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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Reader mode
Mr Zoat said:
8th November 2012
17:28 GMT +3

I look around what appears to be an open market, stalls arrayed in all directions and the noise from hawkers and potential buyers near deafening.

"So, how many of these are real people?"
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Ooh, good point. The Caliph cast the magic and wonder of his city into the Dream... But he still awoke in a Baghdad with a population. I wonder if any of those people suddenly found themselves missing a loved one, or a friend, that morning?

"What do you mean by-?"

"Real. Actual people, whether they have material bodies or not." I look over to a stall that appears to specialise in dates, ceramic pots filled with the things arranged on a wooden stall. "Did al Raschid send actual people here, or parts of their personalities, or… Alter the structure of the Dream by… Burning part of reality?"
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To be fair, the work was done by Morpheus. And his power is a lot more elemental than mere magic. He could quite easily have copied every person in the city, the Caplih included, as a spirit of the Dreaming.

A small bullock with a balloon tied on its midsection floats by, using flippers strapped to his hooves to control its forward movement.

"And where the heck did that come from?"
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...Huh, the social equivalent of a non-sequitor.

The bullock turns its head towards us. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry. Where the heck did he come from?"
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...Dream logic at its finest. I don't even...

"Hmpf." He tosses his head, then swims away.

"I do not know, and I do not know." He shrugs. "I was not there when the Caliph made the pact with Morpheus, or to observe the transition. If you want to know, you could make the time to ask him yourself."
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And that sort of thing has its own risks. No need to compound their trouble.

"Ah, Doctor?" Sanderson is looking around too, but in his case his expression is one of wonder rather than the suspicion I'm sure is on my own face. "What are we looking for?"

"A map would be useful. Tools that will assist us in entering the Tower, or finding John Constantine."
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And I'm no doubt sure someone will offer such a thing. Whether it's real, and whether you can pay what they ask for it...

Alan nods. "What do they take for currency around here?"

"This place is the dream of a great trading city on the silk road, between Europe and China. They will take any currency, speak any language and honour any agreement. You can trade with American money."
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Heck, they probably have a link to the Heartlands, so they can spend Dollars there.

The Demon raises his eyebrows. "Take card payments, do they?"

Dr. Balewa looks surprised. "There is a bank that gave you a credit account?"
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I mean, Demons do love their contracts...

The Demon reaches into his coat and pulls out a wallet.

"No, but they gave one to… 'James Robinson'."
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...Cute, Mr Zoat. :D Cute.

Alan frowns. "Who's that? And why do you-? Oh."

The Demon rolls his eyes as he slides the wallet back into his coat. "If it makes you feel better, he doesn't need it any more. Amazing how much money there is in dead accounts."
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I mean, I doubt that the Demon specifically did the deed on him...

Alan's frown escalates to a glare. "Are you-?"

The Demon tries to look innocent, and naturally falls far short. "He made a deal with Satanus. It was practically a victimless crime."
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...Or not. Still, I guess he sees no shame in making use of a resource like that...

Alan's clearly not happy, but recognises that it's not pertinent to the mission. "Okay, Doctor, but how do we find those things?"

"It is the way of these places. The merchants we want will find us, if we do not find them first."
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Such is the power of Narrative Causality.

Sanderson looks uncomfortable. "Are they gunna want… Other sorts of payment?"

The Demon looks away, making a choking, snorting noise. Sanderson edges away from him, then looks to Alan for a sensible answer.
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I mean... I wouldn't go signing any contracts without giving them a proper once-over. Especially if they ask for it in blood.

Alan looks levelly at The Demon. "Constantine."

"Dreams don't go in for virgin sacrifices, mate!"
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:oops: oof, embarrassing much?

Sanderson blushes, prompting Dr. Balewa to hold up his right hand to forestall Alan's retort.

"But, they may ask for ideas, memories, or even capacities thet you possess. They are not quite so bad regarding such matters as the fey, but it is not a foolish concern. I cannot tell you how to respond in every instance thet could arise. You can ask me for advice, but it would ultimately be something thet you will hev to decide for yourself."
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Though I suspect the more valuable the object, the harsher the payment demanded...

Sanderson nods, slightly mollified.

"How circuitous do we need to be when we make our enquiries?"
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Worried about spies, OL? Tattletales and walls with ears?

"I am sorry?"

"How do you rate the chance of John Quinn monitoring the Dream, or us? I'm asking because I sort of assumed that Boss Smiley wouldn't be able to eavesdrop on my conversation with Liberty, and that got us in a bit of trouble."

"Yeah." Alan nods. "That's what got us into trouble."
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Hey, at least the two of you got to meet JFK and save Uncle Sam.

"Slim to none. I hev spent time with him, and I have felt nothing of the Dream from him. Using magic here for such a purpose would draw the ire of the Dream-wizards who live here. And if he can monitor us in such a fashion without us knowing it… Then we are already doomed and there is no sense in worrying about it."

"Ah." Sanderson shrugs. "I haven't written a Will. I mean, if we're doomed, I'd feel a little bad about leaving a mess for everyone."
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Eh, I'm sure the lawyers who were managing things would happily step back in.

"If you just tell me what you want done, I'll forge it for you."

"I'd like the house turned into a museum and the money put into a trust to keep the place going."
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Heh, Reflections of the early-2000's JSA Comics, where their Brownstone in New York was a museum. Managed by none other than Abigail 'Ma' Hunkel.

"Not a problem." I look at Dr. Balewa. "Should we look anywhere in particular?"

"I believe thet the established shops will prove more useful than the market stalls." He looks around once more. "This way, I think."
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Just be wary of those trying to lead you into dark alleys...

He leads the way through the market, ignoring the stall holders as they try to persuade us that theirs are the fruit, the rugs, the coffee, the jewellery, that will make our day worthwhile. I-.

I stop, and the stallholder immediately orientates on me.
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Ah, OL playing the Guile Hero card.

"How much for one jar of figs?"

"These figs, sir?" He grins. "Only the finest-."
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Fellah, he's already buying them, no need to give him the full spiel.

"Yes I'm sure they're lovely; that's why I'm offering to buy them. How much?"

"For one jar? One dirham."
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An Arabic coin of the correct period, no less. Worth about 3 grams of silver.

Excellent. I've got plenty of silver, and I know the design Kahndaq uses for its commemorative coins. Fabricate, and… I offer the coin to the stall-holder, who checks it visually and then bites it before passing me a jar with a smile.

"Tell all your friends!"
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He's probably happy to serve someone who actually knows their coinage. Instead of offering gems, bizarre coins or even scraps of rag paper with such funny green designs...

I nod and step away, looking for-.

No. No no.
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...Oh dear. OL, have you broken your own golden rule: Never split the party!

Come on, there's no way they could have gotten that far away that quickly. I fly-.

No, apparently I don't. Impellers? No. Flying carpet? Yes. Alright, let's-.
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Ah, the joys of having to follow the rules of the conceptual space you're in, huh, OL?

"Sir!" The stallholder frantically shakes his head. "Those are banned in the market, except for official purposes!"

Okay. Dismiss the carpet and toss him another dirham by way of thanks, and…
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Heh. I rather imagine there's sometimes traffic jams of carpets overhead... :D

"Which way to the speciality shops?"

"Speciality? Like…"

He makes what I suspect to be an obscene gesture. Huh. I remember that while prostitution is illegal in modern Iran, it's perfectly legal to have a short-duration marriage with a non-refundable matchmaking fee. The Egypt of this era had slavery, but I'm not sure what the rules were on sex.
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...Yeah, that sounds all kinds of skeevily exploitable.

"Magic arcana."

He pointedly looks away. "It is not proper for a good Muslim to involve himself in such things." He points towards a bridge a short distance away across the market without looking at it. "But since you are a foreigner, it may be that some other foreigners who may be in that direction may be able to help you."

"Thank you." I turn to march away. "I will consider you for all my future fig purchases."
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Not that he ever expects to need to purchase figs again. Still... At least he has some tasty snacks now. And a nice souvenir for Jade.

Oh, boy...In tales of souks like this, getting split from your companions is a prelude to trouble, usually with ruffians, thieves or kidnappers. Who will no doubt find they've bitten off more than they can chew with OL. Still, this could prove frustrating, if he keeps catching sight of Balewa, Alan and Sanderson but can't reach them. And given the bizzarchitecture of this place, that's entirely likely.
 
Mr Zoat said:
He pointedly looks away. "It is not proper for a good Muslim to involve himself in such things." He points towards a bridge a short distance away across the market without looking at it. "But since you are a foreigner, it may be that some other foreigners who may be in that direction may be able to help you."
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Well... I guess that answers LePaul's question about whether these are real people or dreams.

They're dreams.
 
Duke Long said:
Why the hell did he stop for figs? Why does he want figs?
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DAT_NOOB said:
Yeah I'm curious as to why OL stopped for Figs aswell.
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The answer is at the end of his conversation with the shopkeep: he didn't especially want the figs, specifically; what he wanted was directions to the magic section of the marketplace.

Buying the figs was just a means to an end, as without some kind of purchase the shopkeep wouldn't have been willing to offer the directions.
 
BR549 said:
The answer is at the end of his conversation with the shopkeep: he didn't especially want the figs, specifically; what he wanted was directions to the magic section of the marketplace.

Buying the figs was just a means to an end, as without some kind of purchase the shopkeep wouldn't have been willing to offer the directions.
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But Balewa seemed to roughly know where to go anyway. You might be right, though. The only other thing I can think of is that Paul might've wanted some to see if he could grow them outside or something, if they have any magical properties.
 
I do wonder how the 'no magic' stuff squares with Khalid, but that's a story for another time.

Gotta bet that the figs really are the finest. I mean, they're Dreaming figs, gotta have ultimate figniness.

Though OL certainly will be getting himself into something...
 
Chojin Patriarch said:
He's probably happy to serve someone who actually knows their coinage. Instead of offering gems, bizarre coins or even scraps of rag paper with such funny green designs...
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He's happy because I guessing this is a bargaining culture, and OL paid the initially quoted price without haggling the price down first.
So OL got probably paid 2-3 times the actual market rate for the jar of dates.

But I bet he could still make a profit if he resold the dates to a magician.
I mean these are dates sourced from the dreaming, by someone who physically went there, and brought them back. They probably count as premium++ spell components. It's up there with someone bringing back pomegranates from the underworld.

DAT_NOOB said:
Yeah I'm curious as to why OL stopped for Figs as well.
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When you go to a foreign country, you are supposed to bring back souvenirs. Everyone knows this. And something really popular to bring back, is foodstuffs they have over there, that you can't get back home.

You never have someone visit the shuttle launch site and bring back packets of Tang and astronaut ice cream? Or go on a cruise and come back with a tortuga mini rum cake sampler pack? Or some packages of those wacky kit-kat flavors they have in Japan and no where else?
 
Wasn't the Apple of Knowledge from heaven actually a fig?
Maybe he wanted to do something related to that?
 
Windona said:
I do wonder how the 'no magic' stuff squares with Khalid, but that's a story for another time
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Mr Zoat said:
Maybe he's Zoroastrian?
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Bud-E said:
YJ Khalid is confirmed to be a practicing Muslim his faith is even a plot point in the arc he's in reconciling with his beliefs on magic
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Maybe the guy can just believe in his faith while still doing things that his faith may not be so okay with.

Lots of people do things that their religion may not approve of, but they still practice those religions.
 
Darko said:
Maybe the guy can just believe in his faith while still doing things that his faith may not be so okay with.

Lots of people do things that their religion may not approve of, but they still practice those religions.
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True. I had a Jewish friend who didn't keep Kosher, and there are plenty of Christians who don't follow the teachings precisely.
 
Windona said:
True. I had a Jewish friend who didn't keep Kosher, and there are plenty of Christians who don't follow the teachings precisely.
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In Christianity it's expected that practitioners are going to fail to live up to Jesus's example. They're just supposed to do their best and feel bad about their failures. Once a Christian stops trying, then they stop being a Christian.
 
Mr Zoat said:
In Christianity it's expected that practitioners are going to fail to live up to Jesus's example. They're just supposed to do their best and feel bad about their failures. Once a Christian stops trying, then they stop being a Christian.
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Well, i was thinking about stuff like the Fighting Quakers or the ones that have pastors. But fair point.
 
False Dawn (part 11)
  • Threadmarks
    • November 8th, 2012
    About Half Past Nine, EST

    I follow Doctor Mist into the alleyway, then hesitate to make sure that Sandy and the demon doppelgänger follow on behind me. The demon rolls his eyes while Sandy is too busy trying to take everything in to pay much attention to me. Can't say I blame him. When I was his age I wouldn't have been able to tear my eyes away from this stuff.

    I frown.

    Unless I'm supposed to count his age as his chronological age, in which case he's not all that much younger than me. Paul's had some effect on me if I'm considering that, but I don't think I'm ready to-.

    I look left and right, but Paul isn't there.

    I stick my head out of the alleyway, but I can't see him anywhere. And-. Have the market stalls moved? I don't recognize any of them, but I can't say I was paying particular attention.

    Ah, darn it.

    "Doctor Mist?" I turn back to the rest of the group. "We've lost-."

    They're not there. There's no one else here, and the alley isn't that big. I take a moment to look up, and, yeah, there's more city up there, but I can't see Doctor Mist or the others.

    Great.

    I take a moment to focus on my faith in the fact that we'll pull through and meet up again, and… And I can't fly.

    Ah, next best thing. I jog to the other end of the alley and I come out on a promenade, with a canal of some kind running through and well-dressed locals walking along the pavements on either side. There's patches of earth with palm trees growing out of 'em, and patches of other hot weather plants growing out around their bases. I guess this is a park, then.

    "Blue Lantern!"

    I look up and to my left, and see Wesley Sandy standing in the middle of a path running along what from my point of view is a wall. It doesn't look like there's any way down, whatever 'down' means someplace like this.

    I raise my right arm to wave at him. "Carry on with the mission! We'll meet up later!"

    He nods in an exaggerated fashion before hurrying along the road. I lose sight of him as he ducks under an awning and doesn't reappear.

    I'm a little worried about him, but the others can look after themselves. Even in somewhere like this. I suppose that the worst thing that could happen is that the demon doesn't come back to face the rest of his sentence, but from the sound of it that 'John Constantine' fellow can deal with that himself.

    A few years ago, I'd have said that I was too old for this. Amazing where life can take you.

    I take a moment to change my armour into something that… Fits in a little better. I think I still look like… Like one of those British guys I met in Palestine in the late forties. But I want to make it clear to these people that I'm not here to fight them, and… I think this does the job.

    Alright, there's probably some sort of concession stand somewhere in this park. If I find that, I can get directions-.

    "Excuse me, sir?"

    I turn, and it's a local guy in a purple dress robe. "What can I do for you?"

    "What can I do for you? You are clearly a visitor to our great city, and it would be inhospitable for me not to offer aid to someone looking so lost."

    "Ah, yeah. I just got separated from the rest of my group in an alleyway that couldn't have been more than twenty feet long."

    He nods. "This is not a normal city, sir, as I am sure you have noticed."

    "A dream city. I sort of thought it would be real enough that I could walk down a street without anything like that happening."

    "Were you all thinking about the same thing?"

    I shake my head. That sounds like something that's distinctly possible. "No, I suppose that we weren't. Is that something locals do, or is it just for people from outside the Dream?"

    He shrugs. "We are used to it. This is our natural environment. But you, you must be here for a reason."

    "I'm trying to get into a locked tower. Our magician thinks it's easier to get in through the Dream than through the physical world, but it still won't exactly be easy."

    "Well… If you are looking for thieves, we have those. You can trust them with your life, as long as you are honest with them. Just not with your coin purse."

    "You got anything that would let us get through a dream storm?"

    "I know of a man who sells ropes that are enchanted to survive even the strangest dreams. You could use that to tie your group together so that they are not separated."

    "Does he sell anything else?"

    "He sells other enchanted ropes, though I am not sure how useful you would find them."

    "I won't be, either, until I see them." And maybe not even then. Paul's the equipment guy. Is a rope useful for a Lantern? I never used to use it, but here? Who knows. "Can you give me directions?"

    "If you are not used to navigating the city, directions would be of limited usefulness. But I can take you there, if you like?"

    We couldn't even make it out of an alley without being split up. Getting a guide sounds like a very good idea.

    "Thanks." I nod. "I'd appreciate that."

    He does this sort of half-bow thing, then leads the way down the street. I keep level with him as I try and work out his motives. Helping a visitor out is one thing, but he's being a whole lot more obsequious than he needs to be. Is he a professional guide? I don't mind paying for the help, but it would be nice if he were more up-front about it.

    "People call me Blue Lantern."

    "This humble servant is named Uns Al-Wujud." He frowns. "Your name sounds strange to my ears. Is it a common name in yours lands?"

    "Lantern… Kind of is. Blue, not so much. If you don't mind me asking, what line of business are you in?"

    "I am a trader in dreams. Our Caliph -may Allah bless and keep him!- has expressed a concern that the material world might come to overtake his great city in glory. So he commands us to seek out the greatest mortal dreams, that our city will not calcify or decay."

    "So you collect dreams? Isn't that pretty dangerous work?"

    "Oh, no, no. That is work for young men far braver than me. I purchase what they collect, assess it and sell it onwards. Much of what they collect is of little use to the Caliph, but there is always a market for that sort of thing."

    "That doesn't do anything to the people having the dreams, does it?"

    "No, no, no. The mind of the sleeper forms the raw dream-stuff into whatever their fantasy is, but the dream lingers for a while after they leave it. It would be even more dangerous to enter while the dream was in motion. They would risk being caught up in it! It is far safer and easier to just gather it up once the dreamer has woken up."

    He opens the door into a shop just off the main boulevard, motioning for me to come inside. I do, and it… Brings back a slightly uncomfortable memory of an upmarket whorehouse I saw in post-War France one time. This is clearly a space meant for entertaining clients while the actual work happens behind the curtains.

    "Please sir, take a seat. I will send a runner to make sure that my rope merchant friend is available."

    "Thank you." I take a seat… This isn't helping with the mission, but I need this guy's help. "Do you-?"

    "Would you be interested in viewing my wares while you are here?"

    I'm not sure how a recording of a dream would help us, but maybe we could use it to reform part of the storm so we can cross?

    "I… Guess it wouldn't hurt. What do you have?"
     
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