Black Market Plaza

“Where Nothing Is Illegal Because Nothing Is Legal”

“Here, you can buy anything. Your morality, your future, your soul—all negotiable, all priced fairly.”
—Anonymous merchant

Quick Reference

Black Market Plaza - Where Nothing Is Illegal

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Location and Access
• Market Layout
• Goods and Services
• The Cartel’s Rules
• Notable Merchants
• Quest Connection
• Economics and Trade
• Safety and Etiquette
• Related Topics

Overview

Black Market Plaza is the primary commercial center of Murky Chasm—a permanent open-air market where anything can be bought if you have coin, connections, or leverage. Located on Beta Fragment’s relatively stable surface, the plaza functions as the Aetherium’s largest hub for illegal trade: stolen artifacts, forged documents, forbidden texts, contraband weapons, Rot-Shards, and occasionally slaves (rare, expensive, morally abhorrent).

The market operates under a paradoxical system: nothing is technically legal (there are no laws in the Chasm), yet everything is regulated (the Black Sky Cartel enforces strict order). Violence is forbidden (bad for business), theft is punished by “falling” (off the edge), cheating is tolerated if clever (but only if clever). The result is orderly chaos—a functioning marketplace where criminals conduct business with surprising professionalism.

Thirty to fifty permanent merchants maintain stalls and shops around the plaza, paying protection fees to the Cartel in exchange for security and dispute resolution. Customers range from desperate refugees seeking forged documents to wealthy collectors acquiring pre-Shattering artifacts to alchemists like Kael Greythorn purchasing Rot specimens for research.

The atmosphere is surreal: haggling over stolen holy texts, examining weapons while Cartel enforcers watch, purchasing corruption samples in broad daylight. Everything happens openly because there’s no authority to hide from. The only law is Cartel law: don’t disrupt commerce, don’t kill customers, pay your fees. Follow these rules and you can trade anything. Break them and you take a long fall into infinite void.

Location and Access

Position in Murky Chasm

Fragment: Beta Fragment (eastern, smaller)

Elevation: Surface level (High Span, safest area)

Coordinates: Central plaza, easily accessible

Visibility: - Visible from Middle Web (one level down) - Colorful awnings landmark - Audible (market noise carries) - Well-known (everyone knows where it is)

Reaching the Plaza

From High Span (Chasm upper level): - Cross any major bridge to Beta Fragment - Follow signs (surprisingly helpful) - Market visible from 100m away - Walk time: 5-10 minutes from any Chasm entrance

From Middle Web (one level down): - Ascend via rope ladders or pulley system - Multiple access points - 15-minute climb - Delivery routes (for goods transport)

From Outside Murky Chasm: - Airship to Chasm (various routes) - Navigate to Beta Fragment - Ask directions (everyone helpful—customers are good)

Access Restrictions

Official Policy: Open to all

Practical Limitations: - Must have coin or tradeable goods - Cartel watches newcomers (assess threat) - Known troublemakers denied entry (rare) - Constellation Clergy unwelcome (will be harassed)

Market Layout

Central Plaza (Main Market)

Size: 2 hectares (200m × 100m roughly)

Surface: Paved stone (pre-Chasm, maintained)

Features: - Open-air (covered walkways on edges) - 30-40 temporary stalls (daily merchants) - 10-15 permanent shops (established businesses) - Central fountain (non-functional, meeting point) - Guard posts (Cartel enforcers, 4 positions)

Organization: - No fixed layout (merchants choose spots) - High-traffic areas more expensive (Cartel charges premium) - Specialty clusters (weapons together, texts together, etc.) - Chaos that somehow works

Permanent Shops (Perimeter)

Stone Buildings (10-15 structures): - Pre-existing structures (Chasm buildings) - Converted to shops - More secure (walls, doors, locks) - Established businesses - Higher prices (overhead costs)

Types: - Artifact dealers (pre-Shattering goods) - Weapon merchants (quality arms) - Document forgers (identities, permits) - Alchemical supplies - Information brokers

Surrounding Areas

Warehouse District (southeast): - Storage for bulk goods - Heavily guarded (Cartel warehouses) - Smuggler operations - Not open to public

Meeting Alleys (north edge): - Private deal locations - No Cartel oversight (officially) - High-value trades - Dangerous (no protection)

The Scales (west side): - Dispute resolution location - Cartel arbitrators settle conflicts - Public rulings (examples made) - Avoid if possible

Goods and Services

Common Goods

Food and Supplies: - Preserved foods (various quality) - Clean water (premium price) - Rope, tools, climbing gear - Clothing (mostly used) - Lanterns, oil, light sources

Weapons (illegal elsewhere): - Swords, daggers, axes (quality varies) - Crossbows, bows (ranged weapons) - Poisons (various lethality) - Armor (leather to metal, some stolen)

Documents: - Forged identities (50-200 Aether-Coins) - Travel permits (fake but convincing) - Letters of introduction - Blank official forms

Rare and Valuable

Rot-Shards: - Crystallized corruption (alchemical value) - Stage 1-3 specimens - Prices: 100-500 Aether-Coins (purity dependent) - Primary buyers: Alchemists, researchers - Sellers: Deep Tangle scavengers

Stolen Artifacts: - Pre-Shattering technology (rare, expensive) - Religious relics (Clergy would kill for these) - Art and jewelry (wealthy collectors) - Prices: 500-5000 Aether-Coins

Forbidden Texts: - Banned books (heretical, dangerous) - Pre-Shattering science (lost knowledge) - Rot research (illegal, valuable) - Magical grimoires (genuine and fake) - Prices: 200-2000 Aether-Coins

Illegal Services

Assassination Contracts: - Negotiated privately (not public stalls) - Prices: 500-5000 Aether-Coins (target dependent) - Cartel doesn’t officially allow (but knows) - Completion rate: High

Information Brokering: - Secrets for sale (political, personal, criminal) - Prices: 50-1000 Aether-Coins - Reliability: Variable (verify independently) - Merchants: Specialists in rumors

Smuggling Services: - Transport illegal goods (to settlements) - Bypass customs and inspections - Prices: 10-30% of cargo value - Risk: High (if caught, you’re alone)

Morally Abhorrent

Slaves (very rare): - Human trafficking (universally condemned) - Prices: 1000-5000 Aether-Coins - Sellers: Worst criminals - Cartel position: Officially banned, unofficially tolerates - Buyers: Desperate labor needs, depravity

The Cartel’s Rules

Three Iron Laws

1. No Violence in the Plaza: - Definition: Physical harm to customers, merchants - Punishment: Immediate execution (“falling”) - Enforcement: Swift, brutal, public - Exception: Self-defense (must be clear)

2. Pay Your Fees: - Merchants: 10% of daily sales (Cartel protection) - Warehouse users: Monthly rent - Dispute resolution: 50 Aether-Coins per case - Non-payment: Expulsion, beatings, death

3. Don’t Interfere with Commerce: - Definition: Actions that disrupt trade - Examples: Theft (from merchants), destruction, false alarms - Punishment: Variable (theft = fall, disruption = beating) - Philosophy: Commerce is sacred

Gray Areas (Tolerated)

Cheating: - Allowed if clever (fake goods, inflated prices) - Customer responsibility (examine purchases) - If caught: Social shame, not legal punishment - Reputation matters (repeat cheaters get no business)

Private Violence: - In alleys outside plaza: Not Cartel’s problem - Settle scores elsewhere - Bodies disposed quietly - Unspoken understanding

Moral Questions: - Cartel doesn’t judge goods (slaves, poisons, anything) - Morality is individual - Market is amoral (transactions only)

Notable Merchants

Grim the Fence

Location: Permanent shop, northwest corner

Specialty: Stolen artifacts

Reputation: Honest (paradox, but true)

Deals: - Pre-Shattering tech (extensive collection) - No questions asked (buys and sells) - Fair prices (high but not exploitative) - Connected (can find anything)

Personality: Gruff, professional, surprisingly ethical

The Veiled Woman

Location: Central stall (moves daily)

Specialty: Forbidden texts

Reputation: Mysterious, knowledgeable

Deals: - Banned books (incredible selection) - Can acquire specific titles (for price) - Knows content (has read everything) - Discretion absolute (never reveals buyers)

Identity: Unknown (speculation endless)

Rakis the Shard-Seller

Location: East side permanent shop

Specialty: Rot-Shards and specimens

Reputation: Dangerous, reliable

Deals: - Stage 1-3 Rot-Shards (quality specimens) - Living corrupted creatures (contained) - Custom requests (will find anything) - Primary supplier to Kael Greythorn

Personality: Corrupted (Stage 2), morbidly cheerful

The Coinmaster

Location: Central fountain (visible, accessible)

Specialty: Information brokering

Reputation: Expensive, accurate

Deals: - Secrets (political, criminal, personal) - Rumors (verified and raw) - Introductions (to anyone, for price) - Never wrong (reputation stake)

Personality: Calculating, emotionless

Quest Connection

The Black Market Deal

Role: Central location for Black Market Deal quest

Quest Start: > You enter the Black Market Plaza—a chaotic maze of stalls selling everything from stolen artifacts to forbidden texts. A hooded figure approaches you. > > “You look capable. I need someone to acquire… sensitive goods. The Cartel’s watching too closely for me to do it myself. Interested?”

Quest Elements: - Hooded contact offers heist job (steal Rot-Shards from Cartel warehouse) - Player negotiates payment (skill checks affect reward) - Heist involves stealth, combat, or clever planning - Return to contact in plaza for payment - Moral complexity: Stealing from criminals, but still stealing

Outcomes: - Success: Payment, reputation (criminal circles) - Failure: Cartel anger, potential consequences - Betray contact: Alternative rewards, different enemies

Economics and Trade

Market Volume

Daily Transactions: 500-1000 deals

Total Daily Value: 10,000-30,000 Aether-Coins

Cartel Revenue: 1,000-3,000 Aether-Coins (fees)

Scale: Largest illegal market in Aetherium

Price Factors

Supply and Demand: - Rare goods expensive (obvious) - Bulk discounts (large purchases) - Seasonal variation (travel conditions affect supply)

Risk Premium: - Illegal everywhere: +50-100% markup - Dangerous acquisition: Additional premium - Cartel cut: 10% built into prices

Quality: - Genuine artifacts: High price - Forgeries: Cheaper (buyer beware) - Verification: Pay experts or gamble

Currency

Aether-Coin (standard): - Universal acceptance - Trusted value - Preferred medium

Barter: - Common (goods for goods) - Negotiation heavy - Value subjective

Favors: - High-value currency (do this, get that) - Reputation-based - Risky (enforcement difficult)

Safety and Etiquette

Staying Safe

Do: - Keep coin hidden (show only when buying) - Examine goods carefully (forgeries common) - Negotiate firmly but respectfully - Watch belongings (pickpockets exist) - Respect Cartel enforcers (don’t provoke)

Don’t: - Flash wealth (robbery target) - Insult merchants (bad reputation) - Cause scenes (violence forbidden) - Cheat poorly (if caught, consequences) - Ignore Cartel instructions (suicide)

Negotiation Culture

Haggling Expected: - Initial prices always high (15-30% markup) - Negotiate down (expected, enjoyable) - Walk away (effective tactic) - Final price: ~70-85% of asking

Respect: - Merchants appreciate shrewd buyers - Don’t insult goods (critique is fine) - Accept refusal (their right) - Pay agreed price (honor matters)

Danger Zones

Meeting Alleys: - Private deals = no protection - Bring backup - Verify identity - Exit strategy planned

After Dark: - Market closes (mostly) - Cartel presence reduced - Crime increases (theft, assault) - Avoid unless necessary

Related Topics

• Murky Chasm - Parent location
• Black Sky Cartel - Controllers and enforcers
• Vex Shadowhand - Cartel leader (distant but present)
• Alchemist Kael Greythorn - Regular customer (Rot specimens)
• The Archivists - Buy forbidden texts
• Sky-Guild - Pragmatically trade here (officially deny)

Location Status: Active (thriving illegal market)
Designer Notes: Morally complex location where illegal ≠ evil, and pragmatic commerce serves desperate needs

“Is it wrong to trade forbidden knowledge if that knowledge saves lives? Is it evil to sell weapons if those weapons defend innocents? The market doesn’t judge. It just facilitates. You decide what’s right.”
—Market philosophy