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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 24, 2017 19:48:49 GMT -5
Mystery quietly walked through the new town he had passed by and had spent the previous night in. He honestly enjoyed some of the early morning walks where only the older folks of the house were out and working. The kids depending on how young they are, still sleeping in their beds of whatever fashion. The older children were helping their respective parents, gathering eggs from the coop, milking cows, tending to the horses, cooking, checking the crops, and some even starting to dust off their wares for the daily sales. It was mostly mellow and quiet, a few exchanged words, but most were focused on their work. Mystery was doing his own work, it had been years since he started his search for another artifact, as good as the one he had was, it didn't compliment his magic style all that well. It was better at channeling the magic he wasn't as good at-though it did help him get a small boost on that type of magic. Honestly, he could imagine what he could do if he had an artifact that actually did match what he was best in. He might be able to get the mind control spell down. That would be a good day for him. Despite his hope for getting a new artifact, he hadn't had any leads since the fall of the previous year, and that one ended in a dead end as quickly as he got even a bit excited to find the potential artifact. He had started to wonder if he should give up and just live with what he got. It was his own fault that he had this one, so he couldn't complain too much.
(Ok hopefully that is good for a starter, let me know if you need more to go off of)
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 24, 2017 20:29:02 GMT -5
Solis didn't know what it did.
It being the necklace, of course. She knew it was magical; she wasn't stupid. Bur maybe she was, to be wearing it when she didn't quite know what it did. Why, she wore it around her neck at this very moment. Not because she liked how it looked, but because it felt safer there than in her pocket or anywhere else. She had tucked the charm into her shirt to protect it from the wandering eyes of any would be thieves. The chain was the silver, the locket was shaped like a rose. Inside was some sort of amethyst, carved to fit the silver case. Solis suspected the locket was worth more than she was. She had no idea why her grandfather had sent it to her. She didn't see him anymore, nor any of her family, but it had just showed up on her bed one day. Just it and a letter. She read the letter a hundred times, but none of it had anything to do with a locket.
Solis was selling pelts again today. Or trying to, rather. It was not going well. A man would approach with a coin, ask to see a bear pelt or wolf, and she'd show him. And then he'd catch her eyes, his own would go wide, and he'd turn away. She was smack in the middle of town, trying to get the most attention as possible. It was just starting to get loud, the vendors opening their shops. Problem was, Solis only got attention on what she didn't want.
"How much for the wolf, miss?" a man called, having to speak loudly to be heard over the vendors. Solis turned to him, holding up the pelt and half hoping to attract the attention of other buyers.
"Three silver coins is all," she assured him. But he seemed to notice her face for the first time. His eyes met hers; Solis had made the mistake of looking directly at him. Don't look away, don't look away, she willed him. And he didn't. He walked right over to her, set the coins in her hand and marched off with the pelt. Solis blinked, pocketed the coins, and wondered what had changed his mind.
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 24, 2017 20:48:42 GMT -5
Mystery wondered till he managed to find the center of the town, and to his surprise there were plenty of people already getting items from each store. Most of them had plenty of customers, and from the looks of it, those customers were regulars given how they spoke to the owners. The only shop that seemed to be failing with sales rather then actually making sales was a pelt shop. It was surprising to him as pelts in the middle of a town tended to sell just as well as the food. It piqued his curiosity on why that was. It also seemed to be a female running the shop, he had seen customers come to other shops just for the reason there was a young lady running it. He managed to stop his staring long enough to walk his way over to the shop, taking a quick look at the pelts as if he was interested. In reality, he was watching the other customers come and go. Trying to get a taste for their reactions when approaching. His own reaction was one of increased curiosity. This lady had something that was saturated in magic, he even wondered if she were a wizard based on the fact she had it in the first place. He immediately dismissed the idea-what kind of wizard would be selling pelts at a marketplace that wouldn't buy her wares. He just had to figure out where the magic saturation was coming from. He couldn't tell where exactly. It was either from her pouch, in her hair, under her hat, or whatever the silver chain was holding. All were viable options as that were places he had seen many people hide their magical items. "It's a shame to keep that necklace hidden" He said, hoping that if she moved it he would be able to better pinpoint the location. Or at least narrow it down to not the necklace. He really hated searching on such a small scale.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 24, 2017 21:03:45 GMT -5
Business was as bad as usual. Sure, she made the occasional sale (usually to pity or to another magical), butthat wasn't enough to keep the place running. She hadn't gone out to refill stock in a long while, simply because there was no need. She would be wasting time and energy she could spend selling goods. It wasn't like she'd ever sell all of them, anyway.
There was an odd fellow who approached her shop now; he was not someone she had seen before. Now, she was no wizard, no magician, but she knew magic when she saw or felt it. This fellow had something about him that left her with a tingling feeling in her fingertips, as if she'd touched the magic out of the air. Magic felt as if one's entire skin had gone to sleep, the way an arm or a leg would. It prickled; magic usually prickled. Solis glanced down when he walked up, the brim of her hat hiding her eyes. Whatever he was, whoever he was, there was no reason to go broadcasting her eyes to any buyers if she could help it. Sure, most weren't educated on sun elves or moon elves; common wood elves were the well known ones. The pale ones with green or brown eyes; the normal ones. The ones that blended in. What she wouldn't give to have that.
"Shame to have it stolen, too," she commented. Solis tried to survey him without allowing him to survey her, but it wasn't working very well. She could see the clothes, but little else. It didn't answer any of her questions, and merely made more. So instead the woman stared down at the pelts and busied herself with them. "You here to buy pelts ...or did you come to shop for jewelry?"
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 24, 2017 21:18:41 GMT -5
Mystery smirked at her remark back, that was a true statement. It would seem he would have to do a little more work to try to figure this out. "That is very true. It must be rather important to you, right?" There had to be a reason for her to hide it, there were plenty of people who would display their jewelry to show off their wealth or to show off whatever gifts they had received. He leaned back at her question, no longer pretending to look at the pelts-though he had to admit they weren't bad ones. "Honestly something else caught my eye here." He admitted. There was no point in lying about this fact, if he said he was interested in the pelts, he might leave with something he didn't need. If he said he was looking for jewelry, he would probably be turned away to go to another shop, losing this perfect chance. He scanned the girl again, frowning when he couldn't get a good look under her hat. She seemed to be hiding a lot more than just a necklace. He was actually thinking he was on to something when she seemed to want to keep it hidden, but now with the hiding with her hat, he was back at square one. There had to be a clue somewhere. It took a moment for him to realize what that sentence and his staring could seem like "Not like that" he continued. If this went on to long, he would probably have to do an intermediate search through his artifact, though he wasn't keen on bringing it out in the middle of the market.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 24, 2017 21:35:45 GMT -5
"Important to you too, clearly, as you've so many questions about it." She moved a smaller pelt towards the back, making a point in putting the nicest things near the front of the shop. She knew it made little difference, but at least she was trying.
The woman raised an eyebrow at the second comment, though she knew he couldn't see it. She pursed her lips, shaking her head slightly at his choice of words. She was not used to those sorts of comments; not her. Sure, there were plenty of magicals who were treated as equals to any human, but they weren't exactly welcomed. Dangerous ones (at least, ones seen as dangerous), even less. She frowned down at the pelts, turning her head to look at him. Still, Solis tilted her head slightly enough that the brim would shield most of her face. Sometimes it paid to be a tad bit shorter than others.
The woman wasn't going to deny him a face to face conversation, even if he was going to be weird about it. She knew he could see her mouth, maybe her nose, and when he quickly explained he didn't mean quite what he said, she smirked despite herself. She couldn't just turn this fellow away; not when he was actually willing to keep a conversation with her thus far.
"Should hope not." She shifted, crossing her arms. "Mind telling me what you had your eye on? I'm afraid I can't help you find it until you tell me what it is." She wrinkled her nose. "That is, assuming I have whatever you're looking for."
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 24, 2017 21:57:08 GMT -5
Mystery took a moment to gather what he knew, she seemed attached to her necklace, but it didn't seem too much as she didn't instinctively reach for it while he was asking about it. She seemed to hide herself, so it may just be an extension of the necklace and nothing was of note with that part. Either way he had no leads and she was curious on what he was looking for. Well if he could tell her, he would. He cracked a bit under the pressure of possibly standing there in a helpless search till she called the guard on him to kick him out. So he took the easier approach at this point, which was reach just far enough into his pouch to grab his artifact. He didn't pull it out, as waving around something like that here was just asking for him to get attacked later on and he didn't need to cause more injuries to other people today. He quickly activated the magic, and honestly it was a risky move. He would be quick, just long enough to pinpoint the location. If feeling magic felt like a tingle, then seeing it was almost blinding. Apparently this girl had kept this item on her for quite some time, he could see small trails of gold from one point to another and back again. It was enough to pinpoint and he quickly let go of the artifact and removed his hand from his pouch. "Actually, I am interested in the necklace you have. Name your price and I will pay it" He wasn't worried about how much it would cost, if he didn't have the money, he would find ways to earn it and bring it back to buy the necklace. Even if it wasn't an artifact, he would be able to track the artifact that gave it such a strong saturation.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 24, 2017 22:44:48 GMT -5
He had gone to dig around in his pockets, so she had looked away, back down at the pelts. She worried about thieves, but she knew, deep down, that she was just being paranoid. No thief would want what had touched her hands. They didn't know what she was; all they knew was that she was different and that they did not like it. She felt a stronger tingle then; the necklace against her chest. She knew it was magic, and that there was something weird going on. It was a shame she didn't know more about it, because then she might have been able to guess what this fellow was doing here. The obvious comment of the necklace had not come as a shock, but the notion of 'name your price' had. Solis was used to people offering her minimal prices, and she'd take them, lucky to have them. So when he said that he'd give her whatever price she'd asked for, she looked up in surprise. She didn't even care about her eyes; she merely stared at him and debated her options.
This necklace was clearly important to him, which was rather worrying, actually. If he was willing to pay so much for it, there was something more to it than that. Was it cursed, maybe? Was that why it tingled the way it did? All Solis knew was that she'd been given it, and told news of her family in their far away town. It was the only real connection to them that she had. And, she imagined, her grandfather would not be pleased if he heard she sold it.
"I don't believe that particular piece is for sale, sir," she said, meeting his eyes, unblinking. Maybe this one would look away. No, not maybe. Surely. They always looked away. As if holding her gaze would freeze them in place. Solis didn't think it would, but she'd never maintained eye contact long enough to find out. "Surely you could find something nicer for cheaper elsewhere?"
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 25, 2017 12:39:59 GMT -5
Mystery felt a slight victory when she was taking a bit to reply to him. To him, she was either debating in her head on if she should part with it, or picking a price. The feeling was short lived when she shot his offer down. He was interested to see that she finally looked up and honestly he felt a bit jelous. Those eyes were a lot more interesting then his own...boring ones. They were probably the reason she hadn't been making sales, given how she had hid them. "No, I wouldn't be able to find that particular necklace anywhere else" It would be extremely hard for him to find one with the same signature as that necklace. Or even an item to begin with. Just trying to find something like this necklace would be a challenge on it's own. "I am not interested in cheaper, if I wanted something for cheap I would have just given you some random price like one gold or something." He did need to level with himself, he wasn't made of money. Sure he kept some money in his pockets, just from his random jobs he would take every once in a while. But most of the money he earned happened when he had something he was working towards. "But you are not willing to part with it, though I am not willing to let this go so easily." He had to strike a deal somehow. Maybe a temporary exchange, but his artifact was the only thing he would be unwilling to part with for good and he wasn't about to just have that be the exchanged item.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 25, 2017 13:44:35 GMT -5
"Interesting," she said. She didn't usually say interesting when something was actually interesting; if it was, she would have something more intelligent to say. But for once, when Solis said interesting, she meant it. He had some sort of fascination with this one piece. But he was right; she didn't plan to give it to him, high price or not. Id someone was willing to give you whatever you asked for in return, it was because they had a very good reason for wanting it. She narrowed her eyes; it was an interesting look on her. "You haven't even seen it. Makes me wonder."
How to phrase it? Solis was curious now; interested. She suspected this strange man would not keep her attention long, at least if he refused to answer any questions. So far he hadn't. "What does it do?" she asked him finally. He had to have a reason to want it, surely. It was magical, she knew that, but what if he didn't know what it did either?
She could always call the guards on him, though she doubted they'd favour her. They'd probably be on his side, and demand she hand over the necklace. So it was better to just listen.
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 25, 2017 17:12:05 GMT -5
Mystery raised an eyebrow wondering if she didn't feel the fact that he had activated magic the few moments prior. It was a rare thing to find in this world, as changes in the world were noticed. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and just have her not wanting to mention the fact while she still had the few customers in the area, she didn't know what magic was activated or that the necklace distracted her. Regardless, she should have felt something. "Going to be frank, I don't know" There was no way of him knowing what it could do-if it could do anything-without actually using it. If it was an artifact itself, he would have to try different types of magic through it, and if it wasn't well he would have his answer rather quickly. "But what it could possibly do is what interests me, I am sure you noticed it already" He wasn't too keen on putting all his cards on the table quite yet, and this way he would be able to understand if she was part of the few that couldn't feel any form of magic.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 25, 2017 18:04:27 GMT -5
"You're just avoiding telling me anything." Solis leaned forward on the counter, looking him in the eyes. She had to look up to stare at him now, but she somehow managed to keep the movement natural and casual. She hadn't noticed the flicker of his magic before, so distracted was she by the sudden pulse of her necklace in response. "Which usually means, pal, that I won't be telling you anything either. I don't care about your fancy schmancy magic business; I just don't."
Yellow eyes narrowed almost lazily now, seeming bored. She was tired of dodging questions and answers with this man; she just wanted to get to the point. Of course, she was not going to be the first to surrender. "Take your tingly fingers and get lost; you're, ah, scaring away the customers." Solis glanced around at the complete absence of buyers near her shop with a simple raise of both eyebrows. She looked back at the man to meet his eyes, not wanting him to miss her point.
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 25, 2017 18:58:32 GMT -5
Well that was one mystery solved. At least he wouldn't have to explain in a bit more detail on why he could tell her necklace was magic. He did enjoy her description of magic, it was in a way fairly accurate. While most magic have their practical uses, most also had their own 'affects' to show off while doing so. Not to mention magic likes to take up multiple colors when using an artifact to search. "You already know what I am talking about, so why let the whole world in on this little secret?" He countered putting a finger on his lips for just a second, anyone could be listening to their conversation right now. He glanced around at her shop, shrugging off her next comment "You scare away your own customers, don't think I didn't notice before I approached" Did she think he was blind or something? Anyone that was paying attention could tell that people weren't buying from her and one glance at her could give the full reason why. Something was strange about her, and just as he wasn't putting all his cards on the table, she was probably doing the same. Smart girl.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 25, 2017 19:42:22 GMT -5
"Because I've got nothing to hide that a man can't already see by looking at me." Solis put her hands on her hips, wrinkling her nose. "I've got nothing to lose if I decide I don't like the annoyance of a fellow in front of me. I imagine you'd be sad to lose this." She gestured at the necklace's chain, if her point wasn't clear enough. Perhaps she had to spell it out for the genius; she wasn't going to assume he knew what she was talking about. "And I don't need you coming to my shop harassing me about my business, got it?"
She was becoming aware of eyes on her now, though they didn't last long. She shot a silencing glare to one of the other young women a few shops down. The girl had stopped what she was doing to watch, but she quickly looked away once she saw who was willing to meet her eyes.
Solis's eyes flicked back to the fellow in front of her. It was clear this was going to wind up a game of who could outsmart the other. "Let's compromise," she said, sarcasm heavy. "You leave me alone. That way, I won't have to put up with you, and you get to keep your money."
Money was the word she ended up choosing. She hadn't quite known what word she wanted to use; she had changed it at the last second. Solis didn't know who this man was; she couldn't just go around making threats.
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 25, 2017 19:59:04 GMT -5
Mystery internally rolled his eyes, though keeping his face at a fairly neutral placement. If only she knew what work had to be done to figure out exactly what was going on, then maybe she wouldn't make such an ignorant comment like that. Though given her shop, he could see what she meant by nothing to lose-so maybe it had less to do with her necklace and more to do with her eyes. "You're right, it would be a shame" There really wasn't a point in hiding his interest as he already broadcasted it, it wasn't like she was interested in money, and he had his limits to what he would be willing to do. "It wouldn't be the end of the world. Just some more traveling to find something similar" "You're a funny one" He said when she made her sarcastic remark, his own remark with a tinge for sarcasm just for flavor. "I thought it would be more obvious money is no issue for me, and if you really wanted to reach a 'compromise' it would end with both parties satisfied with the end result, not something for you to only gain in" He was trying to think of a compromise for the two of them, though the only option he could think of now was something he would rather not do.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 25, 2017 20:12:08 GMT -5
"Oh, so even you admit I'd be better off if you left?" She raised her eyebrow at that, a look of mock interest on her face now. She had figured she wasn't going to be able to reasonably talk him out of it; she was hoping she could annoy him enough to get him to leave her alone. The problem with that was that Solis was probably going to get annoyed before he did. He hadn't snapped yet, and Solis was starting to feel pretty close.
"I merely meant for a very neutral agreement." She didn't even attempt a look of innocence; she couldn't pull that off. "You know what they say -at least, I hope you do; you haven't exactly proven yourself to know much- a good compromise leaves nobody happy." Of course, that meant neither of them would have suggestions, because they both would want to get the better end of the deal. Which was a shame, because that was not the definition of compromise at all. Solis was starting to think there was a better word for it, but she couldn't recall it.
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 25, 2017 20:49:21 GMT -5
"I was only taking in account your wording." Honestly how could she be better off with him gone, at least him being here gave her something to do while the likelihood of anything else happening at her shop was slim. He was running out of patience with this looping conversation, any outside eye could see that neither party was making headway in the slightest. "Do you want me to think of a better comprise? I bet I could reach something that would benefit us both" He asked, turning a bit to think for a moment, even with a bare-bones of an idea he still needed some time to get the details. "I think I got something that would work. Something to hopefully make us both happy" He had a few steps of a plan to go off of, though step one would probably be the hardest for him to do as it would force him to give her his artifact for a couple minutes, something he was unwilling to do even with what it would end with. For all he knew, she would run off the moment he gave it to her, finding somewhere to sell it for a huge profit. It was the biggest reason he kept it hidden all the time.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 25, 2017 21:09:35 GMT -5
"Hmph," was all she said to that. Because she couldn't think of anything nice to say. Which seemed odd, considering how she didn't seem to bothered by that in her previous statements. Of course, there was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of hearing silence. "I'd love to see you think," she said. "I get the impression that's something people don't get to see very often."
It seemed scaring him off wasn't going to work and annoying him wasn't really going the way she had wanted. But she wasn't giving up just yet. It wasn't that she was usually so stubborn; she just had to be right now. She rolled her eyes, which another thing that her eyes clearly weren't meant to do. When she did, the colours... inverted. The whites of her eyes looked the same brilliant yellow of her irises, while the irises were white, as if all the colour of them had spilled out. They were normal again when she looked back at him, but for a moment it seemed they'd ...broken.
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 25, 2017 22:22:42 GMT -5
(I have no idea how this one got so long o.o)
"I'm going to count that as the go ahead" Mystery had to force himself to have that be the only thing he said. His mouth twitched with wanting to say things like 'that is probably the most generic insult in the world' and 'maybe you could do with a little bit of thinking yourself'. Somehow he thought saying those things would probably make this a lot harder then it needed to be. Instead he focused on getting his idea into words without adding things like 'it's so simple that I am surprised you didn't think of it'. "The idea" He started, silencing himself for a second as she rolled her eyes, it was a shock to him. He had never seen anyone's eyes do that, it was as if they were filled with liquid and moving them shifted it around. "cool" he managed to breath out, not thinking about the fact that it really wasn't normal for eyes to do that. He cleared his throat, taking the moment to get himself focused again "So what I was saying was you travel with me. You can keep your necklace, I could do what I would like with it-which my actions will not harm the necklace, and I help you make better sales in the cities we pass." He tried to think of one more thing that would be able to be added, trying to tip this a bit more to be balanced, or at least make it seem like she was getting the better part of the deal. "And once I do finish what I need to do with the necklace, I bet that there will be plenty of things for you to have as well, and of course you keep the necklace. If you agree to this, I will completely level with you on what I want to do, as it would be useless to hide it from you at that point." Of course there was the fact he had to make sure the item wasn't the artifact itself before their trip started, and at that point, he would just have to break off the agreement and just let this whole thing go. He doubted she would be willing to let him mess with her necklace after the amount of interest he had expressed for it.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 25, 2017 23:56:31 GMT -5
He could count it as whatever he wanted, she didn't care. At first Solis smirked at his reaction. And then, in that split second her hand had instinctively moved towards her eyes, as if to cover them. They'd probably done something weird; they always were. The woman never thought about covering her eyes that way; it had always been an absentminded sort of thing that she started to do before she stopped herself. Instead of looking flustered and irritated, she played the motion off as casually adjusting the brim of her hat and brushing her hair out of the way.
"Travel. With you." She said it very simply, but her tone implied what she thought of the idea. There were worse people to travel with, sure, but she wasn't sure she wanted to agree to anything like that without knowing how long for and why, and... and a lot of things. Who he was, for starters. She still didn't even know the guy. But she didn't intend to ask his name, because then he'd want to know hers, and frankly she didn't care enough.
Solis wanted to comment how flattered she was that he thought he could take her into cities. Yes, magic was a normal thing to let into cities, but that was the conventional people. The ones who weren't too dangerous. It didn't help that she came from a family with a long history of thievery; particularly magic thievery. That usually wasn't a problem, though, so long as she never brought it up. And she didn't. She supposed the obsession had skipped her generation.
But the idea of sales was tempting. If she wasn't going to lose the necklace, she was content, and if she was going to wind up better off for it, that was good enough for her. Solis looked down at her hand, realizing she'd been gripping the edge of it tight enough to leave heat marks from her fingers. "Sounds like a needlessly complicated contract," she said finally, but she stuck her hand out to him anyway. "Don't get me killed."
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 26, 2017 20:13:43 GMT -5
Mystery felt a bit of relief when she held our her hand, she had seemed to disagree with the agreement for a moment there. He wasn't even sure which part of the verbal contract convinced her to agree to the terms. He quickly shook her hand when she held it up, letting it fall back to his side to check his pouch as a nervous habit. "Nice doing business with you. My name's Mystery." He decided to start with a simple introduction, that was safe enough. "The only other thing is I need to check something with your necklace." He took a quick glance around to check for any watching eyes, seeing a few people looking over every once in a while. Probably just the subtle curiosity people had for other's lives, but it was still a risk. He couldn't just go blabbing about artifacts here, or the potential for an artifact. That would be looking for the both of them to get killed. "We need to do this somewhere so the chances of people listening in are minimized. Or at least a place where we would be able to tell if someone is listening in a bit too closely" He hoped she didn't expect him to spill everything out in the open like this. He did promise to level with her with the acceptance of the deal, which he was fully planning on doing. He wasn't planning on leaving her in the dark any longer then necessary. "Do you have anywhere that would fit that?" He asked, having little idea about the layout of the town. The best idea he had was some random alley way and that was just asking to be mugged. He wasn't sure about her, but he wasn't planning on being mugged today
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 26, 2017 21:01:20 GMT -5
Solis pursed her lips at his name, holding her hands up jokingly and looking down like it wasn't her business. She didn't really believe that was his name, and it was a rather unfortunate one if it was. That was as silly as a sun elf named Sunshine. She said nothing of it, but her reaction was enough. She decided to avoid sharing her name, just to see how long it would take for him to ask her ouright. Maybe she could get away without telling him at all; here was hoping. "Yeah, I think I know a spot," she said. Because she did. Though, unfortunately, as good as a spot was, it seemed she always had someone watching her or following her. Maybe with company they would think twice about following her.
Not really caring if this 'Mystery' was on a time crunch, Solis turned away. She wasn't going anywhere when all her things were still out on the counter; even if people were not eager to touch anything she had, there were still plenty who would steal them, if only to sell them to someone who was unaware.
The woman calmly moved the pelts back into the shelf inside the shop, making a great point in doing it slowly; just to show how little she really cared for the arrangement. Her shop was hardly a shop; more of a tent really, with a door. A door that she closed and locked behind her. She slipped the key back into her pocket, turning to look at Mystery with an innocent smile. "...But," she continued. "Usually, anyway, when people invite me to go somewhere with fewer people, it's because they intend to kill me." She plastered on the sweetest, fakest looking smile that she could manage, stepping around the counter and gesturing for him to follow her.
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Post by Ziotsu on Apr 27, 2017 20:26:59 GMT -5
Mystery was honestly used to this kind of reaction, and didn't really react back. He already knew it was far from normal to have a name like that, and honestly if he was better at names and wasn't on a time crunch back then, he wouldn't have picked this particular name to go by. By the time he could have changed it, the name already stuck. He decided against asking for her name, it didn't help or hinder their efforts and he would probably just call her something like 'water eyes'. "Good, we can go the-" He cut himself off when she went back to her work, letting out only a small sigh. He couldn't get upset about her putting away her things, he would do the same if he owned a shop. Taking a deep breath, he found a spot on the ground to sit while she worked, looking around the area to check for any more glancing eyes. It seemed that after their conversation finished, the other people stopped looking over as often, at least no one noticeable was watching. "If I was planning on killing you, I would have done so already" He had no idea about her own abilities of course "Especially when you turned your back to me, real easy moment to kill you" Her fault for bringing up death and killing here, if people started to watch now, it would be at least 60% her fault. He picked himself off of the ground, tapping his pouch again to ensure that nothing fell out while he sat and proceeded to follow her.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on Apr 27, 2017 23:16:53 GMT -5
"Oh, with so many people watching?" She glanced around, knowing full well that the eyes that had been on them before had drifted away, at least somewhat. "That would be quite the spectacle." No comment on if she thought he could or not, no mention of how she'd have reacted. She walked quickly, half hoping she could move quickly enough to lose him. She knew that unlikely, of course, but a woman could hope.
"Besides," she added, glancing over her shoulder at him. "You did kinda promise not to kill me; we shook on it." Not that a promise alone would have convinced her. No, it was the fact it was agreed upon with magic terms, and though she didn't have enough skill with magic to make it so that he was bound into that agreement, she could at least make him think she did. Solis had the feeling she was going to enjoy messing with this 'Mystery.'
She had decided to take him to the edge of town; it was the best spot she could think of. Sure, it was a good bit of walking from where they started, but hell, a little walking never hurt anyone. Solis kept glancing over to shoulder to make sure he was following, and no one else. She wouldn't have been surprised to have extra company; that was the main reason for walking so far. It was near the edge of town; in sort of a pause between one road and the next. There was a shed there if he wanted to go in, or merely duck behind it. And not frequently visited, either; sort of worn down and dusty. "No mansion," she said. "But works just fine for... mysterious conversations."
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Post by Ziotsu on May 3, 2017 19:59:58 GMT -5
(sorry, life stuff happened ) To him it was common knowledge that illusion spells can be used to make certain events invisible to others. It would be quite a hard task to make sure no one saw the kill, do the kill and then leave while keeping everyone thinking nothing happened, but it was possible. He could probably pull it off if he truly wanted to, though it would be a lot of work to do so. Mystery internally sighed, as she had thought that a simple handshake could stop him from killing her, again he wasn't planning on killing her, but he had nothing stopping him as far as he was aware. "No point arguing any more, though it would be a good idea to stop underestimating me." Normally such a thing would be said to an enemy, but it didn't stop him from using that line. He was unfazed by the shack that was shown to him, honestly it was a lot better than some mansion, as there was likely to be a lot less people here-if any. "Nice joke" he said flatly, looking around the place to make sure it wasn't going to fall on them while they were chatting. "Regardless, I need to see that necklace" He reached into his pouch to grab his artifact as part of a temporary 'trade' while he examined the necklace. "I need to verify if it is an artifact or just has a close tie to it. The deal will still stand either way, though." He finished fishing out his artifact and held onto the string that was wrapped around the dark blue-green pendent. "Obviously I wouldn't just ask for such a precious item without giving you assurance that I won't run off with it, so I want you to hold onto this while I examine the necklace" Though he made that statement, his grip on the string only tightened and he held it close to his side.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on May 3, 2017 20:47:21 GMT -5
Don't worry; it happens.]]
She smirked slightly at his- well, it wasn't really appreciation- his acknowledgement of her joke. If that had been bad, she had no idea how to break it to him that she didn't get much funnier. Solis would probably do so with another joke, or something of the like. And, if she was lucky, she wouldn't even have to explain from there, for he would probably start to understand the situation on his own. Hopefully this would all be over soon, and she could get back to work, with more sales than before. She didn't know how Mystery hoped to accomplish that, but she was willin to listen.
Solis raised an eyebrow when he commented that it could be an artifact. It explained his interest and it wasn't impossible, but she found it highly unlikely; it wasn't like one could just get their hands on one like it was nothing. Still, she pinched the chain to fish it out of her shirt front; she wasn't exactly eager to have it touch her skin for any longer. With the locket now somewhere other than directly on the skin, she hesitantly reached around the back to unfasten the clasp.
She held it out to him, at arms length now, as if the mention of artifacts had finally brought her to her sense. She eyed his trade dubiously, not really happy about switching for one dangerous object to the next. Still, she cleared her throat, and spoke as calmly as one could manage when holding a potentially deadly item. "I hope you realize that you'll need to let go if I'm to hold it."
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Post by Ziotsu on May 4, 2017 20:59:09 GMT -5
"I know" Mystery snapped a bit, it wasn't like it was a completely conscious decision to hold onto it so tight, it just sort of happened. "Just don't drop it" He traded one for the other quickly, if he hadn't he would have hesitated even more to make the trade. At this point, he had placed most of his livelihood in her hands and if she ran off with it, he would be SOL unless the necklace was an artifact. He wondered if she knew how much trust he had to put in her at that moment to do this. Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he looked at the locket he was holding now. He looked at the chain first and then the outer shell of it, making sure he wasn't missing the source of the magic by going directly to opening the locket. When he got to that part, he was careful with it, not wanting to damage what could be the find of a lifetime for him. It was a bit strange to find a gem in the locket rather than a picture, though given the circumstances it wouldn't be too farfetched. He was confident at this point the magic was coming from this part, so he started with a simple spell. The trick for him was to try a spell, see if it worked and if it didn't, do another one. He had to be careful with doing wildly different spells, first a fire spell, tiny to keep the place from burning down. Nothing. Ok time for water, it could be a similar one to his own. Nothing. It could be a non-elemental artifact, so next was a simple illusion. Glancing around for half a second told him that it didn't work. He tried a few more spells, random ones that wouldn't do any damage to the area around them. "Sorry to break it to you, but it's not an artifact." He said once finished, nothing had worked, so he would just have to search for the origin to find the artifact this came from.
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on May 4, 2017 23:42:50 GMT -5
Solis knew that it bothered him to hand her whatever this was, so she was careful with it. Not because she cared about his feelings or it in particular, but because messing around with magic items was the best way to get oneself bewitched. And if she ran off with his charm, it would make her another enemy she did not need. At least there was one person who did not see her as an unnatural creature. Who knew, perhaps he'd met a sun elf before, though she doubted that. They weren't common, and he probably would have been acting very differently.
She watched him glance around the shack, curious about what he was doing but not asking questions. He wasn't going to explain anything he didn't want to, so questions did little for her.
It wasn't an artifact. "Great!" she said, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm, but she'd meant it. It was good news that she hadn't accidentally cursed herself with a thousand years of torment, or sold her soul away. He had said it like it was bad news, but Solis was relieved. She held his pendant back out to him, still arms length, knowing that just because her locket was safe did not mean his was. "But you still have to make good on your part of the deal, with the sales." She wasn't letting him get out of that, no sir, even if her locket wasn't what he thought it was.
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Post by Ziotsu on May 5, 2017 19:24:15 GMT -5
"That was the original plan" Mystery sighed, he couldn't tell if she was actually happy about it not being an artifact or not. It took him just a moment for him to realize that he hadn't told her the full plan "Oh. The plan." Not that he forgot it, he was just getting a bit ahead of himself, to him his mind was already going to 'what to do at the next town' and not 'let's tell her what I am planning on doing.' "Well the plan itself is of course we are traveling together, I track the residual magic that would have naturally left a trail to what should be the artifact that made it magical. We would plan our routes so we pass cities and towns where I hide whatever is making people shy away from your wares" He already had a guess it had something to do with her appearance, so he wasn't too worried about becoming part crook while trying to go through with this. He held out her necklace for her to grab, having been playing with the chain while explaining what he was going to do, while he held out the necklace, he held out his other hand to take back his artifact. "I assume you would need to prepare before we leave, but at some point I will need to hold both items to start the search" He hadn't been able to see where the path lead off to when he first checked, all he had seen was her paths through the city. "We would need a proper map to make sure we don't skip all the towns while traveling as well"
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Post by ℜust ℜed ℜose on May 7, 2017 23:36:04 GMT -5
Solis put her hands on her hips as she waited for him. She remembered just a moment later that she was still holding the pendant, so one hand remained on her hip as she held the other out again, waiting for him to take it. Though she was certainly not unfamiliar with magic, she didn’t care much for the details. Whatever he was sharing now she was sure was something she ought to be listening to, as manners would demand, but really she didn’t care. Why should she, if she couldn’t make sense of any of it?
She raised an eyebrow at his claim. Hide whatever was making people shy away from her wares? Hah. Unless he had a wicked illusion spell, she doubted it. Even then, that would require an awful lot of time, and would hardly do her any good. Her eyes seemed to resist that sort of magic. The rest of her went just fine. “I don’t need to prepare any more than I have,” she announced. What more could she do? She was dressed how she always way, carried what she needed. She took her necklace and gave him his. “What makes you think I’m going to let you carry both? Tad unfair.”
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