Event | Landfall | Bresilyk | Markutte

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and all!
Date: December 3 - 11, 2013
Location: Markutte, Bresilyk (landfall)
Situation: Tu Vishan makes landfall at the winterbound republic of Bresilyk!
Warnings/Rating: Please include warnings in comment subject lines

OOC Post | Approved Items | Special Gifts
Aihsohlow | Phorezton | Markutte | Countryside

The commerce town of the tried. Temperatures within the dome are kept at a lofty 18C (62F) year round and the population of Markutte dresses less in furs and more in linens obtained through trade. Their long hair is frequently shorn short in the current fashion and they are, on the whole, less hardy than their kin in Phorezton and Aihsohlow, but even more friendly as they are currently in the throes of the Harvest Haul, a festival that concludes their rare growing seasons and agricultural bounties.

Trade. That's the foundation of Markutte and there are three town squares that are home to transient stalls and merchandise from the country and all surviving areas of Konryu. Many kedan have made their way here and occupy the occasional stall space, selling their wares and exchanging gifts with the citizens as they grasp the nature of the festival underway. Once again, visitors that make the trek here are expected to donate a gift that will be regifted at random, earning access and a stamp of their tin visa that resembles the oblong crystal coin used as currency in this realm.

Police are on the lookout for financial crimes here and will demand visas of any they suspect to be committed fraud, short-selling merchants, or thieving in any way, shape, or form. There are three vistas, one in each market square, upon which heralds stand and announce the crimes and punishments noted of the previous day. Minor theft is common and the punishment is a brand upon the criminal's neck; major theft results in a loss of a finger for each item stolen; fraud here is punishable by death, but only twice will there be an announcement of an execution during the landfall.

The auctions here are quite lively and characters can expect a minor bidding war to obtain their items, but each item is in pristine condition and provided to them wrapped within a thin set of furs as a thanks for their purchase.

Customs | Settlement | Auctions | Harvest Haul | Other

Comments

[bindsthedead]

"Very much- I flew here today, and- well, I've seen so many interesting things!" Sabriel said, gesturing to the window, and then to the town as a whole.

"How have you been?"

[epigrammatical]

"Oh, I have been quite well, quite well." There's something about his demeanour that belies this cheerful statement, though—perhaps it's just that he seems a little thinner, a little older, even, though perhaps that's just some effect of the cold. "I suppose I have been strangely content to keep to myself, and one's own company is indeed ever reliable, but I find myself now desirous of breaking the monotony. And yourself? Your students fare well, I hope?"

[bindsthedead]

"Very well," Sabriel told him, "I'm preparing to teach them about binding spells and techniques, so they can- Are you certain you're all right?" He didn't seem ill, exactly, but rather run down.

"I wonder how long this weather will last- perhaps Asti will swim to warmer climates once our visit to Bresilyk is done," Sabriel added, trying to keep the conversation cheerful.

[epigrammatical]

Her question after his welfare elicits a slight aversion of his gaze and the faintest of frowns; is he really looking less than his best these days? He chooses to bury his reply in continuing the conversation about the weather.

"Quite so; the cold is not really suited to my constitution anymore. It is one thing to be young and become appealingly ruddy-cheeked and bright-eyed with cold, but quite another to have reached the stage in life when such weather is merely oppressive."

[bindsthedead]

Sabriel nodded along, and then took off one of her gloves.

"Do you want a warming spell? It would only last an hour, but..." Well, if the cold was bothering him, Sabriel would offer help.

"I've had to travel in- very cold, wet circumstances before, so I've built up a bit of a resistance." That, and she'd been strictly taught about how to avoid problems like frostbite and hypothermia by both her father and her teachers.

[epigrammatical]

He was surprised by the offer and hesitated; his last encounter with magic—when he became briefly young again—seemed to have made him warier of such things than before. But then he smiled, and nodded in agreement.

"I should be grateful for that, my dear. That's very kind of you."

[bindsthedead]

"Hold still." The spell flowed easily from Sabriel's fingers, golden symbols swirling around Lord Henry before dissolving into a warmth that lingered despite the cold weather, and Sabriel nodded.

"It's done."

[epigrammatical]

He flinched a little at visible manifestation of the spell, startled—but then he felt the warmth flow into his hands and face, as if standing before a friendly fire in a grate, and he smiled, his expression wondering.

"Thank you, dear Sabriel. That is most marvellous."

[bindsthedead]

Sabriel noticed the flinch, but kept her expression neutral- and then she smiled.

"Not all magic is- fireballs and sacrifices and bindings of fearsome power. Sometimes it's just small, helpful things- keeping people warm, or providing a little light."

[epigrammatical]

"A most amiable sort of magic," Henry says, amused. "But then—what is magic, at its heart? There are inventions in my world that in my great-grandfather's day would have seemed like magic—steam trains, telegraph."