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There's Something About the Amulet... [Dragonsong]

Started by emeraldknight, February 16, 2018, 06:34:29 PM

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emeraldknight

If time was money, then he had been scammed. Bartley Nock had barely made a single sale that day, and no-one exciting or interesting had come into his shop in forever! For a man as obsessed with relics as him, not having an ancient helm or chalice to drool over was the perfect torture. It was getting on, and the weary trader felt that he should just close the shop for the day.

He looked around at the dusty hoard sitting behind his counter: Teleporting closets, candles that never ran out, and the heaping piles of jewelry, some of which had been there for years. He just wished that someone with bags full of gold would stride in, buy up everything, and then divulge the location of the earth's best-kept secrets. Obviously, this would never happen, especially not out here in this remote village in Western Serendipity. However, maybe something just slightly interesting could happen. Something to save this day from being completely worthless. Bartley decided to wait a little longer.

DragonSong

She really wished she'd stayed in Essyrn. For all it's flaws, at least it wasn't freezing.

Okay, that probably wasn't fair. Maybe she was under-dressed for the weather. But she'd never been this far north before! Her only preparation had come from books.

Grumbling under her breath, Lapis ducked into the first still open door she noticed as the wind picked up and clouds began to roll in. "Um, hello? Sorry to barge in, I, ah..." She trailed off, heavily accented Common growing quiet as she looked around the shop.

Well. This was interesting.

emeraldknight

"Finally, a customer!"

Just as Bartley had made the decision to close up for the day, a woman of around twenty had wandered in through the open door. From his years as a slave in Essyrni, he could tell she was from there. She was certainly dressed for that kind of climate, something that she was obviously regretting. She began to speak rather unsurely, but trailed off, gazing around at the piles of old, dusty curiosities. He couldn't blame her, not many had amassed such an impressive collection of knick-knacks. Never missing the opportunity for business, he launched right into a sales pitch he'd used thousands of times before:

"Ah, so you're interested in my collection! Well, of course you are, a fine young lady such as yourself. Dangerous times out there, may I suggest something to protect yourself? No, what am I saying, someone as gorgeous as you must have a special  someone protecting you anyway! So perhaps he'd like a gift, and I will tell you, my trove of wonders has everything you could think of, rings, statues, instruments, just name it!"

He rattled all this off in a matter of seconds, and just as intended, the customer looked quite disoriented. With the right pressure applied, it was time for the clincher.

"So, what can I do for you?"

The ball was in her court now.

DragonSong

Lapis blinked and took an automatic step back from the proprietor, eyes going wide. "You- what-"

She cleared her throat and tried to center herself, raising her hands almost defensively in front of her body. "Slow down, please," she begged. While she was fluent in Common, the speed with which he spoke had her missing a few words in the middle.

She shrank a bit under the full force of his attention and glanced longingly toward the door. But it would be just rude to leave now, or admit that she'd just been trying to get in out of the cold. "I_ I' am just browsing, thank you," she stammered finally.

emeraldknight

"Just browsing". Those were the magic words that he needed to hear, and there they were, floating through the air and into the pointed ears of Bartley Nock. It was a phrase that was never used truthfully, but he didn't care, he was confident that he could secure a purchase anyway. As he watched the Essyrni woman pretend to browse the merchandise, uncomfortably feigning interest in boring old pots and possibly-magical sticks, he looked her up and down, thinking hard about what might grab her attention.

She was obviously of the desert, clearly an active girl, and the blue braids in her hair told him she must be a fashionable woman, at least in his experience. Deciding to work that route, the shopkeeper rummaged through the drawers of his counter in search of some form of jewelry or accessory, making sure to keep one eye on his customer in case she decided to slip out. After a few seconds of rummaging, he found an amulet with a greenish-blue gemstone. Using an enchantment-detecting spyglass, he found no curses or magical powers. "Why the hell did I even take this? Whatever, time to get it off my hands!"

"Hey, I think I might have found something for you!"

DragonSong

"Um. Oh." Reluctantly, Lapis took the amulet. "That's...lovely."

At first the compliment was rather forced, but the longer she looked at the piece of jewelry the more interesting it became. She brushed her fingers over the surface of it, feeling the raised divots of the runes that had been carved around the circumference. She couldn't read them- they much be incredibly old.

It seemed a simple disk at first, but on closer examination she could make out layers of silver and gold inlay circling the gemstone at its center. She tilted the amulet, watching the gem change from blue to green to teal and back as the light struck from different angles.

As she twisted the disk in her fingers once again, her thumbnail caught on a hairline crack on the edge of the amulet. She paused, tugged at the amulet, trying to pry it open. "This is a locket," she murmured, frowning. Honestly she almost forgot the shop owner existed at this point, captivated by the potential of a puzzle to solve.

emeraldknight

Bartley smirked at first, watching the woman grow more and more invested in all the patterns and shapes of the amulet, but the more he watched her, the more he was drawn in to the it as well. When he checked it, it didn't seem to have any enchantments or charms on it, so the attraction was very unlikely to be magical, and yet it really shouldn't have been as captivating as it was. He had the distinct feeling that there was more to this item than a pretty design.

"This is a locket". Bartley jolted as she said this, becoming once more aware of the transaction that was to be made. "Ah, yes," he responded, noticing her struggle trying to open it, "A locket indeed! Would you like me to open it for you?"

DragonSong

"I- I think I can get it.." After a few more moments of fruitless wrestling with the thing, Lapis sigh and relented with an irritated frown. "Can you hold the disk still? I just need to wedge my nail into the fault here, but I can't manage it on my own."

emeraldknight

"Anything for you!" His smile was truly genuine as he said this, knowing that the day would have at least one good deal. What he didn't know was that this transaction would contain much more than just a sale. Bartley placed both his hands on the locket and helped her pry it open, holding it still on the antique counter-top.

Click.

DragonSong

An explosion of golden light swamped the little shop. Lapis cried out and stumbled back, trying to shield her eyes.

Then, as suddenly as it had happened, it was gone. Blinking, vision white at the edges, Lapis looked around wildly for the cause of the light.

It didn't take her long to find it, and when she did she froze. Perched on the counter, lounging back on one arm while the other tapped against his bottom lip as he looked around curiously, was one of the most objectively beautiful creatures she'd ever seen in her life. He wore traditional Essyrni garb- very traditional actually, almost archais- and at least half his body weight in bejeweled rings, bracelets, armbands, necklaces, chains.

"Wha...wha..." Lapis just stammered, utterly stunned.

The man's eyes snapped to hers and she was suddenly pinned in place. Power rolled off this creature in waves, like nothing she'd ever felt before. "Ah. Did you open the locket then?"

emeraldknight

"Oh crap. I remember now"

It all came back at once. He had obtained the amulet from a priest, who had told him that it had been passed down through his family for generations, but that he no longer wanted the thing. Bartley was skeptical when he told him that there was a djinn locked inside, but he wasn't going to open the locket and find out; Djinns had a tendency to be rather malignant. "I really shouldn't have just shoved that thing in a drawer!"

The fear he felt was quickly replaced with curiosity, Bartley having never seen such a creature up close before. It looked quite human, though the horns and claws gave him away. The shopkeep hadn't even had time to get angry about it leaning on the antique desk before it spoke to the customer. Knowing the risks of having a djinn free in the store, he quietly pulled out a ring of immobilization, ready for a trick or attack.

DragonSong

The djinn- because of course that had to be what he was, she couldn't imagine him being anything else- tilted his head and looked from Lapis to the shopkeep.

"Ah." He frowned, but only for a moment. The expression quickly smoothed into a knowing smirk as he leaned back on his hand and his eyes flickered between the two mortals. "I see. A joint summoning. Well that is rare, truly rare. Congratulations, I suppose."

Lapis glanced to the owner of the shop, then back to the djinn. "Wh- what?!"

emeraldknight

"A joint summoning?"

"Well, I suppose I did have a hand in opening it, but..."

Bartley didn't know what to do. The thing was right in front of him, and would surely do something horrible! But it looked too human to simply kill, not that he probably could if he tried, and, quite frankly, Bartley had no idea how to get it back in the locket.

"I suppose this gives me a chance to do what I do best... Negotiation!" Unfortunately, it seemed that at this point that Bartley had no holds to grip, and so he decided to wait and see what it would reveal in the coming moments. "I can stop it if it does anything harmful... I hope"

Who knew, maybe the customer could be of use. Come to think of it, he didn't even know her name! He'd have to ask her after the ordeal.

DragonSong

Zahir tsked and unfurled himself gracefully from the counter. "You've been awfully quiet, old man," he commented blithely. His eyes quickly snapped to the girl as she started to back toward the door.

"I wouldn't, sweetling. You summoned me, you bound me, you're stuck with me. Thems the breaks."

emeraldknight

"Of course!", he thought, "All I have to do is convince the customer to take him away! The djinn can't really expect us to just walk around with him together!"

"So, what's your name, djinn? I'm sure a fine specimen such as you would have one, wouldn't he, my dear customer?" Turning back to the djinn, he glanced briefly at the incredible amounts of ancient jewelry around his neck. "Maybe I'll be able to snag some of that later!"

DragonSong

The djinn's lip curled and when he spoke again there was an echo of power in his voice that made Lapis' teeth tingle.

"Do not presume to manipulate me with flattery, old man." Then just as quickly he was back to that elegant, smirking air as he strode toward Lapis and paced around her in a circle. The girl squeaked and nearly shrank in on herself.

"Zahir. I am called Zahir. And who are you two?"

emeraldknight

Bartley jumped when the djinn spoke, shocked by the aura around it. It was clearly aware of his tactics. "Right then, on to the next plan". It said its name was Zahir, and asked theirs. Bartley spoke first, eager to give a better second impression than his first. "My name is Bartley Nock. The girl summoned you in my shop, touching something she shouldn't have. I have nothing to do with this!" He ducked down behind his desk a little, and began discreetly rifling through his drawers for a plan C, just in case it was necessary. With that kind of power, he doubted a stun ring would help.

He hoped Zahir wouldn't catch on to his lies, and hoped even more that the Essyrni girl wouldn't murder him for this.

DragonSong

Lapis gaped at the old man, indigence warring with panic. "What- you-!"

Zahir sighed and rolled his eyes, leaning back against the counter again and craning his neck back slightly to stare down at Bartley. "I'm going to give you one more chance, Mr. Bartley Nock. Do not lie to me," he said pleasantly, smiling to reveal long, sharp canines.

"I know who summoned me. It is an innate sense of my kind. And you, dear, are just as responsible as the little waif over there." He gestured toward Lapis, then frowned a bit. "Ah, sorry, sweetling. What did you say your name was?"

Lapis shook her head, opened her mouth- and squeaked. Terrified, she cleared her throat and tried again quickly. "L-L-Lapis!"

emeraldknight

Bartley glowered at the djinn, annoyed that non of his tricks were working. "Does this thing have some sort of sixth sense?" He grit his teeth, facing the fact that he would now have to be honest here, and hoped for the best. At least he could be relatively selective with what he revealed. He definitely wasn't going to say he had kept him in a drawer for a few years. "Zahir, it is true that my name is Bartley Nock. This girl, er, Lapis, and I accidentally summoned you while attempting to open a locket. Neither of us intended to summon you, nor had any idea that you were inside of the jewelry."

Bartley racked his brain, trying to think of anything that would get the thing away. Then, he realized something. "If I may ask you a question, now, what exactly is it that you want?"

DragonSong

"Well, what I want isn't really the point, is it?" The djinn smirked, evidently pleased that they were speaking plainly now. He spread his arms wide, and for a moment he seemed to glint copper, exposed, lean muscle rippling. Lapis felt her mouth go dry and ducked her head quickly, flushing.

"That's the beauty of a djinn, isn't it. Your wish-" He swept into an elegant bow, looking from Lapis to Bartley and back- "is my command."

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