Misadventures in the Interdimensional Black Market

Misadventures in the Interdimensional Black Market is a written story by Lupan Evezan, illustrated by Aristide Twain. It features the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids, including Tracker-764, as well as Darius of the Drove of the Database-Compiling Dromedaries, Frederick, Tpxszum, a Wellsian, Pessimist-242, and, in their debuts, Alistair Neezley, the Knife-Wielding Octopus, the Winged Lobster, the Toadstool Salesman, the Serpentine Beast, the Goblin Salesman, CS-NA and the Queen of the Black Market. Thymon and Volensholagoz are both mentioned, and Madame Tarsa is mentioned for the first time.
==Plot==
Partnering up with a mysterious robed figure whose motives for seeking the Cupid Homeworld are his own, Darius is seeking revenge of the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids (and a way home from the Void). When the two crash their secondhand Void Ship in the Interdimensional Black Market, however, they must contend with wraiths, interdimensional criminals, and the Queen of the Black Market herself!
===References===
*The Thin Syrup is the cheapest drink on sale at the Interdimensional Tavern. Another, more expensive drink on offer is the Honeysapping Rutcarver.
* The Impeccable Mountains of Kragza consist of nine peaks, although Alistair Neezley, when claiming he had camped there for a year, said they consisted of six peaks.
* The Arisrians of Rawl are four-winged beings who can, at least in theory, be ridden through the air.
* Neezley also tells about an adventure he supposedly experienced in the Glowing Caves of Swaatch, being chased by Creepworms and a Gargoyle.
* Salesmen at the Black Market include a large knife-wielding octopus who sells “a variety of strange and dangerous-looking foods”, a Winged Lobster who sells “a set of bottles, each containing a tiny human”, a trio of winged Harpies who sell magical feathers, a Serpentine Beast who tells fortune, and the Toadstool Salesman, a humanoid toad who sells Curse Toadstools.
* There are many varieties of Curse Toadstools: the green ones cause whoever ingests them to glow neon-green, the gray ones drain all emotions out of those who eat them, the black ones are deadly poison, and the white ones turn turns people into Wraiths. He also later uses orange toadstools, which explode upon impact when he throws them.
* Tracker-764 tries to buy a 210K Twin-Carbonoid Dualtech Engine with which to repair the Void Ship.
* One item on sale at the auction is a “lovely” floam drive from Sirintis-B,
=== Continuity ===
* This story picks up the story of Darius, last seen being banished into the Void by Thymon at the end of Pessimist and the Dromedaries (2019). The events of the earlier story are lengthily referenced, and are established to have taken place a few months before the beginning of Misadventures.
* The story is also a sequel to The Mad Cupid of the Euclidean Plane (2019), showing something of Tracker-764's adventures after he parted ways with the Old Man and ending with his return to the Cupid Homeworld for the first time in decades. Tracker is established to have used the crystals he got from the Old Man as payment for his Void Ship.
* Planet of the Shapeshifters (2020) later shed some light on Tracker's adventures in-between the stories via another continuity reference to Misadventures in the Interdimensional Black Market: he was established to have found himself in the Glowing Caves of Swaatch and fought Gargoyles in-between his stay in the Euclidean Plane and his trip to the Interdimensional Black Market.
* The ability of Clockwork Cherubs to interface with any technology older than 1960, first mentioned in Pessimist and the Dromedaries (2019), is mentioned.
==Behind the scenes==
This short story was released in September of 2019 on the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids website.
Category:Stories
Category:Written Stories
Category:Lupan Evezan stories
Category:Aristide Twain stories
Category:2019 stories
Category:Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids stories
Category:Tracker-764 stories
Category:Darius stories
Category:Drove of the Database-Compiling Dromedaries stories
Category:Frederick stories
Category:Tpxszum stories
Category:Wellsian stories
Category:Pessimist-242 stories
Category:Alistair Neezley stories
Category:Knife-Wielding Octopus stories
Category:Winged Lobster stories
Category:Toadstool Salesman stories
Category:Goblin Salesman stories
Category:Serpentine Beast stories
Category:CS-NA stories
Category:Queen of the Black Market stories
Category:Thymon stories
Category:Volensholagoz stories
Category:Madame Tarsa stories