Nexus Spring Market Fair

[varnished_truths]

Seemingly overnight, one of the grassy areas edging the Forum has been taken over by a spring market and fair. Part state fair, part craft fair, part Renaissance faire, there are attractions for all comers. Tents and booths of every size, shape, and color are lined up more or less tidily, sometimes with wide avenues between them and sometimes with paths skinny enough to crowd a single person. Goods and treats from the far-flung corners of infinity are on display. The general organization has magic and alchemical goods grouped together and slightly separated from the other tents; arts and crafts fill the area around it. Goods such as clothes and jewelry, plants, and vintage and antique items are in the back. Food is front and center, between the entrance and the rides. This is perhaps not an ideal placement.

To one side is a brightly-lit collection of rides and games familiar to anyone who's been to a state fair. A ferris wheel, flying swings, and all manner of reasons to regret that last funnel cake are blaring tinny music and sporting blinking lights. Remember: rides first, then eat. Classic games that test strength, agility, and luck offer plush prizes sure to delight anyone until the fur rubs off. There are also some animal rides near the exit.

In the back of the roughly-fenced-in area are the exhibits. There's a petting zoo with creatures mundane and more exotic, all promised to be tame; practical demonstrations of new magical and technological wonders; a juried art show; and a stage hosting a variety of performers changing on the hour.

((This is an open event. If your character wants to have a booth selling wares or food, set one up. If your character wants to perform or provide other services, go for it! Please note what sort of service you're providing, if any, in the subject line of your top-level comment. Basically, just run with it and have fun!

I offer pictoral inspiration and ask that any pictures used in comments not be more than 300 px tall (and it looks better if you can keep it about the same height as your text). Code to have your text wrap around your picture below.))

<img src="blah.png" height="300" style="border: 0pt none; float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px">

Comments

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

"In a sense. It becomes attuned to your thoughts, and you need only think to use it and it does as you will." Ravari flicks her tail a few times while she watches someone behind Jack, but her gaze doesn't leave him for long. "It does have a limited number of uses, but I can provide the means of recharging it as well, should you wish."

[fractured_agent]

Ah, he'd thought there would be a catch. There usually is, and finding it is all part of the game of bartering, and not simply being a gullible tourist. "Don't tell me it takes batteries," he says, mostly joking.

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

She blinks once, then remembers what batteries are and lowers her head and ears sheepishly. "Something like. Gems that capture the fleeting life essence of something that has just been killed. Many carry them to fill while on the hunt."

[fractured_agent]

Okay, there goes most of his good humor. "...it's powered by souls?"

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

She shrugs. His reaction wasn't entirely unexpected; people here have funny ideas about things. "Do you believe the animals that provide your meat have souls?"

[fractured_agent]

He can't help remembering a giant creature, trapped in a warehouse as ignorant humans hacked out chunks of its flesh to sell for food while it was still alive, caring nothing for its suffering. "Some of them do."

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

Ravari considers this briefly before offering, "I do not stock the gems that capture the souls of sentient beings. Deer and spiders are not thinking beasts."

[fractured_agent]

"So smaller creatures work, as far as it's concerned?" That does help alleviate some of his worries about it, though it still isn't ideal as far as he's concerned. He's no stranger to killing, and is under no illusions that sometimes it's necessary, but killing something purely to fuel what's basically a magical stun gun doesn't sit totally right with him.

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

"They do. They provide a lesser charge, but a deer hunted for food should be put to many uses, yes? To take the meat and leave the hide is wasteful."

She hopes that will alleviate his concerns, because that's the best argument she's got. 'That's just how we roll in Tamriel' never seems to work.

[fractured_agent]

"Can't disagree with that. Are the gems reusable?" He's definitely going to get all the information he can before making any purchase. It's just good business.

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

She can't fault him for knowing how to manage his business. Per profit margin might go down, but her respect goes up. "Unfortunately, they are not. Well. There is story of one, but it is the gift of a... a goddess, would be the closest word for you, I think. But they are fairly common."

[fractured_agent]

Jack smiles, understanding why this would be a valuable sale for her. "I'm sure it helps keep customers coming back to you for more gems, right?"

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

"That is true, but it is not a part of why items are made in this fashion, I do not think. I do not know the art of enchanting, and so cannot say why things are as they are. For which I do apologize."

[fractured_agent]

"Of course," he says, reasonably. "But I'm sure it's a nice perk regardless."

"So, say I did buy this from you," Jack adds, speaking hypothetically, of course. "Do you come here often enough that I could resupply on any kind of regular basis?"

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

"I do not mind the sales," she concedes.

"I am here quite often. I find this place allows me freedoms not enjoyed by my people in the land of Skyrim, and until the civil unrest is over, I fear I will be unable to return to my native land as all the border crossings have been closed. You need not fear there will be a shortage of gems, or of me."

[fractured_agent]

"Civil unrest, huh?" For the moment, he finds that slightly more interesting than the potential upcoming haggling. "Is that a nicer way to say 'armed conflict'?"

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

"That," she allows with a drawn-out breath, "or perhaps most accurately, a declared rebellion against the Empire in which two armies are in open but mostly-unorganized conflict with one another."

She takes a moment to weigh his interest before offering, "I could explain some of the history and reasons, if you're curious, but I would not wish to bore you."

[fractured_agent]

"I find war to be pretty interesting, historically if nothing else," Jack says with a shrug. "I've been in my fair share."

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

"I see." It's harder to think of war as something of historic interest while living through it, but is it a philosophy so far removed from that of her own people, who look for the safest road to profit?

"The land I am from is an empire, but each province is home to a different race and has its own internal power structures. I have resided lately in Skyrim, home of the Nords, who have a high king. Or, had. The last to hold the title was killed, some say in cold blood and others say in a traditional duel. The man who killed him wishes to be high king, intending to drive out the foreign people who have attacked the empire and wormed their way into power as part of the 'peace'."

No love for the Thalmor here.

"His followers call themselves Stormcloaks, and fight with the Imperial forces. Both sides are currently trying to consolidate their power before the fighting is more than skirmishes."

[fractured_agent]

"Ah, succession crisis and rebellion all rolled into one, huh?" Hardly a surprise that things would be in a state of unrest, then. "Were there no witnesses to what happened to the old king?"

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

"A great many. I am told it happened in the middle of his court. But accounts are often colored by personal feelings. Not all Nords believe the ancient customs of challenge to be valid, and some think the use of rare magics to be unfair." Ravari shrugs, because she'll never know the truth and it doesn't much bother her.

"I think they would do better to put their fighting skills to the test against the dragons."

[fractured_agent]

"Sure, but people are great at not fighting where it's really important. No matter what species you are."

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

"That is, unfortunately, true. Those who wish to play politics will have only themselves to blame when the crops and towns are burned."

[fractured_agent]

"Priorities," Jack says wryly. "Gotta love 'em. Some things never change, even across planets and universes."

[apeddlerofvarnishedtruths]

"That is somehow both comforting and discouraging," she admits with an ear-flick of annoyance. "To think that such a problem is so common and still so unsolvable. Let us hope we might find the answers to such riddles in this place, and make the coming here worthwhile, yes?"