Night's Embrace: Part 1--A Touch of Darkness

[Shayuri]

"Princess this, princess that," Sulannus says acidly. "I can't believe you humans charge gold for knowledge! The contents of those libraries should be free for all!"

She puts her hands to her temples and takes a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"I'm running out of ideas," the elf admits. "It seems like every thing we try has insurmountable price tags or other obstacles that prevent us from attempting them. Are we missing anything?"

 

[jkason]

Titus Farrab, human ranger

"Princess this, princess that," Sulannus says acidly. "I can't believe you humans charge gold for knowledge! The contents of those libraries should be free for all!"

She puts her hands to her temples and takes a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"I'm running out of ideas," the elf admits. "It seems like every thing we try has insurmountable price tags or other obstacles that prevent us from attempting them. Are we missing anything?"

Titus shrugs. "I guess we can start poking at that stone again..."

 

[Boddynock]

Kel frowns. By now the group can recognize that as a sign that he's worrying at the problem.

"Nhalia, do you have some way of determining if this gem is magical? Maybe Elenia didn't give us a magical gem. Maybe she's using her knowledge of these gems to locate us. They are very distinctive. Perhaps her confusion arose from scrying on the wrong gem - and picking up the jeweller's conversation, rather than ours."

"If the gem itself is not magical, then there's nothing further we can do with regard to it. We'll have to wait for her to make the running. If it is magical, then it will repay further experimentation."

"Research in the Academy library still seems to be a useful idea, if only we can afford it. And I want to learn to be a wizard ... so maybe there's a way to combine those two goals."

Here Kel's frown deepens, and he shakes his head irritably. "But if I were taken on by the Academy, and they limited my time and my access to the city, then I wouldn't be able to keep my date with ... I mean, I wouldn't be able to attend the Princess' pleasure ... I mean, I couldn't wait for her to turn up at the meeting place."

The young man's words stumble to a halt, as a blush rises in his face.

 

[Rystil Arden]

"By the grace of the Goddess, I can determine if there is a magical aura on the stone" Nhalia offers, casting Detect Magic, "There is indeed a magical aura. It appears to be a magic item of some sort."

 

[Legildur]

Blunt groans and slaps his forehead with the palm of his hand. "And we sold the other one," he bemoans.

 

[Boddynock]

"Why didn't she tell me? Why not say something in the note?"

Kel's voice rises in a querulous tone. Then, a moment later, his voice drops to its normal pitch. "Because she didn't want anyone else to know what they were."

He swears briefly but plangently, a skill refined early in his time at the Orc's Armpit. "That's still no reason not to let me know what they were."

"Now what? Do we have to try and get the other gem back? I've already spent some of the money on our accomodation - and there's no way the jeweller is going to simply accept his money back, anyhow."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"We have the magical one, right? Maybe the other one was just a normal gem. We could check that without buying it back."

 

[Boddynock]

"OK, let's do it. Have you got another one of those spells prepared?"

Assuming that Nhalia answers in the affirmative, Kel leads the way back to the jeweller. On the way he tells her to follow his lead.

"We can't just ask him to let us check to see if the gem we sold him was magical - the price would go through the roof if he thought it was. But you'll have to come up with some reason for wanting to cast a spell over it."

As he opens the door and steps into the shop he says, "But Nhalia, you were there. I'm telling you, there was no appreciable difference between the stones. Hello, good sir, we're back, as you can see. I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?"

He leads the jeweller aside a step or two and says quietly (but not so quietly that Nhalia can't hear him), "My friend there is an artist, and an elf - and the combination means that she gets a bit obsessive at times. She's convinced that the stone I sold you earlier was a darker shade than the one we kept - and that it would be the perfect colour for a work in honour of her god which she's contemplating at the moment. She's been on at me about it virtually since we left your shop. I wonder, could we have a look at the stone, please? Otherwise, I'll have no peace at all this evening - nor for the next week, neither."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"I'll do you one better--I'll keep concentrating on this same spell so I don't have to cast it again," Nhalia suggests.

~~~

(OOC: Later)

*Julian laughs.*

"She's an elf--she could hear you, you know. I saw no appreciable difference between the gems. If you want to trade them, I'll appraise the other for you. I haven't sold the other one yet, thankfully for you."

*He pulls out the star sapphire. Assuming Kel gives him the other, he begins to appraise it, while Nhalia shakes her head about the old gem. Julian turns back.*

"The central portion of this secod jewel's crystalline matrix is awash with arcane energy. That may be why your elf friend thought it was brighter. It's probably worth more due to its magic than it is for its beauty. Did you not realise that?"

 

[Shayuri]

"Our source was less than forthcoming," Sulannus notes dryly.