[color=598527][u][center][h2]Gail // Marketplace // Eastern Slums // The Play Begins[/h2][/center][/u][/color]

Gail stretched as he looked around the marketplace. A particularly large amount of boats had come in today, and it was a little busier than usual. It really just meant all the more people to observe, but he was looking for someone in particular, which made it less enjoyable. he knew she had a stall somewhere around here... ah! there it is. 

"Shannon!" he exclaimed when there was a gap between the customers. "How are you? and how is Dietrich?"

it seemed to take her a moment to recognize him, but she quickly brightened upon the realization. "Oh, better now that the most recent shipment came in - more people in the market means more people to buy this food" she remarks, gesturing at her stall, adding, "of course, at a 10% discount for friends. Dietrich is fine; the doctors were saying that whatever it is that's ailing him is fading - but of course, he still has those bedsores."

"Ah, and I take it that is where I come in," Gail responds, eyeing her supply of lentils as he pulls a bottle out of his bag. "For the bedsores - and instead of last time's price, I'll just take a pound of those lentils and two pounds of potato, if that's alright with you?"

"Fair trade in my eyes. thank you so much young man, this makes his life so much easier"

To this, Gail has no response but to smile awkwardly and gather up his ingredients. "s-same time next week?" he asks, getting a nod in response. 

Gail moves quickly into the crowd, blending into it almost as second nature until he bumps into someone, knocking a lady's basket out of her arms as he backs up apologizing to the first someone. [i]shit...fuck...damnit...argh[/i] he thinks as he bolts from the scene out of embarrassment after frantically trying to help the woman, who refused. 

finally regaining his composure as he walked towards the slums, Gail remembered that with this newest shipment, Buddy would finally have more supplies to give him. Dust... Black Lotus... drugs are such a disgusting phenomenon, people selling their souls for a chance at the next high. But, people are gonna get hooked whether they want to or not, and it doesn't do them any favors to remove the drug from them entirely. Especially with how much they pay. He turned down an especially slimy looking alley, loudly coughing twice and then hitting the blade of his knife against the brick wall. he stood and waited for a while... [i]it is possible that he won't be here today... might take some time for it to get to him...[/i] but he popped out from the back door of an old warehouse, flanked by a large man, long haired and surprisingly well armored - he was new, and Gail immediately checked behind himself, checking that that route wasn't blocked, ready to bolt. 

"Calm down, 3," he said to Gail - neither knew each other's real name - "My friend Fist here is just a ...precaution... against some recent incursions into my territory by... well, you don't really care by whom, do you?" for a man as grimy looking as he was, Buddy was surprisingly eloquent, putting him relatively out of place among Gail's usual backstreet crowds. "Pay me the usual, I'll give the usual."

"Show me." he said, pulling out his coin. "and I'll need some change." 

"don't trust me, eh? I guess I can understand, Fist ain't exactly a friendly guy. You don't need to worry about him though, especially since you won't be getting your supplies from anyone else" he smiled, as Fist cracked his neck. After shuffling around in his bag for a moment, Buddy pulls out 3 bits, 4 bottles of Dust and 3 of Black Lotus. They exchange content, and thank each other, culturally mandated niceties in a world far from that which spawned them. 

"two weeks?" Gail asked, getting a nod in response. He wandered back out the alleyway, noticing a loaf of bread at the side of it - someone must have dropped it. Giving it a once over after picking it up, he determined it was fresh, most likely anyway, and moving on after adding that to his bag. A good day, and good supplies for dinner. he'd be able to get started on that next potion, too.