Hunters Moon - IC

[arcanus]

"That is not particulalry amusing for us is it young Moon" chided Master Tails

'We both know the other tale of curiosity and cats!' he added as he trotted alongside her

[arcanus]

The Curio Shop
Moon cautiously opened the door, yet another bell tinkling.
The shop was larger than it first appeared, extending down a level towards the back.

It was a traditional Chinese shop, it’s furniture and fittings carved from chestnut and black maple wood, incense burners hung from the ceiling.

She smelled a ginger like scent, the wooden furniture inlaid with jade and pearl, the place was filled with curios and antiques, it was hard to see the back due to a bewildering collection of lamps, mobiles and mirrors hanging from the ceiling rafters.

As she looked around she noticed Master Tails had vanished.

[Keeper]

Moon stopped just inside the door and glanced around her, but found no sign of Tails.
She opened the door and poked her head out just in case the glowing sigil mounted in the window was somehow warding the cat from entry. But again she could see no sign of the cat.
Not overly worried for her new travelling companion she returned her attention back to the shop.

As the sign outside suggested, there were indeed curios here. Wall hangings inscribed with impotent blessings and wards; impotent because there was no more to them that the ink used to draw the Hanzi characters.
There were also good luck charms, small jade figurines and jewelry. Moon noticed that there was a lot of jade here.
But, as she made her way slowly towards the darker lower area to the rear of the shop she noticed that here and there, scattered amongst the niff naff were genuine items of interest.
Some had the potential to have real power invested I them, others did indeed already contain some degree of power, enough that even Moon’s limited skills in the subject were able to discern them.

There still didn’t appear to be anyone about.
“Hello? Is anyone here?” she called out towards the darkened end of the shop.

[arcanus]

Moons stopped taking in the scents, tasting the motes of power from the real artefacts in the shop.
The place as dimly lit, full of shadows and occasional shaft of light from a hanging lantern, as she moved from the upper level to the lower she thought she caught a flicker of movement.

Stopping on the lower level, she noted a large ornate rug denoting the ancient symbols for Chi energies, her senses again told her the rug was an artefact, she could sense a flow of motes of energy criss-crossing the space.

The chimes tinkled again and again she thought she noticed movement on the corner of her vision.

Warily Moon moved to a counter, some of the items of power felt strange and different, she was aware that the 'others' could create artefacts and that they did so in very different ways to the Beast Courts, so her assumption was tht some of these items were of a different craft.

However others felt familar, concentrating she could feel the hidden presence of sleeping spirits, deep down in what she thought might be their version of her Den-Realm within the umbra of the objects, she smiled she could almost hear them snoring.

[Keeper]

Sighing heavily Moon leaned upon the counter, her hands out wide gripping the edge.
This was all starting to grate upon her. It seemed thatb as soon as she left the Wyld she had been confronted with hostility in one form or another.
She let out a little growl of frustration from the back of her throat.
"I have travelled far and this is a placed I choose to visit first," she said to the empty shop. "Perhaps there is no more reason behind it than or curiosity, or maybe there is more to my being here. We will never know then, of you do not show yourself!"
With that she pointed elegantly and walked with purpose towards the door.
She was tired and had lost patience for playing games.

[arcanus]

As Moon slowly walked bck toward the door she felt her Worry Beads grow warm, her rage was almost palpable.

From the corner of her eye she noticed a figure quietly step out from behind one of the display tables, turning she noted an oriental girl of around 16, still hiding on the other side of the nearest table to the window a boy of probably twelve or thirteen.

Thin but otherwise healthy, they looked at her suspiciously, Moon's noticed the most sriking thing about them was their uncommonly blue eyes, her attention was drawn to a voice to the rear of the lower level where grumbling a figure stooped through a low doorway from what was presumably a cellar to the rear.

"I thought I told you both to watch the shop and be polite, aih ya" mock cursed an elderly chinese man in Cantonese.
He regarded Moon for several moments before his eyes widened slightly and he turned to a series of long paper scrolls inscribed with symbols behind his counter.

He bowed and smiled at Moon "I apologise for my grandchildren they play more than work" he said giving them a cross look
"What can I help you with Miss?"

[Keeper]

With a short bow towards the old man and a polite smile Moon said with a genuine confused inflection, “I’m not completely sure!”
The old man’s eyebrows rose a good inch upon his forehead. “Well miss, if you cannot tell your purpose here, I cannot guide of assist you to its conclusion. Perhaps you wish to purchase something for home?”
Again Moon smiled. “I have no home here, honourable grandfather for I have just arrived in the Golden City this evening.”
She looked around the shop once more as though taking in her surroundings anew.
“For some reason I have found myself drawn to this place. Guided by forces both seen and yet unseen,” she said. “But I do not know why I come here first, of all the places in this city.”
Moon glanced at the old man and the young boy and found her gaze lingering on the girl who she gave a warm smile. The girl was only a year or so younger than herself and hat a pretty and friendly face.
For some reason Moon felt she would probably need a friend in this city, someone that she could relate to in matters other than her duties to the Beast Courts and to Gaia. She wasn’t sure if this girl wold fit that bill, but only time would answer that.
The old man shuffled around behind his counter. “So you think something has drawn you to my store?” he asked suspiciously. “Hmm, we shall see!. Perhaps we will find some hidden meaning to this, or perhaps we will discover that you are in fact delusional!”
There was something in the old man’s eyes that made Moon feel as though he knew more than he was letting on, but she remained silent. Everyone had secrets, or at least things they didn’t want to discuss with complete strangers.
“So tell me miss, why have you travelled so far from home to so mysteriously arrive at my door? And what is your name, child?” the old man added the last gruffly and punctuated by another enormous arching of the eyebrows.
“I have heard so much about this New World and the Golden City,” Moon said slowly and hung her head. “My family are dead. I wanted a fresh start and thought this sounded like the perfect place to do it. I have a distant relative here whom I shall seek. Her name is Yun-Soo, if you know her?”
Oddly Moon felt a little guilty at the lie but consoled herself that her duty to find and protect Pi Ka was justification enough.

[arcanus]

The old man smiled then frowned "Children, your chores will not complete themselves" he scolded in Mandarin
They looked at each sheepishly and then quickly vanished, he looked back to Moon, she blinked as when he spoke again it was in Kugo.

"So whilst we work out if you are delushional or something has indeed drawn to my auspicious property, would you like some tea?" he gestured to a doorway within the wooden panelling of the rear wall, Moon was somewhat relieved that it wasn't the cellar door.

Stepping through the doorway, she was in a jumbled office and storeroom, the smell of dust, rusty metal and old books was thick.
Her senses were sharp, scanning the rows of freestanding book cases and wooden crates as well as the shadows.

"You can call me Mao Chang" said the elderly man lighting a flame red lantern and then a second, the shadows receded as the warm light crossed the room, Moon noted a Go board on the table in the small open space just inside the door, the board unfinished.

To the left hand side of the open space was a small desk, a mixture of appraising tools such as eye pieces, tweezers, reference books and by the looks of it his ledgers.

On a small bureau stood a tea set "So some tea" he smiled and began service

[Keeper]

Moon took in the cramped room quickly, without wanting to appear nosey.
She unshouldered her travel roll and placed it gently on the floor just inside the door. She also noticed the man's double take when he noticed the sword at her back, but he said nothing about it. Out of politeness she unclipped it and placed it on top of the roll.
"I thank you for your kind hospitality, Master Chang," she said as she perches on a low stool.
She waited for the old man to finish pouring the brew before she said more.
"How did you know to speak Kugo? So far I had only spoken in Mandarin?"

[arcanus]

Chang sat and gave Moon a short bow of his head, he smiled relaxing as if sitting comfortably to tell his grandchildren a story

"Ah, well I travelled from Zhōng guó some twenty years ago, arrived here to work in the Gold Rush, we were not alone many came from all corners of the Yuǎndōng"

He looked thoughtful "We were full of optimism, saddened by our leaving ancestors but looking forward to lives where we could build better for future generations, as with all things some things were more difficult than we thought, but....."
He paused looking about his shops backroom "Fortune has not been so unkind"
"Whilst we hauled materials on the docks, I met many from Koryo, learned a degree of Kugo and recognise the accent, we had our differences but not so many as with the Laowai"

He took a sip of tea before continuing "I still have a few friends from koryo" he said slightly conspiratorially, leaning forward in his chair and tapping his nose and winking "And now a young Shaolin visits my shop, so Yun-Soo?"