With a huff Valkyrie hauled a bundle of goods up the narrow entrance of the barrow and deposited it on the ground outside. A bleak sky looked down at her but she paid it and the many evils that were pervading the land no mind. No, she had business to sort out. The world was going to shit and she did not care.

With a cool air she began to lay out the items by worth. They joined a plethora of others stretching from the entrance like a hawker's wares. And they were - spoiler alert - hawker's wares. Or they would be soon enough. Since learning of her husband's misdeeds Valkyrie had taken matters into her own hands. She had been wronged and now she was owed; it was as simple as that. So she would take from Chaos until she felt adequately compensated. The children he had pupped elsewhere should have been hers and nothing short of a litter of her own would compare, but she would cut him at the root before he could seed her so she was settling for the next best thing. Wealth.

When everything was said and done Valkyrie would bundle everything up again and set out in search of a trader, but her work was just beginning and she wasn't sure she would get everything done today. But soon. Soon. And then perhaps she could begin to work her way back to a sense of normalcy.

Now that Hati was, unexpectedly, miraculously, annoyingly cast out of Hell back into the world of the living, however temporarily the change of scenery may be, he had taken to haunting the familiar ground that had been Imperium during his life. His last memories of Daegmar, those that hadn't faded as much under the years ground down in the depths of the afterlife he'd earned, had been here. Here had Valentine Imperialis earned his obsessive loyalty, such as it was. So here he'd plant his paws and wait out this weird half-life. Sometimes he found himself fading in and out of corporeality, and he'd been incorporeal as his very grouchy consciousness floated around the barrows. He thought to simply pass by the woman rummaging through the shiny junk on the foot of one of the barrows but between one "step" and the next he felt his... spirit, soul, ectoplasm, who the fuck knows.... gather itself and he felt his paw come back down on the ground with an almost-real pressure. He was pleased to feel the weight of the bear-skull mask upon his face this time - it seemed to flicker in and out sometimes, sometimes replaced by the ram's skull but often naked and bare and the flickering was as unsettling to him as to anyone who saw him. So the familiar, comforting weight of the bear settled over him and made him the bear, the killer, and he turned his heavy, ghostly head toward the woman and said the first words that came to his mind. "You look like a fucking magpie," was his gruff, almost offended observation.

A being suddenly solidified at the foot of her barrow and Valkyrie, naturally, was caught off guard. Her eyes widened in alarm for only a second before her expression corrected itself back to its usual cool, detached look. She took his appearance in slowly, noting thanks to familiarity, that the skull upon the obvious form of a wolf belonged to a bear. It was a lot like her own mask.

"A magpie," she said slowly trying to follow his reasoning. The items at her paws, of course! Valkyrie smirked. "There are worse animals to be compared to, I suppose." She eyed the apparition speculatively. He had to have a reason for being here, yes? Spirits didn't just appear for no reason so she jumped straight to the point, "Why have you come back?"

Hati squinted suspiciously at the woman's wording. Why had he come back? Had he left her at some point? She did look familiar... but he shook his head with a grunt. No. She meant come back to life. Because he was a fucking ghost. "Fuck if I know." He snorted through the bear skull, eyeing her. "My memories of my life are foggy thank fuck but I do remember you. I remember your face from my life, but you aren't the woman I know. You'd be dead by now. So who are you that you look like the brat I wasted my time mentoring when I was alive?" This was a long, long, long speech for the terse male, but he wasn't interested in playing Wise Old Spirit for anyone, so he'd turn the questions back on the magpie. Besides, his memory may have been faded and ragged but he remembered his days in Imperium, and he remembered being uncommonly fond of the woman who this magpie resembled.

Valkyrie frowned at the apparition. She had merely wanted to know his purpose for coming back from the land of the dead, but perhaps he didn't have one. That didn't quite jive with her understanding of the afterlife but she couldn't claim to be a scholar on such matters anyhow. Her frown deepened further when he claimed to remember her. She remembered nothing of this mask-wearing man unless he had somehow followed her all the way from the land she'd spent her childhood in, which seemed a bit extreme for a ghost who claimed not to have a purpose in the land of the living.

She huffed and tried to piece together enough things to glean some sort of understanding. Valkyrie's eyes narrowed. She had lived here awhile and if his spirit had come home - because that seemed like a plausible jump - then he definitely predated Valkyrie. Which meant... "Perhaps," she said slowly, "you knew my mother, Rhys. I believe she grew up somewhere around here."

Hati grunted again - anyone who spent any time around Hati at all knew that grunting was in fact his primary form of communication so it wouldn't be any surprise - this time in satisfaction as the mystery was solved for him. Made sense - she was the daughter. "Yes. Rhys Imperialis grew up here when it was Imperium. She was a pain in my ass," he added in fond remembrance. "Mouthy little bitch." He nodded to himself. As grumpy as he'd always pretended that made him, he'd always been pleased at her brass. She'd been a lot like Daegmar... he'd always admired that 'fuck you' in Daeg, and he'd respected it in the young Rhys Imperialis as well. "She do well for herself?"

F̷̢̢̢̨̨̢̛̛̬̜̩̹͇̝̗̪̜͙͕̝̫̟̥͖̯̱̰̹̗̺̜͈̰͚͎̜̘̩̠̱̱͈̜̭̀̍̇̋͊̉̂̈̑̓̉̄̈́͗̑͗̓̽͋̾̍͛͗͛̏̐̑͐̒̔͋̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͝͠͝ͅͅÍ̷̡̢̞̘͖͙̮̺̝̼͉͈̼̣͕̲̜̤̦̦͚̗̃̊̕͝ͅR̵̨̨̳̭͚̻̱̥̮͓̫̤̺̱͕̹͚̲͕̼̙̯̟̻̠̖͙̘̦̀́̊̒͑͊͋̏́͑̈́̔̌̈́̒́̂̑̃̅͗̅̄͆̍͆̃̓̾̀̾̒̎̾̓̿̅̏͊̕̕͝ͅȨ̸̡̛̤̬͇͍̬̗̙̠͔̓̅̄͊̀̃͐͐̄̏̈̍͗̓̋̏̀̈́̉̐͊́̄̅͘͠F̸̡̡̢̣͔͎̭̳̱̙͖͍̣̳̣͓̰̠̳̜̲̣̠̖̖͉̘̗͙̖̼̜̖̞͙͇̲̫̺̻͙̥͈̬̤̬̩͒ͅͅĻ̸̳̟̘̫̺͓̺̊̋͑̈́͊̇̽̏̒̔̉̊̽̇̉̔̑̉̔͋̈́̈́̃̐̽͘͝͝͝Y̵̡̡̛̛̦͙̬͙̮̘̺̗͕̜̜͙̟͍̺͙̖̫͕̩̆͊̊̈́͛͛̈́̌͊̀̾̿̄̅̏̿̽̑̌͂̇̋̎̐́̑̈́͂͊͒̏̕̚͘͜͝ͅ ̷̨̢̢̢̨̛̣͓̭̘̯̜̗͔͇̜̟͕͙̬̘͖̠̫̫͚̩̠̬̠͍̦̰̯̈́̂̄̂̐̆̀̅́͘͘͜S̷̡̧̡̛̬͕̫̮͖̹̣̖͓̥̹͓̹̹͉̩̠̩̻̠̝͕͐͐̈͒́̈́̄̿́͊̉͊͐̈̆͒̈́̈́̍͊̊́̾̾̄̕̕̚͠ͅͅḨ̵̪͍͓͍̓̎̽͐̐̇͊̈́̊̐̓̎̄̔̋͐̔̏̽͐̿̑̏̏̅͐̆͂̂͒͆̒̄̉̏̈́͌̒̉̎̆͘̕͝͝Ŏ̵̢̧̢̗̬̰̣̹̘̰̥̗̥̦̫̙͈̞̣̘̞̯̟̱̖̀̏͝ͅͅP̵̨͚̟͚͇͎̣̝̞̈́P̶̨̛̛̘̣͍͎̱̙̲͚͚̼̟̈̀̍͆̍̎́͐̈́͐̐̓̆͂̃́̋̍͆͠E̵̢̨̧͍͕͖͍̰̹̦͕̼̺̤̙͉̫̝̠͇̯͙̬̩͉̱͍̔̓̉͋́́̆͐̇̈́̔́̂̓̄͋̈͗͘͝ - Valkyrie

Fireflies pelt at your face, a few phasing through your skin and leaving a stinging sensation behind.

You gain:

• Crystals (2x) - Used in Firefly Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...
  

You blink, and you're face to face with a figure who seems as if it's clipping through d̴̰͚͖̮͙̥̥̙̥̬̬̼̙̟̤͖̘̺̩͓̙̣͙͇̤͓̰͕̺͉̳̰̰̺̠̠̟͓̘̭̘̿̈́͛̈́̇̈͗́́͂͌̓̈͛́̀̿̽̓̈́̈͘͜͝͝į̸̡͔̖͈͕͙̺͈̺͔͇͍̭͖̖̟̙͚̠̯̻̘̼̙͇̮̬̳̹̼̣̻͖͉̪̾̀̆̔̉̽͋̄̇̄͂̈́ͅͅm̶̧̢̱̯̲̻̳̞̦͚͖͎̼̹͙̩̹̟͕̥͉̤̭̠͔͎̜̪̲͈̰̼͙̟̱̺̯̼̐̿͛͑͛̅̍́̇̔̎̀̾̉̒͋̾̒̿͛̀̕͠͠͝è̸̢̡̧̥͓̩͉͉̙̺̫̦͍̮̤͙̩̭̹̬̰̭̮̫̹͉̦͔̘͛̈́̍̓̒͌͊͌̌̍̽̓̏̎͘̚͜͝n̴̢̧̝͕͇͚͉̩̱̫̭͇̬̹͎̈ͅś̷̨̨̡̖̩͚̖̱͇͇͔̪̺͎̮̤̻̹̯͔̺̰̯͉͔̼̗̙͈̯͙̮̳̤̹̳̹̝̝̦̻̃̇̌́͒̊̓͋̌̍̐̕͜͝͝ͅi̸̧̧̨̧̭̳̦̲̣̜̼̙̅͛̓͊͆͌̔̿̋͆̑̍̏̔̏̓̌̕̕̕̕͠͝o̴̧̢̦̗̘͔͕̮̼̣̬̥̠̱͚̱̣̩̭̟̺̲̠͕̹͓̲̜̙̝͇͓̩͚̦̿̇̽ņ̶̧̢̢̛̥̣͎̦̬̫͍̪̣̣̦̜̹̝͖͚̟͕̮̫̣͉̗̘̼͎͕͈͉̇͂̊̒̅͛̄̄̅́͂̍͌̌̀̀͂̎̍̆̉̈́̐͋͂̍̈́̽̌̽͘̕͘͘͘͜͜͠ͅs̸̢̧͚̖̟̞̲̥͔̣̼̰̥͔̲̟̮̟̹̠̱̩̬̹͉̯͇̣̭̦̪̱̣͉̭̖͖͚͊̃͋̐͑͌͋̊̕͝ͅ. In front of him, a small wooden stand, which thankfully looks firmly placed in your dimension. On the table lay three items, with their prices beside them. "Choose if you ḑ̴̛̠̲̰̪͎̮̻͕̝̻͉͇̳̙̗̬̤̖̙͚̰̲̑̆̎͆̉̉̈́̍̂̑͂̽͐̽̔͌̈̈́̓̒̂̅͘͘͜ͅą̵̪͙̦̖̮̮͈͖͇̭̗͈̖̫̲̗̜͍̀̾̾̎͂̈́̓͗̎̎̿͋͛̒̑̅̐́̔́̓̕̚͠ͅŗ̵̧̧̛͉̝̰͉̖̯̘̜͉͍̥̟̖̫̤̪͖̬͇͖͓̪̩̫̊̍͂̄͘͜ę̴̡̢̧̢̳̲̹̬̻̫̦̣̣̠̳̼͍͇̜̓͌́̚͜͝, and if you can a̵̘̜͇̱̽̌̇̅̐̏͗̑̂̽̊͆̏̒͝f̵̨̨̜̭̬̠̞̫̮̲̺̼̝̻̟͖̯̼͚͕̻̤̤͉͉̯̈́̾̈́͐͝f̷̟͓͖͔͕͎̥̖̝̞͈͆́̏̀͐̌̈̀̓̎͒̾̃̊̏͛̍͗͜ơ̷̡͓͙͓͚͙̪̖̻̣̞̹̻̻͇̫͓̟̹̔͌̑̈́͛̀̀̀̑̚͝r̷̢͈̝̝̲̼̦̺̜͔̲̳̀̈́ḑ̵̣̜̤̲̹̠͖̪͖͔̗̫̮͎̼̯͎͕̫̭̣͈̥̏ͅit," the figure says. You can't bring yourself to look away without some effort. You are keenly aware of his gaze. He does not seem like he's in the negotiating mood...


Į̴̧̘̹͙̘̲̤͖̔́͑͌̅̾̊͐̍͋̀̓̅̉̇̑̍͠͠ń̶̯͉̫̤̳͚̣̖̳̯͍̤͓̟͉̥̩̀͋̌ͅv̵̡̧̳̠̬̰̺͔̖̠̳̥͉͉̜͕̗͕̋̈͘ͅę̸̧̢̢̯̠̜̟̘̺̳̟̃̑͌̀̉̓͋͊̃̍̑̂̐̇̓̌͆̈́́͗̓͘͠n̵̡͙̲̞̰̭͖̠̮̺͊̉̑́͒̓͌̈́͐̅̚͝ţ̶̢̛̠̮̼͙͙̗̣̘͇̘͓͈͈̱̮̩̲̩̱̠͎͌̽̈́̒̍̎̀̋͗̇̔͊̇̀̀̋̈́͋̉́͌͜͝͠ơ̸̢̨̨̱̟̹̘̩̤̠͈͕̠̪̥̥̙̓͋̎͛̌͐̓̈́̐̌̂͂͑̋͘̚͜͝͠ȑ̴̠̬̫̻̠̘͔͖̦̰̩̖͎̜̞͉̘̭̙̮̰̹̙͔̳̬̱̆̎̍̿̌̇́̍̒͆͗̀͒͐͋̄̓͆́̕͘͠͝y̴̧͎̟̦̘̝̠̣̮̻̥̰͆͆͋͐͂̈́͊͛̈͋͆̊̇̄̾̈́̔̓̽͂̋̽̚͘:

• Opaque Sack of Mushrooms/Crystals- 1 /
  Running out of event currency and not sure what else to spend it on? Gamble on this mysterious pouch and potentially find more mushrooms/crystals within it! Or perhaps something else!
  
• Creepy Contact Lenses- 3 /
  The fireflies help you to equip this item that once applied cannot be removed or traded. Can look however you like. May not change color, rotate, or otherwise alter once in the eye.
  
• Coupon- 1 /
  Looks like a regular voucher but it glows. Apparently it’s good for one bonus purchase next time the Firefly Shoppe is nearby.

Hati

You feel your figure shimmer lightly as if being pulled back to Somnium, but it subsides.

After shooing away the fireflies Valkyrie found herself face to face with...something. The details were sketchy but what she recognized was a fellow trader. She frowned down at the wares and then pointed to two. "I will take the coupon and the sack of crystals." Nothing else needed to be said. She only had the one type of currency so it was not like she had to specify and they both knew why they were there so it was a simple exchange; her newly acquired shiny shiny currency in exchange for some nice, shiny new stuff. A standard transaction.

Firefly Shoppe- Valkyrie

You gain:

• Opaque Sack of Mushrooms/Crystals-- Running out of event currency and not sure what else to spend it on? Gamble on this mysterious pouch and potentially find more mushrooms/crystals within it! Or perhaps something else!
  
• Coupon-- Looks like a regular voucher but it glows. Apparently it’s good for one bonus purchase next time the Firefly Shoppe is nearby.
  

You lose:

• Currency (x2)- Used in Firefly's Shoppe, and perhaps elsewhere...