As the Lost cross the bridge, they get their first good look at the Fleshmarket. Tonight, there is a large bonfire burning in a large clearing - a sort of impromptu piazza - at the center of the market. The bridge path leads right into the heart of this center, so the Lost can easily take in all the activity occurring here.
To one side hobs dance wildly by the fire to the music of flutes and drums. As their bacchanal procession passes by the lurid flames creatures of all shapes can be seen. First a tall woman scantily clad in silk and thin metal coins like a Gypsy belly-dancer flows past, her unearthly beauty only marred by the way that her limbs bend more like rubber than anything with bones. Then a short, roundish thing of a man dressed in balloon trousers and a vest, standing no more than three and a half feet tall passes, legs and arms flailing about like an insane windmill. Next a lanky creature over eight feet tall made mostly of thin limbs and covered in a fine, silver-brown fur passes almost slowly, its limbs weaving about each other like a teenager at a rave, with an alien expression on its rodent-like face.
Opposite this a wooden stage has been set up around and perilously close to the bonfire. On the stage stand several beings in chains. At the front of the current line is a Changeling satyr complete with back-bent goat legs with cloven hooves, sharp looking back-swept horns, and a pointed goatee that looks like it has been oiled and shaped into a curl at the end. He holds his head up with as much dignity as one can imagine standing on a slave block chained hand and neck and without any clothes - though the fur from the waist down gives him the illusion of being decent.
Behind him five other beings are waiting for auction. A man-shaped creature seemingly made of stone stands slumped and silent while a white, hairless and apparently genderless humanoid with long arms, no-eyes, and a maw of razor sharp teeth struggles against its bonds behind him. A terrified looking human woman stands behind these two hobs, dressed in a simple blouse and skirt without shoes and crying silent tears as she clutches a young child to her, burying its face in her shoulder. At the end of the line is a small, stick-like woman with bark-like skin and ratty green reeds for hair.
A short, portly hob is at the front of the stage. He is dressed in a satin vest and black tailcoat complete over a white tuxedo shirt with black slacks and spit-polished leather shoes. A monocle sits over one eye connected by a fine chain to the tailcoat. He is extolling the virtues of they satyr to a small crowd of market-goers as diverse as the dancers and the wares. Very soon the bidding starts.
Around the horrific scene of fire, dancing, and slave trading the piazza holds a number of stalls. These all have merchants with signs or displays advertising all manner of wares fleshy. One prominent stall has an attached kennel or stable with various creatures contained within. Though these creatures are hard to make out in the firelight, they seem to be largely of the four-legged variety. Another merchant's stall has several varieties of furs and skins on display. One booth has a couple of grills and a rotisserie going and is the source of the smells of charring, seasoned meat. Of course, with the nearby stall selling whole limbs and organs of varying origins may sour this otherwise tantalizing scent for any who notice. The market also continues beyond the central piazza.
Around the fire there are a number of other things of note. A short, dwarfish man with a large nose and a full, black beard and head of hair is pushing a rickety old cart with a few lanterns hanging of either side. The lanterns give off steady glows of light ranging in color from soft yellow to cool blue and warm pinkish-red. He seems to be calling out, hocking wares to the crowd, but the sound is lost in the thundering drums and overall raucous shouts of the market. Another man is keeping the fire going by periodically feeding it large, oddly shaped logs. A group of smallish hobs sits to one side smoking a large hooka and adding their own smells to the melange.
At the end of the bridge where it opens up into the market there is a sign, easily missed in the rush of sensations. The sign reads:
3 successes or more successes on the perception check,
Dominyk Prise
In the main piazza a few macabre details stick out. The dwarf's lanterns have what appear to be tiny people inside of them. It seems that pixies are the source of light within. The hob feeding the fire just placed a large femur into the flames, evoking the archaic root of the word "bonfire".
There are additional stalls beyond the central ring, with winding roads radiating out from the central ring at least a short ways. Down one a merchant selling various finished leather products can be seen, including a few leather-bound books. Another stall in a separate direction has all manner of fruits laid out with a sign that reads Floral Flesh: Plants have tasty babies, too! written in English.
My apologies for the length of this post, descriptions can get away from me....
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