Welcome to Gaia! ::

“I am some kind of merchant! A very good one, if I do say so myself,” the man said, visibly pleased, but he seemed to have something of a softness for Mauvians and it looked like he wanted to reach out and pet her almost as much as he wanted to scoop up the wisps.

“Come closer, I won’t bite. You should come take a look at my wares. I’m willing to strike a very good bargain--for you--for the return of my wisps. I’ve already gotten quite a bit back, but I still need more. There’s no use if I can’t complete the collection,” he said, and reached below the table. He withdrew an extremely ornate chalice that could have easily doubled as an extravagant candy dish, complete with stem and lid. The crystal bowl was cut with many facets that all perfectly seemed to capture and accentuate the light inside. Atop of the clear crystal, an ornate silver lid encrusted with what looked to be a giant diamond in the center. It had a large silver stem and a beautiful, sturdy base with a few more gemstones embedded within it. A few wisps danced around inside already, and he looked from them to his guests. “Let me put those back where they belong and we’ll go over how I can repay you.”

The more Viatrix seemed to want to be pet, the less the Merchant could contain himself, and he finally reached out his very nicely manicured nails and gave her a good scratch behind the ears.

“No, not really,” he answered. “They’re practically indistinguishable. But, that being said, they’re not supposed to be different. They’re not supposed to be separated at all. Think of it like a glass of water. Individually, it’s made up of many tiny droplets of water, but together in a glass, they’re just one singular entity.”

Carefully, he tilted the lid of the chalice up; none of the little wisps tried to float out, but some seemed to get a bit close. “Would you like to put them in?” he tempted, all the while seeming to contemplate the two of them, as if by looking at them alone he could deduce what to offer them.

“Oh, no. The plan wasn’t to involve them at all. See, I’m trying to grow it,” he explained to Encke. “If all goes well, all the positive energy will manifest into a protective spirit, as it were. It was in one piece, a cute little blob, but when I landed on Earth, I came in a little hard. Your atmosphere wasn’t as dense as I remember, so the resistance got me all messed up. When I crashed, I made a bit of a dent.”

He gestured to the crater around them. “My little blob was fragile, when I collided, it split into all these different pieces. I had wanted to make a standard trade--see what you all had that you were willing to part with in exchange for what I was willing to part with--but collecting these wisps and reforming my little blob is my priority. I’m afraid that I can’t get it to reform if I don’t have all the pieces,” he admitted, and scratched Viatrax for a moment longer, “Or else I’d share. Once you’ve gotten them in, I’ll find something nice for you both, to trade. I’m getting the impression that you, my dear,” he looked to the Mauvian, “Appreciate the finer things in life. Something advanced, for you. I have some Mauvian technology. Actually.”

He stopped petting her and kept the chalice open for Encke, but fussed around with things beneath his table for a moment before he pulled out a perfectly preserved gadget with a small screen and a few buttons. “I think it used to have other functions. Last I checked, it was useful in pinpointing magical anomalies, but it’s very peculiar. I think it’s got a GPS feature, but it’s malfunctioned of late. You look like a clever girl, maybe you can take a look at it some time and see if you can repair it? I know it’s missing some components. It needs a special gem to function--a little magically charged element, as it were. For the world you want to sync it to. I don’t think Earth has anything of the like, but you should see if your Senshi friend over there might give you a ride to his. If you could find something up there, I’m sure you could get it working again. That device would probably be more useful to someone planning on staying in one place, so I can’t use it as well. Always moving,” he explained with a shrug, and turned his attention to Encke as he waited for the wisps.

“Although, speaking of magically charged rocks. Where did you say you were from? Your colors remind me of something. Oh, here it is.”

He opened a little display of rings, and while there were a number of them lined up, he deftly picked out a very specific one; it had a silver band, and a gemstone of swirling purple, blue and magenta. It looked like electricity was dancing inside, and when it touched him, a tiny little electric arc zapped at his finger. It didn’t seem painful, but he made a face as he laid it on the table in front of Encke. “It’s got a bit of a spark to it, I don’t think it likes me very much.”

On the back of the ring, clearly visible, was an engraved comet with three lines falling after it.

The merchant seemed pleased, despite the startled questions--which, really, he had come to expect by now. He eagerly took every offered wisp, and as he did so explained, “I am but a humble merchant,” he insisted, but perhaps felt a little more loose-lipped than he’d first thought and continued, “My name is Almadel. You can call me Alma, if you like. I travel using a starstone. I’ve learned you don’t have them here on Earth--but they’re very useful. They get me where I need to go. Creating them is a lost skill, I’m afraid. I haven’t found anyone who has mastered the technique, and the last crafstman I met capable of creating one has long since disappeared. Ah,” he sighed wistfully.

“The universe has lost so much already. Such a shame. But, I suppose that’s why Earth is so nice. It seems like something is always happening. I don’t think I could ever get bored here. But, I have too many things to do to visit for long, I’m afraid. But I do like these trips, so very much.”

Almadel seemed delighted to have the wisps pushed in his direction, and as soon as they were offered, he scooped them closer when they were within reach.

He listened curiously, because it wasn’t really eavesdropping when the conversation was being had right in front of you.

“There might be,” he said wistfully. “One can only hope. But, if they aren’t properly maintained, they can explode. It’s very dangerous, but that’s what you get for playing with the heart of a star, I suppose.” He shrugged, and seemed reasonably distracted by the idea still.

“But, I have hope, regardless. As long as they’re reasonably taken care of, they’ll last lifetimes. An eternity, maybe. I’ve taken incredibly good care of mine, it’ll outlive me. So there is hope. The universe is a very large place, after all. And you never know who--or what--is hiding out there.”

Almadel accepted the final wisp eagerly, and was quick to store it with the others. He was smiling, not just for his own good gain, but because Viatrix seemed so enamored with the trade. He might have been a businessman, but if he was earnest about anything it was that a good trade did seem to delight him.

“Oh, it would be my pleasure,” Almadel confirmed, and reached out to give her a very good scratch. “It was lovely to meet the two of you. I think I’ve found myself thoroughly charmed. If I find another Starstone, I’ll have to report back to you. Maybe we’ll be able to make another trade,” he laughed. “At the very least, the next time you see me, I’ll make sure to bring more treasures. So make sure you stop by, won’t you? I want to know there are people I can trust on Earth.”