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 Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 3:06 pm
Quote: It was already late in the evening but the merchant seemed unfazed by the passing of time. He sat, poised and elegant, watching the world around him. He didn’t seem bored but he sat, fingers laced atop the table; below it, he kept his toe tapping to some silent tune in his head. He was tall, by human standards, though while sitting down he didn’t seem particularly threatening. If you didn’t look at his face. He had graceful features--sharp and refined. His chin and nose tapered to a point, giving him an air of sophistication, but that, combined with his slitted eyes and pointed teeth, there was something undeniably predatory about him. He watched with a hungry gaze and a mischievous, nearly sinister smile. His ears were pointed and were prominent despite being tucked behind his vibrant, multi-colored hair. The most intrusive feature that indicated there was something not human about him were the curling horns protruding from his temples and the oil-slick black scales that brushed his cheeks and forehead. He was well dressed, in a fashion obviously otherworldly, and seemed to enjoy dressing himself up in glistening gemstones. His stall was somehow both simple and overwhelming; it was only a table with a deep purple cloth over it, but scattered neatly atop it were an array of items that seemed to carry some magical weight to them. He did not seem intimidated in the slightest and, upon noticing a customer approaching, he smiled. He did not rise to meet them nor adjust his position in the slightest. He followed them with his fierce eyes. In a silky voice, he greeted, “Welcome.” Siv was out and about in the city well past dark. Though there were numerous places to go, the woman elected to go to the Festival, and walked about looking at stalls and vendors as she considered each with equal amounts of lazy curiousity. She ewas bored -- frightfully and simply bored, and the weoman stretched out slightly, pausing before starting. She'd paused befopre a fancy table with an array of objects on it, and the man... Well... Looked like someone got frisky with some kind of dragon, and glanced up thoughtfully before she hummed. Fione, fine, she could look. "Hey." She responded, and shoved her hands in her pockets.
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Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 5:54 pm
The man was a bit out of the way from the normal vendors but he didn't seem to be in any rush for just any passerby. He smiled at her with a thin, pressed grin, as if he were humoring her. "Hay? I haven't any, I'm afraid. I don't peddle edibles, I'm afraid. Nor am I museum. If you wish to linger, I hope you've got something to make it worth my while. You've brought something to trade?" His eyes were already scanning her--wrist, neck, earrings. He was looking for anything interesting, anything shiny. There was a faint accent to his voice but it was impossible to place; despite his odd appearance he acted as if he fit in just fine.
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Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 6:07 pm
The remark he made earned a good chuckle from Siv -- not the forced kind, but genuine or honest. Oh, she liked this one, and the woiman grinned back brightly, thinking. "Trade? Ah, so you don't take coin. Let's see." Siv rummaged in her poickets, fishing out her wallet and a few small papers before she repocketed her papers. No, she wasn't the jewelry type, but she did habve... Well, a pretty gem perhaps, but she hoped it was worth trade, or real and niot resin, and slowly she withdrew the little star shje'd found walking from the botanical gardens, as well as a five yen 'go' coin and an autographed little screenshot. That former went back into her wallet before she nudged her gem and her coin toward him. "Can't hope to tell you much about the star, but I do have a lucky 'go' yen if that adds interest." Surely he wouldn't want the star unless it was a real fire opal, rioght? But go yen? Those were lucky charms! Her family said so when she donated one on the last trip to Japan.
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Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 8:31 pm
"Lucky?" he asked, but his eyes were locked onto the star. He reached out, long fingers curling around the pretty thing and drawing it to his face for inspection. "...I want this," he declared, setting it back on the table, though he kept it close to himself. "It's shiny." If he was trying to hide that he was excited with the piece, he wasn't doing a particularly good job. Now, he seemed more keen to share his wares. He gestured to the table before him. "You're in lucky, I've quite a haul to trade. And to think, I very nearly skipped this place altogether. I'll have to come back more often." His eyes drifted to the shiny little rock she'd presented. "Maybe. It remains to be seen if I'll get as good as I give. And, speaking of give. I don't know what humans need these days. But." He considered for a moment. "I do recall they like little knick-knacks. How about this? Try it on, if you like." He reached for a necklace on the corner of his table--a simple chain with a single pendant. Upon first glance it seemed rather ordinary--if not just a little creepy. The pendant was a strange, carved black stone that vaguely resembled a person. It was roughly two inches in length with unnaturally long limbs that gave a very otherworldly appearance. It didn't help that it seemed oddly cold. "Though, only if you're brave of heart. It's cursed. Or blessed, depending on your world view."
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Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 8:52 pm
"It's a Japanese Go yen. It represents five individual yen coins, and they're considered lucky." She didn't mind him snatching the star, though -- he seemed to have her reaction to it, but she didn't mind trading. His stall was fascinating, and the woman smiled at him. "Oh?" Hmmm. She wondered if he was othjerkin -- that was a thing, and it didn't phase her. She was stioll relaxed as he presented the necklace, examining it attentively as the man spoke, considering. Noremally, she wasn't into jewelry, but then he mentioned a magiuc element, and she looked up, brows arching. "Blessed or cursed? Now see, that? That's interesting." She's never been close to something like that she could touch and didn't phasse her. She wasn't one to scare easily -- and she considered, holding it close to her neck thoughtfully. "....Hmmmm." Was it a magic item, she wondered? Ohhhh dear, she was trying to not geek out now.
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:34 pm
He absorbed the information, and while there was still some curiosity, he did not reach to claim it. He seemed content with the star piece, and keen to keep it in his possession. "Do it," he insisted. "...At the very least, to see what it does. You can't deny your curiosity." There was something haunting, alluring, about the trinket--and once worn, a shadowy figure, easily seven feet tall, seemed to hover about ten feet away. A dark mist seemed to drift around it, seeping into the floor. It was cold and eerie; the shadow figure never moved, never said anything--it was just there. It never moved, never changed positions, never walked; in the blink of an eye, it simply appeared. There was no way to get close to it; it always seemed to stay the same distance, as if being repelled by a magnet from the necklace. When unworn, it was a gone--and then when put on again, it appeared again. Only the wearer of the necklace could see it. The merchant waited patiently, watching eagerly. "A mystery to solve, if you like. I never was able to dig up the proper lore behind it. I'd be interested to know how it works. What it is. Maybe you can?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:04 pm
Siv indeed tried it once or twice, blinking, but not alarmed. Same times, she blinked, then looked to thew merchant, and she nodded. "I won't lie, I'm weith you, it is interesting." She remarked then, and nodded. "I think we have a trade, my friend." It was an honest response. This was curious, and hummed. "I'verr never seen asnything like this..." This was true! And she only saw magic items in DnD, so a real one? Yeeees.
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:28 pm
The merchant watched, polite, little smile on his face. "It's a deal, then. Shall we shake on it?" he asked; he extended his right hand even as he reached for the item she'd offered and pocketed it with his left. "Take good care of it. I've had it for quite a bit. I know things like that aren't common on Earth, so I assume it's in good hands. Do with it as you please, however. It is yours now. Thank you, very much. If you find another one of those shiny little things, or if you figure out that little necklace, do come back. I'll be in town for a while, still."
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:36 pm
"Well it was nicer trading! I'd be delighted to let you know, or to bring any more of thoiise your way! It was certasinly a pleasure!" She took his HAnd firmly, offering a friendly, lopsided grin. Normally, she wasn't one to wear jewelry but if she was solving this? She was wearing it. And making notes. A lot of notyes. Hopefully, the necklace surrendered it's secrets soon.
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2020 7:07 pm
His smile remained perfectly in place. "And they say Earthlings have no manners. The pleasure was all mine, my dear. You have a good night." Briefly, his eyes darted to the necklace, and then back to her face. "Send your friends to me if they've happened upon anything worthwhile."
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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2020 9:42 pm
" "I can do that!" Siv threw a mock salute. "I do hope you meet more niuce folk." She smiled, and nodded, turning tpo leave in thought. Projects were alway good -- and her brow furrowed as she grew lost in thought as she walked.
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