Scene #668: Water, Spirits, and hey why is that hole there?

Owner	Pose
Marrik	The Troll Market (also sometimes called the Goblin market by people who don't know any better): Take one cave the size of either a really large city or a very tiny country. Fill that cave with your standard Goblins, Trolls, Drow, Illithid, along with a sprinkling of fae. Mix in a few races nobody's sure what they are along with intricate buildings that have been layered and rebuilt for generations, and serve with a double helping of commerce. It is home to thousands of beings shouting and hawking wares, arguing prices, and occasionally having a fight in the surprisingly well lit streets as doll sized pixies flit here and there along with larger winged beings. It is chaotic, hostile, jumbled up, and it is home to one Marrik Broom by fact his house is above his shop and the shop exists here. 'Clean Sweep Magical Supplies and Adventuring Sundries!' The sign over the door proclaimed in rackish lettering. Past these doors was a room evenly divided between apparent library complete with reading chairs and side tables, and a general store that sold all manner of rope, knives, packs, dried ingredients, pens, ink wells, and more than a few talismans. The floor was covered in mismatching rugs to keep feet from being cold due to stone floors and it had the look of being recently vacated. Except even with Marrik standing by the counter it was hardly empty. Spirits and ghosts of all type seemed to crowd in here causing marrik to close his mismatched green and blue eyes for a moment. "Apologies for the crowd." Soft voice, mild even. Yet anyone sensitive to magic could see him next to bursting with energy, and almost all of it not his. Deep breath then exhale. "It's been a long day." And that without even bringing up the hole in the ceiling near the front door, as if someone had stood up and not realized there was a thing there.
Ayako Hasekawa	"Okay, so I keep going straight and then turn right? Or is it my other right? No wait, there's a sign." Ayako opens the door to the shop and peeks her head in. "Oh, this looks about right. Oops. Better not block the entry." She walks quickly in and looks around, and then heads towards the counter. "Hello hello! I'm Ayako Hasekawa and I'm looking for a Marrik?" She smiles a cheerful smile and folds her hands behind her back.
Marrik	Marrik smiled warmly at Ayako, "Well you found him." Sparks, a bubblegum pink haired pixie in biker leathers, could be spotted flying from a high up bookshelf to a room behind the counter. "I do apologize if things are kinda crowded, tend to try making things comfortable for a lot of folk that're between places." One of the spirits, a dark skinned woman, merely snorted and relaxed in one of the wingback chairs. "So you're a...." Slight frown as he tried looking past the watery shell to see the spirit holding everything together and quirked an eyebrow. "Definitely not my usual customer no. Still, I try accomidating all sorts here as long as it remains peaceful."
Ayako Hasekawa	Ayako smiles brightly in return to Marrik as she leans forward, "Hmmm? The radios really do make everyone's voices sound a little different..." She shakes her head slowly, "No no, crowded is good, isn't it? Lots of customers and people interested in the things you sell." She nods her head once. A cheerful wave is given towards one of the spirits and she then giggles brightly when Marrik pauses. "Un. I'm a water spirit. Nothing more, nothing less." She giggles brightly again and shakes her head. "Sorry I'm going to be only window shopping. I don't really have any money yet."
Marrik	Marrik gave Ayako a small bow, "I'm fine with browsing." Granted there was little of anything really interesting up front. Maybe some traces of /something/ behind the counter but it could just be the fact the store room has lots of stuff. Frankly it seemed a shop more for novices and wandering adventury types. A group of several spirits waved before leaving through the front door. "After all if I required everyone to pay they would kinda be stuck wherever, and I kinda think that's wrong." At least a few of the spirits seemed to enjoy hovering near an incense burner while playing dominos a dozen feet up to avoid crowding the floor. Another pair played chess, and one blue haired man just wuirked an eyebrow at Ayako before making a similar front door exit as the last group.
Ayako Hasekawa	Ayako smiles softly, "Heh... so what exactly do you sell here?" Her amber gaze slowly turns around the shop. "Hmm... sort of things for the people who want to get their feet wet adventuring or into magic?" She waves her right hand jokingly, "If you pardon the term." She then contentedly watches the other spirits and customers mill about the shop. "It does seem to have a nice atmosphere to it..."
Marrik	"I figure good place to hang my hat," nevermind Marrik does not wear hats. "Plus they give the place character I mean most folks don't see 'em, but they can feel well enough." He chuckled lightly before walking over to where a goblin, probably in her teens, was reading. "You doing good Gnash?" The goblin girl nodded once. "Sparks told me your folks should be by in a half hour, lemme know if anybody bugs you kay?" The girl blinked, seeing only Marrik and Ayako in the shop before resuming her book. "I dunno if it'll be more than a thing but hey, her parents were smart enough to pick someone who can her from getting picked on?"
Ayako Hasekawa	Ayako giggles softly when Marrik mentions that the spirits give the place character. "Oh, true true. But isn't it a little cheating to do something like that?" She glances upwards for a moment while she taps her right cheek with her right pointer finger. "Then again, it's not like you're forcing them to be here, right?" Her gaze follows Marrik towards the goblin girl, who Ayako waves hello cheerfully to. "Hmmm...? So, who is Sparks, anyway?"
Marrik	"Pixie that kinda came in with me when I got dumped here." Marrik looked Ayako over and shook his head before turning his attention to the wall of books. "Considering I help zombies keep their own minds, and where possible I simply offer angry spirits somewhere to go so they can sort themselves out with someone that hears them, nah. I only get pushy if its possessions or worse." A book got pulled out with gold lettering on a leather spine before he carried it to the counter. "I do keep more interesting goodies in the back, but generally I don't trust most random people with them, so union personnel and favored customers only." Smile.
Ayako Hasekawa	Ayako blinks her eyes slowly, "Came in with you?" She smirks softly and shifts her pose to let Marrik get a good look at her profile. "Hmm? So what kind of magic do you specialize in? From the way you describe it, it seems spirit related." She nods her head slowly, "Always good to keep the risky stuff out of reach of the customers."
Marrik	"Newport tried handling mail via pixie and she was my letter handler." Marrik's voice was almost nostalgic as he wrapped the book in brown paper and started tying it. "Then after the city decided to, in their words, surplus the entire flock, she came to me to try finding her brother." Less nostalgic while he started addressing and adding postage. "As for my magic." Wrapped book got dumped in a dented blue and red drop box. "Long story short? I was trained by a cult of necromancers, kinda figured out I was being fed a lot of bullshit, and a couple friends helped me find my way out of the mess just before I ended up turning most of the local coven into mulch for a new grove of trees in the place they were going to sacrifice me at." Then in a slightly cheerier tone he added, "I also managed to figure out how to use it to quick grow plants." He reached under the counter and held up a tomato for inspection.
Ayako Hasekawa	Ayako nods her head slowly, "Mail by pixie, huh...? That actually sounds pretty good." She then winces at the term 'surplus', "Well, ew..." She glances down at the now wrapped book and nods her head once. Once Marrik gives her the long story short, she inclines her head to the side gently. "Huh. Necromancy, huh? Not a bad magic at all." She smiles and says cheerfully, "People are often all, 'Oh, it's evil, it's corrupting.' But that's true of knowledge of any type if you lose your head by being too into it." A swift nod and then a soft giggle once she's shown the tomato. "It's a fruit, it's a vegetable! It's both! Not that I eat them."
Marrik	"Hey I grew up on a farm and I figure I finally ain't magically crippled so hey why n-" BLINK. blink blink. Marrik staaaaaare. then a grin started. "You know, I've been here for most of a year by now and I'm still getting used to that." Beat. The tomato got set aside before he started wrapping several small talismans in a small box to address and add to wherever the drop box sends things. "Then again it's illegal back home because they got blaimed for starting a war, corrupting the land, and almost all of the ones left are power hungry and or afraid of dying."
Ayako Hasekawa	Ayako inclines her head to the side gently, causing her ponytail to swish softly, "Getting used to what? The non-hate for necromancy? It's true, though." She nods her head once. "I once knew someone who got a bit too into light magic. Normal people would be all, 'Oh, it's light magic, it won't do anything bad'." A soft sigh and she just shakes her head. "Hmm... that just sounds like politics to me." She sticks her tongue out and bleahs. "Don't like that stuff at all."
Marrik	"I'm not being political." Marrik's voice was deadpan even though he was eyeing the swingy ponytail. "More a case of everyone left literally stark raving bonkers. Not a good way to start the next batch of students."
Ayako Hasekawa	Ayako blinks her eyes quickly, "A-ahh! That's what you meant. Yeah... definitely not." She glances down at the floor, thinking quietly to herself.
Marrik	Then a shrug and Marrik packaged up another box. "So you could call me something of a throwback to before it was all murder pain blah blah lets go listen to some band called linkin park." He made an exadursted frownie face. "Seriously. It's old. I'm just," Handwobble before he dropped third package off and walked over to a display of knives. None of them were magical, just well made knives. "I'm still trying to feel out how things should go, but even the Bermucian Paladin is giving me a fair chance." Kinda hard not to after he managed to summon an army big enough to make an invading army go away running and screaming.
Ayako Hasekawa	Ayako nods her head once, "Sounds like a good throwback to me. If you keep it up, you can make those blah people the weirdoes and you the standard." She smiles brightly and then winks while making a sideways V-sign by the still open eye. "I prefer idol singer songs anyway!" She giggles softly, "Well, keep it up, okay? I'll cheer for you too! If that means anything." She smiles softly and claps her hands together once.
Marrik	Ayako's positivity made Marrik smile, "See this is why I got in the union in the first place. Better living through better people." He reached out to swat at the swishy ponytail and chuckled. "Admittedly I kinda need more of an education, but eeeh it's a big multiverse. Lot there to see."
Ayako Hasekawa	Merrik's little swat makes Ayako's ponytail fly around a bit. "Well, it's only a little something, but I hope it does help." She nods her head once. "Oh, but I'm afraid I can't really help with the necromancy. Water's really my main thing." Ayako waggles her fingertips and they turn into water.
Ayako Hasekawa	Ayako smiles cheerfully, "Don't be afraid to call if it's something you think I can help with, though!" She slowly reforms her fingers and waves goodbye with a wink once her fingers fully reform.