Man in a Bottle

Log Info

• Title: Man in a Bottle
• Emitter: Gadget
• Characters: Gadget, Thurid, Cryosanthia
• Place: A07: Lower Alexandria Market District
• Time: Friday, November 20, 2020, 1:49 PM
• Summary: Glasha is discussing the items she seeks with Thurid. Nearby, Cryosanthia is window shopping with Lily, and is distracted long enough that Lily charges at Mr. Jinglewidget. Glasha and Thurid immediately get in the way, thwarting the Kobold, who becomes fascinated with the gnome's legs. Chattering away in Draconic, she seems interested in things and Cryo arrives to apologize, and eventually buys a metal man in a bottle for her youngling, provided she behaves. Thurid invites them all to drink with her, Gadget accepts, but Cryo begs off due to a prior engagement and promises to see her soon.

-=--=--=--=--=--=<* A07: Lower Alexandria Market District *>-=--=--=--=--=--=-

Just west of the Northern Highbridge and east of the arena, commerce blooms. Noisy and bustling, most anything may be purchased here for a price. Vendors from all cultures sell their wares from exotically colored carts, and the smells of different nations and far-off city-states mix with local ones from Alexandria and its riverbanks.

For all its commerce, visitors are advised to keep hold of their purses. Even the merchants possess a certain, cunning look. Most are positioned at carts or stalls as opposed to a formal storefront, with trade here being mobile, and visiting from all parts of the world.

Though the quality of goods suffers here compared to Upper Alexandria, the options are more diverse. Too, the oversight of the Watch is slightly less, and during times events are held at the Arena, chaos abounds. After dark, the square becomes a hangout for bards and other entrepreneurs whose business is best conducted by night; the shadows at the edges of the square often contain furtive figures engaging in their own brand of business.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Chilly rain falls from a grey sky. It's bleak and raw. The wind blows from the east.

Gadget and Mr. Jinglewidget are talking to Thurid. Gadget considers a moment before saying, "Well, anything that's broken, basically. As long as I have all the pieces, I can usually work with it, maybe even repair it if it's beyond anyone else's time. If nothing else, I can melt some things down or grind up clay pots into dust to be re-constituted into something else. Basically, if it's not compost, I'm okay with grabbing it, I think. Especially if a druid won't touch it."

A couple of Sith'makar are wandering in the market, a mother and child. The mother is tall, lean and flexible, and wearing a white feathered dress that seems sharp. The child is very short, barely coming up to the whitescale's knee, and apparently less cold tolerant as she's bundled in a very puffy pink parka, complete with furred hood and a furry section for the tail. The little one also has boots, which is remarkable as it's hard to fit for the toes of reptilian feet. Also good, as she seems to like puddles. The tall one seems to be casually shopping, and keeping an eye on the small one to prevent casual shop-lifting.

Thurid is looming over the much shorter individual with the moonstone eyes, but smiling cheerily- if slightly confusedly since the introduction of the monkey- at them. "I see." she says finally at Gadget's description of what sort of things she's looking for. "I'll let you know, then, if I see anything interesting. In the mean time- I'm starving. As you know the area well, could you reccomend any food stands?" she asks. For her part, Thurid seems entirely unperturbed by the chill, her legs and arms are as bare as ever.

"Anyone here will be better than roughing it in the wilds," Gadget says. "Follow your nose, as they say. As for me, I want to get inside somewhere. Mr. Jinglewidget and I are getting soaked."

Splash. Splash. Splash. Splash.

"Lily! No!" It's a familiar tone, the sound of a mother trying to prevent her offspring from doing something.

The little pink lizardling has spotted the monkey, evoking some sort of instinctive emnity, and she charged with a tiny roar straight at Mr. Jinglewidget. She pounces!

Cryosanthia for once is slow, starting her dash through the crowd late.

GAME: Gadget rolls Reflex: (15)+1: 16
GAME: Thurid rolls reflex: (12)+2: 14

Gadget moves fast as she sees the charging child. She puts her arms up, keeping herself between the girl and Mr. Jinglewidget. "Stop!" she insists, loudly.

Thurid nods her head a bit and glances up at the sky, as though she hadn't really noticed the awful weather until just now. "A fair point." She admits, "There's a pub some-" she begins, but then suddenly she hears a tiny roar. She reaches down to hold her arm in the way of potentially chomping jaws, though not as quickly as Gadget moves to protect her monkey friend.

From afar, Kira is fully free, now, at least for the forseeable future.

Plumf!

The tiny terror lizard thumps into Gadget's legs, the impact cushioned by her huge down-filled coat. Her tiny arms are flailing between them, attempting to get the monkey. She notices where she is around the time a giant arm and her mother arrive.

Lily STARES wide-eyed at Gadget, then turns and hisses rapidly in draconic. It's fast and oddly accented, hard to understand even for those who know the language.

Cryo arrives, crouching to grab Lily. She sharply hisses back, "Apologies. This one looked away for a second."

Gadget looks at the child and says, "You should watch the way you talk, and don't attack animals in the city except in self defense. Even if they're rats, they could be someone's pet." <draconic> She looks up at Cryo and adds in common, "No harm was done. Children will be children, though I could not bear it if Mr. Jinglewidget was harmed."

Thurid stands back up from her stooped position as the child is captured without her assistance, and she offers a brief smile of recognition at Cryo- though she knows not their language, and so remains silent while they hiss and sizzle at one another. "Well, at least no harm was done." she says, pleased that it was resolved so swiftly.

"Yes," Cryo says, standing with Lily in her arms. "She likes your legs, wants to know if she can get some, and if you're a toy I can buy for her. This one told her 'No', to all, although they are nice legs. Lily, apologize. Say sorry."

"Ssssorrrss," The pink one hisses, squirming, her wet boots putting dirty water on the feathers of Cryo's dress. The whitescale exhales, "This one is still teaching her not to bite people. Animals shall be next."

Gadget nods. 'I understand,' she says. She looks at the pink one and says, "Mr. Jinglewidget is as smart as people. It would be wrong to eat him." She turns to her cart and rummages through the junk. She pulls out a glass jar, inside of which is a man made of gears and scrap metal that could not possibly have fit through the narrow, corked opening. She holds it up for Cryo's inspection. 'Is this something the girl might like?' she asks. <draconic>

"Y..." is as far as Cryo gets before Lily is squirming and reaching for the jar. There is some struggling, and mutual hissing. "Wants!", "Little Fang, sstill! Ssassa is negotiating!", "Ssassa getss! Pleeassse! Will be good.", "Sshh, sshussh, ssettle." <draconic>

The words have some effect, the smaller lizard settles down but remains squirmy and fixated on the metal man in a jar, her eyes gleaming with draconic avarice. Cryosanthia coughs.

"Yes... she would like that very much."

Thurid chuckles a bit as Cryo explains the questions to Gadget, and she takes a glance at the legs, herself- having assumed they were merely armor, she once again wears that bemused expression. She peers with intrest at the clockwork man in a bottle. "Did you make that?" she asks Gadget then. And then she laughs again at the little Sith's frantic attempts to obtain it.

"I did make it," Gadget says. "Artifice is my passion." She turns to Cryo. "Look, I'm willing to sell it to you if you want to give it to your little girl as a reward for behaving." She looks down to the pink child and says, "But you have to stop attacking people and animals in the city. Mr. Jinglewidget is a friend, and you could have hurt him or worse." <draconic> She huffs out a sigh and looks back up to Cryo. "What say you to a platinum? Cheap compared to the labor put into making such an impossibility. There are pieces of this man that won't even fit through the neck of the bottle."

GAME: Cryosanthia gives Gadget 1 platinum.

"Yes, that seems reasonable." The whitescale hands over the coin, then Cryo take the metal man in a jar and hands it to Lily, "What she said, you have to Be-Have. No Biting. Now hold on tight."

Lily holds on very tightly. She has a huge smile. "Thansss," she tells Gadget, then "toolss" to Cryosanthia.

"No, we are not taking it apart here where you'll lose the pieces. We'll do it at Master Mithrallas'. It's nice solid stone, no place for small bits to get lost." The whitescale says, then repeats in draconic.

"Messass." The pinkscale chirps happily, clutching tightly at the toy. "Peassss."

"She loves artifice things too." Cryo adds.

Thurid laughs a bit, "I admit I find Artifice fascinating... but I'm afraid I don't know very much about it." she says to the two of them, then. "My own passions are a bit less cerebral. Sports, fighting, good food and drink." she says then with a small nod of her head. "Speaking of. Shall we retire to the pub? I'm starving, and the weather doesn't seem to be letting up." she suggests to the other two.

"I understand," Gadget says with a smile and a nod. "It's all welded together, though. It's not really made to come apart, and the pieces are just metal scraps. Sharp and such." She looks at Lily and smiles. "Still, she seems pretty intent to try. Hopefully it won't frustrate her. But like I said, there are bits of the man inside that are too large to fit into the bottle. An impossibility even if I tried to assemble him in there, which I assure you, I did not."

Gadget turns to look at Thurid. "We're good to get drinks with a giant," she says with a smile. "Especially next to a roaring inn fireplace."

Cryo rests her hand on Thurid's massive forearm, "This one would love to get drinks and celebrate your performan Angoron style with you in a pub, but has prior engagements. If it is the Tarrace, this one might see you still, as Sabina needs my assistance, but that will be later."

She nods to Gadget, "She will get it out, this one hopes without breaking the bottle, but she loves fiddly little things and traps and may treat it as such. Removing the man is disarming it. This one is curious what she will do."

"She also has an Erector set, with little screws. Should she get it out, I have no doubt she will articulate him. At least, one hopes." The whitescale sounds very proud. She transfers Lily to her shoulders, who settles in onto the saddle attacked to her haversack. "Peace on your Nests, both of you."

"Peaaass!" Lily echoes, waving a small clawed hand.

Farewells given, the lizards depart.

"And also with you," Gadget waves back. "Keep me up to date on her progress. I'd also be willing to tutor her, if you've the coin for it," she calls after her.

Thurid tilts her head at that little discussion, but it seems to be beyond her ken for the time being. She offers a smile, though, "And peace on yours." she offers in return, "And I may see you there, indeed." she adds. She offers a little wave as the lizards depart. Her attention goes back to the gnome, then, "Excellent." she says and nods her head. "The cold is not such a bother, but the wet is admittedly unpleasant." she says regarding the weather, and nods her head towards said pub. "Shall we, then?" she says then.

OOC

From afar, Thurid is fine with getting bitten.
You paged Thurid with 'Cool! Thanks! I'm working another idea. She'll bite you next time. :)'
From afar, Thurid laughs, "I'd prefer not to be bitten! But just putting it out there XD"
You paged Thurid with 'all shall be bitten!'