nexus_crossings | +1 Shadow fren

+1 Shadow fren

Krobus is trying so hard to be inconspicuous, but it's difficult when you have literally no idea what you're doing. The hat seemed like a good idea, and the trench-coat, but given that he's colorblind he grabbed the first ones that fit and the vivid purple makes him look more like the pimp in a 70's-era exploitation flick than anything else.

Hey, at least the sunglasses match. And they're coming in handy, it's awfully bright out here.

Behind him, the gateway he came through is cool and smells damp and musty. Fortunately, the scent of the sewer doesn't cling to him. He's got the faintest burnt-toast smell, with an edge of ozone, the smell of space.

"So, uh..." wow there are a lot of humans here! "Anyone want to buy an iridium sprinkler?"

A nervous pause, followed by an attempt at a smile, which is a little strange to look at because his skin, such as it is, is a lightless void, and his mouth is blank and white beneath it.

"I'm a traveling merchant." Normally he doesn't travel much, but he is today and that's what's important. "I have a special on pepper poppers, too! They're nice and spicy and cheesy and I...don't really like them, but humans usually do, so maybe you'll enjoy them."

"...not that I'm not human or anything. I'm totally normal. What, don't I look like a human?"

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Paul folds his arms, a smile playing on his features. There’s something likable about this shadow-creature passing himself off as human. He isn’t fooled, and he doesn’t think many people would be, but it’s a way to try and make people comfortable. That’s a respectable reason.

“You’re not a particularly good liar - but I’ll admit, I’m curious about what you are. You’ll find that a lot of people here aren’t human, so hopefully no one will judge you over it.” Paul bows his head a little. “Paul-Muad’Dib Atreides. Welcome to the Nexus.”

He figures it’s only right to buy something off the person, since he was so polite. “Consider me interested in what you have to sell. What’s on offer? You mentioned sprinklers and, ah, pepper poppers…”

Okay, well, that's definitely a human. A young one, no less, but he doesn't seem aggressive. Good start! This is a good day to be Krobus.

...although he is getting called out. That prompts a blush, an odd dark-mauve tint on the shadowy cheeks. "Haha...lying is very difficult for my kind. I had to practice in the mirror for hours to get this far. You're sure no one's going to mind?"

He gives a little bow in return and peers over his sunglasses with eyes the same blank white as his mouth. "I'm Krobus. I really am a merchant!"

"Today I have the pepper poppers and the sprinklers, and I always have void eggs, solar essence, and void essence. Do you get cold? Look at this cool fireplace! A friend of mine sculpts them out of stone!"

The item in question looks sort of like a demonic cat-creature, with the space for the fire inside its gaping maw. Krobus must be stronger than he looks to have lugged it all the way here from wherever he came from.

((ooc: any item in his permanent or rotating stock from here is fair game to ask for))

Edited 2022-06-21 16:56 (UTC)

“I’m a good liar, so don’t be too embarrassed that I caught you.” One of the benefits of having manipulation as part of his toolset is that Paul is good at spotting those tricks in other people. It’s his way of reassuring Krobus that it’s not a big deal.

Paul certainly isn’t aggressive, more curious than anything. The Nexus has plenty of shops, but a traveling salesman might have goods that can’t be found anywhere else. And maybe if he encourages this one the Nexus could have return visits, which would benefit everyone.

With Krobus’s apparent nerves, it might be good for him to expand his business somewhere as open to newcomers as the Nexus tends to be. Paul himself isn’t a resident, so he doesn’t have a shop himself, but he’s happy to do his part to encourage local trade.

“I’m interested in those void eggs.” Paul is interested in collecting magical artifacts - even if he can’t use them, he can always experiment. The griffins need feeding, too, so adding a chicken for laying might not be a bad idea for when small game isn’t so easy to find.

Even if the eggs are a little…strange. Only one way to find out what a void egg hatches into!

“The fireplace is impressive, though. I’d be surprised if you didn’t find a buyer on that one here eventually. So…what would the price be? I’ll take two - one to eat, for curiosity’s sake, and one to raise.”

Void chickens are the most noble of creatures, Paul. You'll like them.

"Personally, I think void eggs are delicious," Krobus nods sagely. "But other species find them an...acquired taste. I think it's good that you're willing to try new things, though! Do you have an incubator? It's important to keep the egg warm but in the dark until it hatches into a chicken. They do better in high humidity, too. Like me." Heehee!

"Back home I ask for 5000 gold for each egg, but this is a new place and I don't know the exchange rate yet, so I'm willing to barter if you have an offer."

“It seems like you’re someone who knows a good bargain. So in return for something I can’t find anywhere else, I’ll give you something you probably can’t find in your world.”

There are certain situations where collecting knick-knacks from across the universe comes in handy. Bartering with strangers from unknown universes is one of them. Since Paul refuses to bring Nexus goods back with him, he tends to hang on to what he finds.

“What kind of things are you interested in trading for? I have a lot of things in my home that I’m not using at the moment, and some of them are rare.”

"Perfect! That sounds fun!" Krobus does like to make a fair deal and earn an income, but honestly he doesn't have much in the way of financial needs. He eats what he catches most of the time, lives in a sewer with limited furniture, and this is the only outfit he owns. But, you know, a monster likes to travel, and it's always good to have savings.

"What about, hm...I like metals and jewels and minerals. Pumpkins are fun, but I can get those at home. Shells are cool! And I do like to read books, only where I live is very damp so they don't last very long. Mildew, you know?"

"You like books?" Paul's eyes gleam just a little bit. That's something he can take care of. "I have plenty of books, if that's what you want. Are you picky about genre, or would anything do? More or less?" He's not going to part with anything too personal or that he can't replace, but that still leaves most of his bookshelf that he's willing to offer in trade.

He's not too worried about money, either. The Nexus isn't really where he goes for economic needs anyway - though a supply of eggs would be useful. He has a strong stomach, but whether he can handle void eggs has yet to be seen.

"I like history, and books about animals and the natural world. I like to learn things. Um...if you have any that are resistant to getting wet, that would be amazing." He knows there are spells that will do that, and the Wizard has even cast them for him a few times, but he doesn't like to impose.

"You like learning things? That makes two of us. But I can bring you some books from my collection that suit your needs, as well as a protective cover for them. That'll help you make sure that they last a little longer. Paul himself has to be careful. While his home isn't damp, it is out of the way and has to be protected from pests and rain.

This seems like a fair trade to Krobus!

"Okay! At least one book per egg." He wants to get his money's worth, after all. "If you'd bring a few so I can choose from them, that'd be great."

There's a pause, and then. "Um...you told me your name and I didn't give you mine yet. I'm Krobus. It's nice to meet you, Paul-Muad'Dib." See, he was listening, really!

Paul nods. One quick PINpoint trip later, he's back with a stack of books. "I don't know your tastes as well as you do, so take your pick of what you want." Paul's been busy. The books in his collection are from a variety of different universes.

"If it's history you want, that I've got plenty of that."

He went out of his way to pick a mix of genres to get a better sense of Krobus and his interests. The best way to make deals in the future is to know what the other person involved wants. Paul watches closely to see what he goes for.

Oh wow! "You're a walking library," Krobus teases, grinning.

He runs his shadowy fingers over the covers of the books first, without opening the pages, as if he can get some kind of psychic information that way. Some feel friendlier than others, and he picks up the friendliest first, which appears to be an Earth-oriented book about arctic and antarctic exploration. That done, he goes for the least-friendly and opens the pages. (Ahh, it's about solar science. Well, that makes sense. He sets it aside.)

After a studying some of the others, he chooses a large Nexus bestiary. The information will be practical and the illustrations are very good. "These two, please!"

“I’m something of a hoarder.” Not exactly, but Paul has a habit of picking things up in the Nexus to satisfy his curiosity. And since his curiosity is never satisfied, he’s always hunting for new books and artifacts to collect.

It sounds like a deal’s been struck, and Paul seems happy with the result.

“Those two it is. I’ll take the eggs, then, if you’re sure those two are the ones you got. If you ever want to do business with me again, I’m not hard to find if you look in the right places. Or if you have one of those PINpoints, you can simply add me there.”

"Pepper poppers? What are they?"

Oscar was now peeking out of his trashcan, pushing up the dented metal lid of his beaten up old trashcan, using his fluffy fingers to do so. He was in his usual mode of "go away" and being a grouch now that he was back in the Nexus after visiting Sesame Street a few days ago. The Garbage Games had been fun even though not many people showed up. Oscar kind of liked it that way anyway.

"I'm not human either. Humans are loud and annoying to me. Most that even bother to talk to me are anyway except for a few."

The "few" being Oscar's actual friends he'd made over the years in Sesame Street and now here in the Nexus.

Whoa! That's definitely not a human! Looks a little like some kind of slime, except with limbs and fur? That's fascinating! Krobus tugs his sunglasses down to get a better look at the stranger and offers a tentative smile.

"Peppers come from plants," he explains. "And they're hot, if you eat them. Spicy-burny. People like to stuff cheese into them and cook them. Some monsters like them, too, not just humans. I knew a shaman who'd eat them by the dozen. Said it fueled his fire magic."

"Do you mind if I ask where you come from? I've never seen a green hairy monster before."

"Yeah, I've heard of peppers, like the kind you get on pizzas. When I eat them they're not spicy anymore because the pizza is usually a couple of days old. Trash gets like that."

Oscar didn't mind explaining about his eating habits because eating days or weeks old trash or food to him was totally normal. "Fresh" food just didn't exist to a grouchy trash monster.

"I'm from Sesame Street. It's a place in New York on uh---Earth. Monsters like me live there as well as humans, grown ups and kids. I'm the first green, hairy monster you've seen before then, huh?"

Tommy was going about his business when this brightly colored peddler stops him mid-stride. Well, this is an odd feeling presence but his expression doesn't give any of that away. It is passive, blank, though maybe mildly curious.

The assumption that he is human is amusing since humans, at least the ones in his universe, always thought he was off and not quite like a human.

"Are you human or do you dislike these items you're peddling to another human?" Tommy almost cracks a faint smile at the end of that sentence but manages to stay reasonably passive.

For some reason, Tommy struck him as less intimidating than a lot of the other people around. He looks like someone who is at least not going to whip out a sword and attack, and when he stops to look at Krobus, the shadow-person does a mild double-take. Is this guy a human? He's not actually sure now.

Well, as long as he's not a dwarf either (and he can't possibly be, he's way too tall), they can probably have a civil conversation.

"Iiiiiii...think taste is very subjective, don't you?" A sheepish smile. "Not all humans eat the same things, right?"

He's not 100% sure about that, actually, but it seems likely. "But...no, I'm not really a human. I'm just trying to blend in."

Being a pacifist in most circumstances Tommy is one of the last people to attack anyone.

"Taste is learned and then manipulated." Tommy blinks very slowly and an astute eye might see that he has a clear eyelid behind the human looking one. "Most humans appear to be picky eaters."

Which wasn't much of an insult since Newton was also a picky eater due to species more than palette.

"No matter how well you believe you are passing there will be some humans who are suspicious enough to discover the reality." And that he knew first hand.

Hopefully long pointy ears are enough of a hint that Tar isn't completely human either. "What is an iridium sprinkler? And may I test those pepper poppers? I like cheese well enough, but I'm still not used to spicy things myself..."

That last question gets a gentle laugh from them. "You look and sound like a person to me, dear one. That the most other people tend to care about here."

There were elves in the Valley once, but it's been a long, long time. Krobus finds himself looking at this stranger thoughtfully from behind the silly dark glasses, and remembering.

After a moment he bobs his head sheepishly and tips his hat with an amorphous upper-limb. "It's for watering plants," he explains. "Iridium is the strongest metal we have where I come from. It has some magical properties, too."

Huh! No one's ever asked for a sample before, but Krobus sees no reason to say no. He picks up one of the pepper popper plates (say that ten times fast) and offers it out. "Sure, why not? Try one."

There's a little blush after that. No one's ever called him dear one that he can remember. How nice! "My kind come from the void. It's hard for a lot of other species to understand or accept us."

The dark elf can understand what Krobus is feeling, on some level...not that they ever thought it would be a feeling directed at them. Still, they smile at him, carefully taking one of the treats from the plate, making sure not to knock them off. "I see! That sound like a little more than what can fit in this Drow's pocket..." And chomp! Into Tar's mouth goes the spicy, cheesy fried ball.

Oh.

Oh no.

To their credit, Tar doesn't cough, but their face is quickly turning purple-red and they start fumbling for a waterskin somewhere in their robes. "Ah! That is spicy! The cheese is doing well to dull it a little...it's all together good...mm! Just a little much for me!"

Now, just excuse them while they are chugging down the cold water as fast as possible, tears in their eyes from the burning sensation from the peppers in the poppers.

Drow? Drow. An underground elf! Here he thought they were only legends; the last time he saw elves, they were wood-elves. Krobus can't help but be a little excited; this is like meeting a fairy tale. He beams, all friendly good intentions, and--

Oh. Oops. Oh, dear. That looks like it didn't go down so well.

He tugs his hat down and fans them with it on the off-chance it helps the heat. "Oh goodness! I'm sorry! I didn't realize they were that hot! I don't think I taste things the same way other people do."

This is a guy who eats giant chunks of wild horseradish. His idea of spicy might be a little off. "But it's okay not to like them! I didn't cook them myself, I bought them to resell from someone else so you aren't hurting my feelings."

Begs the question of what kind of cooking-oriented non-human creatures he hangs out with, doesn't it? "Uh...will you be okay? Actually, here, I have some goat's milk, maybe a little sip of that will help--"

"I think so! It's just too hot for me! It's really not terrible! My tongue is just a little weak!" They are trying their best to laugh it off, though their voice is still a little harsh from the ordeal. And they are also all out of water. "Mm...I may take that goat milk. Goodness!"

Another laugh, this time less pained from their little experiment and more back to their usually lilting tone. "You are sweet. I'll pay you for the milk at least. Like I said, I'm just weak to spicy things. I like the cheese though in it, so you can pass my compliments along on that, dear one...I'm just not good with hot peppers. Perhaps it's just because we don't have much of them in the Underdark. Makes it hard to deal with."

And yes, when given the goat milk, Tar will happily drink it like nothings off. They do have dairy goats back home after all.

He hands over a bottle of goat's milk helpfully. It's very cool, as if it came straight from the refrigerator, so there's probably some kind of preservation magic in the stand he's selling from. "Well, I'm glad I didn't hurt you. I've never met a Drow before. There used to be elves above ground where I come from, but they've moved on to other worlds, I think. Maybe there were Drow, too, and they moved deeper underground."

...that'd be so cool, actually. Exploring, maybe finding other friends deep in the caves.

"What do you eat in the Underdark?" He's curious now, because if it's anything like the food he favors, maybe he can bring something they'd like better next time. "I have void eggs, but I've never known anyone other than shadow people like me to enjoy eating them. They're pretty good scrambled, I think."

They almost are humming with delight as they finish up the goat milk, letting themselves breath as they fish around for some gold coins in their pockets before they continue. "Maybe. It's hard to say really. I only know my worlds history, and only a very little bit of it. At one point all elves of all kinds lived aboveground...some even in the sky! But...now it's hard to say what our real history is. I don't know of any elf alive who can properly say what happened in even their most recent past life, and Drow may not even have that luxury."

They reach out, very gently patting Krobus on his shoulder. "Nothing like void eggs... Lets see, I remember meat, different fungi and mushrooms...occasionally surface vegetables and fruits made their way down, but that was for the rich. My father and mother did bring me some on occasion though. That's what I got to eat when I still could live there."

In their most recent past life. Krobus hums his understanding happily, eyes squinting half-closed like a cat's. Shadow-people come from the cosmic Void, and death isn't quite the same thing to them as it is to other species. It's nice to hear how others operate. "I'm sorry if it's uncomfortable not to know, but somethings things get forgotten on purpose, too. Maybe moving forward is better in this case!"

"I don't usually eat meat, but bacon is pretty good." People don't touch Krobus a lot, but he doesn't seem to mind. He feels strangely soft, like candy floss or wool, except his shape holds to the touch.

"I've eaten fried mushrooms. They're pretty good. I guess I like salty and crunchy sometimes?"

"It's more...it makes having a context for others feelings harder. It makes them harder to understand." And Tar surely wants to. They want to know more. They want to better connect with the wonderful upper world they live in.

Ah, but still, Krobus is nice to touch. Like a sheep or moss...just...not the same? It doesn't matter. They still laugh. "Oh, I understand. Mushrooms are one of my favorite things to eat. And they can have such cute shapes! At least, I think they do."

Blaster chuckles at the human comment. "Why do humans think that that's what everyone looks like when not on a human populated world?" He sits down so he's not towering over the new comer.

"And why would someone use, something so brittle for a sprinkler?" He mused a moment.

Okay, he's got no idea what kind of creature you are, my dude! Dwarves used to make drones and war machines out of metal, but not quite so sophisticated, and nowhere near this friendly-looking.

"Well," he says slowly, looking up. "Humans mostly don't associate outside their species, at least where I'm from. I guess they get used to seeing what they've always seen."

"What would you use for a sprinkler instead?"

"This is true. They are such a strange species." He smirked a little. "Normally they use aluminum, If it was made on my world would probably be something a lot heavier, depends on the function."

"I'm Blaster." He shifted forms to his boombox mode to show off. "From Cybertron."

"Aluminum." He makes an uncertain face. "We have that, but I've never seen sprinklers made from it."

(Metallurgy in Stardew Valley is absolutely batshit. Sprinklers made of iron. Tools made of gold are harder than tools made of steel. Don't look for logic. Magic did it.)

Krobus jumps slightly at the shifting of shapes, then laughs appreciatively and claps shadowy, amorphous paws. "I'm Krobus. I've never seen anyone do anything quite like that before!"

Shadow people can do some self-reshaping, but their edges are never quite so crisp and clean. They're shadows, after all.

She gave the curious looking figure a smirk, chuckling to herself a bit as she twirled her black parasol above her head.

"You can relax, people here are a lot more welcoming than you might expect..."

She looked him over, taking a seat on a bench nearby.

"Besides, that disguise isn't really fooling anyone. If you're afraid of being in danger, or just not fitting in, you're worrying about nothing. As long as you don't go around looking to make trouble, and lots of it, then you'll get on just fine here."

She pulled out a small leather bound journal making a few notes.

"Though, I must say, I've never seen anyone like you before... I'm certainly intrigued..."

"You sure?" Easy for you to say, Lady. You look a lot more like the rest of the population than he does. Still, most of the people he's talked to have been reassuring, so he tugs the glasses down to reveal the rest of his face.

Hmm, that parasol is a good idea.

"I'm just here to sell a little and maybe learn some new things." He shrugs, a rippling gesture that goes across his amorphous shoulders like a wave. "I'm a shadow-person. There are a lot of us where I come from, only I'm the only one that visits above the ground."

She gives him a wide smile, revealing a pair of sharp fangs.

"I usually try to be a bit upfront about what I am, get the culture shock out of the way early rather than have people find out later and avoid me for it. It's worked out for the most part so far..."

She scribbled a few notes in her journal as she started a rough sketch of the shadow-person.

"I take it you don't do well in the sunlight? That makes two of us..."

She adjusts her parasol a bit, noticing the sunlight getting dangerously close to her shin. Contrary to popular belief, she wasn't about to spontaneously combust on contact with the light, but she'd rather not deal with the searing pain while trying to make conversation.

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+1 Shadow fren

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