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The Marketplace

A large market area with multiple stalls filled with many different kinds of items. The items here are not 'relevant' in the same way the items located in the Item Merchant are. They are mostly for IC reasons, such as buying your character a hat or getting someone a gift.

Skullbasher was adjusting quite nicely to the guild so far. The days following the drill in the Jungle had passed by uneventful. He and Murdock were getting along quite well, all things considering and he had managed to avoid answering any additional questions. His letter to Serrin, so far as he could tell, had been convincing enough of an explanation to keep further prying about his past at bay. However, he still had yet to come up with any truly compelling, yet believable stories. It wasn't something that was extremely pressing, but he did want to be prepared for when the time came. Perhaps some fresh air would do him some good and get the creative juices flowing.

Excusing himself from the team room, Skullbasher made his way into town. The town was the only place he hadn't really explored since his arrival.

As he reached the bustling streets of town, he began to take note of the various specialties of the surrounding shops: pottery, jewelry, furniture, produce, baked goods and many other things that he couldn't identify. The aroma from the bakery as he walked by was heavenly. But, a place wasn't just the sum of buildings or stalls present, however, it was also defined by those who lived or worked there as well. There was a variety of species present, too many too count. Everything was almost too much to take in. He was so distracted in fact, that he almost didn't see the peculiar wall that obstructed the rest of the marketplace. He had to pull up short in order to keep from ramming into it. At first, he thought it was a strange place for a wall, but then he realized that what he had initially believed to be a wall was not a wall at all, but a pokemon whose species was unknown to him. He started at eye level then continued to look up and up and up, till finally he found the end; the being in front of him was quite large, which was saying something since he himself was not small. Though it seemed like time ticked by slow, it all transpired in less than three seconds.

The stranger was quite odd. He appeared to just be watching everyone as they went about their business. Briefly, he considered just ignoring the individual and going around him, but the peculiarity of the situation kept him in place. "I know this is none of my business, but I just have to ask...why is it that you are sitting in the middle of the street?" His tone was pleasant and lent itself well to his intended purpose: a simple inquiry. He wasn't asking to be mean, nor did he mean it as a slight, but he was simply curious. For this, his normal tact had been abandoned in favor of being slightly more blunt and straightforward.

At first, the large pokemon in front of him gave no indication that it (he couldn't tell if it was male or female) had even heard him. Then when the giant turned its head, it just stared at him. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Was this species similar in speed to Slakoths or Slowpokes? Normally, when someone addressed you it was common courtesy to respond in some way. It was possible that the stranger came from a place where customs were different, but Skullbasher thought it was more plausible that perhaps the giant hadn't heard him clearly; "it" was a very tall being, and with all the ambient noise from the street mixing with his voice, what the stranger heard could have been muffled or unclear. He opened his mouth again, raising his voice a bit, "I said I know it's -" he stopped short as the giant moved again.

The giant had opened its hand for examination. "Huh?" He was a bit confused by the action. Tilting his head slightly, he looked from Killian's face to his hand and back again several times. It was obvious to Skullbasher that the stranger wanted him to look at what it had, but it was odd that such trust would be presented to a total stranger. Resting his eyes on the paper, he blinked several times before he slowly reached out to take the paper and read it out loud. "Let's see here...'Grocery List' is what it says." His voice was at its normal level again as he read the heading. The ingredients on the list varied greatly and were in large quantities.

Skullbasher wasn't sure what he had expected as an answer to his question. He certainly hadn't expected the large one to be grocery shopping, but since they were in the marketplace it did make sense. However, the fact of the matter was sitting down in the road still wasn't a normal part of grocery shopping. As he thought about how to respond, he idly looked at the other object that he had been presented. "Okay..I'm curious, he said as he put the coin purse back in the bag, having figured out that it contained Pokedollars from the sound it made when he'd picked it up, "did you think the vendors came to you with the items and you paid as they gave you things? Or have you already placed your order and are just waiting for it to be delivered?" His questions were mostly rhetorical. He didn't expect an answer because he hadn't really been given one the first time. "Actually...nevermind. I'm going to assume you didn't place an order because that would have warranted shooing me away, at least I would assume. But how can anyone truly assume what any stranger would do really?" He was beginning to ramble, but since he assumed at this point that he wasn't going to get the stranger to talk, he felt the need to fill the silence in some way.

Coming back to the grocery list, he began reading the ingredients off one by one out loud. "Well, this is an awfully tall order, but it shouldn't be too hard to track this stuff down. Come on, come on! Let's move you out of the middle of the street and get you your groceries, you're blocking the road." As he spoke he used his claw to gesture that the Golurk should follow him as he headed to the nearest vendor that carried a few of the vegetables that were on the list.

Skullbasher slowed down a little when the big pokemon didn't follow him at first. He looked back and was about to gesture with his caws again for the stranger to follow when he slowly got up and walked toward him. It didn't take the stranger long to catch up because of his long strides. He was surprised at how heavy the stranger's steps were. The ground vibrated and shook with each and every step. It was startling, but the giant couldn't help it.

Finally, he reached a vendor that had some of the spices that were on the list. He looked to his large companion and then to the vendor. He smiled as he greeted the Marowak, "Pardon me sir. My friend and I need to purchase some spices. I apologize in advance for the large quantities that we need, I hope it won't be a problem." As he finished he looked back up to his companion to confirm that he was still standing there before he looked at the vendor and began pointing out the spices on the list as well as the amount that was needed.

The vendor gave him a strange look and directed an even stranger one at Killian, but he didn't argue was he gathered what Skullbasher asked for. Instead, he commented as he weighed and bagged each separate spice, "This is an awfully big order. You sure you got the pokedollars for this?"

Skullbasher nodded and took the coin pouch out of the bag as the total was quoted to him. "I'm sure," he said as he counted the amount out aloud in order to keep the amount straight - the background noise of the marketplace was extremely distracting. "There you are. He closed the money pouch and put it back down in the bag along with the spices they had purchased. There was still quite a bit of room in the bag thankfully; there was still a lot of groceries to get.

Skullbasher turned to Killian and addressed him, "At the risk of sounding ignorant and presumptuous, I'll go out on a limb and say you're new here. This is alright, of course, but I'm new to this area as well. It might take me a little while to find everything that you need, but we'll get it taken care of. Just remember that this stall is the one that you can get a lot of your spices from," he said as he counted them off one by one on his claws at the end, repeating their names once more as he did so (for Killian's benefit of course, in case the noise of the Marketplace had made it difficult to hear the names before).

After Killian had confirmed his suspicions, he nodded. He began walking through the stalls, pausing briefly occasionally to check and see if certain vendors possessed any of the items that still needed to be purchased. After wandering through the maze of stalls, for several minutes Skullbasher finally found another vendor that had the things he needed in stock. This particular vendor sold a variety of fruits ranging from exotic and unusual to the common and plain.

He looked back at Killian and began pointing out the different fruits that were on the list, "See, this vendor," he gestured to the Exeggutor, "this is where you'll be able to get your fruits from. If he doesn't have all of them, he'll probably have most of them."

The Exeggutor's most forward facing head, which was already grinning widely, smiled even bigger as it addressed the pair, "You can be sure of that! Anything you need, we got." Then it turned slightly, a face that had been hidden in the back now facing them with a frown spoke next "Unless we're sold out..." it said gloomily before the main body shifted again, back to where the first head faced them once more, "We restock often though! If we're out one day, you can check back the next day to see if we got new stock, we get new stuff in almost everyday! We're never out of something for long!"

Skullbasher gave an awkward smile. He wasn't used to so much switching around, but the shop owner couldn't help it - Exeggutor were well known for having three to six independently thinking head, all usually with substantially different personalities. "See, this guy will be sure to take care of you when you need any kind of fruits. Heh.." There was an awkward pause, which he covered up by looking back to the list as he started naming off the fruits to the vendor and telling him the quantities that were required. The shopkeeper used his psychic powers to lift and package each item as it was requested. When all was together, Skullbasher opened up the coin sack to begin the counting ritual once more. After this, there was only a few more items left, most of them vegetables.

Skullbasher was glad to have the burden of the grocery bags taken from him. Rampardos were strong by nature, except in their arms; his arms, like the rest of his species, were small in comparison to his otherwise large frame. As he looked back at the grocery list, he noted that there were a number of vegetables as well as some grains and nuts. He remembered passing two vendors on the first row of stalls that had sold these things. Nodding silently to his own internal recollection, he began to make his way back to the first row. The giant following him hadn't spoken at all since the start of their journey and this was something that Skullbasher wasn't used to. He didn't consider himself the epitome of a well socialized pokemon, but he did enjoy good conversation. The lack thereof struck him as odd because mutes typically made some indication of their inability to speak, but he didn't. Perhaps his large companion was newly muted and therefore wasn't used to making such indications yet. It would explain the silence and the need to have someone help with grocery shopping. Afterall, the marketplace was a loud bustling area and it would difficult to shop as a mute - especially one so large as Killian because writing notes as a form of communication to the shopkeepers would be almost impossible.

Within a few minutes, they had arrived near the first row of stalls and it wasn't long before he had spotted the two stalls he'd been looking for. He waved Killian over as he approached the first of the two stalls. This one kept the more traditional vegetables in stock: celery, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, okra, and much much more. A few of the vegetables being sold weren't common, in fact, they weren't so uncommon that Skullbasher didn't even know what they were called. He was so distracted by them, that when the shop keeper addressed him the first time, he hadn't even heard her.

"Hello!...Hello?...Hey!" the Lopunny shopkeeper persisted, taking three times before it registered with him.

"Hmm? What?" he said when he finally heard her.

"Welcome to my shop! How can I help you today?" she continued as if nothing had happened.

"Oh! Right!" he said as he rubbed the side of his neck in embarrassment. Turning to look at Killian, he smiled and gestured to the shop owner with his head. "This lady here sells vegetables," he said before he turned his gaze back to the parchment in his hands and began to look for what he needed. He looked to the stall then to the paper, first pointing at what was needed as he spoke the name, then looking back at the parchment before saying the amount. By the time they were done and Skullbasher had paid, the woman's stall looked well picked over; she still had plenty to sell but the things which they had bought had thinned her stock noticeably. However, the shopkeeper didn't seem to mind, in fact, she was quite happy about it.

Skullbasher waved farewell to the shopkeeper as he turned to head toward the next stall, waiting till Killian was ready. As they departed, Skullbasher looked back at Killian, speaking to him again. "You know...I feel really bad not knowing your name. I'm Skullbasher though...You know, if you need help again you can always go to the guild and ask for -" he cut himself short, realizing that he had made a mistake. "Sorry..I've never really been around a mute so I tend to forget that..." he trailed off momentarily before he cleared his throat and started again, unaware of the true reason for Killian's silence. "Well...anyways, you can go to the guild. When someone asks what you need you can point to yourself, then your eye and make a knocking gesture on the top of your head. They may or may not get it, but I'll be sure to tell the staff that you may come so they know to expect it," he stated, also unaware that Killian was already part of one the guild's teams.

Despite the silence, Skullbasher had thought that he and his companion had been getting along quite well. Now though, it seemed as if something he had said had upset the fellow. He watched the odd gestures and latched onto the only one he understood: the pointing at the paper. Skullbasher rubbed at his neck again, feeling awkward once more. Unsure of what else to do, he commented as he turned back to head toward the other stall, "I'm not sure what I said to offend, but I apologize for crossing...whatever line it was that I crossed. I'm sorry. I won't press the matter."

He pointed ahead of them at one of the other stalls, "That one there with the Flaffy standing at it has, as far as I can tell, what appears to be the last of your groceries. She sells grains, nuts, and fresh herbs. And that other thing there, that's a grinder where she can grind some of the grains into flour." It didn't take long to cover the rest of the distance between them and the happy looking Flaffy.

He wasn't sure if the shop owner was naturally happy or if word had made it around that big spenders were shopping for food stuffs, but they were greeted in a very joyful manner. "Welcome! Welcome! Busy day! What can I get you?"

Skullbasher smiled a bit and nodded. "Yes ma'am. We need some rice, some flour, and some of this, this, and this," he said as he pointed out the various items and then telling her the amount as she went to bag the different things. The flour and rice she scooped out of the closed clear bins, weighing them on a scale. When she had ensured that each had been weighed correctly she sealed the packages shut and handed them over across the counter.

The shop owner started tallying up the total and asked Skullbasher for the appropriate amount, which he proceeded to count out aloud as he had done at the various other stops. This time, however, he didn't have exact change as he had had at the other stops. He had to break a larger bill instead. The shop owner, of course, counted back the change to him afterward. With a wave and a polite good bye, Skullbasher deposited the change back into the money pouch that he had been in charge of for the adventure. Skullbasher would check the list again, and if there was nothing else left, he would hand the money pouch back to Killian and offer to help Killian carry the groceries (helping him do so should Killian allow him, or simply politely accepting his decision and bidding him farewell should the Golurk choose not to). If there was still more to get, however, he would continue on to the next destination more quiet than he had been earlier. He was, afterall, still unsure of what Killian's gestures had meant and not understanding didn't sit well with him. He didn't like to be left in the dark, but there was little he could do other than try and keep from insulting his large companion further.