The quartet were guided by their plus one to the merchant district of Cold Embrace.It was located halfway underground. A large, oval ceiling had been erected across what had been a natural depression in the permafrost. Dirt had then been excavated over time to create a massive hall that, due to being surrounded by ground on all but one side, could retain heat fairly well.
Fairly well only meant that it was warm enough to move around without all the layers of winter clothes. The ceiling, thick as the stones were, was still up against the outside air. It was warmest in these underground spaces during the deep winter, when the storms summoned by the Blizzard Drake piled the snow thick as an insulating blanket. While that cut down on heating costs for the space, it came with concerns about collapse. The sturdy pillars holding up the ceiling only provided so much.
Typically, during the deep winter, the market turned to a social gathering spot. While it was pleasant to be inside when the insulation was at its best, it was very difficult to move wares in and out of the market while the mountain winds were blowing. Only innkeepers and cooks liked the Deep Winter.
“The heroes of Yukana!” a merchant cried as soon as he recognised the Inevitable party. Apexus had shrunk his large, emerald wings to be so tiny they were hidden beneath his winter top, but they were hardly the only way for strangers to identify them. “Please, please, come sample my wares!”
“Ignore him,” Yuzuki stated and strutted forwards.
“A discount for those that saved us from this winter!” “Please, I have a gift for you!” “Adventurers, I will offer you my finest pelts!” “A candied apple, perhaps? Imported and very rare!”
The Inevitable party observed the multitude of offers but kept following their striding guide. “Why are we not taking any of them up on their word?” Korith asked. “I hear discounts!”
“Discounts for things below your station,” Yuzuki responded. “You want the best.”
“Do we?” Korith asked.
The question did not find an immediate answer. They turned a corner, then approached a wooden wall. The inner structure of the market was modular, segmented as was appropriate by temporary walls and stalls that were put up between the equally spaced pillars. The one before them was an old and worn wall that had not been moved in many years. A guard posted by it perked up when he saw them coming.
“Lady Yuzuki of the Cracked Lake,” the Yuki-Onna stated her own name. “I am showing the Inevitable party around. Certainly, we are granted access?”
“Certainly!” The guard had already stepped to the side. The procedure was purely a formality for them. Head bowed, the guard waited until all of them had passed before returning to his post.
“This is the noble’s market.” Yuzuki gestured around them. Each stall was larger, the decorations more opulent, and the shops established rather than temporary. The temperature here was a little higher due to a number of fire-enchanted crystals radiating warmth. A snap of her finger summoned a servant from seemingly nowhere. They were skilled at remaining hidden. “Take our coats.”
“Yes, milady!” the human man obliged readily. He dashed from the guide to the party members, carefully and gracefully loading his arms with the clothes that now felt excessively warm.
“We will get them back at the exit,” Yuzuki explained.
Korith eyed the prices around them. They were rarely displayed and when they were, they were horrendously high. “Why are we buying here?” she reformulated her earlier question. “We could have cheaper furniture at the other shops.”
“Exactly, you could have cheaper furniture,” Yuzuki stopped in front of the entrance to the carpenter. It was a shopping space built entirely by wooden frames joined together to create a 20 by 20 metre workshop. It even had windows and ornate panels, showing off the skill of the crafters. “Four boards held up by nails driven swiftly through planks. No decoration, the cheapest adequate wood, a shelf and nothing else.”
“We just need shelves!” Korith explained.
“You are adventurers of renown now,” Yuzuki retorted. “You ought to dress up your domicile accordingly.”
“I’m with her,” Reysha weighed in. “Might as well live it up a little.”
“Beauty is nourishment for the soul,” Aclysia cited.
“And money is nourishment for the Hoard!” Korith exclaimed, then let out a weary sigh. “Let’s see if I can haggle the price down.”
“Haggle?!” Yuzuki sounded genuinely offended for the first time since they had met her. “Perish the thought, this is a marketplace for nobles. Haggling is for the peasantry. You will find the price to be what it is, written with the same certainty as water is fated to turn to frost.”
“…Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think I am starting to hate you,” Korith said. “Just a little bit.”
“I will disarm that feeling another time,” Yuzuki promised with a gentle smile.
Though Korith cringed and moaned throughout the entire experience, the buying of furniture from this carpenter was an ultimately productive experience. The master of the workshop was a middle-aged dark elf with hundreds of years of his craft etched into his muscle memory. He free-hand carved intricate flower patterns in the time it took others to sketch them onto the wood with a lead pencil.
They ‘needed’ a lot. Factually, they only needed a bed for Yuzuki, but practically they wanted to fill out their space. Rather than buy the pieces and then work out the question of how to get them into the Mobile Estate, Apexus just put up the Mobile Estate and allowed the carpenters to assemble the shelves within.
The carpenters, the internal decorators, the engineers, the smiths, the glassblowers and the tailors, to list all of the crafters who became involved in the process. Yuzuki spread word of the great project and deep pockets throughout the noble market. It drummed up expected attention. Even the long-lived elves had never worked on an interdimensional home before.
It took the entire day and cost the group 450 Platin, 40 Gold and some change in lesser currencies. After they had communicated their preferences, they had moved to the side and just watched the workers do their thing. They also appeased Korith by letting her throw about two dozen more Platin coins into a ritual to Hoard. The god paid them back with some shiny rocks and other items that would make for nice home décor.
“We are done!” The carpenter finally told the quartet plus Yuzuki.
It was time to inspect their newly outfitted home.