certainly seemed to think so, already hissing questions. Toka's height meant that she could easily peer over his head, looking up to the insect creature with a politely interested expression.

"Where you buy?" She asked, "You find wares all over, or specific place?"

[Brisinger987]

"It all depends on where the ware is most readily available. Some of the items I have on display are one of a kind, while others are limited runs, while some are widely produced, and you will be able to find some of them have sister items with exactly the same functions, just different aesthetics." Kil'karic had spent 200 years in the business. He knew just how to make a hard sale, and this woman had the potential to become a hard sale.

"Why, was there something that caught your attention? If it's ethics you're concerned about, know that I paid the correct price for my wares, and was fair in my judgement and bargaining for the product." Yet another clever business lie. He had paid fair prices for this worthless junk. He had stolen and scavenged most of it. He was possibly the best at salvage in the business.

"I think I have something you might like. It's a grammar book, written for, if you'll excuse me, those with a new, inexperienced grasp on the rather complex language, commonly spoken throughout the land. This book won't just make you as good as those around you, it will make you better. I personally recommend it." Building the trust of the customer through legitimate items was a must if the customer might get suspicious, and Kil'karic thought this one might.

[Paradox]

Sekeolath'zhin knew junk when he saw it. Any good thief worth half his salt did, but kleptomaniacs had this little problem of wanting to get their sticky little fingers on every little thing. Sekeo was not the most intelligent creature, but neither was he wholly devoid of a working noggin either. He has listened to Kil'karic's warning about skin poison.

And while Sekeo was highly resistant to most forums of poison, the little thief decided that the stuff here was certainly not worth the risk. Besides, he'd also heard warnings about the Essyrni city guard from his good friend and fellow bandit,  Jassir. Thievery was something that the Essyrni looked even less kindly upon that Serendipity.

Sekeo kept quiet while the Toka and Kil'karic and fixed his gaze upon a rather old looking map of Essyrn. Sekeo had, admittedly come to this land without one and he imagined that it would be good to have one for reference. He couldn't look for what he was after without one afterall!  He stuck in his pocket and felt around for some change. He was sure he had enough coin for a map. Surely it wouldn't cost much.

((small post!))

[Vivi]

Toka was nodding along with him, scratching at her chin with a claw-like nail. She looked from the trader to his wares, then back again, frowning faintly as she collated what she heard with what she saw. Some limited ware, some not, with a few sister items, and all classic answers when the seller had nothing but crap to get rid of. Well, maybe that was unfair: a few items on his table looked like they might be worth more than kindling, but it wasn't the majority. She'd seen far finer, and as much as she appreciated enthusiasm, letting go of money for a few trinkets would take a lot more persuading than that. Although... one thing he offered her did seem worth a spot of money: a book of decent size with a fine leather cover. It certainly looked worthy, but Toka still shook her head.

"Is not insult." She shrugged, "My grasp of Common, it need work, I know this. But is no use." She smiled, a thin, enigmatic little thing. "My apologies, but I not read your language - have scribe for that. Cannot learn if cannot read, correct?"

She looked away towards the table again, smirking faintly at the fumbling of the other customer. "You yet have hope: The small one has found something."

[Brisinger987]

"Ah, yes, of course. My species have the privilege of being imbued with knowledge at birth, and passing that on to any born of us." Kil'karic sighed until he felt an odd urge. The urge to kill, and maim, and destroy and pillage. Then it passed lightly, and it left Kil'karic feeling uneasy. It was odd, but still he pressed on, not paying any mind to the sensation.

Then when Toka pointed out the Kobol eying up a map, Kil'karic dropped the book sale, letting Toka look at what she wanted.

"Something catch your eye my friend? I see you're looking at a map. That map is actually one I myself drew. It's double sided, one side displaying an image of modern Essyrn, and the surrounding area, and on the other side, is a map of when my people used to rule these lands, and the same area then. If held up to the sun, the images overlay, and you can see that a lot of monuments from the time of my people have had monuments built over them. Of course, I can create more easily, so I would not ask much of you. How does 2... 2..." Kil'karic trailed off cryptically, his eyes going from their normal, slightly yellow-cream disposition, to a red.

Then Vex'orec stepped into view.

"THERE! THE THIEF! KILL THE THIEF!"

[Paradox]

Sekeolath'zhin nodded, " I jussst need a map of modern Esssyrn, " the thief admitted. He wasn't interested in a history lesson, but perhaps if it had been a map that had revealed the locations of lost civilizations that were teeming with forgotten treasures that were ripe for the taking...

"Kill the thief!"

Sekeo froze and his head snapped around to look at Vex'orec. His initial instincts were to panic and flee, but reason (surprisingly) won over. He wasn't known in this foreign land so the strange newcomer surely couldn't be accusing him! Or was he mistaken? Had someone from Arca chased him this far? No, that was unlikely! He then glanced at Kil'karic and Toka questioningly. 

[Vivi]

"Interesting." Toka muttered, though it was more politeness than true interest. Honestly, she gave more of her attention to his ramblings over the map, mildly impressed that it had been drawn by the vendor himself - if his bragging was true. She was about to ask a little more, when Kil'karic trailed off. It was then that the shouting started.

Toka started, hissing in an instinctive reaction to the shout. Beside her the little lizard man had frozen, but neither of them seemed all that sure of what was going on. Kill the thief? What thief? She sent a questioning look right back at Sekeolath'zhin, shrugging her scaly shoulders. "I not know." She muttered, turning her black eyes back to the matter at hand.

"Is problem?"

[Brisinger987]

A sudden buzzing filled the air, as 18 Krixek filled the air, including Kil'karic. Then the swarm dove down on the poor person who had been called out.

A few seconds later the man had been brutally murdered, torn apart violently, limb from limb.

Then as Vex'orec approached Kil'karic, the Krixek Drone appeared to return to normal.

"What happened? Is everything ok? My god! What a bloody mess!" The merchant didn't seem to remember killing a man in cold blood and it was unnerving how silent Vex'orec was being, simply stood there, before he finally said something.

"Goodbye." And with that the General walked off, leaving Kil'karic confused.

"What happened?"

[Paradox]

((I'm confused as to what just happened here, but I know enough to reply in-character. ))

Sekeolath'zhin heard the buzzing of the swarm and looked away as it descended upon a random Essyrni man. Sensing that this scenario was not going to end well, the kobold turned his head away and flinched as the screams of the doomed reached his ears. When everything was silent once more, he dared to look at the remains of the man and then at the merchants, Toka and Kil'karic, and then at Vex'orec.

Sekeo's expression was one of utter horror and bewilderment. The thief shook his head and made up his mind. With one last look in Toka's direction, he slipped away , walking away to a more safer corner of the market. He'd find a map somewhere else.

[Vivi]

[Me too... What's supposed to be happening here? I don't remember discussing that.]

Toka shrieked, unable to avert her eyes as a swarm of... things descended on a stranger, quite literally tearing him apart. Her hands were at her mouth, shoulders hunched like the hackles of a dog and her breathing fast and shallow. It was one of the only sounds when the carnage ended, the little lizard man beside her daring to look around at them all. She was aware that her own expression wasn't much better.

She couldn't blame him at all for clearing out with all that blood on the floor, her stomach roiling at the smell of it. But she didn't run. Instead she rounded on Kil'karic and Vex'orec.

"Explain." She hissed, jabbing a finger towards the remains. "You explain now."

[Brisinger987]

((OOC: I don't know what's actually happening. Just go from here... Note to self: NEVER TRY AND WRITE STUFF WHILE I AM ON PARAMOL!))

A low growl emitted from Vex'orec, and he released control of Kil'karic completely, picking Toka up with one hand, snarling. Examining the girl, Vex'orec decided not to, and instead threw her to the ground, thinking of the warning he would give her.

"Do not test me girl. The same thing can happen to people that annoy me..." Vex'orec turned his head to the bloody mess his unwitting servants had made, and then walked off, taking flight.

Kil'karic shook his head, and decided that it was best he pack up his wares, helping up Toka.

"What happened there?"

[Vivi]

[...Can you explain where that thing even came from? It's not in Kil'karic's profile or your list of characters.]

Toka didn't have time to cry out, just a choking gasp escaping as the thing seized her, kicking uselessly as it raised her into the air. She clawed at the arm holding her, but before she could put up a real fight she was hitting the ground hard, all the breath leaving her. What the thing said didn't even register, but Kil'karic helping her up definitely did.

"You explain to me!" She shrieked, wrenching her arm away from his and stepping back. Her hands were at her throat, backing away like an animal ready to fight or flee. Her tombstone teeth were bared, hissing low and threatening between words. "Thing was with you! It murder that human! Murder!"

[Brisinger987]

((Basically, it was another Krixek character I had, who I forgot to add into my profile, he's there now. He's a mercenary for hire, free of charge, and he's pure violence.))

"I don't know who that was! No doubt just another, normal member of my kind. A General by the looks of him. He was stood there the whole time. What he did just there was normal for him, picking you up." Kil'karic defended himself, realising that the crowd was staring at him, and he felt worried that he was going to be attacked.

"That looks like a vicious murder, but I was stood here, I didn't murder anyone!" Kil'karic thought, and decided he hadn't done anything, but he was still wary in case of a witch hunt.