Steve
Kuouo entered the plaza, worried not that his caprine-self would attract the attention of the gaggle of people but rather the clothes he slipped on this morning. He turned his head to the left and shifted his eyes to the right, not seeing a single person wearing a casual tanktop...

``Oh, but there's an old dude gettin' his ass beat.``

The curious bandit steps up, brushing past the oddly miniscule crowd and easily getting front row tickets to the menacing girl kicking the *Shit* Out of this destitute geezer. Kuo's eye twitches, unsettled by the old man's deranged laughter as the blonde-haired chick punted his diaphragm.

```Yeesh, why is he laughin' though. He's either crazy or this is the most perverted case o' exhibitionism I'd ever seen. Damn ugly ba-```

Kuouo winced as she jolted her shoe into the man's groin with bitter coldness, backtracking his second-to-initial thought. Kuo took a half-step back, about to leave the geriatric man to his woes before having the misfortune of locking eye contact with the man. He cringed, unsettled by the man's ear-to-ear grin and unbreaking stare.

```fix
I-```

***``Phoock! Thump! Thud! . . . . .``***

The bandit held back from speaking, figuring it was probably the best course of action. After all, having this aggressive woman kick at him and starting a whole 'nother fight will definitely drag the bandit into more unwanted attention. But what was it about this ***'Root Crown'*** He spoke of? Kuouo surely remembered it being mentioned by Kovrot and Aatkei — The former demanding they turn the 'intruder' in to them.

```... And here I am, being told by this maniac that I'm supposed to unveil somethin' about them. Daheh, sorry pal. I doubt yer delusions have any substance to 'em.```

A voice pulled Kuouo out of his inner-monologue, approaching him with a strange, cryptic demeanor. The goat looks up at the man, standing roughly a foot taller than him, listening to what he had to offer.

```fix
"If you've got somethin' to help me blend in, then I'm all ears. If more people notice me like this Qarrorroq guy, then I'm in for... Well, I guess it ain't much trouble. But the attention is kinda annoyin'.```

The businessman bloomed his arms outwards, furthering his attempt to entice Kuo with...

*``The Art of the Deal.``*

```fix
"Cloaks?... That's real easy t' conceal yerself with, huh? And you said it's at no cost — Free!? It's jus' t o o good of a deal. What's the catch? Surely in a junky town such as 'is, yer gonna want somethin' whether it be material 'r not."```
Ryan
`"Oohh, no, there is no catch. Honest. I'm a straightforwards business-man. You could consider it... An investment, hmm?"`

The strange-seeming merchant persisted in his widened, shrewd smile, clasping his hands behind his back oncemore, slowly pacing away from Kuouo and back towards one of the large shopping-stalls that encircled the plaza. Inviting Kuouo to follow after him — with the lure of a *Free* Cloak — Kuekat stepped into his stall, stretching out his arms as to grandiosely reveal his wide selection of goods. 

The stall's goods were... Strange, to say the least. Not the type that Kuouo would be familiar with, in any sort of bazaar. It seemed that the people of the Exile's Watch had a very different sense of value in objects, and such peculiarities between different cultures would be openly demonstrated within the merchant's stall. Bottles, akin to wine-bottles, though not as thoroughly corked-and-sealed in the same nature, lined shelves within the stall, filled with what seemed to be... Dirty... Water? Tea, perhaps? Or some strange sort of brew? Each appeared odd, some had slightly different colors than others, yet they all had a characteristic, brownish hue that simply made them look like they were chalk-full of muddy water. 

How odd, how odd indeed. Aside from the bottles, however, there were other items that actually appeared to Kuouo to be practical goods: trinkets, baubles, and the like, decorated antlers that twisted in odd shapes and directions, as well as cloaks, hoods, and gloves — much more apt a selection of items for someone like Kuouo to use.
_ _
Steve
Kuouo raised an eyebrow, skeptical of the man's wording but nevertheless interested in what he might have to offer. Plus, a *Free cloak* Is a *Free cloak,* No matter what else the guy had to sell. Kuo backed away from the center of attention and entered the man's stall to inspect his additional wares. He glanced at the unlabeled bottles, mostly uninterested due to the faint must of the liquid that dried on the neck of the bottle. His eyes rolled over towards the next selection, finding little attraction as well in the trinkets laid neatly on the shelf beside him.

```Maybe if I were on vacation??? Angel above dude, this place sucks more than the time Ruby held her marriage in that Timbuktu of a state that was Alabama. Seriously, at least pawn shops have cool anime dvds and old Playstations.```

Kuouo lightly grunted to himself, moving on to the line-up of cloaks, hoods, and gloves. If the bandit were to blend in, he could definitely use the full set. Its usage could be used far beyond the village and aid the thief in stealth if needed. After the businessman finishes his performative inspection of the cloak, Kuouo immediately snatched the cloak, donning it with haste (Now mirroring a *Verdant* Thief in another place, another time).

```This guy really wants some of my bidness, eh? He's almost right 'bout me bein' completely broke jus' from readin' my face... Dude's got somethin' slick about 'em, and I'm sure he knows I know...```

Kuouo smiled, a simple ``'heh'`` painting a wall of confidence around him. He sharply stares at the strange man, reaching into his left pocket but not taking his hand out.

```fix
"Yer wrong. I've got one thing worth everything I'm 'bout to request. That bein' the rest of this set and some information. For yer kindness, I'd like t' repay ya with a deal of my own. Sounds fair, right?"```

The bandit finally took his paw out of his pocket, taking a *Shiny gold coin* Out and holding it up to his eye. He continued his song and dance, bringing it closer to his eye before bringing it up to his mouth and chomping down on it. It was real alright.

```fix
"Where I'm from, this ittie-bittie thing could getcha wares like the ones hung up here made outta s i l k . Strong armor, blades — Hell, forget about armor and shit. This single coin is worth enough t' feed a hundred-man feast!"```

That went on in kuos head

```We'll see how it feels havin' yer own game played on you geezer, daheheheh... If all else fails, I could just knock the guy square in the jaw. Not like anybody's gonna fuckin' stop me, daheh!"```

He thought, mentally referring to the old man getting girlbossed on in the middle of the street.
Ryan
`"You see... Gold isn't all too valuable for us, in the Ark... Ah, it may not be all too familiar to someone like yourself, but the Third Floor exports the metal en-masse..."`

He gave another slight, disappointed 'hm', lifting the 'golden' dagger to the light...

...Though, Kuouo, a bandit, and one thoroughly familiar with gold, would likely notice something a bit *Off* About the dagger. It was gold — *Nordic gold, that was.*

`"Ah, but I did call myself a most generous person, didn't I? Now, I couldn't just turn away a customer like yourself, who is quite well in need of some extra equipment..."`

He slowly lowered the dagger from sight, placing it back on its respective shelf, before oncemore returning to Kuouo to barter.

`"Such a small amount of gold would have... Little-to-no value, around these parts. But, if, say, you had about. . .`

He stared at the coin, apparently calculating how many of them it would actually take to be of the equipment's value. Though, at this point, to someone familiar with the ***`art of the deal`***, it'd be quite apparent that the merchant was simply attempting to gauge how much he could realistically gouge him for.

`"...Say, thirty of those coins, I could make an exception... That might just be able to meet the typical market value of the set. But, I aaam a most forgiving merchant, after all. What say you to a greatly-discounted... Twenty, of those coins, hm?"`

His sly grin returned, and he clasped his hands together, waiting expectantly for Kuouo's response.
Steve
Kuo adjusted the cloak around his collarbone, seemingly understanding of the differences in their world economies. As the slick salesman forced out a sigh, the bandit plastered on a facade of dejection, slightly shifting his body to indicate he wanted out the door. That is, until a certain treasure was pulled out from his drawer of trinkets...

```fix
"A golden dagger!? I see, so gold must be in abundance in this world... That's a shame, I thought my offer would hold weight.```

Hold weight indeed... Indeed, the bandit was all too familiar with the material. Whether it be handling the day-to-day spoils of his dirty work in the Underground or paying his tab at Flambo's, Kuouo knew with the way Kuekat weaved the dagger in his wrist, it's weightless, was key to the ruse he was playing. While yes, it was true that the goat didn't know the true value of the material on the Vetket, that stunt the merchant pulled was a dead giveaway.

```fix
"Sorry pal, looks like this ain't the place for me. Best I could probably do is scrounge up another two or three more Gold — And three's if I look real hard. I jus' figured, what with this place bein' filled with b r a n d e d e x i l e s and the like, somethin' as luxurious as gold wouldn't come up too often. Oh well, guess I oughta find some second rate clothes and word o' mouth some place else.```

The goat turned around, flaunting his cloak and brushing it back. He took a single step away from the stall *Seemingly* With no intent to continue the transaction any longer. It was a gamble; two or three gold pieces was a far cry from what he would've gotten scammed with but without knowing the true value of gold in the Vetket, there was the possibility it really *Did* Amount to nothing.

Only Kuekat's next move would tell.