The sunken marketplace



The sunken marketplace is a huge space of plazas and shops constructed by the before people, and accessible by a rift in the ground above it. The marketplace is home to numerous tribes which are extremely territorial.

Shasta and Rin enter the marketplace after being tasked by the witch of the jungle to retrieve something called Lawn-Kleen. They first encounter a young woman named Tree, who they quickly learn is a member of a tribe of quadruplets called the Roll-Scrapes. After meeting the other sisters of Tree's tribe and finding that none of them recognize the item, the pair sets off to find the Lawn-Kleen on their own, despite being warned by the leader of the Roll-Scrapes that the other tribes will be hostile to intruders. Impressed by Shasta's prowess and concerned for their safety, Tree disobeys her sister's orders and accompanies the two on their quest.

While the three are left unmolested through most of their journey, they are eventually accosted by two members of the Drill-Kills.

The inhabitants of the marketplace speak a debased form of the language with which Shasta and Rin are familiar. A short guide to the patois of the marketplace is as follows:
 * Big: Complete. Ex. Upsiders no-showin' big. (The Upsiders are leaving the area permanently.) Excessive, antagonistic. Ex. Upsiders sayin' big. (The Upsiders are acting very rudely.)
 * Cuttin'-guttin': Murder, spec. violently.
 * Droppin': Entering the marketplace; specifically refers to outsiders.
 * Findin' findin': Acquire.
 * Findin' lookin': Search.
 * Got: Possess, encompass, impl. ownership, sponsorship. Ex. Tree got Upsiders. (Tree is vouching for the Upsiders.) Ex. Drill-Kills got no-seein'. (The Drill-Kills will ignore you/them.)
 * Grindin': Trespass, impose. Ex. Upsiders grindin' Drill-Kills patch. (The Upsiders are trespassing on the territory of the Drill-Kills.)
 * Knowin': Knowledgeable.
 * Lookin': Wanting. Ex. Upsiders lookin' cuttin'-guttin'. (The Upsiders wish to be murdered.)
 * No-go: Cease (an action). Ex. Upsiders no-go roundin' Drill-Kills patch. (The Upsiders should not loiter in the territory of the Drill-Kills.) Negation. Ex. Tree no-go Upsider. (Tree is not an Upsider.)
 * No-goin': Stationary.
 * No-grindin': Withdrawing from transgression.
 * No-seein': Disacknowledgement. Ex. Drill-Kills no-seein' Upsiders. (I am/ will be ignoring the Upsiders)
 * No-showin': Absent from the area. Ex. Upsiders get no-showin'. (The Upsiders should leave the area.) Disacknowledged. Ex. Upsiders no-showin'. (The Upsiders will be ignored; please ignore the Upsiders.)
 * Patch: Territory, home.
 * Rollin': Move, travel. -rollin': Traveling with someone. Ex. Upsiders Tree-rollin'. (Tree is accompanying the Upsiders.)
 * Rollin'-no-knowin': Moving blindly, acting without needed information.
 * Round: Attend to, follow, cause to be near.
 * Round-around: Join, band together.
 * Roundin': Remaining near (a certain place).
 * Sayin': Provoke, antagonize. Ex. Upsiders sayin'. (The Upsiders are acting rudely.)
 * See: After (time/event). Ex. Upsiders no-showin' see big dark. (The Upsiders should be gone by the time it is completely dark.)
 * Seein': Acknowledge, attribute.
 * Showin': Present, acknowledged.
 * Thinkin': Intelligent. Ex. Drill-Kills thinkin' big. (The Drill-Kills are very intelligent.)
 * Thinkin'-place: Memory.
 * Upsiders: People from the surface; those not native to the marketplace.