The woman walked deeper into the unkempt part of the city, her footfalls nothing but an occasional scuff of leather on dirt or cobblestones. Her stride was fluid and graceful, perfectly balanced, the step of one who had been training in various physical arts for several years. Occasionally she glanced up at the signs above her head, her amber eyes hard as she looked for one particular sign.
After several more minutes of walking along twisting alleys and narrow sidestreets, she stopped outside one narrow door, eyeing the rough wood and plain facade with some interest. This was the shop of a mage then, was it? Setting her hand to the door, she pushed it open and stepped smoothly inside, surprised by the brightness of the interior. Globes of various sizes floated in the space above her head, each shedding a pure white light that kept the inside comfortably well lit.
Clearing her throat, the woman glanced around herself, curiously eyeing the various things and charms that hung on the walls or were neatly stacked on shelves. It certainly appeared that this mage could give her the thing she needed. Eyeing a particularly intricate charm, she turned around, nearly running into a wizened old man. Arching an appreciative eyebrow she smiled disarmingly, bowing slightly from the waist. "I'd heard you were the best to come to for interesting bits of magic. I want you to make something for me. "
A surprisingly youthful grin came to the proprietor's face and he rubbed his gnarled hands together, dropping one eyelid in a wink. A'course ye do. What is it ye're needin'?"
Keeping the light smile in place, Boadicea briefly explained her situation and what she wanted the charm for, leaving out what she planned to use it for. "I'm a shapeshifter and I want a charm that will let whatever I'm wearing in my humanoid form to stay with me when I shift back. Right now, whenever I return to this form, I do so without my my clothing or weapons or anything else I'm carrying. A trifle inconvenient in certain situations, you must agree."
Chuckling, the mage nodded, busily sorting through a box of small gems and eyeing various bits of metal. "I can make ye a charm for that. Cost ye two gold nobles it will though -have ye the means to be payin' for such an expensive item?"
Boadicea dropped the required sum on the countertop, then sauntered about the shop as he worked, refraining from touching anything lest it have unpleasant side affects.
The mage finally settled on a thumbnail sized piece of blue and green sea opal, giving the gleaming multi-colored surface a rub with a cloth before setting to work. Flipping the sea opal over, he began to delicately etch a series of three intricate runes on it's back, his magic leaving behind traces of crimson fire. He etched the rune for shapeshifters, as well as the rune for binding and one that was purely magic. Finishing with that, he called a silver hued piece of metal to himself and began forming a setting for the stone, carving minute symbols into the metal as he worked. A thin, tough, braided leather thong suspended the charm, but oddly enough, the thong was one complete unit -it had not been tied or sewed back on itself.
Several minutes later the mage stretched, cupping the object in his hands and whispering several words that Boadicea couldn't quite hear. Scarlet fire blossomed in his hands, surrounding the charm and streaming into the metal and stone until they glowed with a blood-red inner fire. Gesturing for her to come closer, he stood, then dropped the braided loop over her head so it hung about her neck. The stone gleamed brighter for a moment, uncomfortably warm, then went dark, cooling until it had matched her body temperature.
Cupping the small object, Boadicea examined it, but all traces of the crimson fire were gone and it looked quite ordinary. Attempting to take it off to examine it closer, she was startled to find that the loop had shrunk and it wouldn't fit over her head again. Astonished, she stared at the mage, waiting for an explanation that was quick to come. "I didn't think it was something that you wanted to lose. It won't come off by accident, though it could be cut off." Nodding, the woman touched the pendant once more, then decided.
Her figure blurred momentarily, then solidified into the shape of a small handsome falcon. Again her outline blurred, but when it crystalized again, she stood in human form, clad and without a single thing missing. Grinning with pleasure, she blew the mage a kiss as she walked out the door, happily thinking of how much easier this would make things.
