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 Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 2:13 pm
Today seemed like a good day for shopping, especially after she’d bought her hair ornament, Esmeralda was out for more spending. She went from stall to stall, looking at the wares and most of the time excusing herself away before she bought anything she didn’t need. Many of the merchants were trying to butter her up with sweet honeyed words, but she always refused politely. After much gliding from on stall to the other, Esme actually got bored. Nothing had caught her eye enough for her to spend gold on, so she’d given up with her last purchase for the day being a drink.
That’s when she’d heard to soft murmurs of two people whispering about something that caught her attention, dragon souls. Of course such a topic would catch her attention, she was studying dragons and these souls would certainly make a good research paper. Plus, people didn’t just give out the souls they got from their slain dragons, and Esmeralda wasn’t keen on going out and trying to get some by herself. However, the more she listened in the more she learned that they were speaking of a black market dealer who sold them. These fellow were meeting him someplace for a purchase, did she have time to follow them and inquire?
Thrilled that she was going on an adventure even as a scholar, Esmeralda followed them out from the hustle and bustle of the trading market. She had no clue as to where they were headed, but it seemed her observational skills were coming into play now since they never caught her following them. She’d never followed anyone, much less encountered anyone working for the black market, she wasn’t exactly sure as to how to approach the tent she’d spotted. Even after the two men had conducted their business, Esmeralda still hid in the bushes near by unsure as how to go about this whole thing.
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 2:40 pm
Ignotus
Ignotus felt his eyebrow tick in irritation, and he felt Informis who was sitting beside him rigidly echoing the emotion. He knew perfectly when he went into the business of selling dragon souls as well as being a hybrid of questionable nature that others often found him intimidating. It also didn’t help that he’d perfected a slightly dangerous reputation amongst the black market dealers. However, what annoyed him the most was when potential idiotic customers hung outside his tent, attracting unwanted attention, whispering amongst themselves and daring each other to enter his tent. He was exceedingly tempted to set fire to their collective asses and getting rid of their noxious presence.
“If you did that to every customer we’d be out of business, poor and starving.” Informis stated, amusement lining his thoughts, “No matter how I’d rather be clawing their faces off, we need their gold. Filthy as it probably is.”
Ignotus eyed his companion and smiled. “Ah Informis, what would I have done to those simpletons had you not been here with me?” The hybrid simpered in reply.
“--probably hauled their asses out to dry under the noon sun.” Informis sassed back at him.
Dark semi-souled eyes stared at the tent walls and the shadows made by the whisper-mongers. If they weren’t going to go in and buy things…Ignotus would scare the souls out of them. He certainly knew a few spells that would whiten their hair prematurely. After all…Dragon souls weren’t exactly easy to get and Ignotus definitely was not someone to cross.
Informis merely huffed a laugh at the thoughts going through Ignotus’ mind.
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 3:01 pm
Finally the two men decided to get in gear, one of them cleared his throat loudly rocking on his heels before speaking. “We’re here to buy some souls.” Esmeralda felt like they sounded quite sleazy, and sleazy person were never good one. At least she’d overheard right, they were here to buy dragon souls from a dealer. Esme huffed once, how lazy could one get! And where did this dealer get his souls from? Who sold them to him? All the questions buzzed in her mind, but mostly she was irritated with the two before her who were using the black market to acquire dragons souls.
Standing up from the bushes, Esmeralda pointed a trembling finger at them. Tears had already gathered at the corner of her eyes from her frustration and fear of getting caught, but she was going to give them a small piece of her mind. “Hey you two!” Both turned to her suddenly, mouths agape, but they’d been so afraid of getting caught that when she did spring out from the bushes they both turned and ran thinking they’d gotten caught for using the black market. Esmeralda was actually pleasantly surprised at how easy that had been, and since the owner of the tent didn’t seem to be home, Esme stepped out from the bushes.
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 3:24 pm
Ignotus
Just as Ignotus was slowly turning around a few spells in mind to be rid him of the annoying men causing the hub bub around his tent it seemed their indecision had finally settled and one of them had actually gotten a spine in the process.
“I bet you he chickens out and doesn’t even make it to the entrance.”,Informis snarked.
Ignotus raised an eyebrow at his companion and then smiled. “Don’t be a pessimist Inny, I’m hoping we at least see him enter my tent so I can put the proper fear of hybrids in him. “ The semi-soled man wistfully replied, “I have been bored out of my mind half the day in this marketplace and the damn peasants are too scared to give us any profit. If they aren’t going to be giving us any gold the least they can do is provide some entertainment."
The kouda-kitsune twitched an ear in his direction although its gaze was still unerringly directed at the shadows cast by the men outside. “Who told you to set up a tent at some village’s market day anyways? I’m sure you already know bumbling idiots in tiny little villages are hardly worth the effort. I doubt they even have a solid gold piece amongst the lot of them.” The last sentence was said in a complaining whine.
Ignotus sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, a faint headache lingering behind his eyes. What Informis has iterated was nothing but the truth, but sometimes Ignotus just tired of constantly travelling and not feeling at home. He thought a small village market day was at least relaxing...goes to show how wrong he was.
Abruptly raising his head as he heard a shout, the voice most likely a young female, Ignotus felt curiosity creep out of the recesses of his mind and Informis, clearly sensing his friend’s thoughts, rose to a standing position.
“It seems your entertainment is coming sooner than you had hope.” The white kitsune replied, tongue lolling out in canine amusement.
Ignotus quickly strode towards the front of his tent, parted the cloth covers that serve as the doorways to his shop and saw the rabble that had earlier been loitering just outside his tent run like the very harpies of death were after them. The hybrid then quickly turned his piercing semi-souled eyes to the remaining person, who indeed was a young girl, as she stepped out of the bushes.
“Quite a shout you have little girl.”Ignotus commented, his smile knife-sharp.
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:27 pm
There were really no words that came to mind when Esmeralda`s eyes settled on the Hybrid before her, she simply froze in time and stared at him. This wasn`t the first time she was meeting a Hybrid, there had been the boy in the tree, he`d been a mix of Dovaa and Oblivionite. This one before her, much older, didn`t have any traits she could recognize as Dovaa, so Esme assumed this was an Oblivionite and Orderite Hybrid. She`d heard snippets of conversations from here and there about how powerful one of his kind could be. He tickled her curiosity, but at the same time fear slithered down her spin.
“Hello! So terribly sorry to disturb you with my shouting, I was just walking by and there were strange men just standing in front of your tent.” Esmeralda did not think at all she had quite a shout as he put it, it had taken all of her strength to pull that one off and not start crying. Hopefully the lie was convincing enough that he didn’t ask why she just so happened to be walking by, but hey maybe she could pull another lie out again. She seemed to be surprising not only herself today, but others too.
She was curious though, which pulled her slightly closer towards him. Esme didn't want to outright call him out on being a dragon soul dealer, but she didn't want to walk away either without her questions being answered. Her dilemma was, did she bother him and risk possibly his wrath but asking him about his business? Or leave the tent, forget she ever saw anyone or anything and have questions buzzing around in her head. Esmeralda took the gamble. “I heard one of them talking about souls, was he referring perhaps to dragon souls of some kind?”
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 7:06 am
Ignotus
“I heard one of them talking about souls, was he referring perhaps to dragon souls of some kind?”
Ignotus narrowed his eyes and stared at the little Dovaa looking at him with suspicion and slowly felt his smile widen bit by bit. Oh sweet Abronaxus, it was downright nasty of him to think of robbing the poor girl of her gold…but even fiends like him need to eat after all.
The hybrid felt the nudge of cloth at his waist and found Informis’ head peering out inquisitively at the Dovaa. Ignotus could feel the slight shaking of the form next to him as his kitsune companion wagged his triple tails in excitement. Even though Inny tended to act more mature than most of the people he met in Magesc, he was still at heart a canine.
“She’s adorable Iggy. Look at that little dress with the ruffles…” The white beast cooed, “And I can see the tears just edging her lids and she smells like fear all over….”
Ignotus placed a hand on top of his companion’s head and gave him a thoughtful scratch behind one ear, his eyes never leaving those of the girl’s in front of him. The kitsune made a pleased whine in his throat from the scratchings. Informis was such a sucker for pettings.
“And if I say I am-a dragon soul seller?” the pale hybrid started, “What would happen little one?” Ignotus raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. “Are you going to report me to the guards? Or run off like those spineless runts blocking my entryway earlier?”
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Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 12:57 pm
That was one heck of a scary smile, like a vulture as it circles its prey when it knows it going to grab it. It was not at all reassuring for Esmeralda and if she’d known at some point she was going to be meeting up with such a Hybrid, she wouldn’t have followed those men. That’s what she got for going after strange men talking about buying dragon souls, and she’d been even stupider thinking she could have maybe, just maybe bought one for herself. It was quiet illegal for her to be doing so, but they were so interesting and Esme couldn’t get one buy herself.
Was… Was that a head poking out from her waist? Oh my god, what kind of situation had she dragged herself into. Did Esmeralda take a chance and negotiate with him? Was he trustworthy? Did she report him or walk away? Would he let her walk away? “No.” Esme tried to sound as firm as she possibly could, eyes narrowing in the hopes that maybe she’d look more threatening. “Maybe, maybe I came here because I want to buy a soul too!” Here we go, she was about to step out from her bubble that had been floating beside a cliff and she was either going off the cliff to her death or walking away into a whole new… Esmeralda.
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:02 am
Ignotus
Ignotus couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the Dovaa in front of him, and he could feel Informis chuckling amusedly right next to him. It was rare for someone to outright declare in a public venue about their choice to buy a Soul….but for something like that to come out of a barely fledged female Dovaa. It was more than interesting. Who was he to stop such fervour like that?
Informis slowly slipped out from the tent, his body flowing like liquid silver as it oozed out and made his way to the Dovaa. The usual bright blue magical paw prints dogging his steps appeared and disappeared like usual. A silvery snout sniffed around the Dovaa who continued to tremble from some hidden emotion, most likely fear, if Ignotus had to guess.
“What’s a lovely young lass like you wanting Dragon Souls hmmm?” The kitsune asked, willing his usual mental voice to be broadcasted aloud.
Ignotus still smiling slowly, raised to steeple his hands about chest height and revealing the bandage wrapped appendages, continued to stare at the young Dovaa. He and Informis were like one unit after all, their minds as entwined as the magic that created his companion. Questions his companion asked were questions Ignotus was asking.
The companion shook his shaggy head and grinned, revealing rows of needle-sharp canines, “You seem like a sensible little girl, do you truly wish to purchase despite the blow this would no doubt cause to your reputation if anyone were to find you here?” Ignotus nodded, he would probably rob anyone else without shame but doing so to children….was a little more morally ambiguous for him.
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:21 am
The first thought Esmeralda had about the kitsune easing its way towards her was how cute. Though, those thoughts soon changed as it continued to get closer and closer to her and Esme almost stepped back. If she showed fear, it would sense it and she couldn`t seem so weak in front of these two. So the Dovaa took in one shaky breath and forced herself to relax the tension in her shoulders and stare the Hybrid down. Of course, she`d first checked out the disappearing prints because she`d never seen something as cool before, and as a scholar she wanted to write her observation down. Something told her that they probably wouldn`t let her write anything on them, so Esmeralda refrained from asking.
When the kitsune spoke Esme`s eyes left the Hybrid to gaze down. She wasn`t exactly warm to the idea of telling them that she simply wanted one because she couldn’t fight dragons on her own, nor that she just wanted to collect them all. So, Esmeralda went with the one answer she thought would best fit this situation. ‟I`m studying dragons, that`s what I want to do as a profession. As a scholar I can`t exactly go about waltzing around dragons to grab their souls for study.″ There, that sounded about right. It didn`t make her sound like she was too weak to go out, and studying dragons was the truth after all.
What the kitsune was suggesting was true, were they trying to scare her out of buying? Were they testing her? Esmeralda narrowed her eyes, she might be young but she knew how to recognize dissuasion. ‟I didn`t think my reputation was at stake.″ She didn`t really have a reputation yet, but they didn`t need to know that. ‟I would expect however, that dealers such as yourselves would take precautions to avoid such a thing. It would certainly be bad for business and returning clients if they got caught.″ Esmeralda raised on of her brows, she let her last phrase hang in the air. Being a scholar was changing her, making her smarter and it seemed to be paying out.
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Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:19 am
Ignotus
The little Dovaa certainly had some balls on her that was for sure, Ignotus observed to himself. His companion’s gaze met his and Ignotus could feel the thrum of approval from his other half. The pale skinned man though couldn’t help but sense a slight hint of irritation at the girl’s last words. It also revealed a fatal weakness in the youth’s reasoning. One, Ignotus would serve to correct right away.
“Little lady, that is certainly one misconception that most everyone has about Dragon Soul vendors.” The hybrid started, his voice low and reasonable, “However as Dragon Soul vendors we merely sell the product. It is up to the customer not to be caught with it.”
Informis continued to slowly circle the Dovaa, who seemed to be bubbling over with supressed emotions. Scholars always thought they knew everything after all but there’s a big difference when one actually encounters the things in the real world versus those you’ve only ever seen in books.
The white and black furred kitsune turned to look at Ignotus, “Best we conduct further business in the tent, I sense a few presences coming our way.” He announced.
Ignotus gave an annoyed “tch” before raising one robed arm to release a spell of concealment and silence. It would do his business no good if the authorities caught him too soon, especially since he’d had absolutely lousy profits in this tiny village so far. He was definitely going to Souldul next.
Alighting burning blue eyes at the Dovaa, Ignotus smiled again. “If you’re serious about doing business little lady, you’re welcome to come into my shop.” The alabaster skinned man then pulled a dangling cord to one side of the tent which slowly opened the front flaps that served as the doorway, much like a curtain, to reveal the inner sanctum of Ignotus’ Dragon Soul Shop. There were faint glints and glowing lights coming from intricate cases holding multitudes of Dragon Souls that lined shelves and tables all around the shop.
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Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 3:58 pm
Esmeralda smiled at him, little lady was a step up from little girl. "You’re right; one would have to be quite foolish to get caught with one though.” If she did end up buying one, she was going to take extreme precautions ahead of time to make sure she wasn’t caught. Plus, she could always say she’d taken it from a small stash her parents kept? Was that even plausible? But it wasn’t like someone would actually go and ask her parents, she looked innocent enough on her own, no one would see the lie weaved into her words. Wow, she was actually going to use her inferior appearance to lie about dealing with a dragon soul dealer.
The Peisio Dovaa was not a liar; she could barely contain tears when she got over emotional let alone try to lie about something. If she went ahead with this, she was going to have the consequences always hanging above her head and walk every day with her lies. Would she be able to do that? Esme couldn’t even think right now, the Kitsune was making her dizzy with all his pacing around her.
It was like staring into the depth of an abyss, well not really but that’s how Esmeralda felt the moment those curtains were lifted. As soon as her eyes set on the soft blue glow of what could only be the soul of a Peisio dragon however, it was like it was calling to her. She wanted one so bad, she wanted to touch and observe it until she found out all of its secrets. "Okay." In the end, her feet began to move towards the blue light. Damn the consequences! She wanted one to represent who she was, and didn’t have much care for the rest of what happened.
Esmeralda entered and looked around, this place was pretty awesome. Seemed cozy enough, and was definitely not what she was expecting. Granted she’d expected something a little darker and maybe with some torture items in a dark corner or something. Once she was done ogling all the orbs, she took a seat on one of the couches and tucked her legs under her and quietly waited for the kitsune and the Hybrid. Did she have to give her name out or this sort of thing? Could she ask for his name? Couldn’t hurt to ask, and it wasn’t like she was going to give them her real name anyways.
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:52 pm
Ignotus
Ignotus smiled to himself as he viewed the young Dovaa’s facial expressions. He could observe the myriad of emotions from conflict to wonder and then curiosity and awe form on the mobile face. It was certainly one of the hallmarks of youth, having your emotions stamped across your forehead. After all, as one grew older, experience and the harsh realities of life often made sure you kept your heart hidden and well protected. Iggy knew it well enough.
Seeing his potential customer inside his tent, the master mage silently followed in her wake but not before tightening the concealment wards around his shop. Ignotus noted the hasty steps of several men, judged from the heavier tread of their boots, quickly pass by their current location.
“We’re safe enough here.” Informis stated, scratching an ear idly with a hind leg, “these wee little village folk don’t possess enough brains to even detect medium level illusion spells.”
The hybrid reached down a hand and gave his kitsune a good scratch behind the head whereupon Informis started to whine happily, tails wagging idly behind him.
“One can never be careful enough.” The mage stated mentally, “Now come let’s make sure we at least get a bit of profit before we leave this magic-forsaken village.”
Ignotus then turned to look at the young female Dovaa he’d led to his tent and quickly noted down that her attention focused heavily on the gleaming blue display of a Pesio Dragon Soul. He then followed her with his gaze as she flitted about his display cases, with an occasional glance back at the Pesio Dragon Soul, before finding a seat on one of the couches he set aside for his customers.
Arranging his robes more neatly, the mage slowly made his way towards the other seat facing right across the couch the young lady has settled on. Relaxing into the chair, Ignotus snapped a harsh magical command as a result of which a large black golem, vaguely looking like a wooden puppet without strings, brought the case containing the precious Pesio Dragon Souls on the table set between the couch and the chair the mage was sitting on.
Waving a hand across the display, causing the glass cases to open with a slight glow of magic; Ignotus turned his attention to the Dovaa. “So what shall it be?”
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