Mallside 9: Waaagh!

[Chaotic Bob]

[Concourse]

Such is life, always threatening to fall apart at any given moment.

The smile on her face becomes slightly more genuine at the hand gesture, followed by a light touch of her fingers to the hand in appreciation and lowering them back to her lap.
A moment later, her head bobs at the substitute name suggestion, the movement jerking a portion of her hair around her shoulder and over her face.
She distractedly leans a bit to let gravity maneuver it back around her shoulder.

"You can call me whatever you like, although I would ask to avoid something hokey like 'fountain girl' or something."
Which is actually sort of a joke! Lightly teasing tone and all.
She really doesn't want to splatter her sorrows over this other person, so every little step must be made to break it up a little.
"I don't suppose you had an activity in mind? Something you're interested in, I'm curious."

[Deathkeeper]

[Concourse]

Kray frowns. "For today, I'll call you Lara. That's a nice enough human name."
"Frankly, I was going to go back to the Goblin Market where all this started and try to find someone who can fix all this. It's...nasty in there. You don't have to come with me."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Concourse]

Goblin market, huh?
That's not a place she's ever spent a lot of time in (or near), so she's a little unsure what to expect.
Although, if there was a time for exploration, this would be it.

"Lara."
The name is repeated somewhat cautiously, as if she's expecting something unpleasant to happen upon doing so.
When absolutely nothing whatsoever proceeds to happen, she almost looks surprised and then looks pleased.
"A wonderful choice, Lara it is!"

As if some significant victory had been achieved, 'Lara' rises to her feet with a bit more energy than she had earlier, plucking the bag from the ground with the hand opposite Kray as she goes.
"Well! It would be a shame to leave you right after you have taken the thought to name me. I would be happy to accompany you to the market."

[Deathkeeper]

[Concourse]

Kray is happy she's happy, but still isn't sure if this is a good idea.
Oh, well.
She takes a deep breath and leads them to the Goblin Market for their second meeting.

[Slii Arhem]

[Krikebulin's - K&G]

At Knibs' words, Gustav grins and promptly orders a sundae to share. "Well, this will be another anecdote for you to share then. Sundaes are different from Sunday. They're sweet and delicious and not particularly filling, so I'm sure you'll be able to make room for your share of it. I don't mind if you don't like it, but I'd be missing out on a golden opportunity if I didn't expand your dessert knowledge!"

Gustav then leans back, smirking. "Going for a stroll can wait until after dessert - but I'm still going to show you something interesting after this."

Krikebulin's- K&G

Salas nods at the order and goes off to prepare it.

When she returns, very shortly afterwards, it is with a large glass containing ice cream drizzled with purple sauce, and scattered with deep purple assassin berries on top, and more in the bottom of the glass, under the ice cream. There's two spoons on the tray, and sticking out the side are two heart-shaped wafers. It's cold, and the assassin berries and sauce are quite tart, contrasting with the sweetness of the ice cream.

Krikebulin's - K&G

The gobbun is very skeptical when the dessert arrives, and takes a very small amount for his first bite, being surprised both by the sourness and the deep coldness of the treat. But as he prods the lump of melting dairy around his mouth with his tongue, he hums thoughtfully and lets it melt fully before swallowing.

Then he pushes the glass across to Gustav with a nod, "It's okay, tastes a bit too much like jam for my liking. You can have it. But thank you for letting me try some." Foiled at the first hurdle Gustav! Your nefarious plans to corrupt the poor wee gobbun have been hampered by his dislike of fresh fruit!

"And sure, I've got a bit of time after this before I have to get home. Is this thing you want to show me very far?" While he's no scout, Knibs knows how to be fearless on his first foray into unknown territory.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Krikebulin's]

Gustav shrugs and tucks into the dessert with gusto. "I see gobbuns don't have much of a sweet tooth then? You might be a little hard-pressed to find desserts to your liking then, the majority of them tend to be sweet." Alas, poor Knibs, cursed to forever take the cheese and biscuits option on the dessert menu.

Gustav fishes around in his satchel and pulls out ample coinage to pay for the meal...quite a bit more than necessary actually if any enterprising kobold were to look at the age of the coins and realise that they'd undoubtedly be valuable collector's pieces if sold on in the right place. They appear to be a few thousand years old.

"Not far at all, no. It's not any particularly place, we just need to get out of the mall somewhere with some open space and less people around. And I dare say I can even promise to get you home early, if you've got to be back by a certain time."

[Slii Arhem]

[Krikebulin's]

Gustav shrugs and tucks into the dessert with gusto. "I see gobbuns don't have much of a sweet tooth then? You might be a little hard-pressed to find desserts to your liking then, the majority of them tend to be sweet." Alas, poor Knibs, cursed to forever take the cheese and biscuits option on the dessert menu.

Gustav fishes around in his satchel and pulls out ample coinage to pay for the meal...quite a bit more than necessary actually if any enterprising kobold were to look at the age of the coins and realise that they'd undoubtedly be valuable collector's pieces if sold on in the right place. They appear to be a few thousand years old.

"Not far at all, no. It's not any particularly place, we just need to get out of the mall somewhere with some open space and less people around. And I dare say I can even promise to get you home early, if you've got to be back by a certain time."

Krikebulin's - Leaving

"It's not that. I can demolish an entire sleeve of cookies like nothing else. These sour berries aren't very nice though, and the cold cream doesn't help as much as I'd like." Fruit, the gobbun's mortal nemesis!*

"I'm alright with you dropping me off, so long as you don't mind leaving me at the door. No one who's not a gobbun is allowed past the front hallway, except under extreme circumstances. If you can't accept that, I'll find my own way home." Knibs' voice is firm and dead serious as he gets up, looking forlornly at the pile of untold wealth Gustav is spreading around. How anyone can get away with that offends his very sensibilities!

Spoiler: *

Show

In some cases quite literally. One vine in particular native to the Hunting Grounds bears a succulent, almost breadlike fruit with a spongy texture and deeply intoxicating aroma. Upon consumption the victim lapses into a deep, trancelike state where they appear asleep but remain highly suggestible. This state progresses to a fever wherein the victim feels terribly cold and will seek out the nearest source of warmth, usually body heat or direct sunlight but not uncommonly stumbling directly into an open campfire.

Inside the victim, the fruit has begun converting the victim from the stomach outwards into more spongiform material, a rich bed for the thousands of microscopic seeds scattered throughout every cubic inch of the fruit's mass. In a matter of days, the stomach of the now doubtlessly dead host will burst open and a new plant will flower and bear its deadly fruit. The only recommended way of dealing with this plant is fire, and a healthy amount of distance to avoid its alluring scent.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Krikebulin's - Leaving]

Gustav adds an extra particularly fancy coin as a tip as they make their way out. He glances down at Knibs and shrugs awkwardly, "I-I...y'know, I might not be the most deserving of this wealth, but my bloodline earned it over thousands of years. Does it bother you that much, seeing me be so frivolous with it? But, um, sure. If it's that big a deal not to let other people in, I can agree to those terms."

And with a swift, cheeky head-pat and a particularly mischievous grin, Gustav dashes towards the nearest exit.

Can you really blame him? He managed to behave himself for a whole meal!

[WarKitty]

Goblin Market

The goblin market's pool and sign are there as usual. Right now the marigolds and zinnias seem to be in bloom. The water is warmer than it was, and absolutely clear and still.

[Gullara]

New Thread!