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

[amonfire]

Noatak reacted quickly; he pushed against the boy's shoulders when they connected to fling himself against the nearby wall of one a vendor tent to cushion the force of the collision. The edges of his vision blackened from the shock of the blow, but he was quick to recover. Quicker to still to to connect the face set in carven stone to the boy.

No, he thought with all the collected bitterness of twenty some off years, No even now I'm denied seeing him as he was when he cast us aside.

Defeat was the poor sister of anger, and Noatak felt in rise in his chest as he dragged Aang roughly by his arms to his feet. He had so wanted to hate the Avatar to whom he placed the blame of his father being turned loose upon him, but he also he revered this specific incarnation. So badly had he wanted to surpass Aang as his father could not - to please the saintly man in place of Yakone.

Acting almost on impulse, or even instinct, Noatak turned to the vendor holding the auctions. "The airbender boy's flying lemur," he shook his sizeable pockets, "How much more do you need to make it his own?"

[12goingon113]

First he's on the ground, the world spinning behind his eyes, then before he knows it he's being lifted to his feet with a "...gurk." The conversation continues before Aang is able to get his bearings.

The vendor smiles broadly.
"That all depends on the outcome of the auction. You are not the first to inquire about this, what did you call it...flying lemur?"

"Momo," Aang pipes up finally. His name is Momo."

[amonfire]

Noatak held the gaze of the vendor as an animal would the gaping maw of a hungry predator. Relinquishing a large coin purse and depositing it on the vendor's podium as if in contest, Noatak only frowned grimly in response.

"I will pay whatever is needed for the return of this...Momo."

[12goingon113]

The vendor looks from the foreigner to the coin purse and then back again. A smirk plays at the corner of his mouth as he picks up the bag with one hand, appearing to weigh it.

"Sizable opening bid you've made here, Stranger."

[amonfire]

"Better to cripple the competition out of the gate." Noatak replied flatly leaving it unclear whether or not he was speaking strictly in metaphor. He looked down at Aang and something like a smile curled one side of mouth.

"I've been here long enough that I can afford to bankroll a touching reunion."

[12goingon113]

Aang watches with eyes wide as the two men talk over his head.
He sees the small smile on Noatak's face a few moments before his words sink in.

...touching reunion.

Oh. Oh that gives Aang an idea.
Slowly he turns to look back at the vendor, his very best hangdog expression on display for the man who now stands between a boy and his lemur.

The vendor, who had leaned back ever so slightly at the not-so-subtle threat. When the other man turned towards the child the vendor scanned the crowd for a nearby security officer, but all he found was the child...pouting at him.

"How can you even be sure that the creature belongs to this child? Hmmm? How do I know you're not attempting to swindle us all?"

[amonfire]

Noatak's arm moved quicker than the vendors wit and in an instant the vendor was half thrown across the podium with Noatak gripping him like a cur by the collar while his other hand hand the man's wrist bent at an unnatural angle. Before the vendor could cry out, Noatak closed in leaving only a hairsbreadth between them.

"I could have your arm before the security officer can take a step towards me," He spoke in a deep, clear voice that was more like a low roar or a volcano before it erupted, "You have enough money to cancel the auction and keep two working arms. Unless one flying lemur is really worth it."

There was a tense silence as Noatak slowly released his hands around the vendor who by now had gone pale a sheet. The latch to Momo's holding cage was opened seconds late.

[12goingon113]

Momo wastes absolutely no time in pushing open the door once the latch has been loosened. He scrabbles up on top of the enclosure and issues a few choice cuss-level screeches in the direction of the vendor before leaping out of the man's reach and gliding over towards Aang, where he perches on the boy's shoulder. The little lemur's posture is a mixture of anger and fear, and he positions himself so that he can quickly burrow beneath the Avatar's cape-let if necessary.

Aang, for his part, just staaaaares at Noatak. The quick escalation to violence reminds the boy of a certain Fire Nation Admiral.

"Thank you, sir," he says as quickly as his voice will allow. "Thank you for your trouble and your time and...and just...thank you."

[amonfire]

Gingerly as if he were fearing to learn the hard if a flying lemurs clawed were as sharp as they looked, Noatak reached over Aang's shoulder and petted Momo's head between those two impossibly large ears.

"I have a certain fondness," Noatak's voice sounded human again as if a switch had simply been flipped, "for helpless things."

[12goingon113]

Normally the lemur would rise and lean into such affection, but in this instance he doesn't. Perhaps it is the trauma of having been kept in captivity in this foreign place for however long, or perhaps he's just reacting to the unconscious body language that Aang is displaying.

"It's okay, buddy. He's a friend."
Who, exactly, are you trying to convince here, Aang?
Momo's tail wraps around the boy's neck protectively.

The Vendor takes this opportunity to slip away, and Aang's eyes track him as he makes his exit.

"We should probably go."