It was already late in the evening but the merchant seemed unfazed by the passing of time. He sat, poised and elegant, watching the world around him. He didn’t seem bored, even as he leaned forward and laced his fingers atop the table; below it, he kept his toe tapping to some silent tune in his head. He was tall, by human standards, though while sitting down he didn’t seem particularly threatening. If you didn’t look at his face.
He had graceful features--sharp and refined. His chin and nose tapered to a point, giving him an air of sophistication, but that, combined with his slitted eyes and pointed teeth, there was something undeniably predatory about him. He watched with a hungry gaze and a mischievous, nearly sinister smile. His ears were pointed and were prominent despite being tucked behind his vibrant, multi-colored hair. The most intrusive feature that indicated there was something not human about him were the curling horns protruding from his temples and the oil-slick black scales that brushed his cheeks and forehead. He was well dressed, in a fashion obviously otherworldly, and seemed to enjoy dressing himself up in glistening gemstones.
His table was somehow both simple and overwhelming; it was draped in a dark purple tablecloth, with extravagant embroidery in different designs. Scattered neatly atop the table was an array of items that seemed to carry some magical weight to them.
He did not seem intimidated in the slightest and, upon noticing that the barrier surrounding him rippled when his visitor entered, he smiled.
He did not rise to meet them nor adjust his position in the slightest. He followed them with his fierce eyes and greeted, in a silky voice, “Welcome.”
It had not been hard to identify the signs requesting odd fruit as magical. The ink seemed beyond anything Daedalus had yet seen on Earth, and there was the strange bubble, too--and all of this seemed to point to the alien merchant that Murikabushi had mentioned, and Daedalus was, he had to admit, eager to meet him. A space traveler with all sorts of treasures sounded like someone who might have interesting things to trade and interestign stories to tell.
So, he'd found the tree, and climbed it, and acquire a few of the odd fruits that grew from it, and came back to the barrier bearing trade goods.
A quick step throguh, and he was face to face with the handsome proprietor--Murikabushi had not been exaggerating, it seemed. And, yes. Distinctly nonhuman. Not Daedalan, no, but somehow...similar.
It made him feel just a bit more relaxed.
"Hello there," he said. "You must be the merchant I've heard so much about. I've brought some of the fruit your signs indicated you were looking for."
The Space Cauldron
Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2023 11:00 am
Alastor sat up a bit more when Daedalus approached. “Oh, my. You’re not from Earth.”
He seemed pleased with this–delighted, but obviously an expert in reigning his emotions in. If his eyes sparkled a bit, it was because he let them.
“You’ve heard of me? I’m afraid I haven’t had such pleasure. Wonderful to make your acquaintance. Don’t be shy, come introduce yourself. Let me see what you’ve brought, I’ll give it a quick appraisal while you tell me where you came from and what you’re doing here, too. We can swap information, if you like.”
"No indeed," Daedalus laughed. It wasn't exactly hard to tell, really; he stood out far too much, with his horns, for that. "Sailor Daedalus, recently emigrated from the planet of the same name. It's a pleasure to meet you."
He stepped up to the table and set the fruit on it, taking care to keep it away from any of the actual items. No reason to get anything dirty just because he was clumsy.
"A friend mentioned you, said that he had been able to trade for a lovely trinket, and I can see that you've certainly got more than enough. Goddness, these are things from all over the place, aren't they?" Daedalus was not, as it were, much of a hoarder, but he was on occasion a keeper-of-shiny-things. It seemed that one thing Earth myth had gotten right about the dragons his horns were often compared to was that they were inveterate collectors. "You wouldn't happen to have any tools, or machine parts, or anything like that? I like to tinker."
He missed having a real workshop, sometimes, but there just wasn't space.
"Ah, but I'm here because I have nowhere else to go." A sad smile drew its way across his face. "My world...it's not habitable, not anymore. Infected by a nasty strain of Chaos that's sent everything all out of whack. The air is smoggy, the water is acidic...and I felt a call, pulling me somewhere else, and would up on Earth. It's been...an adventure, so far."
To say the very least. Such a vibrant, beautiful planet. Yes, it had its flaws--Daedalus wasn't entirely blind to the similarities between Earth's present situation and his own world's fate--but that didn't mean he wasn't happy to be here. And certainly, it was better than the alternative of dying alone on a dead world.
"And what about you? How did you manage to find your way here? I gather it's a very empty universe, these days; everyone seems to be drawn to this particular little blue dot."
The Space Cauldron
Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 10:35 pm
Almadel at least looked a bit sympathetic, but there was no telling how sincere or performative it was. “I’m afraid I’ve heard a similar story from others. Chaos has certainly spread itself to the far reaches of the universe, hasn’t it? Impossible to do much out there where it’s so thick.”
He sighed wistfully, but really, he made no distinction with who he was doing dealings with here.
“Circumstances may be unfortunate, but it’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Daedalus. I’m Almadel. I had a bit more volition in coming here. I travel often, but I like to visit Earth this time of year. Everyone is so lively. And Earth has such good food. But I get restless if I stay in one place for too long. I hope you’re able to fix up your world, though. Drive the Chaos out, reclaim it, all of that. Earth is a good place to grow stronger and find allies, though. I’ve met plenty of charming people. Oh, but don’t let me get off topic. I love a good conversation as much as I love a good deal. You were looking for tinkering supplies? I’ve got–actually.”
He paused, contemplated, and then stood up for a moment so he could dig around in a box behind him.
For all of his wares, Almadel clearly knew where everything was, because he was gone for only a few seconds before returning with what appeared to be a very stylized multitool. It was obviously well-used, but Almadel ran his thumb over the surface to clean it up a bit.
“I found this a while back. It’s not in the condition I’d usually trade it in, but I haven’t had time to fix it up. But you like to tinker, maybe you’d be interested in restoring this?”
Daedalus nodded. "That's my hope. That I might be able to find allies and answers, her.e So many Senshi and Knights in none place...someone must have the knowledge and the power to help my world."
It only seemed to make sense. And he'd already encountered old friends, and...
And. Langite, who still felt like an open wound in his heart, and Daedalus did not want to think about him for too long, because it hurt. Instead, he watched with interest as Almadel sorted through his things, and when he returned with the multitool, Daedalus carefully took it to examine--and then he laughed.
"Of all the possibilities." He turned it over, fingers running over the dents and . "This used to be mine. I remember...here," he indicated a particularly deep nick in the side, "I was helping repair a farm vehicle, and it got caught between some of the gears of the engine. Managed to rescue it, but not without a little superficial damage."
There was a fondness as he turned it over--marred and marked with memories that, although they were a thousand years gone to the universe, were at best a few years prior to him.
"I don't even recall where I lost it. I would certainly consider getting this back to be more than enough, in trade."
The Space Cauldron
Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2023 8:31 am
“Yours?” Almadel prompted, but he didn’t sound quite as surprised as he should have, given the vastness of the universe. “Is that so? Well then, it must be fate that we should meet tonight. I’m happy to be able to reunite you.”
That much, at least, seemed to be the truth.
He leaned forward in his seat just slightly and looked up at Daedalus while he inspected the piece.
“I found that quite a while ago. I wonder what adventures it’s been on while you were away,” he hummed. “Do you do a lot of repairs? You’ve got the look of someone who is very clever and resourceful.”
