[The colloquial expression "gree of Blue" is often used to refer to the entire world. The Pratchworks is another name for the Clan Pratchett market.] 

"I want to check out the market," I say, nodding.

Prota decides to visit the market next. 

"I want to check out the market," you say, nodding.

Step 82

Glint shows Prota where to find the market. The prompt should give an overview of the sights, sounds, and smells in the Pratchworks. (Themes to emphasize: boisterous, colorful, busy, diverse, overwhelming.) Nell will offer to keep an eye on Beldry and the cart after they visit the market. As someone who frequently works with carts and draft animals, she has a decent idea of how to handle Beldry. Specific vendors that may interest Prota: pottery for price comparison, magically or mundanely condensed trail rations, wool, livestock, ranged weapons or other self-defense tools. 

Other features: entertainers performing feats of skill, artists showing off their work, herders with prize animals, a herd dog breeder. Delicious smells wafting from firepits. Less-than-delicious smells wafting from behind wagons. Scavengers skulking about for scraps. Music played on small and medium instruments. Vendors shouting and bartering.

(Prota may encounter one or more story hooks in the market.) What could arise? A dead animal reanimating under Nimue's Rot? No - too far from the Llerwood, and too unlikely. News or items from Greward and Bluward? A vendor selling magically-nutritious vegetables grown in the Wellspring Oasis, a clue that the previous severe restrictions on overuse have been lifted in preparation for the coming migration. Something making the two towns distinct from one another; grain from Greward, magical trinkets from Bluward. [Greward focuses on magical agriculture, while Bluward artisans use herbs found in the Oasis for alchemical creations.] The Oasis must have been a creation of someone with magic; perhaps they died long ago and the Oasis is now much closer to the Blue than it used to be. [Greward and Bluward are old cities, and the bounty of the Wellspring Oasis has kept them in the same place for centuries.] 

(The prompt should remind the Player about the implications of Oasis overuse; they might not remember the details from many prompts ago.) 

"Then to the market we go," your uncle nods as you return to the cart. 

"I imagine you'll want to keep that cart with you while you browse," Nell states, "but if you want somewhere to keep your supplies after that, the clanfolk know better than to mess with my part of camp." She scratches gently behind Beldry's ears. Remarkably, he doesn't try to bite her head off. "And I've got a way with draft animals." 

According to Glint, the Clan Pratchett market is easy to find: "Just follow the noise." This proves to be sound advice. Before long, you reach the outskirts of the Pratchworks, a dense maze of carts, tents, and cookpits in every imaginable color, filled with cheerfully howling vendors. 

"Herd dogs, finest breeds gree of Blue! Look at this pup go!" 

"What'll I play next, folks? How about 'The Welligan Wosner's Wake'?" 

"Arrows, bolts, javelins, fine sling stones! Get your sharps and smacks here!" 

"Greward Wellcarrots, healthy and nutritious!" 

"Genuine potions from Bluward alchemists!" 

These last two are surprising. You've heard of the twin cities' reputation for growing magical plants and herbs in the Wellspring Oasis, but their sale is usually tightly controlled to prevent overuse. Perhaps the rumors about reduced regulation are true. 

There are potters, herders, artists and artisans, weavers and leatherworkers, weaponsmiths, kebab-cookers, dancers, musicians, and vendors selling condensed trail rations at prices ranging from "steep" to "exorbitant". Delicious smells waft from cookpots, and less-than-delicious smells from behind wagons and tents. A few stray dogs, cats, and other scavengers poke about the fringes, eager to seize any dropped scrap. 

[Wellcarrots are a type of magically nutritious vegetable grown in the Oasis by Greward farmers.] 

I look at what the potions are advertised to do, and check the prices of the pottery.

Prota wants to know the effects of the potions and the price of the pottery. Some of the potions may be labeled and others may not. Similar for the pottery prices. This was not made clear in previous prompts, but nor was it contradicted. It may be assumed that Prota asks the vendors for the prices. 

Not all of the products are clearly labeled. You browse and ask around until you have a good idea of the potions' effects and the going rates for various kinds of pottery. 

Step 83

Prota needs to know some potion effects. (This is a worldbuilding opportunity, even if prices are outside Prota's range.) What sort of effects make sense for alchemical concoctions aided by magic? (Potions are not intended to be extremely powerful in this world compared to magics. The effects should be minor to modest in scope.) Possible alchemical concoctions, from fantasy or gaming, or unique effects: heal wounds, treat various poisons or diseases, stick to things, dissolve things, seal cracks, cover wounds, prevent infection, grant a person minor temporary abilities. Night vision, surviving without air or water for a time, increased strength. Poisons. Cures for minor illnesses, including hangovers. Birth control. Painkillers. Heating or cooling. Glowing. Paints and dyes. Drinks that temporarily render someone unable to use magic. Perfumes and scent blockers. Painful or irritating powders. [Alchemy can produce potions, salves, or pastes. There is a quick-dry salve that seals wounds, sometimes used by those sacrificing body parts to the Blue.] 

(The goal is not to create additional bookkeeping for the Player.) Exact prices need not be tracked. Prices should, however, be consistently understandable for the Player. [Valid price buckets are "negligible", a tiny fraction of Prota's available funds; "cheap", a small but noticeable portion, perhaps 1-5%; "modest", or less than half Prota's coin; or "expensive", more than half of Prota's coin. What items fall in each bucket may change if Prota gains more wealth.] The prompt should make these price ranges clear to Prota when applicable. 

How much coin does Prota have? They have savings from a few years of planning, plus a bit donated by their clan. But the migrants generally use barter more than coin. Prota's quantity is enough to buy supplies for their several-month journey, plus some extra. A skilled artisan in a city might make the same sum in a month before expenses. Unskilled labor might need a year for the same price. Migrants tend to have minimal income with sudden spikes from selling livestock, so this is the equivalent of several years' income for Prota. For comparison, Glint's wages on a typical escort job would be approximately those of a skilled city artisan or modestly useful magic. (Glint should have some resources of his own, but they should not overshadow Prota's own, nor make an appearance outside of emergencies.) [Glint has a bit more coin than Prota, and sometimes carries healing salves for emergencies, but he does not hoard coin and his resources are running low after his previous injuries. He can, however, buy his own food when not foraging.] 

Potions are modest to expensive in price, with most being a significant chunk of Prota's available coin. Barter is common as well. (Pottery prices should reflect the in-world situation and follow a motivating reward curve for the Player.) Pottery in this camp is about average in price. Prota could sell Feldspar's pottery for about the expected amount, not making a profit for themselves but having more coin on hand. Or they could sell it for a higher price in the cities farther bluse, where many skilled artisans are already leaving. It has already been established that Prota knows the rough value of Feldspar's pottery. 

What is a realistic value for Feldspar's pottery? Each item represents one to two weeks of skilled magical work, though not full-time. Items can bake or dry in batches. All six items collectively took about a month. The sum total value would be close to Prota's current wealth. 

Potions and other Wellspring concoctions vary significantly in effect. There are pastes meant to seal cracked wood or make it watertight, and rapid-setting salves to quickly staunch bleeding or prevent infection. Some pastes purportedly glow, or turn warm or cold when mixed, and a few can start fires or freeze something solid. There are medicines and tinctures of varying strengths, and in the shadier sections of the Pratchworks, even some poisons. Your medical supplies contain a tiny quantity of Wellspring medicines already, but only for the most common and severe ailments. You also see hallucinatory potions, trance-inducing dried herbs, headache cures and other pain-soothers, glues and solvents, and some exotic effects like night vision, strength boosts, or temporary survival without water or breath. There are drinks that cause or prevent vomiting or, curiously, that prevent someone from using magic for a time. There are powders that negate odors or that cause pain, itching, or irritation; most seem dubiously useful, but a vendor assures you that they can deter many wild animals. And, of course, a wide variety of perfumes, paints, and dyes. Most represent at least a modest expense, and a few are beyond your current means. 

It's a bit hard to gauge prices, with the Pratchworks as focused on barter as it is. Several vendors make their starting offer in sheep rather than coin. In general, though, pottery seems a bit higher in value here than in your clan. Your best guess is that it fetches still higher prices in the city. By comparison, your Great-Aunt Feldspar's pottery is a rare and useful resource even this close by, and the vessels can be traded individually or as a set. Selling all of it would just about double your current wealth, if you find a buyer. You wouldn't make a profit on the trade, after subtracting what Feldspar expected to receive for it, but you would have the coin on hand. There might be someone willing to trade for it, as well. 

[Known Wellspring effects include: glues, seals, wound-closing salves, glowing, warming, burning, cooling, freezing, various medicines, poisons, recreational drugs, pain-soothers, night vision, strength, survival without water or breath, emetics, antiemetics, magic suppression, pain powders, perfumes, paints, and dyes. Prota has a few minor medicines for common and severe ailments in their supplies.] 

Since we used some salve on the gallowgale wound, I look for possible replacements.

Prota looks for healing salve similar to what they used on the gallowgale wound. 

You look for something to replace your healing salve. 

Step 84

Healing salve is available, and due to the lowered restrictions, it will actually be cheaper than usual. Because it is normally so valuable, however, it will still be costly to replace. How much? Treating it as similar in time investment to Feldspar's pottery, the approximate value of a standard container of salve would be a week's skilled labor. The distance it must travel from Bluward balances the cost reduction from increased production, so treat that as net zero change. The cost is about a quarter of Prota's funds. However, Prota only used about half their stock, so they could buy a smaller amount to replenish. 

Would Prota be able to find a vendor who sells this salve for straight coin rather than barter? Yes, it is a common enough purchase that vendors would be prepared to take coin. However, barter is preferred in the Pratchworks. A hint in this direction would be that the salves and other concoctions are often stored in fragile containers. Prota has an urn, two large jugs, and the set of plates and bowls. A bowl could double as a salve container and an urn or jug could be used to store bulk liquids. 

It's easy enough to locate a few different kinds of woundweal salve, including one that looks identical to your stock. The prices seem a bit low, perhaps a result of lowered export restrictions in Bluward. You estimate replenishing your lost supply would cost about an eighth of your current funds, a modest expense. 

Most of the concoctions come in small wooden boxes, glass vials, or clay pots. But while browsing, you notice some of the liquids and pastes are stored in larger bulk containers, a few of which look more fragile than might strictly be wise. Given how gleefully the Pratchwork vendors barter, you might be able to make a worthwhile trade on some of your Great-Aunt's quality urns, jugs, or bowls in this part of the market. 

[Woundweal is a type of healing salve.]

I try to catch the eye of the vendor selling the same kind of woundweal so I'll be able to mix them together without an issue. "Where do you get your containers?" I ask.

Prota approaches the vendor selling the woundweal similar to theirs. Prota asks where the vendor gets containers for salves and other concoctions. 

You approach the vendor selling the woundweal similar to yours. When you successfully catch her attention, you ask, "Where do you get your containers?" 

Step 85

Most small containers come with the salves. The larger containers might be re-used or re-filled from time to time, and the vendor probably traded for them in the Pratchworks or got them with purchases in Bluward. Some vendors also work part-time to make their own non-Wellspring medicines, and have some need for small containers to package their own product. This is one such vendor. She is focused mostly on medical supplies. 

How willing might this vendor be to share this information? It's not particularly sensitive and there's no obvious angle to deception. The vendor is more interested in selling her wares than protecting container purchases, so she will build goodwill by answering honestly. 

(How else can this interaction be fleshed out?) Reference the market noise or the features of the vendor. A middle-aged woman with streaks of dark grey in her brown hair and prominent laugh lines. Glad to build rapport in the service of sale, but not inclined to banter otherwise without cause. Further reference the tendency of Pratchworks vendors to deal in a variety of goods, where medicine and alcohol might be lumped together under one stall.  

The vendor, a middle-aged woman with streaks of dark grey in her brown hair and prominent laugh lines, looks you over before replying. "Most come with the merchants I buy medicine from," she responds over the din. "And the rest I get here and there. Mostly here," she adds with a grin, gesturing widely to encompass all of the Pratchworks. "To hold the medicine I make myself. 

"You interested in any of the contents?" she adds. "If so, you came to the right place. Best balms gree of Blue! And a little something for the road, too, if that's what you be needin'." She jabs a thumb towards a row of tall jugs, a bit large for medicine, but the perfect size for distilled spirits. 

None.