Windfall Island

[Amaterasu]

If you're interested in playing, please read the following thread first. Thank you!

Like on many other days, this one started with the sun rising over the horizon of the endless ocean of the Vasty Deep. And like on many (but not all) days the gradually intensifying light was accompaigned by the roosters loudly announcing to everyone on the island that it was time to get out of bed and to a busy workday, or in the case of the owls and other nightly critters, that it was time to head to sleep in preparation of another night's hunt. Of course, some of them were already awake and busy for the tasks that needed to be done by the time everyone else got up - stalls had to be set up, bread had to be in the oven and so on. And a few had the luxury of sleeping in because for one or another reason their work would only start later that day. Those people simply ignored the rooster outside and clock next to their beds displaying 7:00 AM, rolled over and got back to sleep. And maybe dreamed of snapping that rooster's neck to silence it for a long time.

The sun's rays soon reached over the cliffs that surrounded Windfall Island on all sides and began to warm the ground and water. The dew that had formed on the leaves and grass began to warm up, soon to evaporate and be carried away by one of the salty breezes that always passed over the island. Mostly cool, borderline cold, breezes at this time of the morning, but with the cliffs on all sides the climate within the island was surprisingly mild and comfortable.

One might wonder what the day was to hold in store for the citizens that day? Would it be another day like any other, an uneventful yet joyful fun day, starting with a freshly baked loaf of bread on the table and ending in Ozal's bar over some cheap beer? Or would something happen... something none of them could have anticipated at the time? Who knew what the future held for them. And that was, after all, one of the many spices of life!

[Dawnika Snow]

At house Furon/Furon’s Footlocker

The inevitable morning sound of the roosters awoke the young woman. Kaylee had gotten a good night's rest after her busy day yesterday. So many orders. The hunters had brought in their scheduled food supply, the fresh vegetables had arrived not much later and she had to personally deliver Ozal’s order of alcohol. That isn't even where it had ended either. A large ship had docked yesterday and after drinking in the tavern most of the day, they came by her shop to stock on a few weapons and other goods they needed before they set sail. No matter though, today was a new day and the beautiful shop keeper was ready to start it.

Kaylee hopped out of bed with energy it seems should not have had after yesterday and fixed her bed covers. Being happy was a choice, and she would see herself dead before she allowed any kind of sad thought to pass her mind. After getting dressed in white shirt and brown skirt she headed down stairs and into the store. The fireplace would not be necessary today since it was already warm enough out. She unlocked the windows and swung them open. The children hurried past the store to schoolhouse next door. They waved to the shop owner and she returned the gesture. The shop needed a bit of tidying up before she opened, which could be arranged since it didn't open until 8am. She took a duster to the items lying about, and polished the metallic items, like the weapons, with a cleaning rag. After this, she set out the food, mostly vegetables and fruits grown by the farmer in an appealing fashion in the small stall at the corner of the shop.

The shop was mostly organized by category. Most the food took up the south side of the shop, which was the wall to the right as you walked in the door. On the opposite wall, one could find collective items for the house such as silverware, rugs, and dishes like plates, bowls and cups. On the back wall behind the counter was the weapons, where they stayed out of reach of any customers. Weapons were expensive to buy, so Kaylee would rather cry over the loss of an apple, than that of a katana. If she did not have something someone was looking for, she kept a list on her counter of items that she is recommended to acquire. Obviously, this would mean stating a decent price to find such an item if she did not own it.

Looking out to the sky from the window, Kaylee assumed it was time to open the shop. She unlocked the door and sat on the stool behind the counter. The thing she loved most about the day was greeting her first customer, whomever that may be.

[Caira Ayryn]

Today, the ocean breeze was going north to northwest, blowing over some white, puffy clouds across the vast azure sky. The ocean air tasted familiar, though, he had very rarely been to a place without the fragrant saline splash, Tom was glad that his crewman spotted his next island for delivery. Finally, they had arrived.

A few blinks against the gusting wind and the old man hobbled out onto the old but looking-like-new deck of his charter ship. It was due to make port at Windfall Island at noon. It was eleven thirty-five. His crewmen were hustling some shipment above deck, shouting to one another about where to steer the ship to get it closest, and keeping busy with the hubbub that was ‘landing’ so to speak. The gruff old man, with a slightly aged-kissed face ventured to the highest deck of his ship, limping slightly, as the cold air made his joints stiff, he continued to hobble to the top. He held his head high, while he looked across the waves and into the growing green of the island. It was a beautiful place, and every time the captain had a shipment, he always budgeted time to enjoy it, while his prized crewman got a well-deserved rest.

Tom's men prepared the ship for port, casting an anchor in tow, when they grew close, grunts of men working hard swirled with the air full of gull calls and boat horns and his vessel slowed to a stop. Aboard his ship, other than his crew, his shipment, and supplies, was a tall white cat, by the name of Marla. Her tail quivered as she tasted the scent of land, and she eagerly paced the edges of the deck, waiting to jump from the wall and onto stable ground. Having a cat aboard a ship was lucky, or at least, he had been lead to believe it from a young age. Plus, the feline kept the mice out.

The captain directed his men, but now, everyone was so used to one another, they just kept on bustling till their supplies were being carried onto the dock, as the old captain signed the papers procured by some of the townspeople. "Aye, and good day to you," Tom signed off on some paperwork and his crewman, CJ collected the cash, hiding it within the stores of the ship.

"Captain, I'll have the men continue unloading, and then, are we taking a shipment of this island's goods at all?" CJ asked, twice observing the notes from the shipment schedule.

"Ehh, you know I'm always lookin' for a load, but we don't got one unless someone offers, our vessel's a little light today, but in order to deliver a new shipment, I have to know where it's going. Also, sonny, I need to set some ties with someone who ‘re willing to export some good with willing buyers. We'll be land-bound for a few days or a week, sound good CJ? Pass it on to the others too, tell them they're free to enjoy the town as they like, and that they have done a nice job." Tom nodded and was off the ship almost as fast as Marla, who's white tail had disappeared down the dock, she and the captain were alike, in that they were ready to explore.

Porting meant that they had ceased sailing, which was one of Thomas’s favorite things about living. To him, sailing was almost better than breathing, and Thomas couldn’t even imagine a world which had air without the taste of salt. But, the land was just as fun, there were new possibilities with every new person you met, and a classic characteristic of an old seaman, was that he always had a story to tell..

[Hiro Protagonist]

Location: Silverrock Town, Ozal's Bar

Ozal had jolted awake at the sound of that damnable rooster, groaned, then rolled over and gone back to sleep. One of these days he was going to test out his disruptor's "shake and bake" setting on the pompous bird, and then the customers could enjoy a fresh dinner. Fried Annoyance, he could call it.

Around 10 am, he woke up normally. It was a wonderful thing, sleeping in. He'd gotten up early most of his life running here and there, working slave labor jobs until he had enough profit to start his own business. And then, of course, the Omniverse business. No one here had ever heard of the Ferengi, at least no one he'd met. And even though it meant the loss of his old lifestyle, it also meant an immeasurably untapped market that had never heard of all the delightful things he knew how to make and do.

Heading to the bathroom, he revved up his tooth sharpener and ground the night's buildup of plaque off his fangs. It was good that the Kaylee girl had delivered his usual stock on time, but he had an itching for something creative. He'd have to make a trip to her stall to pick up some choice iingredients for the night's business, and also see if that shipment of Babylonian Sand Peas had come in yet. He was very pleased at that idea. Instead of nuts and dried fruit on the bar counter like other establishments he would use the much more flavorful Sand Peas. What made it a genius idea was that Sand Peas were incredibly salty. Hence, his customers would drink more.

As he made his way down the stairs, he turned on the lights and power to his dabo wheels and various other games. No one would use them for another few hours, but the tinny music and lights made the bar feel alive, and he didn't like working on the ground floor in stone silence. Ozal's was a place of merriment and bombasity, and it was open well into the night. Which was why the Ferengi was frequently  sleeping in now.

On the ground floor, he took stock of the empty establishment. He'd cleaned up most of the mess from last night , but chairs and tables were still askew. Busying himself with getting the place ready for today's round of customers, he whistled a tune while wiping glasses and gathering his satchel for a grocery trip.

[Amaterasu]

The Hotsprings Bathhouse - Silverrock Town: Furon's Footlocker

"Whew... well this looks better!" Melody said to herself as she took a step back and admired her work. She was in the Bathhouse, mop in hand and wearing a swimsuit and of course the pointed hat that she never took off if not to sleep, so her clothes wouldn't get wet from the steam that was constantly in the room, and overlooked the now cleaned room. Well, to call it a room was glorifying it a bit, since it really was a large cavern with the hotspring pools, split into sections by artificial walls. The first thing to do in the morning was to open the floodgates and let the water wash out of the pools so she could give them a thorough sweep in shallow water, pick out rocks that had been washed in and so on. After that she checked all the little nooks and crannies for litter and items that people had lost or left there and forgotten about, and finished by sweeping the floors. With the dust carried in from outside, the salt in the air forming crystals and the steam from the springs a thin layer of mud tended to form, causing a very slippery surface even if one was to wear rubber shoes - even worse if she allowed for algae to form, those things were the sea's banana peels. She did not want to take any chances until someone broke their necks on one of those.

Once everything was scrubbed clean it was her turn: she washed the sweat and mud off, combed her hair, headed into the changing rooms and put on her usual attire: the same that she had come to the Bathhouse in. The rooster wasn't her wake-up call, she was up since before the sun came out, snuck out of the town so as not to wake anyone up and headed to the springs to get them ready for the day, then came back. She knew she wasn't the earliest bird - she'd seen Jack working, for instance - but those who could afford to sleep in a bit shouldn't be disturbed by her.

By the time that she exited the Bathhouse the sun was already out for a bit and accompaigned her on her trip back to the town. She just passed beneath the little archway that held a welcome sign on one side and an indication of where the path was leading if someone left Silverrock Town in that direction, when her stomach gave a low growl. Oh right... breakfast. It was a good thing that she'd remembered to collect the money from the deposit box, she could take a detour and pass through Kaylee's shop before returning to the library. At this time of the day she should have it open already, right? Only one way to try... she pushed against the door of the shop and smiled brightly when it opened and let her in.

"Morning! Don't mind me, I'm just here for breakfast!" she called as she shifted through the doorframe and headed straight for the fruits and vegetables display. Hmmmh... apples? No, she'd had those yesterday. Bananas, maybe two of em... one orange, a handful of plums and one of those little baskets with raspberries. Fruit salad it was! She browsed the displays for vegetables for a bit more but didn't pick out anything: the library had no way to keep things cool, unlike the refrigerating systems in Furon's Footlocker. She'd just come back for lunch though. With her purchases in hand she strutted up to the counter and dumped her purchases on it. "How're you doing?" she asked Kaylee while taking off her hat to put everything inside. "Today's when the old man comes with the overseas supplies, right?"

It should be noted that the 'old man', as she lovingly referred to him, was Thomas. And overseas supplies was her umbrella term for 'everything not grown/fished/hunted on the island.'

[Dawnika Snow]

The door swung open, ringing the welcome bell as Melody walked in. The young adult pause her movie on the small, flat TV that hung in the corner behind the counter. Passing time was hard on an Island like Windfall, but when she was offered a trade for it, she could not refuse.

As Melody browsed the food, Kaylee smiled politely. “You’ll love the fruits, Melody. Picked fresh yesterday. Got most of my orders in yesterday!” She said leaning over the counter. When Melody brought her product to the counter, Kaylee looked through them. Taking a judgement of how much they'd be worth. Nothing in her store had a definite price. Everything was negotiable and friendly to barter. This meant even people with no money could shop as long as they had items to trade.

“The old man is supposed to dock today. Thomas says this'll be a good shipment for me, and I hope so. I'm bringing in decent coin, but not enough for luxury.” Finally she bagged the groceries in a plastic bag and set it on the counter. “15 silvers should cover it.”

[Hiro Protagonist]

Locking the bar for the meantime, Ozal headed out towards the town square. It wasn't a particularly long walk, but a Ferengi who wasn't careful about his possessions didn't keep them for long. After all, wasn't Rule of Acquisition #82 'Make sure to always lock up?'. Ozal grinned with his empty satchel over his back, and made his way towards Furon's Footlocker.

As he stepped inside, he raised his hands together, fingers curled inward in the traditional greeting. "The lovely Miss Kaylee, how are you on the irritably bright morning? Fresh and springy I bet, heheh."

Kaylee stuck her tongue out at the Ferengi and blew a raspberry. "The only thing fresh and springy in here is the produce, Ozal. And no, I didn't get your Sand Peas in yet. Check back later after the ships unload." The bartender snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Charity! Oh well. At least I can pick up some special ingredients." He browsed the bins of fruits and vegetables , filling his satchel with all manner of  succulent, juicy garnishes and fruits. 

Inspecting an Ambrosian Horned Melon for ripeness, he accidentally backed into something soft, bouncing off and stumbling forward a few steps before turn around to begin an annoyed snarl. It died in his throat as he beheld the figure of another one of Windfall Island's lovely ladies, the enchating Miss Melody. Ozal was immediately all charm.

"My apologies, Miss Melody," he wheedled. "Too busy trying to think up new and exciting libations for tonight. Here, have this as a token of apology. I'm trying something new." Ozal pressed a wad of bills into the woman's hand, and when she lifted them to her eyes to inspect the paper, she saw that it was adorned with a crude drawing of the barman's face and numerical denominations. "...10 Ozallars?" She asked confusedly.

By this time, the crafty Ferengi was already trying to pay for his purchases with the currency, Kaylee looking just as confused as Melody.

[Dawnika Snow]

Just as Ozal had walked in, Kaylee had finished business with Melody’s transaction. To Kaylee, Ozal was, for lack of a better word, different. In any case, he was always polite enough, and to her, that was he had to be to be accepted her store. Many different creatures and people live in this world and Kaylee was used to seeing some alien to her appearance.

“Concocting more of you special ‘toxins’ I see?” She said inspecting his items getting a good judgement of what they would be worth. It was difficult to inspect when he used different currency, but on that matter, she could not just deny his Ozallars. It's the only currency he had, and if she denied it he would probably starve.

“Toxin to you maybe, dear Kaylee, but many enjoy drinking themselves to the bottom of a mug. How much do I owe you good lady?” The Ferengi asked pulling out his cash ready to pay and get back to the bar to start working on his new alcohols.

“Well, I've finally come up with a decent currency scale for Ozallars and gold and silver. Two Ozallars per silver. So that’ll be about ten Ozallars.” She said putting his purchase in a bag and exchanging it for the money.

[Amaterasu]

Melody looked at the bills then at Ozal, then at Kaylee and finally at the bills again. "So you're introducing a credit system now?" she asked while reaching for the pouch by her side, and pulled out coins. She counted fifteen and stacked them on the table before Kaylee before grabbing her bag. "Should be enough like this, but do check it." She stuffed the weird bills into the bag, on top of the other groceries so they wouldn't get torn during her trip home.

"I'm guessing that you want to reveal what these bills are good for this evening when people are hanging out in the bar?" she asked as Ozal arrived at the counter to check his purchases out. "I don't really get the point of it though, I mean... we already have a currency on the island, why do we need another?" When the... no, not Ferrari, whatever Ozal called his type, looked back at her she involuntarily blinked. Not that she was racist, but she could simply not get over his funny appearance when he was facing someone directly.

"Why, there doesn't have to be a single currency! It's just a different way of bartering, and I say it is easier to hand around light paper bills than encumbering metal pieces, let alone exchanging goods for other goods", Ozal explained enthusiastically. Melody knew enough about him to know that money was his "element". Being a librarian meant that she knew who liked what kind of books usually, and the Bathhouse was almost as good a place to have long conversations as the bar, and while she didn't eavesdrop it had happened more than once that while she was cleaning the women's side of the springs she'd heard half-muffled talks from behind the wall.

"Right, well - I'll still need you to leave the regular silver coins when you come in to bathe, please, at least until those bills of yours replace silver entirely if they get there." She smiled cheerfully at him and returned his smile. Then she waved goodbye at Kaylee while heading for the door. "I'll be over in the library if anyone needs me. Gonna be opening a bit late today! See ya all later!" She semi-rushed out, both because she couldn't wait to get to the Rune Archives and because she was already running late. Normally the library opened at 9:00, it was already past that and she hadn't even cleaned up the mess of books that had fallen over from her cart yesterday. With some speed she could maybe make 10:00 though, and sink her attention into a history lesson about the evolution of currencies. Ozal had some thought behind that introduction of a new currency, she knew it. He wasn't a bad guy really, but you simply could not trust him when it came to making a profit so long as it wasn't illegal. And even then, maybe...

[The Humble Sage]

The Open Shore ---> The Unnamed River

The rooster’s crow saw Dasha already awake, carrying a large wicker basket of linens down towards the nearest stream. She had told Kelp to meet her in the morning with the washing board, but as she had expected the boy did not show up in the morning. He was probably still sleeping; Kelp hadn’t really gotten acclimated to the later hours yet. In Coasta del Sol, the Imperial curfew kept her clientele from loitering around for too long, and the boy was able to manage, but here on Windfall Island there were no such enforcements and a few of the patrons remained for a good deal longer. Let the boy sleep, it would make her job harder, sure, but she would appreciate the time to herself.
 
Dasha’s path wound down outside of the town of Silverrock towards one of the streams that nobody had bothered to put a name to yet. As she left the outskirts of town, the crisp morning air kept her awake, despite the frankly insufficient amount of sleep she was getting. She needed more staff, between herself and Kelp, they managed to keep everything running, but She barely had any time to spare. She had been considering closing some days early, but she knew that her patrons would just go right down the road to Ozal’s and that next time they might just go there first. Her hands were tied, at least until she had built up enough of a reputation with the townsfolk. Dasha had arrived not too long after the Imperial mine had closed down, but she was still pretty new to the area, and hadn’t really properly integrated herself into the daily ebb and flow of the community yet. Part of that was here fault, she knew, she had thrown everything she had at making the open shore as nice as she could. In the end she had set up shop on kind of the outskirts of town, since the building was far more affordable, but she had not anticipated just how significant a disadvantage that gave her when it came to integration.
Too say that the people in Silverrock were insular would be rude to the many people who had taken time to try and welcome her after she and kelp had arrived, but the truth was they were more or less content with their lives. But that was a problem for another day, for now she had a large basket of sheets to get washed in case someone was going to be renting a room.
 
Dasha reached the edge of the river, and set down the basket. Then realized she had forgotten that Kelp had the washboard. “Omni’s left thigh bone!” She spat, “ ‘s what I get for lettin’ that slacker sleep in!” With a sigh of frustration, she turned and began trudging back towards town.

[Zack Fair]

Location: Between Silverrock Town and Paradise Bay: Rooster's Ranch

Ol’ Rooster never wanted to be a big shot.

That was why he left the Empire behind. It wasn’t a stunning or thrilling departure from the great force from Coruscant. Those things were reserved for folks that mattered, or at least thought they did. Nope, Rooster just didn’t sign back up the day they asked him to. He’d learned quite a bit from serving under Captain White, namely that you looked after yourself first, since no one else would. That mindset was how he got away from it all and ended up as a simple farmer on Windfall Island.

Mostly a simple farmer, that is. He knew how to use a gun and he’d worked both the Nexus and Coruscant in thick, white armor. Admittedly, he didn’t have a single tale of dashing heroics or stunning bravery. His stories were mostly just dealing with bullshit from the people who occupied his stations, and those above him. Still, the qualifications were enough that he had a pistol and a badge strapped to his hip here in the Vasty Deep. It was a fair price to get the slice of land he now called home and office, and he would have missed the firearm if he didn’t have it, anyway. Hell, he'd even managed to keep the nickname his old squad had given him.

In theory, he was the police of Windfall first and foremost. In practice, most folks knew that seeing Rooster act in a law enforcement capacity meant one of three things: he was bored, he was pissed at someone, or he’d gotten advance word that Inspector Gordon was coming to town. But as it turned out, in a small, fairly self-regulating community like Windfall, Rooster tended be about as hands-on as was needed.

Nope, he was content to keep working on his crops, which is what he’d found himself doing the whole morning. With his field work done, he figured he needed to make a trip to town to stock up on some various supplies needed to keep this place running and the good folks of Windfall fed. He bit his lip as he gazed at a stretch of empty land outside the field. He’d gotten a wild hair after a few discussions at Ozal’s bar and decided he wanted to build a barn and raise some animals, too. At the very least, a horse would be nice to offset the frustrating ban on fossil fuel this place had enacted. While he was in town, he could do a little bit of research on how constructing such a structure would go.

“Hmmph,” Rooster grunted to no one as he pondered the difficulties of gathering an able-bodied crew to put the building together. That part was a task for another day.

He tossed his shovel aside and made his way off the property, towards town. He’d clean the place up more a little later.

[Sans]

> Sound detected. . .


> Identifying Pitch Frequency . . .

> Identifying Sound Waves . . .

> Sound Identified. Identification: Rooster’s Call. . .

> Protocol Triggered . . .

> Powering On . . .

Sunlight beamed through the curtains set in front of the windows as the greatest event one could wish for, the rising of the sun to signify a new day, began to unfold. The local rooster’s had awakened to spark life out of the quiet, little, out-of-the-way island town. Their cries sparked a mixture of annoyance, optimistic welcomes, or just plain boredom, depending on who it was that experienced it. For Arnold Rockwell, it was the second category.

The yellow rays slowly settled into the house, lighting up the dark interior. They drew closer to the back wall, revealing a sitting little robot that held its knees together, like it was a child burying its head inside itself to muffle its crying. As the sunlight touched it, however, it sprang to life. Its eye-glass in the middle of its head zoomed in and out, checking to make sure it still functioned. A long antennae slipped out from the top of its head; it hummed a small tune to itself as it unfolded itself from its resting state.

Arnold Rockwell took a few seconds to make sure every part of its robotic body was still in good shape. Donald Rockwell would likely not be very happy if his favorite robot had its servos lock up during the morning routine. It looked around, scratching its eye-glass to remove the accumulating dust and grime from it.

The room, like seemingly every other room in the house, was covered in oil stains, shown most prominently on the walls and blackening the otherwise ornate carpets. Next to the nearby window inside his room was a large endoskeleton for a robot Donald had tried to make in the past, lying down on a large, wooden table. Several pieces of scrap and metal, all parts of failed creations, littered the shelves, tables, and floor. Potential brothers, possible members of the house, all fallen to the afflictions of a single man. Yet DP-12 could not blame Donald Rockwell for this.

Donald… Donald! In his examinations of the environment, he had forgotten to check up on Donald! Running out of the room as fast as his little robot legs could carry him, he sprang towards his room.

He opened the door. In the middle of the room, lying on a small bed about Arnold’s height, was Donald. Eyes closed, raspy snores, and seemingly no movement was more than enough to indicate to Arnold that he was still asleep. The robot could easily see his wrinkled face, silvery mustache, and age-beaten form even from the confines of the sheets. A set of glasses, plus a glass full of water left over from the night prior, sat on top of a nearby counter-top alongside a picture of two humans, one of which was a much younger Donald Rockwell. An object of sentimental value to his creator. He had deduced a long time ago that it was never a good idea to interrupt his creator whenever he indulged himself in those kinds of things.

He spent a few more moments just standing there, robotic clamps around the handle of the door, observing his creator and making sure he was alright. Then, as quiet as he could, he backed out of the room, closing the door.

With that out of the way, it was about time (approximately 7:00 AM, according to his digital clock,) to craft some food for his creator. Trying to be as silent as possible, he tiptoed into the kitchen. He had taken the liberty of cleaning it up to remove potential contaminants of the food, and as a result, it was sparkly clean when compared to the grimy nature of every other room in the house. Shiny counter-tops with a glistening sheen, a clean wooden floor that Arnold had refurbished to prevent any noises from occurring due to squeaky wood, and an entire refrigerator full of fruits, meats, and vegetables. He moved towards the fridge, opening it up. Immediately, he could tell something was wrong.

His eye-glass could not detect any visual indicators of any potatoes. Without them, Donald’s first proper meal of the day would be ruined!

Without a moment of hesitation, he sprang to the front door, making sure to grab his hat and trench coat before exiting.

Location: Silverrock Town (Donald Rockwell's House - Furon's Footlocker

It was a fine hour later, around 8 AM, that he arrived at his favorite shop in all of Silverrock Town: Furon’s Footlocker, run by the human known as Kaylee. He had gone there more than a few times to collect the food necessary to prepare the more comfortable foods medically advised for Donald Rockwell, like chicken soup, lamb roasts, roasted potatoes, etcetera. Helped that the prices were cheaper than most places he went to, particularly Ozal’s Bar. He had only gone there once, and made a silent vow never to set foot in it again. It was mostly the alcohol, a drink that he might have considered bringing to his creator if he wasn’t aware of its more medically negative side effects. It was fairly noisy too, with bombastic music that played well into the night, way after most people would probably had gotten some sleep. Donald would have just gotten irritated by all the noise; he preferred the quiet.

That’s why he knew he had picked the perfect place to bring Donald to once he was finished with it. It was just barely started, of course; it was only a solo project, after all. But despite that, he knew he was going to love it. He just was going to have to hold out a little longer.

The welcome bell rang as DP-12 pushed open the door into Furon’s Footlocker, politely tipping his hat as he sidestepped the oncoming Melody. Ozal was in there, evidently peddling with the owner of the establishment herself, Kaylee. He ran forward, placing his hands on the counter as he hopped up a bit, his brown trench coat lightly slipping off of his shoulders a bit as he  tried to get a better view of her.

“Good morning -and pardon me, good sir,- miss Kaylee!” he said, “I’ve run out of fresh potatoes for my creator, mister Donald Rockwell. You don’t happen to have more, do you?”

[Hiro Protagonist]

The Ferengi nodded amicably. "Certainly. I do enjoy a nice, humid soak in the hot springs frequently. Maybe one of these days you'll even join me!" Ozal snickered and left the store with his purchases. Operation: Profit was a success! He couldn't believe they'd accepted the paper currency so easily. Any other Ferengi would have laughed in his face. Really, he wasn't cheating them though. He would accept it as valid tender later on, and even price it above silver pieces in terms of value. The real magic was the overhead. What he had bought would add more than enough favor and uniqueness to his food and drinks, keeping the customers coming back for that home cooked feeling on a budget.

Ferengi chefs usually dealt with bugs, shellfish, and other insect-like cuisine, but a few years of working on different planets before he'd been summoned to the Omniverse had allowed him to expand his cuisine, even if he found a few certain ingredients  unpalatable. He never understood the appeal of leafy greens and starches, or the bright sugary flavor of citrus fruits. They made his eyes water, but the culture here in the Deeps seemed to thrivs on it. Sunshine and sand, pfah! Ferenginar was so rainy they had 128 different words for it, and the concept of "crispy" was entirely foreign. Still, profit was waiting for anyone willing to take strides in new directions!

Making his way back down the road towards his bar, which wasn't very far, maybe about a half mile if that, he looked down the road towards the port. Grinning, he saw that a ship had put in overnight. Ozal loved ships. They brought some of his best customers, and by extension, his best profits. It certainly didn't hurt that he nudged the prices up for sailors, but that was mainly to cover the broken chairs and tables that resulted occasionally. He didn't cheat the locals. That was Rule of Acquisition 36.

[Amaterasu]

Silverrock Town - The Rune Archives (Library)

By the time that the other patrons came to Kaylee's shop and Ozal left to return to his bar Melody was already back at her library. The sign still was on "CLOSED" although the library should normally have opened already, but with the mess of books from the day before she couldn't open it and present her patrons with such a disorderly place. Well, she could not have them wait either, even though the library wasn't all that frequented... but, she came up with a solution. Rather than completely sorting out the mess and returning the books to their shelves as originally planned she placed about half of them back on the cart where they had originally been, then stuffed the excess behind the reception desk where they couldn't trip anyone and looked less out of place than when scattered on the ground. She'd just have to open the library and sort them later.

9:45 sharp she flipped the sign from "CLOSED" to "OPEN" and unlocked the door, then opened a few windows and blocked the door in an open state to get the dust out and let some fresh air in. It wasn't the recommended thing to do due to the corrosive nature of salted air, but because it was only for the main room of the library where not too many books were, as opposed to the side rooms which were thematically sorted and separated from the main room by doors it wouldn't be too bad. And she'd rather have a few damaged books than a suffocating atmosphere. The only bad thing was that the cool air came in like this, so Melody searched under the reception desk until she found the turtleneck sweater she was keeping for exactly those occasions. Quickly she slipped it on, only taking her hat off for the briefest moment, then got to work. First things first, sort the books back into the shelves. After that, the ones behind the counter... and while she was at it she'd search for those things she wanted to read up after the meeting with Ozal. Hopefully her paper friends would shed some light on that matter.

[Marisa Kirisame]

 Tem shop, Silverrock town 

As Temmie was setting up her shop she noticed a flower that wasn't there before. Now Temmies may not be the sharpest knife in the cutting board but they aren't stupid to a point. She looked at the flower and stretched her arm out to pet the flower and it unexpectedly shuffled back showing its face. "Stupid Temmie can you please not touch me I am looking for a human named frisk, do you know about there whereabouts?"

The Temmie looked at the flower and grabbed a map that she bought for quite a lot that showed the Vasty deep, she opened it up and where there had been water it now shows a tower and the words Avengers tower next to it. "So, this is your destination probably if your looking for someone the avengers can help you out if push come to shove," she leaned in close to Flowey and whispered "you could make a bounty with this human and to bring them to where you need to go and pay them then."

Temmie shrugged and proceeded to put the map away before the first of the ten customers came and bought her supplies, She was special for being the only merchant that would buy items at a low or high price on Windfall island and made a profitable margin from it. Plus it helped being one of the first people there and getting the brief income boost from the pirates.

Temmie then opens shop and waited for the customers to come to buy her Tem armour and flakes.

[The Humble Sage]

the Unnamed River --> SilverRock (The Rune Archives)

Time passed far slower here than in Coasta del Sol, Dasha thought as she hurried up the slope. The morning seemed to barely have passed at all. It wasn’t a bad thing, but part of what she loved most about her job inn-keeping was the huge numbers of new people she met. Here on Windfall, regulars were practically everyone, and while she appreciated the friendships she was already building, there was a definite repetitiveness to life here. It nagged at her mind, making her uneasy. She hadn’t really had a choice about leaving Coasta del Sol, but she wasn’t sure that she had picked the right new home. Windfall island was quiet, she would even use the word quaint, and she doubted that was likely to change. Was she letting the world pass her by while staying here? Dasha didn’t have the answers, and she shivered in the crisp morning air. Turning to look, she saw her basket sitting contentedly besides the unnamed river. She did appreciate the opportunity to abandon a basket full of laundry without concern that some passing urchin would swipe it however.
 
 
Dasha crossed the streets of SilverRock with a determined pace. She wasn’t in a rush, but she also didn’t feel particularly inclined towards stopping for conversation. She reached the Open Shore, and was surprised to find it still locked. Even if Kelp was sleeping in he should have been up by now. Dasha fished in her pockets for the keyring, aware that this was simply another one of the adjustments she was slow to make. No one would try to break into the inn while she was out, in fact, if anyone had been staying there right now she would have had some pretty awkward explanations to make. Finding the key, she inserted it into the metal lock, twisted, kicked the door twice like she always had to, and the deadbolt slid back.
 
“Alright!” she shouted as she entered the common room, loud enough that she knew Kelp could hear her upstairs in the room he was staying in, “I know yer a grow’n boy and all that, an’ that these islanders stay up until dawn half the time, but we’ve got a ton of work to do and if you’re not up in five minutes I’m gonna put in a personal call… with Admiral Kizaru and he’s gonna…” her continuing rant stopped short as a very loud thud sounded upstairs. Like a body hitting the floor hard. Dasha made for the stairs, “You alright, Kelp?” she shouted, but there was no response.
 
She hurried up the stairs, countless explanations flashing through her mind as she reached the door to Kelp’s room. “Hey? You in there?” She shouted, and waited, but again there was no response. She tried the doorknob, it wasn’t locked. Kelp had always been quicker to trust than she was. Swinging the door open Dasha cried out. Kelp was laying on the floor where he appeared to have fallen shortly after getting out of bed. His eyes were closed and his throat sported some painful-looking purple patches. His breathing was ragged, as Dasha approached, and his skin was clammy to the touch. “Ach, what have you gone and gotten yourself into now?” she asked with genuine worry as she lifted the thirteen-year-old boy back into his bed. Pulling the covers back over him she hurried downstairs returning shortly with a rag and hot water. Putting the rag on the boy’s forehead she thought back. Kelp had been sluggish last night, but she had assumed that was merely due to the late hours, not that he had actually been ill. In fact, he had been out for most of the day beforehand, taking some time off from working at the Open Shore to get better acquainted with the island. Kelp hacked weakly, wincing as his throat muscles seized up.
 
Dasha weighed her options. Leaving Kelp alone here felt like a terrible decision, the boy was barely alive, and there was no one nearby enough that he would be able to get help for himself. On the other hand, Dasha herself had no idea what this illness was or how to treat it. She needed to find a doctor, or maybe that voodoo shaman she had heard about. Chewing her lip, Dasha crossed towards the door. She had made Kelp as comfortable as she could, and she could do little else for him right now. He needed more professional help. “Hang in there, Boy.” She said quietly, “I’ll get a real doctor in ‘ere to patch you up.” And with that she hurried down the stairs and out the front door towards town.
 
Rufus Dellarosa was a difficult man to find. He lived in the middle of the woods, away from town, and visited SilverRock very sporadically, it was a toss-up whether anyone would have seen him in the last week or not. Hurrying towards the center of town, Dasha made her way to the location the notorious drunkard would most likely have last been spotted. She stared at Ozal's bar with a grimace on her face. She knew that the Ferengi would be the one most likely to have seen Rufus last. But She couldn't stand that sly grin of his, he was so condescending. Growling in frustration at both the barkeep and herself, she turned away and began to search for someone, anyone else to answer her question. Seemingly at random, she decided to try the Rune Archive. Melody seemed to know many of the people on the island, and even if she didn't there was a chance one of her books might describe the affliction. Feeling slightly more justified in her decision, she set off again, still moving quickly before Kelp got worse.

Dasha walked briskly through the mid-morning air until she caught sight of the Archive. noting the "OPEN" sign she pushed in the door and was immediately assaulted by the smell of paper. Wrinkling her nose she wove between bookcases and stacks of old tomes, making for the desk. Melody was no where to be seen. "Hello?" Dasha shouted, feeling strangely muted in the sea of books. "Melody? Have you seen that Voodoo man anywheres?"

[Dawnika Snow]

Metal clangs of heated metal arose around the center of Silverrock Town. The blacksmith had been working hard on a repair order for a farmer. His axe had been broken. At first trying to fix it, he was unable to restore the axe, so instead he made a replica of the axe that was brought to him. Brand new and sharpened like master work. Nathaniel was great at what he did, and even though he had not wished this line of work when he began, he had started to grow a certain fondness to the heat of his forge and the smell of burning metal.

His order for the farmer was finished within an hour. Now that it was complete he decided it was lunch time. Maybe he would head to Ozal’s to grab a bite to eat. For the sleazy bastard he was, he owned a decent establishment.

After locking up the smithy doors and cooling the forge down, he made his way to Ozal’s Tavern. A thankfully short walk. Although it was much cooler than being around the forge, today’s heat kept him sweating.

[Amaterasu]

Let's not let the thread die!

Because everyone is wrapped up in their own thing as it is, let us timeskip ahead - 6:30 to 7:00 PM, the sun is starting to set, people are finishing (or finished) with their work for the day and looking for a relaxed evening and to socialize a little. On the other hand the shops active at these hours are going to get the largest influx of people now.

(Also, I'm sorry Sage! I didn't notice that you had directed a post at me)

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Pre-Timeskip

Melody's hat could be seen by Dasha before the rest of her, when she popped her head out from behind a literal wall of stacked-up books and magazines that she was sorting into the shelves around her after having dusted them off. "The old man? Hasn't shown his face around town as far as I know. I haven't seen him yesterday either... maybe he's hanging out in one of his hideouts again?" She heaved half a dozen books into a shelf then came around the stacks. "Sorry I don't have anything better for yo- oooACHOOOO! Why don't you try this evening? If the old man isn't around someone might've seen him, you can ask around in the bar. That's the best I can offer for now... whoops! Gotta go!" She hurried off when she noticed that a bookshelf was getting dangerously close to toppling over. While most people may see mountains of written text packed into leather and cardboard, stacked up into towers that were a hazard to people's personal safety, to Melody they were friends, organized into a vertical system. Sure it wasn't as efficient as those modern data recorders - her whole library could be fit into a hard drive the size of a small booklet - but the feeling of holding a book in one's hands and flipping through the pages was incomparable.

Post-Timeskip

Melody flipped the doorsign to CLOSED and left the library while dusting her hat off. Not much activity today... but the people were already coming to the bar, she could see. Now was the time for a warm dinner - might as well spend that currency that Ozal had given her - and a bath at the springs after that. She couldn't shake off the feeling of being covered in dust even though there hadn't been that much today. Not even remotely as much compared to the days where the strong winds brought dry dirt and other stuff from the hills and forest, or that one time where the kids had pranked a few readers with a pollen trap. Good thing that nobody was allergic.

She reached into her hat and pulled out the cash. Maybe Ozal had something new in stock today, after having purchased groceries in Kaylee's shop? He might have a few odd quirks and such, but he was a pretty good cook.

[The Humble Sage]

The Open Shore --> Ozal's 

The hours passed slowly as Dasha did her best to keep Kelp as healthy as she could. Melody hadn’t seen any sign of the witchdoctor, nor had anyone else she had happened to run into on her way back to the Open Shore. In the end she had simply had to do the best she could with the meager medical supplies that she had on hand. She was just grateful that the Imperi-Med booster seemed to be at least mitigating his symptoms, it had certainly not been cheap to get ahold of. She still had no idea what illness he even had, and although he seemed to be stabilizing, he was still extremely pale.


At least he’s breathing normally again... She thought, though it was a very poor consolation. She had to find Dellarosa, or at the very least someone who was more experienced with treating illness than she was. Dasha stood in the doorway, watching Kelp’s still form. There was nothing for it. She pounded her fist against the doorjamb and turned to go downstairs. From a business perspective this was the opposite of a good decision, The Open Shore didn’t have nearly the client loyalty that Ozal commanded amongst the inhabitants of the island. Dasha couldn’t really afford not to open this evening, let alone the fact that she would be seen visiting her rival’s place of business instead. She was sure that Ozal would capitalize on the moment to discredit her position further.


After making sure Kelp was as comfortable as possible, Dasha set off for the Ferengi’s bar. The night was a very peaceful one, and Dasha would have thought it was pretty if her thoughts were less tumultuous. As it was she practically ignored the idyllic starscape as she made her way determinedly to Ozal’s bar. She slowed her pace as she drew nearer, the lights and sounds of merriment were already audible, even from half a block away. With a set jaw and furrowed brow, Dasha entered Ozal’s bar.

[Hiro Protagonist]

It was the evening rush, and Ozal's was jumping. Smells of delicious fried food, noises of raucous laughter and chatter, and the high pitched plinging of the dabo tables on the second level leaked out whenever the door opened to admit a new customer. Oxal was behind the bar, serving up drinks and occasionally taking a plate or two out to the tables himself. He had one or two locals employed as servers, but mixed most of the drinks and cooked most of the food himself. It made it take a lottle longer, but Ozal's was one of the few places around you could get fresh cooked food at this time of day.

"Order up! Grilled Flatwave with Lemon and Mint Glaze!" Ozal called out across the bar and saw one of the sailors pick his head up, then get immediately hassled good-naturedly by his fellow seamen. The Ferengi weaved his way through the dining floor and delivered the plate of food, setting it next to the three plates of oat porridge and pork shavings the rest of the sailors were enjoying. He also set down an aluminum drinking vessel, popping the top of it off with an intimidating hiss. "And a Ferenginar Black Hole. I wouldn't tease your friend; he's putting down most of the bar in this drink. Would you gentlemen like refills on your light ales?" Ozal flashed his pointy teeth in a jovial smile as the teasing sailors were shot a smug grin of satisfaction by their former victim.

A few minutes later, Ozal was upstairs arguing with a short, hairy dwarf at the dabo table. "No, you cannot bet "your dwarven honor" at the table, Bregnok. Come back with money if you want to spin the wheel." The sack-clad man brandished his axe and blustered at the Ferengi, trying to look bigger even though they were the same size. "Ozal, you crook! Ah swear, these wheels are rigged to spin slower after 6 o clock!" The accused proprieter put on an air of indignancy. "Accusing me of cheating?! And after all that free ale I gave you that was in no means collected from the bottom of the barrel, i'm offended!" The bartender turned smartly on his heel and strode of, leaving the sheepish dwarf to fish one last coin he'd kept hidden away to bet at the wheel.

Ozal then returned downstairs to the bar, taking the next few orders in stride and serving them out. It was shaping up to be a good night. The bar was about half full, mainly sailors and merchants stopped over on the island for a quick shore leave. No local residents as of yet, but that was the usual. They came by later, after the sailors and rowdier types had passed out. Although, here was a surprise, now....

His chief rival in the hospitality business on Windfall Island stepped through the door, her expression resolute and stolid. "Dasha! My my my, come in! It's not very often you stop by nowadays, is it?" Ozal grinned, showing his sharp nubby teeth and patting a seat in front of him at the bar. "Come, come! I'll even let you have something on the house to...celebrate...this most rare of occurences. Or would you rather get right to business?" He tapped the overly large ears rimming his head. "These lobes know when there's a deal in the air...."