Canal Markets

The Canal Markets are an open-air market in the Hearth Wall district of Argentum, along the south side of the Grand Canal.¹ On many nights they stay open late as the Lavalight Night Market.¹ Their merchants belong to the Canal Market Merchants Council.¹

Description

The market is made up of stalls, tents, stands and booths, and food carts. Some stand all the time, and some carts are moved about the market and taken to festivals.¹ Its booths and barges sell greenhouse produce, preserved meats and salvaged goods. There are fruits and vegetables grown in the city’s greenhouses, a great deal of seafood, river fish and prawns among it, general stores, trinkets, spices, coffee, pastries and seafood stews.²¹ Basic foodstuffs cost from a few anvils to a few embers.² Most of the activity is at the western end. The stalls grow sparser to the east, where a big round tent of brilliantly colored silks stands at the far end.¹

Lavalight Night Market

On many nights the market goes on into the late hours by oil lamp, with live music, food, and little games and activities, like a smaller, impromptu version of the Synod’s festivals.¹ As the last bell rings the change from day to evening, the market comes to life. It is lit by candles and oil lamps, and by the glow of the Everfire lamps beneath the surface of the canal behind it.¹ The food carts sell potstickers, desserts, spiced meats and sticky buns.¹ It usually winds down after midnight.¹ The Aroon Family Pepper Challenge at the Spicy Brothers is one of its mainstays.¹

Points of Interest

• Madam Kulp's Silk, a silk tent at the far eastern end of the market.¹
• The Spicy Brothers, a stall selling spices, peppers and coffee.¹
• The Trusty Leek, a cart that grills skewered seafood.¹
• Tyenmo Noodles, a noodle stall.¹
• Vada's Otherworldly Goods, a pastry stall toward the eastern end.²¹
• Xungoon Family Seafood, one of the larger stalls.¹
• The stall of Mama Kora, who sells fishbone stew.³

Society

The city requires a permit to trade at the market, and the Canal Market Merchants Council arranges it for anyone on its good side. Merchants pay rent on their sites, and taxes.¹ Vi Aroon says the merchants are like family to each other, and expect a newcomer not to undercut anyone.¹ The Xungoon and Tyenmo families have feuded for generations.¹ In the weeks before Nightdeep 1714 PSF a lot of strange mishaps struck the market, mainly those two families.¹

History

Session 2

Hazel went to the market on 25 Coldrise, 1714 PSF, to find Mama Kora.⁴

Session 16

Hazel ordered fishbone stew at Mama Kora’s stall on 3 Nightdeep, 1714 PSF.³

Session 17

Daisy arranged to meet Pell late on 10 Nightdeep, 1714 PSF, in an alley straight south of the market, near the wall.⁵

Session 18

Luma and Rhysaene shopped at the market on 8 Nightdeep, 1714 PSF, and bought buns at Vada’s Otherworldly Goods.²

Session 19

Temerity bought breakfast at the market on the morning of 9 Nightdeep, 1714 PSF, and met Miri Wetherlite at Vada’s stall.¹ That evening the party came back to see Miri. They were drawn into the feud between Kusa Xungoon and Lamai Tyenmo, who each believed the other was sabotaging her stall, and Luma agreed to find out who was responsible, in return for help getting a stall of her own.¹ Outside Madam Kulp’s Silk she found persimmon peels and the smell of a struck match.¹

References

Footnotes

1. Session 19 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴

2. Session 18 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Session 16 ↩ ↩²

4. Session 2 ↩

5. Session 17 ↩