Latest revision as of 01:17, 6 April 2010

The Ten-Thousand Markets

The Ten-Thousand Markets, also known simply as the Market or Nexus District, is located in a hilly region on the eastern side of Nexus between Sentinel’s Hill and the Cinnabar District. There amidst the districts winding stone streets and crush of tens of thousands of people, one can find almost anything at any hour of the day for the right price. For those unused to the crowded press of urban life in Nexus the atmosphere of the Ten-Thousand Markets can be quite claustrophobic. The majority of the streets are not only filled with people during the day, but are reduced to half their normal size by the press of the market stalls. Some stalls are little more then mats while others are elaborate affairs that could qualify as small luxury pavilions. People are constantly shouting left and right, hawking their wares, while street performers dance, play music and perform various tricks in order to collect coins from passersby. Every other stall also has anywhere from one to six gruff looking mercenaries to protect the merchant and his wares, while other groups of five or six armed men in the Council’s employ patrol the streets to keep the peace.

Despite the threat of the armed mercenaries at every stall, thieves also run rampant through the crowd stealing from those who are shopping, the market stalls and even the mercenaries. The best of course are never caught, but rarely does a day goes by without a foot chase of some sort on at least five different streets. Some of the chases end in victory for the thief while others end in rather brutal and public displays of Nexus justice. More then a few corners are stained with the blood of a would-be thief. One can also find an occasional macabre relic of that justice, although most are quickly snatched up by the wild dogs and alley cats that stalk the shadows.

It is easy to get lost amidst the streets of the Ten-Thousand Markets, one hill and its winding streets looks much the same as any other in the press of bodies. While there are some permanent landmarks, the vast majority of the market is constantly in flux, especially along the wide avenues of the lower streets that wind between the hills. The lower streets are also the ones most prone to flooding so few setups are permanent on the Low Streets. During times of heavy flooding, one finds floating gondola markets instead of mats and wooden stalls. This of course makes it easy to find the better shops in the Market District, all one has to do is go up.

Not just anyone can set up a shop or stall in the Ten Thousand Markets to sell things. Anyone who wishes to sell things in the Ten Thousand Markets must pay a stall fee and get an official license from the Council at the Market Office in Nine Fountains Square. If a mercenary in the employ of the Council catches a seller in the Market who does not have this piece of paper, he has the right to confiscate all of the seller’s goods for himself. As a result, the mercenaries are pretty good at checking who does and does not have a license. In addition to getting a stall fee, unless one pays extra to get one of the reserved stalls, the individual will then have to compete with all of the other merchants for a space along the street to set up shop. Fighting over prime retail space is actually one of the biggest causes of violence in the Ten-Thousand Markets. Nine times out of ten when the Council’s mercenaries need to get involved in a fight, it’s over a dispute on who has the right to sell what in a given spot. Most savvy merchants either come before sunrise or hire brutes to squat a spot, others simply work in shifts so they never have to leave or come in the middle of the night and wait until the dawn.

Nine Fountains Square

Nine Fountains Square is located on the west side of the Ten-Thousand Markets, so named for the nine ornate first age fountains that decorate the expansive pavilion. Here one will find both the twelve-story Guildhall, the nine-story tall Bronze Palace, the House of the Blue Fox, the Big Market and the ever-popular Golden Swan Auction House. Along with these prominent First Age buildings, there are also dozens of market stalls scattered throughout the square, most specializing in rare and exotic delicacies from across Creation. Nine Fountains is also the location of the Council’s Market Office, where stall and arbiter licenses can be purchased. In addition one can also report unfair market practices of the city's merchants as well as individuals who are interfering with trade.

The Guildhall is the largest physical structure in Nexus next to the Cinnabar Coliseum, though the Hollow Manse at the center of Firewander is believed to be larger by most scholars. The first four stories of the Guildhall serve as Nexus’ largest and most expansive mall and brothel where pretty much anything is for sale. The eight stories above that are the actual Guild headquarters, where one will find offices for the merchant princes and their functionaries, locked vaults for the most valuable merchandise, the sanctum for the Guild’s cabal of sorcerers, libraries containing records of the Guild’s activities for the last four centuries and armies of scribes whose sole purpose is to track the marketplace fluctuations in one of Creation’s five major regions.

The Bronze Palace is the largest and most expensive hotel in Nexus, dedicated to serving the needs of visiting dignitaries from all over the world. The second floor is home to the largest restaurant in the city, capable of seating and serving over five hundred people at once and possessing seven different stages for entertainment purposes. The Guild manages the hotel and maintains its upkeep by charging exorbitant fees of anyone who stays within its walls, though the available amenities tend to make it worth it. Purchasing a room grants access to the majority of the Guildhall’s courtesans gratis, a private mercenary escort, personal guide for the city and one of the hotel’s luxurious sedans for cruising the city in style and comfort.

The Big Market is a large seven story building on the north side of Fountain Square. It is in this building that the Guild conducts the sale of large lots such as slaves, shiploads of rice, materials to outfit entire armies and anything bought in terms of nations and large companies rather then individuals. The first floor is entirely dedicated to the slave market, the second floor deals in textiles, the third floor in livestock, the fourth floor in foodstuffs, fifth floor in arms, sixth floor in luxury items and the seventh floor is dedicated entirely to the bureaucratic offices that handle all of the fine print details of the sales.

Golden Swan Auction House is located on the south side of the square and holds daily auctions on a variety of objects. Most of the goods have either been confiscated by the Council from merchants for various reasons or are dropped off by people who don’t want to deal with all of the stress of the Ten-Thousand Markets. The five-story building houses about fifty different auction rooms, each dedicated to a particular class of object. Objects can be dropped off to be sold anytime before noon, while the actual auctions are held in the three hours afterwards. One can then pick up the money they’ve earned, minus the auction houses fee anytime after sunset since most objects are sold in the same day. The Auction House employs appraisers to evaluate whether or not an object will sell. Typically the Auction House will only agree to auction off items that have a cost equivalent to Resources 2 or better. To bid on any items in the Auction House, one must pay a fee for the day. While the fee is not too steep it ensures only individuals with significant wealth can enter the premises.

The House of the Blue Fox is an ornate four story cylindrical structure on the south side of the square. This beautifully designed building is the home and Manse of Elliander the Architect of the Council of Entities. The first floor is surrounded by ornate blue caryatids with vulpine features that support the upper stories. The next two floors are surrounded by marble railings and seem to be surrounded with round stained glass windows of celestial design while the floor above that is topped with a large window studded dome. As Elliander is a very private entity very few have ever been inside and the front door is usually sealed and guarded by two fire elementals that resemble humanoid warriors with vulpine features surrounded by coronas of blue flame.

Other Locations

Other notable locations in the Ten-Thousand Markets are the 7th Circle Arena, located at the top of Branson Hill. Branson Hill and Red Sword Street, which twines around the hill, are known for their weapon retailers and pawn shops. People tend to ask few questions and rarely travel in groups of less then five when roaming the neighborhood. Since the closing of the 7th Circle Arena business in the neighborhood has dropped and the merchants have become significantly less friendly.

Tin Street is known to be the spot for selling antiquities and outright oddities. While the value of most of the junk is questionable, the merchants can tell you an elaborate story about every object in their possession. They are quite good at it too. After all half of what they’re selling is an object’s story. You can also find scavengers on Tin Street trying to drum up interest and funding for some fantastic expedition of a First Age tomb that will make all of your dreams come true with the treasures that wait within. Some of them are legitimate scavengers, others are actually agents for bandits attempting to swindle people outside of the city to rob them blind. Still others are just interested in selling the fabulously valuable map they’ve skillfully forged on an artificially aged piece of parchment. The Sand Raider’s Tavern is probably the most famous location on Tin Street, where scavengers regularly meet to talk shop and swap stories of their adventures. The tavern is managed by a skeletal creature named Mo’ab Dep who resembles a cross between a mummified corpse and a giant stick bug.

Garden Street is where most people as well as restaurants in Nexus go to purchase ingredients for meals of all sorts. Most of the fruits, vegetables and livestock in the Garden Street Markets have been shipped into Nexus from places as far away as Great Forks. The Low Markets primarily cater to the residents of Sentinel’s Hill and Nightside, while the Upper Markets cater to the cities restaurants and stock rare produce and animals from all over Creation. The Great Blue is one of the biggest draws of the Garden Street Market, catering exclusively in rare fish and marine life. The majority of it displayed in glass tanks of all sizes throughout the three story tall building. The Great Blue can be found at the very top of Garden Street Hill. Because of its entertainment value, the proprietors charge a cover fee for anyone wishing to simply wander and look at the strange fish and crustaceans housed in the building.

Other notable locations are Beast Street, known for livestock and rare animals, Rainbow Avenue which specializes in textile merchants, and Gem Street known for its jewelers and artisans.

Comments

This is quite cool, Prax. However, I have a question - is this a part of the Nexus Project, or a personal section of Nexus not meant to intersect? I deorphaned it to the Nexus page, but I'm not sure if I should be putting it in the Project instead. - FrivYeti

Never mind, I found your main Nexus page. ^^;; Teach me to not read down first. - FrivYeti